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Part V: Leh to Chandigarh.
WARNING: LONG POST!
Part V: Leh to Chandigarh.
Time taken - 3 days. Nights spent at Sarchu and Vashist.
Rider 1: "Dude you should return via Kargil, Manali route is horrible right now"
Me: "Really? How bad is it compared to this?"
Rider 1: "This is a cakewalk compared to that route.."
Rider 2: "And if you're going solo, what can I say dude, may god be with you!"
This conversation took place a few days earlier right beside a board which stated -'Highest Motorable Road of the World' where I spotted the Xbhp logo on a Helmet and KA number plates, and ended up a having brief chat with the riders. Had similar answers from almost all the drivers/riders when I asked about the route. As I was racing towards Karu at 7.00am with Leh on my rear view mirrors, the sun god was definitely not on my side. The weather was dark and gloomy. And cold.
Filled the tank till the brim at Karu, as the next pump was 330kms away at tandi. Had to enter my details at the Upshi traffic check post. They asked how many riders are behind me. None other, I said. I had to hear "aaram se jana" 5-6 times at the very least, before leaving Upshi. Road started deteriorating, but it was tarred for the most part. Weather was not improving and it started raining, albeit mildly. I didn't want to take any chances so stopped to get inside my rain pants at Rumptse. Located a STD booth and called up my parents as my next chance to do so would only be at Keylong in Himachal. The offroading began as I started climbing Tanglang La. Some parts had freshly laid tarmac, as BRO is working there. But dirt and slush were majority.
The drizzle subsided and I could finally get the camera out. But out of nowhere, a decently sized rock came down the mountain and narrowly missed the KTM. Who is throwing rocks at me in the middle of nowhere?
I looked up and spotted the culprits.
The intensity of the arid landscape of ladakh intensifies when the blue sky is absent. But so does the cold. Tanglang la climb had little chunks of ice which mixed with the rocky dirt roads, made matters worse than it looks. I was riding on almost slick tyres and had to bring my A game.
reached the top.
Met this guy from Kanpur IIRC at the top and requested him to click me with the sign board.
This view must look really amazing in good light. However, descend turned out to be worse. No mud, but extremely rocky. I was riding the Duke on the softest possible suspension setting, which is still very very stiff. I had 6ltrs of fuel in a bag tied to the backseat. Both didn't go well together and my back was in a lot of pain. I managed to withstand it till the beginning of More Plains. As I made a stop to readjust the luggage and sort out the problem, it started raining. Rain, in the cold desert of Himalayas which is in a rain shadow area. Oh well.
Rains stopped after 30 minutes or so, and things were starting to look better. Not the road though. It was graded dirt/sand. Some sections were nice, I was easily doing 60-70kph on dirt, but had to be very very careful because of the tyres. Every vehicle was leaving me with a fresh layer of Dust. The black rims of the KTM and my Black riding boots turned to light yellow.
There were these diversions which I had to take every once in a while. And they were nightmare-ish. Reason being the soft sand. Ankle deep in general, knee deep in some places. I finally managed to get stuck in one. The bike refused to move. I scanned 360 degrees. No one in the horizon. Started pushing. Regained traction at one point and made it to the dirt path again. This is where the above picture is taken as I made a stop to have some much needed water.
Weather was finally changing. I crossed a milestone which stated Pang was 15kms away, and was greeted by freshly laid tarmac. I went mad with joy.
A football field for Yetis!
The KTM, again.
The Plains ended abruptly and in the best way possible, visually.
Gorge-ous! I reached Pang around 3.30pm mark. Had maggie, tea and 20 minutes of rest. Riding the 200 Duke for hours on off road situation would challenge the patience of any rider, regardless of experience.
I left Pang at 4pm. I wanted to reach Sarchu soon. That was not to be. Roads were in terrible shape. The landscape was desolate. I didn't spot any vehicle for a couple of hours. Was getting worried. There might be a landslide or something. Took this photo after crossing Kangla Jal. But I didn't want to waste time, so was clicking very less. I was forced to ride slow.
Lachungla Top. The Nakki la climb can be seen here. It took me 3-4 minutes to get my right hand inside the glove after clicking this picture. The cold made my fingers numb.
Somewhere on Nakki la, I spotted vehicles coming from the other side. I was relieved to see them.
Tarmac started again. I was physically stressed from riding off road all day so stopped here to have a Mars bar. Sat there for 10 minutes, admiring the beauty of the place. I was forgetting to do the same since Pang because of the roads and fatigue.
