Re: From scorching heat to freezing cold! A ride of a lifetime! (Nagpur - Leh - Delhi

yeah, that pic shows the real thing!

well, what surprised us most was that the bikes were really fun to ride on the straight highway.. but as soon as we started climbing, the misfiring and stuff started, which shows that they suffered badly with increasing altitude. The bikes were just a month old.
We had also met a couple of riders from Bangalore who had come on their bikes. They too agreed to the misfiring on high altitude issue on their bikes.
I also didn't like the brakes much. They were sharp at low speeds but average at higher speeds. The stock tyres too were not confidence inspiring. But, I really won't be able to say much more on this. You should ask someone who went to Ladakh on an NS first hand.

Re: From scorching heat to freezing cold! A ride of a lifetime! (Nagpur - Leh - Delhi


I thank you for taking out time and answering my query, will look for a piece on 200NS up a treacherous trail for further understanding.

Re: From scorching heat to freezing cold! A ride of a lifetime! (Nagpur - Leh - Delhi

Two days of relaxation and local sightseeing:

After having discussed the idea of heading towards Pangong on our own bikes with Amogh and my family, who by then were missing us guys badly and wanted us to come home soon, we planned to cancel the idea of going there altogether. Added to these reasons, the weather in Leh had deteriorated and it was raining continuously and we could see the thick blanket of mist surrounding the nearby mountains. So, we planned to stay there and ended up doing absolutely nothing all day that day. At night too, the conditions were showing no signs of improving, so we decided to postpone the plan of beginning our return journey the next morning.

The next day, the weather had improved slightly, so we decided to do some local sightseeing and making our final preparations for the return leg of our journey via Manali, which we heard would be the worst leg of our journey.

The more interesting part is the one once we start riding. So, I would not go in too deep on those two days and will skip to the day we planned to leave Leh.

Some pics of Leh:



Some famous temple!





As lazy as the dog!


Confused Rider!


Hall of Fame..


Will add more pics of Leh Palace here...


The return journey begins: Leh - Sarchu:

Whatever said and done, from all the people we had asked, the roads ahead were going to be extremely bad and challenging. We had a few new purchases to help us for what may lay ahead. Till now we hadn't felt the need, but so as not to be taking any chances, we bought ourselves a pair of gumboots and a trampoline sheet which we thought could be useful in a worst case scenario.

Also, there were not many petrol pumps on the route from Leh-Manali, so we also purchased two five-liter cans in which we filled 4 liters of fuel each, which, along with the full tanks on our bikes, would surely last till Manali.

Before the ride even began, we had asked around and had finalized three places we could ride to that day. Either Pang, which is ~180kms from Leh, the other was Sarchu and the third was Kyelong. Kyelong was the farthest from Leh, at 350 odd.

We had planned to leave asap in the morning. After paying the hotel bills, we ran short on cash and had to withdraw cash from the ATM, which delayed our departure, clubbed with the difficulty I was facing with securing the petrol can onto the saree guard using nylon straps, which we had stocked from Nagpur itself.
As I had removed the foot rest from the saree guard (you can do that on an R15 V1), the can didn't have any support and had to secured completely by the straps only, we left the city around 9:45 AM.









Before leaving, we ate a cheese croissant and a donut from the German Bakery in the main market. It was really good to say the least!




I was thoroughly enjoying riding my own bike again that day. The ride was going on smoothly.

Soon, we reached Karu. At the roadside there, I was amazed when I saw a ninja 250R, a CBR250, a P220, an avenger and two bullets, parked and the riders nearby, probably eating something at the hotel. (we later on become very good friends with them) But at that time, we were really running short on time and although I wanted to stop and talk to them, Amogh signaled that we should carry on, and so we did. I'm pretty sure they had seen us too.

Having that little kid mentality in us, we didn't want them to overtake us at any time so we were keeping our pace!
But we had to stop as the the roads (as expected) had deteriorated slightly and (as expected) the petrol can on my bike had come loose and there was a chance of the nylon strap getting pulled into the chain while riding. The scenery and weather were epic! The river flowing besides the road had water that was red in color! Probably due to the soil there! It was really beautiful, unless there was a mass murder there the previous day! The spirits at that time were high and although the roads were becoming worse, we were cool with it because by then, we had quite some experience riding on such roads. We were constantly motivated to keep moving as I didn't want to see a Ninja and CBR coming in my RVMs...








