Re: Untold Story of the Best "Dream Ride" around Cold Frozen Deserts of Ladakh in 200

Awesome log :O i just wanna quit my job and trace the roads youve been to

Re: Untold Story of the Best "Dream Ride" around Cold Frozen Deserts of Ladakh in 200

Back to immaculate condition

Re: Untold Story of the Best "Dream Ride" around Cold Frozen Deserts of Ladakh in 200

Extremely unacceptable service What actions did you take to make them repent on their service?? This has always been worst of my fears - transferring vehicles. After all the promises if anything happens to the vehicle at the end, they are least bothered and we are hardly in a position to take action. 'Going by the looks of the agent, I do not think he had the slightest idea, what those machines were' I guess there should be some kind of stamped MoU signed by both party stating that in case of even the smallest dent from the service provider, he will be charged for the same. Sigh!!!

Well, that was just my bit. Please continue this awesomeness!!!

Re: Untold Story of the Best "Dream Ride" around Cold Frozen Deserts of Ladakh in 200

Sorry sir no Permits to most places or routs we took now, I was denied in 2012, stayed in Leh for 5 days disappointed the didn't get permits!!

Yes 40K INR + 6 months of running around to different places
No Man Haven't done Anything, dont want to go to the place as I am sure to lose control and the result will not be good for any body.
Best to forgive & forget but not sure if these guys are worth that you see, I surely don't want this to be repeated to others.



June19th the Actual Trip began,

at a water channel between Chandigarh to Manali

A kit beats the heat & tempts us all sweating in our Riding gear


From now on for quite some time I had to find a stone to park my bike for quite some days



Nice refreshment in middle of nowhere just before sunset


Sunset


That's Chethan in his 200 (then newly launched)


My bike notice the stone on the stand




Tunnel en-route


Dam at night, we had to press-on to catchup lost time


20th June Manali to Rothang:
Some Dev joined us from Manali to Leh in his Balero, he resembled like the Barsath Movie Hero



Where we stayed for like 6 hours or so



Fuel & backup vehicle for us


Now we are the foothills & the Trip Began


Small such trickles dots all the way to the top














Looks what each one carried on the bikes, it was really great to have a backup vehicle & a teammate to ride bike just in case.
I was carrying a hot water bottle, liner, my Cannon rebel XTI with 18-55 kit lens & the 20-200 F2.8 IS USM in it. It was really Great to ride without extra luggage but have access to everything you need when need be. would Highly recommend it to any who want to do a similar trip.



Never could see the entire range with so much fog





Look at the number of falls!!


Some birds from the Cannon Lens


No Fence, Slush road that winds up & our vehicles are gasping for breath & want to be kept above 6K RPM (Power band)





Now we add Fog to the equation



The Pulsar has happy going in the front




Finally had to pullover to tune the bike as cannot continue like this, after this it was much better. Thank god we came prepared with Vacuum carb sync's
But didn't have a AFR meter or a non contact tacho to tune it perfectly did it by looking at the DMM battery voltage that directionally proportional to RMP.



Our tools kit









Notice the number of crash guards it looks almost like an Octopus !! but was useful, checking my lean angles, providing me alternate foot rest place & keeping my ride relatively safe in the transport




Beauty Vs the Beast !!









At the top


The other side of Rothang was a Jaw dropping Breath taking out of the world experience for me.
First time felt the Majestic Himalayan range!



That's the Sun, no Photoshop gymnastics, as seen by us




All of a sudden in less than a couple of seconds the clouds clear & we are AWESTRUCK by the view literally Jaws open no words, what a view no words can explain it all this time we were on a a climb with no clear view,



How I wonder what if I had my current iPhone4 with HD video or better the Hero3 gopro that I have just ordred!!







Oh yes this is me in my field shear jacket & Cramster pants, Studds Ninja helmet.




Roads were slushy Muddy & slippery thanks to my Micheline pilot sports Front 120-60-17 Rear 160-60-17, they never slipped


Ice cold water, yes it no pot hole, don't know what to call it, there were many like this Only manage to capture some as we need to stop remove cam from tank bag, then again put it in, lots of over head






We reach Late at night to Keylong at 10 pm, the last stretch had no roads complete dark & slowed our average speed significantly even with inverted telescopic shocks our arms were pretty tired

Re: Untold Story of the Best "Dream Ride" around Cold Frozen Deserts of Ladakh in 200

Awesome pics again, But now i am more amazed with your preparation over your trip. At that time Comet was literally gone out of India into trash, but your bikes and preparation shows comet lived even in 2008-2009 times...Thumbs-UP!!

