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

nice travelog reading it from the first day, keep it coming.
One question I wanted to ask: Me and my friend are planning for the trip in next year. we want to take our small gas cylinder with us for occasional coffee or maggie on road side. It is a small cylinder with I think 3-4 kg capacity can be easily carried in a bag. I wanted to know that Can we take it along with us?( as I am not aware that there might be some restriction due to security forces)or any problem due to high altitude.
if some other person reading this has answer please advice

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

[QUOTE=veyron999;974386]DAY 8: (Leh-Khardung La-Nubra Valley)

I think it is one of the best travelogue i have ever read overall ...But according to write up it is the BEST ..EVER.!!

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

DAY 9 (Nubra - Leh):

Being the lazy bugs we are, we woke up late, again! It was already 8:40 AM we were woken up to a surprised look and a question by the concerned care-taker.

"Sir, aap aaj bhi yahi rukne wale ho ki check out kar rahe ho? "

To, which I, now confused, replied "aaj hi nikal rahe hai, par kyon? ".

He told us that everyone in the camp area had already left and that we were now the only ones there! That woke us up, totally! I knew that the traffic on that route was not easy to come by and that being the last ones to leave could translate into a ride way too lonely to be comfortable. So, quickly both of us had a quick snack, paid the bills, took a few pics , geared up and left!




The plan was to take a quick look at the dunes and head towards Leh, via K-top!

The dunes were not very far from where we were put up for the night, so reached there soon enough...

Though scarce, people(tourists) are still a turn off and there were plenty of 'em there! It was really beautiful, the scene.... but... okay here goes!
I'll try to explain what exactly happens!

When we were traveling towards Ladakh from Delhi, the moment we used to see even a small mountain in the distance we used to be like "whoa man! look at that!!"..But once we were past Kargil, we got so used to the scenery that we used to ignore the scene most of the times! Only when we used to retire for the day and take a look at the pictures we clicked, we would realize how beautiful it actually was!


















So after a few pics there, hurriedly we left for K-top. The weather was thankfully dry again, no rains and the skies clear. It was too bright actually! A tip here, for guys using a clear visor, do carry goggles which you can wear along with the helmet.


The ride was really great! The roads, we knew were great till about 15 kms from the top. We stopped to click some pictures at places we had missed out on the previous day..





























Stopped at the same place, South Pullu for the same old maggi!







Soon after where these pics were clicked, the bad roads started and our speeds dropped to the painstakingly slow average of 10-15 kmph!
Against the initial speculations of lack of any traffic, there were quite a few riders on that route that day. As we neared the top, there was this water crossing which we had crossed the previous day with much ease. But now, somehow it was much more demanding! It was now much wider, had more flow to it. The fact that an Alto guy who overtook us after the whole --honking like crazy to overtake when we aren't in a position to give side-- thing, was himself stuck, pretty bad in the stream speaks about the nature of that thing!

But, even before the crossing as I was riding, I overtook some random guy on a scooter. Moments after I overtook him, I thought to myself

"Did I just overtake a guy on a scooter wearing a DSG Nero?"

I looked back, and believe it or not that guy was actually wearing proper riding gear complete with a helmet and gloves! Extremely baffled looking at that, all I could do is give him a thumbs up and carry on!

Only when we stopped at the water crossing is that we got to know the guy. He was Narender, who was riding his 13 year old Bajaj Chetak scooter all the way from Delhi! It was really great seeing his enthusiasm and really surprising looking at the scooter handling that terrain on which I was worried our 3 year old "modern" bikes were suffering!

"MasterJi"!!





The stuck Alto..




He was kind enough to click a few snaps of us crossing the "nullah"....
(will upload in next post, max no. of attachments reached )


Our journey continued towards the top, but again another hurdle stood ahead of us. There had been a landslide! BRO was doing an excellent job in speedily doing their job and opening the road for traffic again! The conditions they are required to work in are really harsh and dangerous. I was all praise for their work!




BRO at work!



It was around 5:00 PM when we reached the top. The weather was just great up there, unlike the previous day. We had a great view from the top. Mesmerized by the view, we spent a couple of minutes admiring it and soaking it in.



The journey ahead was really exhausting as the bad roads continues for more 15 kms. It took us around 1.5 hours to cover those 15 kms and just around 30 minutes to cover the remaining 25!

Reached the hotel, but before calling it a day, we had something in mind.... Coming up in the next log..... Here is a pic, can you guess what it is about?





A few more pics are there, I'll upload them asap..

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

Varun,interesting narration with beautiful pics.
And big thanks for clicking my pic.It was pleasant experience meeting both of you at KTOP.

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

great! do post pics once you're back..would like to relive some moments!
thanks!

thanks man!
Although it sounds good, I don't think it would be feasible to carry the cylinder with you. Anyway, i think [MENTION=38566]narender[/MENTION] would be able to help you on this. He had carried a cylinder when he had taken his car, a few years back.

[QUOTE=ATIQ;976317]Wow! That's a big compliment! Thanks a lot man! I really appreciate it!

Yeah, same here! It was good to have such an experienced rider on the same route as us. Even on the Manali road, I had a sense of comfort that you were also coming behind us, so in case something should happen, we would have help!

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

I would advise against carrying a cylinder on bike.
It would be very cumbersome for you.
Tea/Coffee is available en route at most of the popular routes of entire Ladakh.
Instead,carry a small Thermos Flask and fill it with coffee and enjoy at deserted place of your choice,like I did...

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

Truely a great travelogue.. Cant get enough of it...waiting for more!!!

Sent from my GT-I9003

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

Great pics once again........ Waiting for more...

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

Please post rest of the Travelog

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

Bhai...Baqi Ki Log Kahan Hai????