By then we had began gaining altitude, and the temperatures were falling! We weren't exactly well prepared for the cold at that moment. All I was wearing under my riding jacket was the thermal liner and a T-shirt! Anyway, I thought that I would manage.



A few locals! "Julley" they say!

As we neared Taglangla Pass, we encountered fresh snow on the roadside, and just could not resist taking a few snaps there!












Also, while we were there, both Amogh and I changed our riding gloves with those "skiing gloves" which we had purchased in Leh City for around Rs.150! Atleast they were much warmer than the Cramsters and DSGs!
This stop costed us precious time and this was when the group of riders we saw before overtook us! When they crossed us, we waved at them, gave them, specially the Ninja guy a thumbs up. As the CBR guy crossed me, he asked us whether everything was okay, and that I felt was a really good gesture!

After a few more minutes of playing in the snow, we took off.

Almost immediately we caught up with the bulleteers in their group, who had slowed down for the extremely treacherous patch of road that lay ahead. There was slush, water, snow and what not! Still, not that much of a challenge, I thought.
As it is, before any pass and after the pass, the roads are supposed to be pathetic. So, this patch was in indication that Taglangla was not far ahead.

As we neared the top, the temperatures were freezing cold and almost extremely uncomfortable! The group that crossed us were already there, taking pictures and stuff!

Unlike what I was expecting, there was nothing, no tea stall no hotel or anything at the top.

By then, it started snowing and the visibility dropped significantly. So, we Amogh and I decided to quickly take a few snaps, just "for the record" and leave as soon as possible.





As I was about to leave, I noticed the xBhp sticker on the CBR and waved to him and showed him the sticker on my bike!
I don't think he understood what I was trying to say!

We were the first to leave, so were in the lead again! The roads ahead were the worst we had encountered till then on that day and probably the second worst, after the K-top roads.

Riding on slush was new for us. It is a totally different game altogether! You are almost constantly slipping, trying hard to maintain a line!
We, as bikers tend to concentrate a lot and choose the most appropriate patch of road to ride on, which we deem as the best possible path. And, for me at that moment the path was in the right lane, in the way of oncoming traffic(if any). But, as it had to be, there were a few trucks inbound and they were not showing any signs of slowing down/changing lane to avoid hitting me!

You know the trucks have two wheels on either side at the rear?
When they travel on slush, the slush rises in between the gap between the pairs of wheels on either side, leaving a kind of a bike-un-crossable, 'Toblerone' shaped pattern all along on the slush!

When I saw those trucks coming as they were, I had no option but to change my lane and there were these slush mountains I had to cross, quick!
I judged the best approach angle and went for it!
After almost falling a couple of times, I got out of the way of the oncoming trucks, that too just in time, without any damage!

The cold that time was killing! I had a mild headache too. The slush stayed for quite some time, later on the terrain became quite dry. The "roads" were full of grit.
I actually enjoy riding on grit, and I tend to ride quite fast on it. I love the way the tyres leave a cloud of dust and debris behind!

I must be riding at around 80kmph that time, when dhad-dhad-dhad-dhad-dhad-dhad!!(in fast progression!)

In a trembling voice, it took me 7 seconds to say "WHAT THE HELL?"!!!

It shook every single bone in my body and every single screw,nut and bolt on my bike!
I don't know exactly whether it was the reason, but the road had ripples on it, just like ones that would be caused when an Army Tank would cross through there!

On such ripples, you can't do anything to ease of things... If you ride fast, it worsens and if you go slow, it doesn't help! That patch was a total suspension killer for the bike and a back killer for the rider!

As suddenly as it had started, it stopped! This went on and off for quite somedistance!

Cold, tired and sleepy finally we came across some village, not sure of the name. Drank some tea, and were later joined by the CBR wala group.







To be continued....

Re: From scorching heat to freezing cold! A ride of a lifetime! (Nagpur - Leh - Delhi

It is a good one! Well done!

Re: From scorching heat to freezing cold! A ride of a lifetime! (Nagpur - Leh - Delhi

Wating for more mate....