Re: Untold Story of the Best "Dream Ride" around Cold Frozen Deserts of Ladakh in 200

[MENTION=9203]hisunil[/MENTION] : i must salute the spirit & the determination of u & ur friends.
awesome log & spellbinding fotos.
had a dirty feeling of somebody scraping my heart with a nail, when i saw what had happened to ur machines during the transportation.
my bike suffered similar fate when transporting from mumbai to chennai & i had the ass of that transport company for breakfast thereafter.
dragged them to the court.
finally they agreed to pay up for every penny of the damage, for the fear of loss of credibility - well scr*w them.
years later when i was to relocate back to mumbai, i rode the bike instead of getting it transported!
since that day, i've lost faith in any transport company tending to ur vehicle as if it were their own... simply never happens.
ride safe my friend!

Re: Untold Story of the Best "Dream Ride" around Cold Frozen Deserts of Ladakh in 200

Sir, The GT-250 Comet is a really good bike, All the trip it gave NO Issues what soever even after all the abuse. Have had it since 2005 & can vouch for the same.


Thanks whymail, I call my bike Spirit after the horse in the movie Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron

The Log continues ...
21st July From Keylong on word to Pang











Prabhu as usual splashing through a Nala , the ICE cold water that enters your shoes remains their for next couple of hours & make you very uncomfortable, Best is to use Gum boots & ride slow but study @ higher revs


One Jeep / Truck is enough to Powder coat you in mm's of Dust layer






The Views in Jespa were breath taking, Manali to Jespa is Beautiful Lush greenery beyond Jespa its a barren desert


Prabhu trying to water proof his shoes






2lane 2x2 formation that we rode in.









Notice the state of my tyers & Rim, think about the dust in my break pads & Chain !! we used to constantly lubricate the chain



The Tricolor kept fluttering all the trip, just love to see it do that.

This was the typical setup, the tank bag had Water bottle accessible, we bought bottled water, put it in boiling water, heated it & carried one bottle each, every stop just have a sip, it helps blood circulation, improve O2 content, Hydrate your body, Apply lip guard, to avoid cracks





Pashmina goats en rout







Our Amphibian Prabhu taking bath in the ICE COLD water wonder whats with him & Water, I didn't even touch water.









If you will have a puncture this a good chance its here, we sae a RX100 flat





Notice the Flag Fluttering, that was the case All the trip, I love to see that happen, it fluttered so much that all the threading in side the mirror slot that was used as flag post were spoil !!

Fantastic roads in ghata loops just before Barlach Top, We did a mistake here, got over enthusiastic, I had stopped to remove my center stand (seen in pics thus-far but not from now on) to take advantage of the nice twisters as the stand was scraping, Mean while others continued and took an off roading path straight up the hill cutting all the curves!, What a mistake it was. Bikes couldn't clime it, some fell and started bleeding with bodily green fluids coming out of it, we also smelt clutch burn & white smoke come out of engine.

By the time we pulled all the 4 bikes out of the path back on to the road, we were exhausted by all the push pull commotion, panting for breath & I was like literally lying flat on the road staring at the sky, trying to catchup some breath. Later one of us traveled to the Jeep & sent Engine Oil via someone coming back, gave rest for the bikes, refilled engine oil and now it moves when in gear & clutch engaged.

From now on due to the exertion all 4 of us on the bikes were gripped by AMS, I don't know how we reached pang! didn't take any pics at all.
Some were feeling like vomiting, some were daisy, one of even was going blank / blind momentarily, All the while I just kept telling myself
not to Vomit not to give up, Fall is not an Option and reached Pang.

Here we were welled cared for by the Tent ladies, all I remember is having garlic soup to improve O2 levels
one by one each was going out of the tent to vomit, finally I couldn't control & vomited too, it felt so much better after it.
Mohn Das in the Jeep was thankfully in his senses, non of the others were, we were very week daisy & irritable.
Fighting & Shouting at the slightest cause. Mohan took us one after the other to the nearby military camp, where we saw a doctor, were given 5 mins of O2 each and some tablets,
Back in the camp slept like crazy, didn't know where the bike is, where my luggage key, purse phone or camera is!!
Haven't thanked Mohan doss for this til now, A Big Thanks to him & the people in the Pang tent who took care of us like family!
have been to Pang twice after this episode, every time I visit them & thank them, they do-not even remember about it
Now I know how close a call it was as going blank is just before brain hamerage!! we were lucky to have received some medical help.















