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Gettin Leh'd
Why Leh? Kiddin me – read on
The below text/s logs Abhineet(not on XBHP)and my ride to Leh-Ladakh last month i hope you guys enjoy reading this text. The names used are fellow members from BikerZone(Motorycle touring club, majorly comprising of people from Chandigarh and Delhi, many of which are employed in Infosys Chandigarh)
Day( -1), 8th September - Initially we were supposed was to set out for Leh on the evening of the 9th. However, lady luck had other plans for us.
My R15 needed a rear rim replacement ( was bent a couple of months ago, don’t really know how but the air was leaking and it didn’t feel as planted as it usually does, so a replacement was due, although some suggested using a tube and getting through the trip as there were good chances of another rim bent as well. I just didn’t want to compromise and so wanted to get it changed. Had already filed the insurance claim and was through with the formalities but the rim wasn’t in stock at Empee Motors SVC. Checked at Shaili Yamaha, they had one ready, talked to the agent and agreed to meet him at SVC on 8th, he couldn’t make it but anyways i needed the bike serviced so got it done. I was really excited to be starting out the next day 9th, my birthday
. Got the service done and confirmed with the agent that he would be there early morning on the 9th. On my way back to the office, i was coming back at a fairly relaxed pace when at the blind turn near gate number 2 and airtel office (people in Infy Chd will be able to associate), a gentleman on Activa riding on the extreme right rammed his scooter straight into my bike. I got up, looked at my bike and the thought that i wasn’t getting leh'd now, did flash across my mind. Prashant happened to cross by and stopped to check if everything was fine, had called up Abhineet who showed up with Archit within a few minutes. KD also showed up on the scene. I also realized that i had a few bruises and cuts as well, but i didn’t really care. The bike was totaled and that was bothering me more, i called up the SVC to check what could be done but as it was already 5PM they said they'd have to take a look the next day and then tell me. KD helped me take the bike to office, parked it there, went for medical aid. Abhineet gave me a new shirt to replace my tatters. I went home, tried not to limp or wince in pain. Changed my torn trousers and hid them. I barely slept the whole night. A moment of stupidity(not mine) was about to spoil my much anticipated ride. Birthday wishes started to pour in at around 12 but my mind wasn't with me. I was distracted to say the least, didnt care who wished me what. Slept for a while in the uneasiness, hoping the next day would have something better.
The pic is blurry par bhavnao ko samjho :P
Day 0, 9th September: I could feel the pain in my knees and the ankle had also swollen. I had my breakfast, took the medicines and went to office, called in sick for work and went to the parking lot, had unplugged the battery cable the previous day as the lock assembly was also damaged. Plugged in the cable back, the bike started fortunately. I took it to the SVC and told them that it needed repairing ASAP. What transpired in the next 6-7 hours is a different story, will share that some other time. I called up Abhineet to tell him that we cannot start as planned and will have to start early morning on Saturday, to which he agreed. Yeah, i took a break from the ordeal for some time and went back home on my way back i stopped at the ATM to collect cash (13k to be precise
), only to find out that ATM card was nowhere to be found, i had lost it somewhere amidst the hustle n bustle. Abhineet came to the rescue and gave his ATM card to me. I settled the bills and headed back home at around seven. I hadn't packed yet, worse, i hadn’t bought a few things that i thought i would on the 8th . Went out again, got the necessary things and started to pack at around 9. Had been ignoring quite a few calls, it didn’t even feel like my birthday, i was tired, a little frustrated, was short of everything time, money, just then my parents called me for a little birthday celebration. I wished them good night and we retired to our rooms soon after. I continued packing till 1 in the night, asked a friend to transfer some more money in my account and then slept. No pre-ride jitters this time (:O), was too tired and just slept.
Day 1, 10th September : Chd – hoshiarpur-dasuya-hoshiarpur-dasuya-pathankot-samba-udhampur-patnitop-ramban-banihal
Slept for a couple of hours and woke up to alarms and calls from Abhineet. Got ready, called up Abhineet to check if i was missing something to which
he replied "bahaut ho gaya drama, chal ab". Reached his place at around 4.15 in the morning. Handed over a check to Kamlesh to be transferred to Abhineet’s account as I had already lost my ATM card. A few of our friends (Bhupendra, Kamlesh, Utsav) were also there in their lucky pajamas and knickers to wish us luck .
Finally, we started off at 4.45 am Bam Bhole !
We were cruising comfortably at 70-80ish pace and reached Hoshiarpur at around 7.15. We stopped for tea and sutta and started for Pathankot at around 7.40.