This was next.
The majestic gata loops. I was finally riding it.
View from the top.
Yunam river and the loops. Everything looked majestic in the fantastic light.
KTM in the loops. The tarmac was not in good condition for cornering fun, but I wasn't complaining.
With the board after coming down.
Sarchu was near.
The sun was about to go down behind the mountains.
Came across Nikhil from Mumbai here, and asked him to click a picture of me after the introductions were over. I was too lazy to get the tripod out to click myself, or to change lenses.
The Sarchu valley.
Riding the valley in the afternoon was a refreshing experience.
After crossing the bridge on Yunam river.
I was glad to spot Sarchu, where I'd spend the night. The White dots far away are Sarchu tents.
Last view of the valley.
I actually ended up having a good time at Sarchu that night. I was too tired and too acclimatized to get AMS. Offroading for 260kms on the Duke made me really tired. Kicked back with a lager. Ended up walking up to the river which looked fantastic at night under moonlight. I had to resist the temptation of doing long exposures though, which would have drained the battery fast. I was carrying 6ltrs of Petrol which finally went where it was supposed to.
Started early the next day at 5.30am. After riding on a mix of good and bad sections, reached Baralacha La top. The Duke had coolant spill for the second time just before Baralacha, I'd suspect due to a broken bridge on the way.
Suraj Taal looked magnificent.
The Chocolate Mountains and KTM. Post Baralacha, the roads were Moto GP grade. I felt as if this stretch was waiting for me. I had the fantastic machine under me which knows how to treat the curves, the scenery and weather were at their very best, and I ended up having a real good time. Mountains now had green patches on them.
Came out of a corner and almost screeched to a halt because of these guys. Got the camera out and shot them from the saddle.
Somewhere near Jispa. I wanted to reach Rohtang soon to avoid traffic.
Lahul was like riding inside a huge garden which someone has put together with care. I enjoyed it more than Kashmir. After spending time in Ladakh, the greenery was pleasing to the eye.
Reached Tandi with more than half tank of fuel. The Duke returned a mileage of 43kmpl on Karu-Tandi stretch. Hence, this stretch can be done without extra fuel. But I wouldn't recommend that to any Duke owner. Bad stretches around tandi again. Had brunch at keylong and phone started working again.
Khoksar had unique landscape. Looked fantastic.
Reached Rohtang top. Climb was broken again. Now I had the option of doing a fast spiti run, but chose not to for quite a few reasons. But mainly, I didn't want to put my beloved KTM through more off road sections.
Traffic. Landslide. Everything seemed very chaotic. This mud turned knee deep for a stretch near rani nullah. Some of you might know what I'm talking about. If you don't, you can find tons of youtube videos of rohtang slush. I would have loved to have a picture of that, but I could not stop for one. I managed to clear it without much wheelspin. Tyres of Duke are slick, but fat. That helped.
Rohtang.
After the battle of Rohtang slush. Notice how much loose the chain had become due to riding off road.
I went straight to Vashist, thanks to Ken da's tip. And how right he was. Fanststic view from my room's balcony. Celebrated the completion of the ride(well almost) with good food.
Woke up to rain the next morning. Decided to wait it out. Waited till 11am. It got worse. Started the day's ride to Chandigarh with heavy rainfall.
Rains subsided after riding for an hour or so. Clicked a picture with the pine trees.
Apple orchards and Duke.
Yes, apples. At this point, I had spent two weeks with the KTM in the hills, riding almost every day for 7-12 hours. I could control it better than ever. Result, I was scraping the footpegs at almost every corner. At times I really had to make effort not to ruin my orazo picus boots. And this continued throughout the day.
I was surprised to find this. They were surprised to see me as well. KTM Mandi, only outlet of Himachal, and closest KTM workshop to Ladakh. As it turns out, it opened only a week prior to my arrival there. I was their first service customer. They wanted to do a checkup of the bike. I allowed them to. 15kms later, it started making noise because the nincompoops tightened it too much without keeping 5-7mm of play and without adding lube. I got my chain spray out, but the canister was almost empty. Located a local garage and had to apply SAE 90.
Clicked the last sunset from the saddle.
4 lane highway started 70kms before Chandigarh. Was attacked by bugs of Punjab, but the clear visor of my SOL saved me again and I finished the ride safely. Packed the bike next day and left it with my transporter, and caught my flight back home with severe Himalayan hangover.