Had seviear Head ache here




En route to Pang, we saw a Gang of Foreigners riding bullets & ripping it apart, standing on the foot pegs, riding the Bulls like horses !!!







22nd June

We felt much better, but the headache still humming in






Look what the Moor Planes did to our bikes, One of the foreigners from France traveling alone joined us.
at one place the sand was so deep that my bike sunk in to it till the level of my tank bag !!!, I was wondering if I got in to a quick sand or what, Cut the gear Rive hard, de clutch the bike, will be in the same place, a cloud of sand will just cross you then the bike will slowly start propelling thought the sand more like a motor boat in water !!!



Prabhus, Off roding tyer cam in handy , he just tore through the sand roads


Adding Octain booster to help improve combustion


View of Tanglang La (T-Top)





Reminds me of Jungle book & Wolfs howling from the top of the peak





that's Me Ride Pity the state of it !! Have to give to Micheline pilot sports Not a single puncture or slip


Sunit Arrives in his Comet (with a tail of dust )


he is the French Guy who joined us, by profession is a guitar player I believe He had more than 3 falls when he was ryding with us !!


Bright sky, Clouds moving swiftly, no noise no sound, just sheer Bliss




The Red Rider & his Red Ride with His Red Helmet !!Its a Pleasure riding with Sumith as he is very accommodating and flows with he group. A True-Blue Group rider


What a View the clouds shadows just glide past the mountain surface feeling all the mountain ranges




Every time you stop the bike, bring it to a stand still, starting again is a Issue at low temperatures & low O2 levels




Here we had to wait for like 20 minutes for the road to be cleared, Chethan lost his camera here as we left it behind on a rock when we moved out of here, we came back searching for it, but alas didn't find it, he lost his debit card credit card, license & pan card with it. Thank god he had a copy of his DL & the passport in an other place


I can only Pity taking a street bike on a Off road trip, but had to do it once. at least once.
Want to get back to this trip & more on a GS1200R BMW folks are you listning!!


First views of GYA form here on the ride is flat smooth & very scenic till LEH, no more passes





Greenery coming back on the river banks


GYA Gompa / Monetarist / Buddhist Temple







Cant believe the ride man one of the best stretches, the View is AWESOME, just cant trust your eves, how the color of mountains change


This is not digitally altered, it really is so colorful there








Some Birds En route, didn't do a lot of justice for birding this trip as was mostly out of energy & lack of time (as always even on a leisure trip)


Hoppy in flight Near LEH hotel










Finally we are in Leh our base camp, now the core part of the trip starts

Re: Untold Story of the Best "Dream Ride" around Cold Frozen Deserts of Ladakh in 200

Went through the triplog in single sitting. Great shots and narration too.

It reminded me of my trip to Ladakh in 2010

Waiting for the rest of the log.

Re: Untold Story of the Best "Dream Ride" around Cold Frozen Deserts of Ladakh in 200

Great Pics again....Awesoem sets of pics bro!!

Re: Untold Story of the Best "Dream Ride" around Cold Frozen Deserts of Ladakh in 200

very nice captures,,, BTW do post on your ride's performance in those terrains, seems like your expectations were not met!!!

Good one,,,very nice.. Guess am gonna hafta contact you for the suing process Alas, "Enlightenment"

Re: Untold Story of the Best "Dream Ride" around Cold Frozen Deserts of Ladakh in 200

he he he have some good friends & close relatives working as lawyers... benefits of the trade ;-)

Re: Untold Story of the Best "Dream Ride" around Cold Frozen Deserts of Ladakh in 200

Wow. What a journey & fantastic pics.

Re: Untold Story of the Best "Dream Ride" around Cold Frozen Deserts of Ladakh in 200

U r flowing through this thread with ur interesting ride pics and log very very fast :P .. First time seeing some one trying to write up things so fast

& I guess you had some beautiful experience riding there which can be remembered for years

Re: Untold Story of the Best "Dream Ride" around Cold Frozen Deserts of Ladakh in 200

very nice thread to surf across ......... man u guys were lucky in '08

Re: Untold Story of the Best "Dream Ride" around Cold Frozen Deserts of Ladakh in 200

Thanks, here it comes

Thanks

Thanks

Sir 5 years Old trip, I have some comments in Picasa that helps remind me too.