Hoshiarpur k hoshiar kabootar
We covered a few kilometers before crossing a toll tax counter where Abhineet started to honk rapidly. I stopped, he came alongside and said that somebody was calling out to us. We turned and checked but didn’t really see anything particularly interesting so carried on. We covered another 20-30kms almost till Dasuya city when Abhineet realized that he had lost the camera, he was carrying in his pocket. It probably had slipped out. We immediately were reminded of the toll booth incident. We contemplated whether it was worth riding 60 kms and investing a minimum of 2 precious hours. The chances were bleak but then we thought of giving it a try anyways. We reached the toll booth and checked with the staff. One of them did tell us that they did see a camera like thing on the ground and called out to us but then a guy in a black car picked it up and drove off in another direction and as the guards themselves didn’t know whose camera it really was, they cared less. Anyhow they were cooperative enough to provide the car's registration number . Abhineet decided to go and inform at hoshiarpur police station. I stopped at around 10 kms from Hoshiarpur as i was feeling really sleepy. Abhineet returned in another hour without any good news and we met at the toll booth again. So we decided to re-embark on the journey minus a camera and 3 hours. Fortunately, i had carried two cameras for the trip and Abhineet made good use of the second one later on.
So, we started towards Pathankot at around 10.30. The roads were ok and we were moving at a comfortable pace. Crossed pathankot soon and continued towards Samba. A few kms of ride more and we decided to stop at a Dhaba. Had a good meal and continued towards Udhampur. We got a n excellent stretch of road for a few km and were cruising at a decent pace again. Perhaps, the good road or the heavy meal, whatever it was made us forget the right turn that we needed to take for udhampur. I had to chase Abhineet and tell him to turn around unless he wished to go via Jammu which would mean an extra 70-80 kms. Not much damage done this time, just 15 minutes of extra cruising and we took the cut to Udhampur. I had realized by this time that following an Enfield on a straight road can be a little boring and it can induce sleep :P, so going off the good roads was a welcome break (not that the roads here were bad, they were enough to keep me a little alert and not feel exerted at the same time).
Pathankot :
Random snaps after the right turn we took from Samba on the way tp Udhampur
We continued at a relaxed pace, taking sutta breaks whenever we desired. We found a pond and a tree shade so decided to take a nap there.
Slept for half an hour and continued the journey. Reached udhampur at around 4 in the evening. It started drizzling soon after and we put on our raincoats. We continued towards patnitop and the rain had actually made the route more scenic. It’s a different green soon after the rains and i took numerous breaks to try n capture the beauty.
Seasonal waterfalls came into life as well :
A few kms from Patnitop :
We continued slowly and carefully as the roads were a little muddy, slippery. Crossed patnitop and stopped at a small place called Beda for tea/sutta. It was around 7 in the evening and we were already starting to get tired. We wondered how would the next few days be with so much of riding still to come. We also had it in the back of our minds that we were 3 hours behind schedule. The roads were a mixture of good and bad from here on, a few kms of bumpy roads followed and we were driving carefully as it was already getting dark. Abhineet honked and asked me stop because he felt something had fallen off. We turned around, focused the lights on the roads and searched the nearby places but didn’t see anything, we thought it was probably just stones hitting the stand/silencer. Abhineet started to ride again and soon i caught up with him, i saw that one of the jerry cans was nowhere to be found. We didn’t see how a jerry can could have fallen off and it must’ve been at our last tea break where someone took off with the lose can.
We were tired and a little frustrated now. Also we realized that we wouldn’t be making it to Srinagar anyways. Hunger, fatigue and sleep all downed upon us from different directions. We continued riding, we had no choice, we always knew that the first day was going to be a hard day, but our adventures all along made it even more so. However, we were still trying to keep the mood up, no matter what the actual situation was.
Soon after i stopped for another sutta break near Ramban and waited for Abhineet and when i looked back i was pleasantly surprised by this :
The picture isn’t good but the actual view which was majestic indeed. The Chenab (or one of its tri looked like a silver snake meandering away in the moonlight. It definitely bought a smile to our faces. I was pretty sure we would have never witnessed this during the day. I stopped thinking about the camera, the can or the schedule and thoroughly enjoyed the ride for the next few kms. Before Banihal, we stopped at a Dhaba as it was getting late and we were hungry. It was the tastiest thali I’ve had, by far the most delicious meal on the entire trip. 40rs ki thaali worth a million bucks. Babloo ka vaishno dhaba if i remember correctly. We ate to our heart's content and even asked him to let us stay or arrange for us to sleep there. But things didn’t work out there so we had to move to Banihal which was barely 8 kms away, checked into a hotel and fell asleep.