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

I really apologize for the slow updates guys, I'm working on the next update..

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

The Bad Idea and consequently a failed Pangong Plan:




I know it's been long since the last update, and it has kept bugging me all week long! So here goes the next update!

On the whole route, whenever we met any fellow bikers, I would always make sure I ask what to expect regarding the road conditions ahead.
And all the bikers we spoke to had the same thing to say. The road from Leh to Manali was the worst any of them had ever faced, even worse than the K-top patch, which for me were just plain horrible!

We knew that the road to Pangong too was not going to be great, so we wanted to give our poor bikes some rest.

Keeping that in mind and Amogh's wish to find an answer to why is that every one in Ladakh was on a bullet, led us to making a decision to rent a bullet for trip from Leh to Pangong Tso lake.

So, after we reached Leh around 6 in the evening, we finalized the plan for the next day and went out to rent a bullet, which we planned we would ride (double seat) to Pangong. We went to the rental shop, Amogh was the first to go and take a test ride of the new RE Thunderbird 500. He came back with a horrified and concerned look on his face! He told me to have a go with it and tell him what I feel! On asking him what happened, he told me that he felt that the weight of the bike was just overwhelming, and that now, he had doubts whether we would be able to handle such a heavy bike, that too with one of us sitting as a pillion on bad roads. I took a ride, although i was fine with it, but I knew that later on it may cause troubles. So, we decided instead to rent two Bajaj Pulsar 200 NSs for the trip!

We both were happy with the test ride and brought the bikes home after topping up the tanks. Back then, everything about the bike felt good, the pick-up, the Brembo brakes and the gearbox!

The next morning, we tied our Viaterras on the rentals, and were quite surprised how good the bags looked on the NS! But, the non-metallic tank on the NS meant that my Cramster Turtle was no good, so I tied it on top of the Viaterra instead.

It was tough leaving our bikes behind...





As usual, we started the ride pretty late.
The bikes were real fun to ride, and I liked the rev- happy nature of the engine. Our first stop was the checkpoint at 'Karu', where we had to submit a copy of our innerline permits. The roads till there were really great, and continued to be so for quite some time.




At the check post, Karu.


All was going great till, suddenly a few kilometers after Karu, as the altitude increased slightly, my bike started losing power and quite a significant chunk of it. Amogh by then was quite ahead of me, so I just shifted down a gear and tried to catch up. The bike was misfiring quite a lot by then. After struggling for quite sometime, by then pissed at Amogh for riding too fast, I overtook Amogh, barely! We both we almost riding parallel to each other, when Amogh told me that his bike was not behaving too well! I was really surprised at that!
As happy we were on the highway, we were cursing the bikes on the climb! The stock tyres were not at all confidence inspiring and felt nervous on the slightest hint of gravel on the tarmac. Maybe due to the tyres only, but even on the curves, the bike didn't feel as nimble as our bikes felt. Initially I put those thoughts away, saying to myself that I was not used to the bike.

As we climbed towards the third? highest pass, Changlangla the condition just worsened. The response of the bike was ridiculous! Just pathetic! There was no power, on curves it took a lot of effort, too much concentration was required as on every other curve, the bike wanted to slip! Looking at the design of the bike, one would obviously expect it to be good off roads. But that too way thrown away when we crossed a stream. The suspension transferred every single bump directly to the rider and the bike would move haphazardly over the stones that lie under the running water streams.

By then I was missing my beloved R15 so much, I just wished I was riding her than this piece of shit! The same was with Amogh!

We stopped near an Army Base, to eat some chips and to discuss what should be done about the situation, I was already considering the option to turn back and get our own bikes for the ride.
But then, Amogh and I mutually concluded that because we have already come so far, we should go ahead and just deal with the bikes somehow.

At the Army Base:


Not far from the camp, as we continued to ride, the roads turned into the same type as we encountered at K-TOP. The change was as usual, abrupt!

After barely crossing a few rocks, I noticed I had to use the clutch to assist the pull, even in 1st gear!! I looked back, Amogh was stuck on the same patch, desperately trying to get some juice of the dying NS engine. Neither of our bikes would even rev past 6k in neutral, tell tale signs of altitude sickness for bikes!
I then and there decided, there was no point at all in taking those bikes a single meter ahead. I told Amogh too, and we turned back from there, disappointed...

This all happened, shortly after we saw a milestone reading 3 kms to Changlangla Top. Imagine our disappointment!

I don't remember taking any stops on the way back, barring one just ahead of where we turned back from.

These pics tell a story of their own!





When we hit the highway again, the bikes all of a sudden came back to being themselves! Both of us were ripping hard, I didn't even shift to 5th gear, was near to redline in 4th gear most of the time! It was quite a lot of fun, that!


If anyone watches Top Gear here, you would know what I am referring to here. If you have seen the 1st episode of the latest season, Jeremy says that the fastest car in the world is not a Bugatti or any other super car as a matter of fact! The fastest car is one which you have rented!
That applied to those poor NSs too, that's the worst I've ever treated a bike!

Reached Leh, returned the bikes, shifted to a new, cheaper hotel nearby and retired for the night, with no plans for the day ahead.

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

JC says that to some Toyota ... that's 100 % true... lol

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using xBhp Connect mobile app

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

Awesome narration.... I am skeptical to comment on the NS though. The last pic definitely shows the level of frustration & the kind of day you had.
Nice one... Do let us know the rest.

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

Good pictures with great write up fellas !

I'd really appreciate if you could please confirm if 200NS are incompetent for this ride up Pangong OR was it just because those 200NS were rentals and prolly not in ship shape, which is why they ran out of steam ??