Yes Very luck to pack so much in just one trip that too first one. That's why its a Dream Trip & Best one so far.



The next day we stayed in LEH trying to return our bikes, Some of them removed the restrictions on K&N filter,
I raised my Carb needles & Synced the two again, we also got some key made in a very interesting way.

Getting the permits was Fun, The Office folks had not heard of Marsmic La o Chumur!! they then directed me to the
DC who also was surprised to see the names & didnt know about the places back then, finally got the permits.

We had mentioned all the places like Kardungla, Pangong, Hanle, chushul, chumur, neoma, loma, nubra & hunder too
The Legendary Regzin sir with his Scorpio joined us.


View of Shanthi Stupha form our hotel




Where we stayed https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-zKv38ZPW4JI/SJ0KsUgee4I/AAAAAAAABTY/_xKq1fG8Qvw/s720/IMG_1428.JPG[/IMG]

I have a better recommendation for people who want to visit Leh, I stayed in the below hotel in my 2012 trip
The service in the below hotel is just like home away from home, were warm people & you can refer me as the Family that stayed for 5 day's & came in the Black Jeep Gurkha.



The Alu porata in Karu is Yummy, Regzin Sir was late as some stone got in to Rim & he had permits in the car so we waited for him here



The Air pum came handy




View en route to pangong Lake just after Karu





Line up on a bright clear day. waiting for the Scorpio to join in
they had some Issue with a pebble getting in to the break drum!!




thats not Mask of Zorro !! its a Steep Road !!



Changla (C-top)


You get free hot tea here, that just what you need to refresh yourself. just remember to wash the glass & put it back there,











Frozen Pond, would have loved to go there but we were in a hurry to cross Pagal Nala (Crazy Stream) as it will overflow later in the day (which it did any way by the time we reached it)



More closeup of the frozen pond, one place I would have loved to spend more time









Believe it or not This is the a Road !!! thats pagal nana (Crazy stream) that has broken 3 bridges built over it till date, the water is very unpredictable & even Military vehicles like the the stallion & Titan cannot cross this. had to stay back today & try tomorrow before 7:00 am when the water level is low as the glacier have not started melting





This is the entrance road



Prabhu on the way back to stay for the night across a smaller stream Cooling his frustration that we couldn't get to Panngong today



Sumit

This Place run by Nam Gayal is a 5 star in middle of nowhere!!


The Toilet here in the mids of no where was surprisingly sparkling clean!! Neat flush & stuff, Meera Bharath Mahan. don't miss staying here its a very very peace full hospitable clean & safe place

He gave us a tour of his family utilitarians that he wants to create a museum.
some couple of centuries Old kitchen that servers as a museum here now.







Thsi is Nam Gayal the owner of the place in his working kitchen Most utensils are made up of Copper or Brass !!
he is very Humble When & if you meet him remind him of the bike gang & Sunil (that me)




he grows his own vegetables in a small plastic enclosure, was kind of stunned by this guy as he is so very self sufficient, runs a hotel, grows vegetables, maintains a museum, runs a Hotel, has Animal husbandry has a 4x4 Jeep to ferry stuff all int he mids of nowhere



This is Chethan & his cool looks



Some Agriculture activity that they do behind the camps was lovely to walk around & spend time in the fields. Sumith took off & came back after an hour or so, thanks to Paghal Nala or we wouldn't have stayed here but rushed to Pangong.




Man this Man is toooooo much. he is RegZin Our driver for the next 12 days in his Scorpio. every chance he gets to stop he will start cleaning & wiping the Car/SUV.
Look at how clean the Scorpio is in side the bonnet its a 6 year old vehicle. in the dusty hills



Crossing Pagal Nala next day in the morning, yes that the only road to reach Pangong lake

Chethan & Prabhu crossing the Nala





Sumith having tough time with stock Shikon tyers (good for nothing) on the comet. Our Driver (the one with the cap) watching him, wondering how to help. Notice his leg in the water, that hit for the next 2 to 3 hours he will be feeling ICE cold in the shoes,



Now Sumit is really stuck & almost out of balance holding the 180+ Kgs bike with slippery tyres



See how our man holds on the wrong side (on the left side of the bike not the back) & pushes Sumith down !!!, he helped Sumith , this was Sumiths first fall in the trip & when I went to help him lift the bike, he was sitting in the water with his hand holing his head repenting what happened how he fell off !!



