Re: North by North-East: Katoom goes to Sikkim and Bhutan

You need to check out Bhutan weather as it was the coldest weather in the entire trip. April is a great time (off season) with sparse tourist traffic, not that many tourists come there anyway . North Sikkim roads are the worst (rocky and muddy) even when compared to Arunachal (only muddy). What bike are you planning to ride? Start a separate prep thread and post your journey from planning onwards...

Re: North by North-East: Katoom goes to Sikkim and Bhutan

Thank you so much bhai.
I somehow dint quite think of contacting the fellow xbhp members. Yeah, it would have been so much easier for me to find accomodation and if nothing, just share
a tea and good laughs. Next time pakka hai
Thanks for the info on Chilika lake - it\'s in my radar now!

Thank you!! Kind words
I changed the rear tire to Michelin PSR just before the ride. Front is the stock Metz.

Thank you so much!!!

Thanks Doga. The answer is now, now and right now. I firmly believe that plans that are advanced will almost never materialize. Hence, company or no company, I just leave.
Probably your answer

You really flatter me baba.
The front is stock Metz. Great on all roads except slush. Rear is Michelin and it performed brilliantly.
I thrashed the bike many times in the Sikkim\'s highly challenging roads but the tires held great.

My sentiments exactly mate. If there is something money cannot buy, it is this - memories!
Do share your travelog, must have been even more enjoyable.

The D3 is a remarkable machine. I took it to the hills leaving aside the Machismo 500 just to prove to all those who complained about it not being a tourer and off road dread. Obviously, higher reliability was also a factor. The bike did not disappoint one bit.
Yes, during the Lachen-Thangu stretch I had a most challenging time riding the entire leg in mostly first gear. So next time, I would get a different sprocket for the hills.
Stock gearing has too much power in the first and too less in the second. The engine braking in first really gets tiring and feels like taming a wild horse.
But otherwise, the bike is a gem! No high altitude power lags(or lack of it), jerking or stalling.

My shocks were stock, just got the monoshock hardened one step for better handling.
Am 30, so we are not really far apart My suggestion - go for it.

Before the itch fades, ride
Thanks for the appreciation mate!!

Thank you so much!!

Thank you!

+1. If you get too adventourous, try mid or late October. I love this time because no damned tourists flocking everywhere and cheaper rates for food and stay.


@All brothers: Really really sorry for not updating log regularly. Caught between rides, plan and the revamp work of the LB500. Henceforth, regular dose. Promise :P


Day 3: Pelling - Ravangla - Gangtok
Oct 8, 2014
Odo for the day: 140kms.


My stay at Pelling was very cherished and I woke up at 4:30AM hoping, craving for a sight of Mt Kanchenjunga.
Opened the window blinds and I would be damned, the sky was clear!! Grabbed the camera and tripod and ran off to the
roof top. And there she was, the gorgeous lady, clad in white finally allowing me to see her. The sun rose around 5AM with hues
of gold and it was a perfect moment. The golden light illuminating the most beautiful mountain I have ever seen, the beauty could
only be beheld in one\'s eyes. All I could do was keep clicking pictures and after sometime just shut the camera off.
I really could not take my eyes off her and kept staring for almost 10mins.


Different moods from dawn until day:










The world in black and white is so beautiful!


Even as I prepared to get down the stairs, couldn\'t resist looking back couple of times and fill the image in, until next time.


Mt Kanchenjunga, what a beauty.. Just cant stop looking at her!




The Himalayan mountains have woken up to the morning..


Today\'s idea was to get to Ravangla via Geyzing-Legship and visit the Buddha Park there. Then move on to Rumtek monastery just before
halting at Gangtok. Before starting off, Mr Bhutiajee placed a Buddhist silk shawl on my neck and said it was for my luck.
It was really moving moment and again, I was lost for words. There was no need for him to do this honor for an unknown, insane guest.
He also gave couple of photographs of his kids and himself saying those will remind me of them. God bless you!





How gorgeous is she!!


My tools!


Prayer flags on one of the numerous iron bridges..


I kept a good pace since the roads were considerably favorable and with intermittent GoPro shoots and picture breaks, was close to Ravangla.
Something had to go wrong, aint it? There was this huge but sudden road elevation that the bike jumped about 4\" off the ground and landed.
No problems there and I rode on but after few kms I somehow felt as if the rear was swaying. If I had gotten a puncture, there was one murder
to be committed - the Tire Protector guy who filled the slime . Nevertheless, rode for 5-6 kms and then thought its better to stop and check.
Some days never fail to amaze me, because my rear axle nut was missing and so was the chain adjuster. The tire was hanging on with half of the
axle protruding from the left side of the bike. Well, so much for the a%$#%#e who tightened the chain the previous day.
Now, this was one situation my imagination could not work out so I dint have a spare nut.