Re: From scorching heat to freezing cold! A ride of a lifetime! (Nagpur - Leh - Delhi

Good show!
More please...

Re: From scorching heat to freezing cold! A ride of a lifetime! (Nagpur - Leh - Delhi


Thanks a lot guys, am really hooked on to something else at the moment, and won't be free till mid-week next week. Will update the travelogue then...

Re: From scorching heat to freezing cold! A ride of a lifetime! (Nagpur - Leh - Delhi

Leh - Sarchu Continued....


That place came as a blessing for us. It's really amazing how when we see the pictures of that day, they don't hint, even slightly how cold it was at that time.
There was just no possible way to keep warm. The thermal lining under the jacket was just plain insufficient. It was completely impossible to go a second without shivering!

In that village there were some 10-15 tents in a line and that was that.

As I and Amogh reached there, and were parking our bikes, from each tent locals emerged and started inviting us to go into their tents! There weren't many tourists there. Probably at that moment, only Amogh and I were there. That's exactly how remote and deserted that area was!














Once in the tent, the guy there offered to light us a kerosene stove for some warmth! There was a provision to rest too, beds with huge and heavy razais. Although tempting, that was not what were were there for.




We ordered hot tea and some biscuits. Soon, we were accompanied by the other group of riders and that was the first time we actually could sit and chat!

Quite a diverse group I must say. From cruising extreme (bullets) to sporting extreme (ninja and ceeber), from riders as young as 20 and as old as 40, riders from Mumbai, Baroda and Delhi! Turns out to be that most of them met on the road on this very trip!

It was nice to have company, but still Amogh and I decided to continue riding as a duo only, for more than one reason.

After a good one and a half hours, after having tea, soup and boiled eggs it was time to leave, still shivering and still sleepy I didn't have an option.

If you see from the picture in the previous post, you will notice that yet again the petrol can had come loose and needed to be retied before we left. Trust me, on such a cold day this is the last thing you want to do. It hurts to handle the silly nylon strap !

Amogh came up with a brilliant idea, By then we had covered almost 160kms and probably my bike would've used up enough fuel for me to empty the petrol can into the tank itself! And woila! The four liters in the can perfectly fit into my bike's tank, indicating an average of 40 kmpl! That mean't now the can would be more stable on the straps!

After this drama, we finally resumed the ride.

The diverse group!!


The road continued to be bad for around 30-35 more kilometers. After that, we had entered Moore Plains!
The roads were dead straight and brilliantly smooth. But, there was a downside.
The road was so dead in the open, that the wind blast was hitting us from all directions. Mostly we were hit by head winds.

It was almost 4:00 PM and there was quite some distance to be covered if we had to reach to Sarchu.
As soon as we hit the good roads, I shifted into 6th and went into distance covering mode !

Soon enough, I realized I wasn't "moving" and Amogh being ahead of me meant I could see, he wasn't either! I looked at my speedo, and I was surprised I was barely at 56kmph in 6th gear and my bike was struggling. I shifted into 5th, slight improvement but still I was unable to gain much speed. It was then that I realized this was mainly due to the head wind.

It was quite irritating, when the roads were so good, we were unable to make speed as our bikes were mightily under-powered!
So, I leaned forward into a crouch, shifted into 4th and went WOT! Reached a remarkable () 90kmph, but soon then realized there was no point stressing the engine so much and Amogh too was struggling so I gave up and we then onwards maintained a decent 65 kmph.

The other gang had left before us and caught up to them whilst they had stopped for a photo session on the Moore plains!

This is when one of them clicked this super pic of me and Amogh:





By then, they too were about to leave. So, a few of us left together with the others trailing.

After quite some riding and crossing a pass we finally reached Pang, where the CBR group had initially planned to halt.

We stopped there, I put my visor up, asked Amogh:
"Want to wait here?" to which he said,
"No, do you? We just ate man!", to which I replied
"Neither do I, let's go to Sarchu!".

As the distance between Pang and Sarchu was just 100kms, we decided to give it a go.

While the CBR guy waited for the rest of his group to catch up with him, Amogh and I decided to leave immediately.

