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Tale of a solo ride into the dreamlands and the lifetime of memories

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  • [Photo Feature]: Tale of a solo ride into the dreamlands and the lifetime of memories

    Prologue:


    I was watching the sun set and the beautiful golden rays of sun bouncing off the snow capped peaks sitting on the river bank, the entire area was turning into gold! The calm gurgling river and the serenity was shattered by a shrill sound.


    Yes I was dreaming again and the sound of the alarm once again put a stop to the views I have been visualizing since days now. I as any other rider dreamt of riding to the land of fairies and mountains and every year the dream remained a dream due to friends giving up, money and you know lots of reasons. Not this year, I had decided and I was ready to ride solo if needed.


    I chased my dreams and yes I lived the dreams I had visualized sitting here in the concrete laden city for years. Back in one piece to narrate the story and to be lost for words, to describe the beauty of nature that I witnessed, the torturous roads I travelled and the furious streams I crossed.This log will be about the experiences I had in the journey trying to relive the month long trip into the heaven in the form of pics and videos and words.


    For now a few customary teasers



    The Dream

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    Rainy roads and the green

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    Reaching the top

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    Feel like a pilot on these arrow straight roads

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    The glacial road and the puny human made roads

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    That's me. Lost in the lap of mountains.

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    Somewhere en route Zanskar

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    My first snow encounter

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    Beautiful Gulmarg

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    Breathtaking Kashmir valley

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    Found this kid and he doesn't know about this pic. He was lost soaking the beauty up.

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    More to come post approval

    Cheers
    G1
    Cheers
    G1

    Now running: Solo ride to Leh , Coorg 2 Chikmagalur

    True wanderer entry
    Magical Munnar

  • #2
    Re: Tale of a solo ride into the dreamlands and the lifetime of memories

    Travelogue Approved

    Nice Nice. Jeevan you really add life to your pictures
    Biking is not about what you have between your legs, its all about how well you use it!!!!!!!

    Give your details here if you want to help your fellow xBhpian stranded in your city

    Touring Blog: Cycling in Mongolia!

    Comment


    • #3
      Re: Tale of a solo ride into the dreamlands and the lifetime of memories

      Fantastic. It requires Courage and Soul to do a solo wonderful pics and waiting for more..

      Bring it on mate
      Splendor - 2k to 2006
      Karizma - 2k3 to 2009
      P180 - 2k6 to 2k9
      Hunk - Oct 2k7 til now
      ZMR - 2010 to Forever
      RX135(2k) - 2013 to 2018
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      RayZ - 2015 til now
      Ninja 650 (2014) - 2017 til now


      Delhi to Narkanda
      Delhi to Coimbatore
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      • #4
        Re: Tale of a solo ride into the dreamlands and the lifetime of memories

        Envious man, completely nostalgic and envious.
        Your words and pictures make me mad to relive the moments, this time through your experiences.
        Go on buddy
        True Wanderers 4.0 | Chasing The Destiny | Finalist | Viaterra Raptor Tail Bag Review

        Comment


        • #5
          Re: Tale of a solo ride into the dreamlands and the lifetime of memories

          Superb log!
          A bike on the road is worth two in the shed.

          Weekend Rides Around Kolkata
          My Ride To Sunderbans -
          Hemnagar & Samsernagar
          Saagar Kinare - Bakkhali Calling

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          • #6
            Re: Tale of a solo ride into the dreamlands and the lifetime of memories

            Jhakaas Start Bhao - yeh dil maange more (trans: my heart beats for more)
            Heartiest kaangrasulasions for successfully accomplishing this feat, wonderful!