EOD.
The below text/s logs Abhineet(not on XBHP)and my ride to Leh-Ladakh last month i hope you guys enjoy reading this text. The names used are fellow members from BikerZone(Motorycle touring club, majorly comprising of people from Chandigarh and Delhi, many of which are employed in Infosys Chandigarh)
Day( -1), 8th September - Initially we were supposed was to set out for Leh on the evening of the 9th. However, lady luck had other plans for us.
My R15 needed a rear rim replacement ( was bent a couple of months ago, don’t really know how but the air was leaking and it didn’t feel as planted as it usually does, so a replacement was due, although some suggested using a tube and getting through the trip as there were good chances of another rim bent as well. I just didn’t want to compromise and so wanted to get it changed. Had already filed the insurance claim and was through with the formalities but the rim wasn’t in stock at Empee Motors SVC. Checked at Shaili Yamaha, they had one ready, talked to the agent and agreed to meet him at SVC on 8th, he couldn’t make it but anyways i needed the bike serviced so got it done. I was really excited to be starting out the next day 9th, my birthday
. Got the service done and confirmed with the agent that he would be there early morning on the 9th. On my way back to the office, i was coming back at a fairly relaxed pace when at the blind turn near gate number 2 and airtel office (people in Infy Chd will be able to associate), a gentleman on Activa riding on the extreme right rammed his scooter straight into my bike. I got up, looked at my bike and the thought that i wasn’t getting leh'd now, did flash across my mind. Prashant happened to cross by and stopped to check if everything was fine, had called up Abhineet who showed up with Archit within a few minutes. KD also showed up on the scene. I also realized that i had a few bruises and cuts as well, but i didn’t really care. The bike was totaled and that was bothering me more, i called up the SVC to check what could be done but as it was already 5PM they said they'd have to take a look the next day and then tell me. KD helped me take the bike to office, parked it there, went for medical aid. Abhineet gave me a new shirt to replace my tatters. I went home, tried not to limp or wince in pain. Changed my torn trousers and hid them. I barely slept the whole night. A moment of stupidity(not mine) was about to spoil my much anticipated ride. Birthday wishes started to pour in at around 12 but my mind wasn't with me. I was distracted to say the least, didnt care who wished me what. Slept for a while in the uneasiness, hoping the next day would have something better.The pic is blurry par bhavnao ko samjho :P
Day 0, 9th September: I could feel the pain in my knees and the ankle had also swollen. I had my breakfast, took the medicines and went to office, called in sick for work and went to the parking lot, had unplugged the battery cable the previous day as the lock assembly was also damaged. Plugged in the cable back, the bike started fortunately. I took it to the SVC and told them that it needed repairing ASAP. What transpired in the next 6-7 hours is a different story, will share that some other time. I called up Abhineet to tell him that we cannot start as planned and will have to start early morning on Saturday, to which he agreed. Yeah, i took a break from the ordeal for some time and went back home on my way back i stopped at the ATM to collect cash (13k to be precise
), only to find out that ATM card was nowhere to be found, i had lost it somewhere amidst the hustle n bustle. Abhineet came to the rescue and gave his ATM card to me. I settled the bills and headed back home at around seven. I hadn't packed yet, worse, i hadn’t bought a few things that i thought i would on the 8th . Went out again, got the necessary things and started to pack at around 9. Had been ignoring quite a few calls, it didn’t even feel like my birthday, i was tired, a little frustrated, was short of everything time, money, just then my parents called me for a little birthday celebration. I wished them good night and we retired to our rooms soon after. I continued packing till 1 in the night, asked a friend to transfer some more money in my account and then slept. No pre-ride jitters this time (:O), was too tired and just slept. Day 1, 10th September : Chd – hoshiarpur-dasuya-hoshiarpur-dasuya-pathankot-samba-udhampur-patnitop-ramban-banihal
Slept for a couple of hours and woke up to alarms and calls from Abhineet. Got ready, called up Abhineet to check if i was missing something to which
he replied "bahaut ho gaya drama, chal ab"
. Reached his place at around 4.15 in the morning. Handed over a check to Kamlesh to be transferred to Abhineet’s account as I had already lost my ATM card. A few of our friends (Bhupendra, Kamlesh, Utsav) were also there in their lucky pajamas and knickers to wish us luck . Finally, we started off at 4.45 am Bam Bhole !
We were cruising comfortably at 70-80ish pace and reached Hoshiarpur at around 7.15. We stopped for tea and sutta and started for Pathankot at around 7.40.