WARNING: LONG POST!
Part V: Leh to Chandigarh.
Time taken - 3 days. Nights spent at Sarchu and Vashist.
Rider 1: "Dude you should return via Kargil, Manali route is horrible right now"
Me: "Really? How bad is it compared to this?"
Rider 1: "This is a cakewalk compared to that route.."
Rider 2: "And if you're going solo, what can I say dude, may god be with you!"
This conversation took place a few days earlier right beside a board which stated -'Highest Motorable Road of the World' where I spotted the Xbhp logo on a Helmet and KA number plates, and ended up a having brief chat with the riders. Had similar answers from almost all the drivers/riders when I asked about the route. As I was racing towards Karu at 7.00am with Leh on my rear view mirrors, the sun god was definitely not on my side. The weather was dark and gloomy. And cold.
Filled the tank till the brim at Karu, as the next pump was 330kms away at tandi. Had to enter my details at the Upshi traffic check post. They asked how many riders are behind me. None other, I said. I had to hear "aaram se jana" 5-6 times at the very least, before leaving Upshi. Road started deteriorating, but it was tarred for the most part. Weather was not improving and it started raining, albeit mildly. I didn't want to take any chances so stopped to get inside my rain pants at Rumptse. Located a STD booth and called up my parents as my next chance to do so would only be at Keylong in Himachal. The offroading began as I started climbing Tanglang La. Some parts had freshly laid tarmac, as BRO is working there. But dirt and slush were majority.
The drizzle subsided and I could finally get the camera out. But out of nowhere, a decently sized rock came down the mountain and narrowly missed the KTM. Who is throwing rocks at me in the middle of nowhere?
I looked up and spotted the culprits.
The intensity of the arid landscape of ladakh intensifies when the blue sky is absent. But so does the cold. Tanglang la climb had little chunks of ice which mixed with the rocky dirt roads, made matters worse than it looks. I was riding on almost slick tyres and had to bring my A game.
reached the top.
Met this guy from Kanpur IIRC at the top and requested him to click me with the sign board.
This view must look really amazing in good light. However, descend turned out to be worse. No mud, but extremely rocky. I was riding the Duke on the softest possible suspension setting, which is still very very stiff. I had 6ltrs of fuel in a bag tied to the backseat. Both didn't go well together and my back was in a lot of pain. I managed to withstand it till the beginning of More Plains. As I made a stop to readjust the luggage and sort out the problem, it started raining. Rain, in the cold desert of Himalayas which is in a rain shadow area. Oh well.
Rains stopped after 30 minutes or so, and things were starting to look better. Not the road though. It was graded dirt/sand. Some sections were nice, I was easily doing 60-70kph on dirt, but had to be very very careful because of the tyres. Every vehicle was leaving me with a fresh layer of Dust. The black rims of the KTM and my Black riding boots turned to light yellow.
There were these diversions which I had to take every once in a while. And they were nightmare-ish. Reason being the soft sand. Ankle deep in general, knee deep in some places. I finally managed to get stuck in one. The bike refused to move. I scanned 360 degrees. No one in the horizon. Started pushing. Regained traction at one point and made it to the dirt path again. This is where the above picture is taken as I made a stop to have some much needed water.
Weather was finally changing. I crossed a milestone which stated Pang was 15kms away, and was greeted by freshly laid tarmac. I went mad with joy.
A football field for Yetis!
The KTM, again.
The Plains ended abruptly and in the best way possible, visually.
Gorge-ous! I reached Pang around 3.30pm mark. Had maggie, tea and 20 minutes of rest. Riding the 200 Duke for hours on off road situation would challenge the patience of any rider, regardless of experience.
I left Pang at 4pm. I wanted to reach Sarchu soon. That was not to be. Roads were in terrible shape. The landscape was desolate. I didn't spot any vehicle for a couple of hours. Was getting worried. There might be a landslide or something. Took this photo after crossing Kangla Jal. But I didn't want to waste time, so was clicking very less. I was forced to ride slow.
Lachungla Top. The Nakki la climb can be seen here. It took me 3-4 minutes to get my right hand inside the glove after clicking this picture. The cold made my fingers numb.
Somewhere on Nakki la, I spotted vehicles coming from the other side. I was relieved to see them.
Tarmac started again. I was physically stressed from riding off road all day so stopped here to have a Mars bar. Sat there for 10 minutes, admiring the beauty of the place. I was forgetting to do the same since Pang because of the roads and fatigue.