Oh Tashi, how could this happen to you


I had no clue how to manage this so stopped a biker who was riding towards me. Asked for a mechanic nearby and he told that I
could only find one at Ravangla for which I had to cover another 8kms. Time for stone age technique - hit the axle with stone to put
it in place and then ride in 2nd gear at a speed of 25-28kmph. The biker whom I spoke to was tailing me and I hadn\'t even asked him to
help. Jeez, the goodness in people always amazes me. He also helped me locate the mechanic\'s shop in Ravangla but the fellow was not to be
seen anywhere, shop locked out as well. This was depressing and we inquired another car mechanic on the whereabouts of this chap.

Well, our hero calmly walks to us our of nowhere, takes me to the shop and fixed an RX-100\'s axle nut along with the chain adjuster.
Mechanic:\"Aap jaiye, ab kuch nai hoga\". I paid him off and asked his name but the guy simply locked the shop and walked off silently like a saint.
I still find this a mysterious event. To his credit, I rode the whole of Sikkim and Bhutan on this same axle nut/chain adjuster.

The Buddha park was just around the corner and we actually ride clockwise around the statue\'s back and finally onto the parking space
onto its left. Took the entry ticket for Rs50 and clicked few pics. The first impression I got is of sheer awe - it\'s a huge and magnificent
statue with colorful paintwork on it. To add to the beauty, the park area at its base was tastefully constructed. There is also this big
auditorium again with a good architectural style.

Had a short talk with people who were interested about the KTM\'s details and they also clicked
pics for me. Went down the stairs towards the statue, again up few steps to enter the small temple under the base. Very calm place and the mood
is perfect for people who would want to silently enjoy the stillness of time.


Buddha park at Ravangla



Give us peace!

By this time my stomach was growling and hence had to get to the cafe nearby, inside the park for a plate of momos and juice.
It was time to ride on to Gangtok and visit Rumtek monastery en route. I had already called up Manish bhai to tell that I would be
slightly delayed owing to the axle nut episode. Roads were pretty much good all the way from Pelling to Rumtek after which there is
lot of construction work in progress. Well, I forgot to mention that the route from Pelling to Ravangla is too scenic. Fresh air,
lush greenery and beautiful faces.


Me me, momo!!


After Ravangla, one has to cross Singtham and Ranipul to get to Gangtok. So my next stop was Rumtek monastery which is a deviation at
10kms before Gangtok but after crossing Ranipul. There is also a way to get to the monastery after crossing Gangtok.
From the deviation, I had to ride for 14kms to get to the monastery. Again, my heart ached to know that I had a long, uphill walk.
The place is infested with army personnel and I even had to show proof of identity to enter the main gate.
I would never again enter such places where one has to prove something to pay a visit. What a shame!

The walk is about a km but it was the uphill route and then the riding jacket, camera bag along with the helmet which made me struggle in the end.
Nevertheless, went into the monastery facade and had the first look at the monastery. The size is admirable and architecture beautiful with
flags along with tasty usage of colors. I made a quick tour inside it and then shot a few photographs. Decided to leave because the watch showed
3:30PM and i could see some cloud formation. I already had enough adventure for the day and wanted to reach Gangtok early and relax before the
next three day\'s long stretch.


Rumtek monastery


Another view


After another short session of dust gulping into my lungs I finally reached Gangtok and gave a call to Manish. A little later we
met up near Hotel Hungry Jack from where the guest house(Cherry Guest House) was very close by. First Manish bhai got me a nice cup of tea.
We spoke for sometime and then I got my luggage moved into the spacious, cozy room. After getting a shower, quickly headed out and got a
wash for the bike. I also took a haircut along with Manish since I was getting annoyed with it and knew that in the next two weeks, it
would cause me lot of issues


Yayyy, Gangtok..


Got a tankful of fuel for the Katoom and then borrowed a 5lts can from Manish bhai for the Gurudongmar-Yumthang stretch.
This whole route would need close to 400kms of fuel meaning I needed around 20liters approx. I knew while the bike would give me 30+ FE at high
altitudes, I also had to worry about the other bad sections. It would be noteworthy here that Mangan is at a distance of 65kms from Gangtok.
There are no fuel pumps after Mangan until Gurudongmar or Lachung or Yumthang. So you got to take enough fuel for this whole circuit and then
head back to Mangan for the refill. I would suggest a tank full at Gangtok, ride on to Mangan, top it up again and then get the extra fuel cans
filled up here. It was evident that I was still assuredly short of fuel but somethings have just be dealt with after crossing the bridge(
naalas in this case!).

I decided to leave my saddle bags at Cherry guest house and only take bare essentials along in the tail pack
to the three day Gurudongmar-Lachung-Yumthang ride.


Few random pics from the day\'s ride:






A tired but proud Katoom!




Cafe at Rumtek monastery. I had good samosa and lemon tea here.



Spiderman!!


Manish bhai would leave to Siliguri the next morning to collect his brand new HD Street Fighter and hence I would not be seeing him
when I return to Gangtok after three days. Hence we spoke quite a bit on the biking life. What else could two bikers talk about?
After our talks, I had dinner and retired to the comfortable bed at 12AM.