As soon as we left from Pang, there is a sharp turn. After the turn, it became clear what was stacked up in front of us. The roads were worse than before.
The day light was kept away from that route as it was surrounded by tall mountains from all sides.
That was when I actually doubted whether ours was the right decision. As it was already pretty cold and in case the sun went down on us, we would be totally stranded.
After a quick water break somewhere in between and a small photography session, we pushed on...



Notice how the road is completely surrounded by mountains..


Don't mind my finger!!


the scene was really beautiful..



Now, sitting in front of a laptop at home, I can safely say that at that time, we really didn't have the slightest of hint of what lay ahead.

Soon, we were climbing up again, this was one of the two big passes between Pang and Sarchu, the Lachulung La. The roads continued to keep our average speeds down to a mere 15-20 kmph, which means on the R15, I could not even shift into second.

As we gained some altitude, Amogh honked from behind a couple of times. I looked into the mirror, I saw him pointing downwards towards the left, from where we just came.

It was one of the most memorable sights for me. I could see a line of motorcycles with their head-lights on coming up the same route.

It was them!! (the CBR group)

Somehow, it gave us the much needed courage to go on. It gave us a different confidence, that someone else was there in a similar situation to us.
Later on we came to know that they too ditched the plan to stay at Pang and decided to ride on till Sarchu.

The pass was completely deserted, almost nil traffic.
Our race was against the daylight now. We had to make it to Sarchu while there was still some light left. Because, in the area we were, without the light, we would've easily got disoriented.

While on our way down, there was this one turn, more like a U-turn towards the right and there was cliff in between, so one could not see what was on the other side.

As I exited the turn, I looked ahead and there you could see this massive white mountain, as if there to further challenge us. As I continued ahead, I noticed my vision getting blurred intermittently. When I looked up to the same mountain, I could see that it had started snowing slightly.

That was the least we were expecting at that time. Already we were cold and on top of that this!

With absolutely, I'll stress on this "ABSOLUTELY" no other option, we carried on our snail paced journey on our 17 horses with two wheels.

Things were just bad back then. There was oncoming traffic, some silly VIP it seems. Those drivers had no respect for us riders and not only they were honking at us, they were doing so while they were in the wrong side of the road(or the lack of it ) .

Once nearing the end of this pass, ahead you could see some small deserted looking establishment and further ahead lay Nakeela Pass, which gave a grim look.

At the small village(?) in between these two passes, all I could see was some tents, with no sign of any provision for tea or coffee or anything. This place was Debring (not sure).

Again, after a quick discussion with Amogh, we decided to leave as we were running short on time.

The climb onto Nakeela was similar if not worse. There was not a single patch we could describe as "ride-able". There were monstrous potholes all along the road.

As it is, the combination of cold and altitude is bad and it was taking a toll on me. Since morning, all I had eaten was a cheese croissant at Leh and drank some soup and a boiled egg at the village before Pang.

I had heard a lot that the petrol in Leh was not of good quality. And it was evident with Amogh's bike misfiring.
On the climb, I was in first gear and suddenly I felt a slight hesitation once or twice from my bike. It totally came as a shock to me. As it is I was not well and I could no where deal with a situation in which my bike would not move ahead.
I just remember speaking to my bike aloud, "I know you've been through a lot, but please don't give up on me now. Not now, not now!!!".

It seemed to work! ! ! Didn't feel any such lag from that point! I really love my bike for that.

As we reached the top of Nakeela, the cold was at its extreme. As I was riding, I realized I was getting a vomiting sensation. I immediately stopped on the side, got off the bike, parked it, removed my gloves, removed my helmet, removed my balaclava and the scarf I had tied to my face all this while I had to puke!

It was probably acidity that was the cherry on the top!

It was so cold over there that both Amogh and I just could not resist shivering. After drinking some water and washing my face, my hands were totally numb, could not sense anything. Out of desperation I touched the engine compartment for some heat. All I could feel was a pinch, no warmth .
With that, I wore my gloves and had a word with Amogh.

We had to make an important decision.

At that point, Sarchu was 40 kms ahead and Debring(?) was 20 kms behind.

What Amogh was saying was that we turn back and go 20 kms via the same route we just came and hope that there was actually someone in those tents who could provide us a place for the night. Also, by then we could not see the CBR group anywhere. So, we safely assumed that they had halted at the same place.

