Re: Ladakh 2013, a dream come true

Hi,
I was riding my Apache on the ride..
I got the Avenger recently and cannot comment anything about the bike yet.. However, we met a couple of guys riding Avenger in Ladakh and they did not face any serious troubles..


For the Apache, I did not make the "wire-in-carb" mod in spite of people suggesting me to go for it.. The bike climbed all the passes comfortably without any problems.. My bike was 2.5 years 36k km old..

We met a biker who was struggling to climb Taglang la on his Pulsar 200NS after doing some filter and some other modifications while the 200NS in our group was doing good without modifications.. If your bike is in a good state, I think you should be good to go..
You can try posting this query in the Avenger ownership thread.. I'm sure some senior members can help you out with this..

All the best for your ride..

Re: Ladakh 2013, a dream come true

OK, and thanks for the suggestion.
I have a query, what's was your total tour estimate with all your expenses including fuel?

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Re: Ladakh 2013, a dream come true

Day 13
27 June 2013
Drass - Sonmarg 80 km

Good morning Drass.. After spending the night at the world's second coldest inhabited place, we woke up to a chilly morning.. The temperature was quite low and the soft breeze made it even colder.. The target for today was Srinagar.. But we were all more excited about the Zozila pass.. We had all heard descriptions about the pass and were eager to check it out..
The sky was covered with clouds and we all knew that it was just a matter of time before it started pouring.. We started in a hurry with the hopes of covering as much distance possible before that happened..

Day 13 begins..




Stunning vistas..


With such views to surround me, there was no way I could ride without taking stops.. You have to stop to enjoy something like this.. A stop just to stare at the beauty nature has to offer.. A stop just to admire the beauty..


The presence of army prominent..


The beginning of Zozila..






In the beginning the road was in a good state and we were quite comfortable.. It seemed like a child's play.. But that was just for a few minutes.. Soon we were attacked by clouds.. Poor visibility, cold weather and a possibility of rain.. Now it was going to be tough..






Bring it on!!


Soon it started drizzling and we had to pack up the cameras.. Such an amazing place and sadly not enough pictures.. Rains meant slushy roads.. Well, I had crossed Rohtang.. How bad could it possibly be?
As it turned out, it was pretty bad..
Riding extremely cautiously, we were making our way.. The rain stopped momentarily and Rohit and I stopped to click some pics of the pass..




The scary road..




When someone asks you what Zozila is, you show them this!!


Towards the second half of Zozila..


There were a lot of trees (pine trees i guess) and the mountain looked quite pleasing to the eye in spite of being barren.. However, the rains kept lashing without any mercy and the cameras stayed inside.. Once we descended Zozila, we were greeted by the picturesque Kashmir valley.. Green, that was the only color we could see.. Lush green plains with pine trees covering up the mountains.. Beauty redefined..




With the increasing rains, the riding speed was reduced to a bare minimum.. After negotiating the traffic of Amarnath pilgrims, we re grouped just before Sonmarg..
It was raining cats and dogs.. The wind was strong and could soon turn into a violent storm..
While I wished to continue riding and make it to Srinagar, some of my friends had other views.. They weren't ready to continue riding in such weather and suggested that we stay at Sonmarg itself.. Usually I would have sulked at something like this.. But it was an exception in this case.. This was Sonmarg.. Nothing less than paradise..
We split up into groups and started the hunt for a place to say.. Sonmarg being a popular tourist destination, good accommodation was hard to find at affordable rates.. Most of the places were full and we gave up after an hour of futile search.. Well, if we weren't going to get cheap accommodations, we might as well keep the budget aside for a day and get something awesome instead.. And that's what we did..

The place where we stayed in Sonmarg..


The heavy downpour continued throughout the rest of the day into the evening.. Instead of going out, we were left to enjoy whatever views we could see through the windows of our hotel suite.. But trust me, even those were enough to satisfy everyone.. Not a twinge of sorrow that we rode just 80 km in a day and stayed here.. After all, it is rightly described as paradise on the earth..

Cheers,
Pranav

Re: Ladakh 2013, a dream come true

Fantastic ride with nice clicks. .:thumbup:

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Re: Ladakh 2013, a dream come true

Here's an attempt at making a small video..

Day 3: Manali - Rohtang - Keylong - Darcha - Patsio



This is my first time making a video.. All comments/criticism will be appreciated..

Re: Ladakh 2013, a dream come true

Patsio - Baralach la - Sarchu - Gata loops - Lachulung la - Pang

Re: Ladakh 2013, a dream come true

Whoa, careful with that P220 crash..BTW the way it is filmed .. just awesome... I am planning to be Leh'd next year.. This tlog is much helpful, Those fast corners damn good..

Re: Ladakh 2013, a dream come true

Nice videos!! Did you use GoPro or regular digicams? If using digicams, how did you mount it? Just curious as I have a Canon SX50 and couldn't figure out how to use it on bike.

Re: Ladakh 2013, a dream come true

Nice videos

Re: Ladakh 2013, a dream come true

Thanks a lot mate..
Glad its helping you.. I'll be happy to help if you need anything else..

PS. I have slightly increased the video speed.. I'd never dare to go that fast on those roads..

Thanks..
These videos were shot using a simple sony point and shoot..

I have a small gorilla pod which has a small hook like thing at the top (like a pen cap and how you stick the pen in your shirt)
I had tied a small belt round my chest and stuck up the gorilla pod with the camera on it.. A 'do-it-yourself-temporary-GoPro'..
I'll try to post a photo of that arrangement.. It worked well for me throughout the ride..

GoPro is on the "to buy" list now..

Thanks a lot..

Re: Ladakh 2013, a dream come true

A quick tip. Check out SJ 4000 before going for GoPro. Its 6k bucks with 'almost' similar features as goPro. Check it out.

Re: Ladakh 2013, a dream come true

Thanks for the information. Will try it out on my next ride.

Re: Ladakh 2013, a dream come true

Thanks..
I'll check that out..

Re: Ladakh 2013, a dream come true

Pang - Moore plains - Taglang la - Leh

Re: Ladakh 2013, a dream come true

congats bro. excellent writing and even better photos..good job.loved the photos