Hoshiarpur k hoshiar kabootar
We covered a few kilometers before crossing a toll tax counter where Abhineet started to honk rapidly. I stopped, he came alongside and said that somebody was calling out to us. We turned and checked but didn’t really see anything particularly interesting so carried on. We covered another 20-30kms almost till Dasuya city when Abhineet realized that he had lost the camera, he was carrying in his pocket. It probably had slipped out. We immediately were reminded of the toll booth incident. We contemplated whether it was worth riding 60 kms and investing a minimum of 2 precious hours. The chances were bleak but then we thought of giving it a try anyways. We reached the toll booth and checked with the staff. One of them did tell us that they did see a camera like thing on the ground and called out to us but then a guy in a black car picked it up and drove off in another direction and as the guards themselves didn’t know whose camera it really was, they cared less. Anyhow they were cooperative enough to provide the car's registration number . Abhineet decided to go and inform at hoshiarpur police station. I stopped at around 10 kms from Hoshiarpur as i was feeling really sleepy. Abhineet returned in another hour without any good news and we met at the toll booth again. So we decided to re-embark on the journey minus a camera and 3 hours. Fortunately, i had carried two cameras for the trip and Abhineet made good use of the second one later on.
So, we started towards Pathankot at around 10.30. The roads were ok and we were moving at a comfortable pace. Crossed pathankot soon and continued towards Samba. A few kms of ride more and we decided to stop at a Dhaba. Had a good meal and continued towards Udhampur. We got a n excellent stretch of road for a few km and were cruising at a decent pace again. Perhaps, the good road or the heavy meal, whatever it was made us forget the right turn that we needed to take for udhampur. I had to chase Abhineet and tell him to turn around unless he wished to go via Jammu which would mean an extra 70-80 kms. Not much damage done this time, just 15 minutes of extra cruising and we took the cut to Udhampur. I had realized by this time that following an Enfield on a straight road can be a little boring and it can induce sleep :P, so going off the good roads was a welcome break (not that the roads here were bad, they were enough to keep me a little alert and not feel exerted at the same time).
Pathankot :
Random snaps after the right turn we took from Samba on the way tp Udhampur
We continued at a relaxed pace, taking sutta breaks whenever we desired. We found a pond and a tree shade so decided to take a nap there.
Slept for half an hour and continued the journey. Reached udhampur at around 4 in the evening. It started drizzling soon after and we put on our raincoats. We continued towards patnitop and the rain had actually made the route more scenic. It’s a different green soon after the rains and i took numerous breaks to try n capture the beauty.
Seasonal waterfalls came into life as well :
A few kms from Patnitop :
We continued slowly and carefully as the roads were a little muddy, slippery. Crossed patnitop and stopped at a small place called Beda for tea/sutta. It was around 7 in the evening and we were already starting to get tired. We wondered how would the next few days be with so much of riding still to come. We also had it in the back of our minds that we were 3 hours behind schedule. The roads were a mixture of good and bad from here on, a few kms of bumpy roads followed and we were driving carefully as it was already getting dark. Abhineet honked and asked me stop because he felt something had fallen off. We turned around, focused the lights on the roads and searched the nearby places but didn’t see anything, we thought it was probably just stones hitting the stand/silencer. Abhineet started to ride again and soon i caught up with him, i saw that one of the jerry cans was nowhere to be found. We didn’t see how a jerry can could have fallen off and it must’ve been at our last tea break where someone took off with the lose can.
We were tired and a little frustrated now. Also we realized that we wouldn’t be making it to Srinagar anyways. Hunger, fatigue and sleep all downed upon us from different directions. We continued riding, we had no choice, we always knew that the first day was going to be a hard day, but our adventures all along made it even more so. However, we were still trying to keep the mood up, no matter what the actual situation was.
Soon after i stopped for another sutta break near Ramban and waited for Abhineet and when i looked back i was pleasantly surprised by this :
The picture isn’t good but the actual view which was majestic indeed. The Chenab (or one of its tri looked like a silver snake meandering away in the moonlight. It definitely bought a smile to our faces. I was pretty sure we would have never witnessed this during the day. I stopped thinking about the camera, the can or the schedule and thoroughly enjoyed the ride for the next few kms. Before Banihal, we stopped at a Dhaba as it was getting late and we were hungry. It was the tastiest thali I’ve had, by far the most delicious meal on the entire trip. 40rs ki thaali worth a million bucks. Babloo ka vaishno dhaba if i remember correctly. We ate to our heart's content and even asked him to let us stay or arrange for us to sleep there. But things didn’t work out there so we had to move to Banihal which was barely 8 kms away, checked into a hotel and fell asleep.
EOD.
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