But although in a worse condition than Amogh, it didn't make sense to me to go back the same road as it is the road wasn't at all good. I told him that we had to move on, push on for just another hour or two and we could make it to Sarchu.

The cold was totally unbearable. Shivering like crazy, I put on my gear and began the ride ahead.

I was really agonized at that time, with the conditions there. I was never getting a chance to increase my speed beyond 10-15 kmph, which meant to cover 40 kms more, it would take us another 3 hours!

So, I began pushing myself and my bike to the limit. Accelerating hard, braking hard wherever I had the slightest of window.

But what I didn't realize was that Amogh was out of sight, I could not see him/ hear his bike at all!!!
My mind was blown! It was then that I realized how screwed I would've been in case something were to happen to any of us. I was not my fullest and if anything were to happen to Amogh, I would not have been in a condition to fend for either of us. And the fact that we hadn't crossed a single soul since Pang was haunting me constantly.

I stopped, hoping for him to come any second. Must have been a minute or so, finally I could hear the sweet rumble of the RTR's exhaust, which sounds better with the K&N that he was using. Then the sweetest yellow of his headlight appeared in my RVMs and I breathed a sigh of relief.

We had entered the Gata loops by then. Thankfully the roads were much better and we could maintain speeds ranging from 30-60 kmph.

It was getting dark and I could see my headlight's reflection on the road, which was absent when there was enough daylight.

On the road, we came across an abandoned Scorpio, with no one nearby. It sent a chill across my body and thoughts started rushing my mind, if an SUV failed to do this, who are we on our puny bikes to do it? Signaled Amogh to go ahead, while I came back to terms with my existence!

The roads straightened out, we had crossed the loops and were heading straight on the desolate stretch of road, with no signs of any civilization, yet.

to be continued.......

Re: From scorching heat to freezing cold! A ride of a lifetime! (Nagpur - Leh - Delhi

I like the way you wrote it. It gave me a chuckle looking at the images of pothole on NH7 between Nagpur and Jabalpur not slightest bit less scary than Himalayan ones I guess.

Re: From scorching heat to freezing cold! A ride of a lifetime! (Nagpur - Leh - Delhi

Wating for the rest from your marvelous ride.... pics kept me speechless... no words to describe those.... truly gud

Re: From scorching heat to freezing cold! A ride of a lifetime! (Nagpur - Leh - Delhi

Good to read your thread. The CBR wala who met u there is Sneh. I guess you met him when you came to dhaba.

Sent from my HTC One V

Re: From scorching heat to freezing cold! A ride of a lifetime! (Nagpur - Leh - Delhi

What happened next ?

Eagerly waiting buddy

Re: From scorching heat to freezing cold! A ride of a lifetime! (Nagpur - Leh - Delhi

...continued: reaching Sarchu

Every night before the ride, we used to set our GPS to the location where we were supposed to reach the next day:
I still clearly remember, Amogh and I were having a discussion in Leh, on where to head the next day. We were looking for Sarchu on our GPS software, and we were actually laughing at the fact that it showed Sarchu as a dot in between the river! Google maps returned a similar-ish result!


It was getting darker, and it was wonderful when I think of it now. But then, darkness meant more cold and more trouble.
As we continued on the desolate stretch, a small but tarred road, the river flowing alongside, the daylight was still there, but just. As I was riding, I could only imagine what would happen if Sarchu wasn't exactly what we were hoping it to be. What if there was no one there? and the image of the GPS showing Sarchu as a dot between the water was constantly haunting me.

I was desperately looking for any signs of civilization around, you know? Anything, even a dog or a cat meant there was someone around, some food, some people! Looking far straight ahead too gave a grim sight, I could not see any lights, no vehicles coming, just total desolateness.

Still looking, I was looking at the river, trying to admire the beauty, the water seemed to be frozen from there (probably was not so), suddenly a chill went down my spine, I saw a truck which had fallen off the road, another sign of the hostility of the region.

Riding on, after a few kilometers, a few of my concerns were put to rest after I started seeing milestones counting the kilometers left for Sarchu.

As the kilometers flew by, 10 or so kms left, there was almost a U-turn with a very bad patch of road, curving towards the other side of the river. Over there I could see a few mud-house type structures, but no sign of anybody actually being there.