This was next.
The majestic gata loops. I was finally riding it.
View from the top.
Yunam river and the loops. Everything looked majestic in the fantastic light.
KTM in the loops. The tarmac was not in good condition for cornering fun, but I wasn't complaining.
With the board after coming down.
Sarchu was near.
The sun was about to go down behind the mountains.
Came across Nikhil from Mumbai here, and asked him to click a picture of me after the introductions were over. I was too lazy to get the tripod out to click myself, or to change lenses.
The Sarchu valley.
Riding the valley in the afternoon was a refreshing experience.
After crossing the bridge on Yunam river.
I was glad to spot Sarchu, where I'd spend the night. The White dots far away are Sarchu tents.
Last view of the valley.
I actually ended up having a good time at Sarchu that night. I was too tired and too acclimatized to get AMS. Offroading for 260kms on the Duke made me really tired. Kicked back with a lager. Ended up walking up to the river which looked fantastic at night under moonlight. I had to resist the temptation of doing long exposures though, which would have drained the battery fast. I was carrying 6ltrs of Petrol which finally went where it was supposed to.
Started early the next day at 5.30am. After riding on a mix of good and bad sections, reached Baralacha La top. The Duke had coolant spill for the second time just before Baralacha, I'd suspect due to a broken bridge on the way.
Suraj Taal looked magnificent.
The Chocolate Mountains and KTM. Post Baralacha, the roads were Moto GP grade. I felt as if this stretch was waiting for me. I had the fantastic machine under me which knows how to treat the curves, the scenery and weather were at their very best, and I ended up having a real good time. Mountains now had green patches on them.
Came out of a corner and almost screeched to a halt because of these guys. Got the camera out and shot them from the saddle.
Somewhere near Jispa. I wanted to reach Rohtang soon to avoid traffic.
Lahul was like riding inside a huge garden which someone has put together with care. I enjoyed it more than Kashmir. After spending time in Ladakh, the greenery was pleasing to the eye.
Reached Tandi with more than half tank of fuel. The Duke returned a mileage of 43kmpl on Karu-Tandi stretch. Hence, this stretch can be done without extra fuel. But I wouldn't recommend that to any Duke owner. Bad stretches around tandi again. Had brunch at keylong and phone started working again.
Khoksar had unique landscape. Looked fantastic.
Reached Rohtang top. Climb was broken again. Now I had the option of doing a fast spiti run, but chose not to for quite a few reasons. But mainly, I didn't want to put my beloved KTM through more off road sections.
Traffic. Landslide. Everything seemed very chaotic. This mud turned knee deep for a stretch near rani nullah. Some of you might know what I'm talking about. If you don't, you can find tons of youtube videos of rohtang slush. I would have loved to have a picture of that, but I could not stop for one. I managed to clear it without much wheelspin. Tyres of Duke are slick, but fat. That helped.
Rohtang.
After the battle of Rohtang slush. Notice how much loose the chain had become due to riding off road.
I went straight to Vashist, thanks to Ken da's tip. And how right he was. Fanststic view from my room's balcony. Celebrated the completion of the ride(well almost) with good food.
Woke up to rain the next morning. Decided to wait it out. Waited till 11am. It got worse. Started the day's ride to Chandigarh with heavy rainfall.
Rains subsided after riding for an hour or so. Clicked a picture with the pine trees.
Apple orchards and Duke.
Yes, apples. At this point, I had spent two weeks with the KTM in the hills, riding almost every day for 7-12 hours. I could control it better than ever. Result, I was scraping the footpegs at almost every corner. At times I really had to make effort not to ruin my orazo picus boots. And this continued throughout the day.
I was surprised to find this. They were surprised to see me as well. KTM Mandi, only outlet of Himachal, and closest KTM workshop to Ladakh. As it turns out, it opened only a week prior to my arrival there. I was their first service customer. They wanted to do a checkup of the bike. I allowed them to. 15kms later, it started making noise because the nincompoops tightened it too much without keeping 5-7mm of play and without adding lube. I got my chain spray out, but the canister was almost empty. Located a local garage and had to apply SAE 90.
Clicked the last sunset from the saddle.
4 lane highway started 70kms before Chandigarh. Was attacked by bugs of Punjab, but the clear visor of my SOL saved me again and I finished the ride safely. Packed the bike next day and left it with my transporter, and caught my flight back home with severe Himalayan hangover.
But I don't remember though, too many white SUVs/MUVs ply there. 
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