A Qualis stuck



First view of the Beautifully Gorgeous Virgin Pangong lake a must see for any one.


thats Prabhu




View on my rear view which remained smiler for the next 2 days !!




My bike en route to Pobrang on the way to Marsmic La (M-top) (the toughest Highest no roar road) on Planet earth, My dream to conquer my confidence by riding on it


Is that Prabhu Still there near the lake? !!



Kind of Love this pic for the colors, shadows & background



Pobrang village Last one near China Border



Some encryption in the gate of Army camps



A dead Calf that did not decay as no insects or bacteria here & its so cold & Sunny, its like preserved the body intact. spooky to see it up close. All fluids dried up



En route to Marsmic La approximately 19,000 feet



Hill after hill mountain after mountain the road never ends it just keeps on coming, its 25 kms from Pobring Army base



We would ofter get hit by AMS (Acute Mountain sickness) & were forced to rest flat on the ground. give the bikes a rest too from the constant climb.
Thats Me lying down for a break, waiting for others to join in.



yes this the Mud path or Road all the way. just gravel & pebbles up hill

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-zvWCwY0MP1A/SJ7nNNIH8lI/AAAAAAAABas/qJlVx1fXSA8/s512/IMG_1622.jpg[/IMG]

Finally at M-la Top, Chethan just wouldn't let go of the board
20kms beyond this is Chines border, you could be shot fir you cross M-La to the other side !!




The last 2 kms or so is Very Very steep & rocky. if you come to a stand still its very difficult to get in to motion back as you bike will stall & if you rev hard their will be no traction. Some confusion here, looks like Prabhu was waiting for us. Chethan had the best performing bike the P200 Our Comets were gasping for breath. he was the first to reach M-Top





This is Me bike on M-Top. A Dream Come True for Me. Its been modified with a 50T sprocket (46 std), X ring Chain, K&N free flow Air filter, iridium Spark plugs, Needle raised carbs, Motule 10w55 300V Oil. after the resync of carbs in LEH I could ride it all the way to M-top without any problem sitting on it.

Me & My Ride. Meditated near the Shiva temple for a couple of minutes, Tears of joy run loose after many many years ....
Badly wanted to visit htis place on 2012 but alas Ankchuk the DC will not allow Me, When insisted & said I have been there before
threatened to notify IB to see why I was so interested to go back there!!! asked me to get referral from home ministry for permits!!





Was Happy to see him on board. was wondering if only 50% of the gang made it to the top.




Prabhu's comet on M-Top


A Small Shiva Temple on Top. I want to go there Again at least once!!


My Watch showing Altitude in meters



GPS Altitude readout 5536M from a Nokia phone. on the way back from Mtop



I was kind of sad that Sumith didn't make it to the top when we saw at the distant far a small dot that turned out to be the Scorpio & behind it Sumith Hurra ,,, we cheered him all the way up, He had issues due to Bad tyres I believe.


Sumith crawling his way up, riving hard on the comet Negotiating gravel up hill he had actually given up. but when he saw the Scipio push further he managed to tag along & finally made it



We all came back again
All 4 bikes on Top, thats quite an achievement


This is the first time any Scipio has made it to the top, it broke its coil spring in the rear, dumped all our bags to loose weight on the way up hill took numerous stops up hill facing the wind direction with bonnet open to cool down & carried on again and again with a Never die sprite & a highly spirited driver our own Regzin sir!!


look at the wide Grin on Prabhu's face


Turbo charged Scorpio & Super charged Driver Regzin Hats off to him, he is a local & served in the Army for 5+ years was posted here too but never came here in his Scorpio first time & may be the last too



On the way back down hill was relatively easy





Me refueling the bike on the way back




A Swift river on the banks of which we spent some time relaxing & had our snack

Some Beautiful pics come now on hold your breath



Pangong Lake Salt water Lake @ 4,250 m (13,900 ft)


The Lake is 134 km (83.3 mi) long and extends in India to Chinese Border


Love to see th Flag Flutter


Look at the color of the lake its Cristal clear & Supports no life in it.







Cheers
Sunil