10...9...8...7... I had set my eyes on my odo, I knew when the count reached a particular count, I should be in Sarchu. The milestones confirmed my readings.

It was now down to the last two kilometers to Sarchu, but to my horror, I could still not see any lights, total darkness!

The 1 km milestone came, the last kilometer went by, my odo was now reading the number which I was waiting for. The number came and went by, my odo overshot the reading. Then suddenly, there was a sharp turn towards the left. In midst of the turn, I finally saw the glimmering lights! It was Sarchu!

(There were no pictures taken after that village where we had halted, and neither were there any halts taken after that. We rode continuously all the way to Sarchu. But here is a pic that shows the sharp turn just before Sarchu, as you come from Pang side.)




There were lots of tents lined up on both sides of the road. I could see cold drink bottles and chips placed at the windows of those wooden/metal/tin tents. Intuitively I stopped at the tent where I could see the most no. of chips and cold drinks!

I got off the bike, and I couldn't stand straight! My legs were frozen in the same position I was sitting in while riding. It was funny, somewhat!


In the tent, the arrangement for beds was on sharing basis. There was one main tent in which there were many beds. In this particular one, it was already kinda crowded. Totally exhausted and in no mood of being around some silly looking people, I asked him whether we could get a whole tent for ourselves, as we had luggage to that needed to be taken care of.
To which he replied, "yaha kahi bhi aapko rehne ki jagah nahi milne waali, sab full hai, sirf itna hi bacha hai, yehi lelo"
to which I replied "bullshit" and I walked out of there.

I went to the opposite side of the road, meanwhile Amogh was still doing something on his bike .

There, there was this woman who seemed to be a local of that area.
I didn't have the courage to remove any of my gear, so I still had my helmet and gloves on. I though she would give a weird look, but surprisingly she didn't. I asked her whether there was a separate tent where we could stay. I peeped into the main tent, I could see some riders, whose bullets were parked just outside the tent.

She just nodded positively. I asked her how much?? She couldn't understand what I was trying to say. I asked her could you show me the tent?? Still no replies.
After a few moments I guess she understood my special "I am freezing cold and I need a place, QUICK" signs and she called her husband.. It was a tin ki tapri with place for 6-8 to sleep. She took me back to the main tent, I asked her again how much, then a voice came from inside. It was one of those bulleteers, he told me that she didn't understand Hindi and that I should wait for her husband to come. After a few seconds only, the guy came. By then Amogh too had joined me. We saw the tent once again. The guy, really polite and energetic told us that they charged some 100Rs. per bed, so 6x100 meant 60 for the tent, "par" he added, " kam kar dunga, aap bolo kitna"! I looked at Amogh, and almost simultaneously both of us uttered, "400", to which he immediately agreed!

It was then that he (the tent guy) noticed both me and Amogh still with our helmets and gloves on, shivering. I had just removed my helmet, was removing my gloves when he grabbed my hand and looked terrified at how cold my hands were! He started rubbing my hands, and almost pushed me and Amogh out of the tent, saying "jaldi chalo, waha chalo". He told us to head towards the main tent, there he gave us some hot water, he told us to hold the glass with both our hands to warm our hands up. Drinking that water was like drinking "amrit". Hardly having eaten much that day, I could feel the hot water as it went down from my mouth in my body! There, he lit up a stove which had a chimney attached to it.

We sat there drinking hot water, glass after glass feeling relieved as we were finally warm after a long time.

But before getting too comfortable, Amogh reminded me that we had to unload our luggage from our bikes. After doing that, we changed into warmer clothes, drank some soup, tea, coffee and what not! Amogh ate some egg parathas, and then we retired for the night, with little determination to get up early the next day and leave for either Keylong or Manali, but Sarchu seemed to have planned something else for us....

Re: From scorching heat to freezing cold! A ride of a lifetime! (Nagpur - Leh - Delhi

Haha, surely not less scary if not more!! The problem arises when you are not expecting such conditions and you encounter them!!

Thanks, I have updated the travelogue.

I know Sneh well, read on my friend....

Sorry for keeping you waiting, updated it... Will update the remaining soon enough...

Re: From scorching heat to freezing cold! A ride of a lifetime! (Nagpur - Leh - Delhi

Waiting.......................... Its been a month... No updates..........Plzzz bring the rest soon....