            Go G1 Go!
            BENEATH THE REMAINS.........
            Instagram - chaosaddict666 (follow for atypical uploads on heavy metal, bikes, alcohol, chakna, life, fashion yada, yada)
            YouTube - chaosaddict666 (Disclaimer: crappiest uploads ever, viewer discretion is advised)

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: Tale of a solo ride into the dreamlands and the lifetime of memories

              Originally posted by The Monk View Post
              Travelogue Approved

              Nice Nice. Jeevan you really add life to your pictures
              Thanks for the approval sirji Glad you like the pics

              Originally posted by rreneav1987 View Post
              Fantastic. It requires Courage and Soul to do a solo wonderful pics and waiting for more..

              Bring it on mate
              Originally posted by saquib3005 View Post
              Envious man, completely nostalgic and envious.
              Your words and pictures make me mad to relive the moments, this time through your experiences.
              Go on buddy
              Originally posted by krishna77 View Post
              Superb log!
              Thanks for the lovely comments guys. Glad that you like the start, lots more will come soon

              Cheers
              G1
              Sent from my HUAWEI G700-U10 using xBhp Connect mobile app
              Cheers
              G1

              Now running: Solo ride to Leh , Coorg 2 Chikmagalur

              True wanderer entry
              Magical Munnar

              Comment


              • #8
                Re: Tale of a solo ride into the dreamlands and the lifetime of memories

                nice pics bro, waiting for more updates.

                Comment


                • #9
                  Re: Tale of a solo ride into the dreamlands and the lifetime of memories

                  good to see the log up, was waiting for it . Loved the pictures and the narration in the teaser, so let the tlog begin..and owh! by the by, i tried to imagine you to be a pilot on that arrow straight road, and my mind got raped!
                  I Ride to Forget the World, and Sometimes I Ride to Forget Who I AM.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Re: Tale of a solo ride into the dreamlands and the lifetime of memories

                    Awesome start brother.

                    Subscribed! And wating for The Tlog.

                    "LIVE YOUNG, LIVE FREE "

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Re: Tale of a solo ride into the dreamlands and the lifetime of memories

                      Starting narration was so good..Sticked to the thread and waiting for more photos brother..
                      Drive Safe

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Re: Tale of a solo ride into the dreamlands and the lifetime of memories

                        Originally posted by shail@tourer View Post
                        nice pics bro, waiting for more updates.
                        Originally posted by Jitu Gadkari View Post
                        Awesome start brother.

                        Subscribed! And wating for The Tlog.

                        "LIVE YOUNG, LIVE FREE "
                        Originally posted by sri.rtr160 View Post
                        Starting narration was so good..Sticked to the thread and waiting for more photos brother..
                        Thanks for the comments guys , will be posting the next part soon.

                        Originally posted by SuvraGanguly View Post
                        good to see the log up, was waiting for it . Loved the pictures and the narration in the teaser, so let the tlog begin..and owh! by the by, i tried to imagine you to be a pilot on that arrow straight road, and my mind got raped!
                        Thanks dada, it is sad to know that the only part in you that was virgin got raped by my words

                        Cheers
                        G1

                        ----consecutive posts auto-merged-----

                        The plan:
                        The seed was planted deep within the heart and the desire to chase the dreams was getting stronger and stronger. I started initially with the help of Google Maps charting out places, distances and all the plans. I wanted to ride all the way from Bangalore and then ride back. The map which I had planned for was like this.




                        Now the problem was leaves, getting any manager to approve a month long leave is not easy and somehow I was lucky enough to get the leaves sanctioned. I was to ride from 11th July to 10th August which made me very happy as this leaves me enough time to enjoy and wander in the dreamland.


                        The next big task was getting approvals from home. Somehow there was no resistance from Mom! May be she was fed up of me ranting Leh Leh from last 2 years and she must have thought that even this time it will be the same story.


                        Thanks to Saquib bhai, Yogesh Sarkar from bcmtouring, for the help in route planning and also the things required and the list was ready. The count down timer was ticking in my phone and everyday I used to feel excited looking at the days left.

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                        While the clock was ticking, the anxiety was growing. I had to carry lots of things and financial requirement was growing exponentially. The biggest factor was that I was riding solo and I had to be prepared for any surprises. The preparations were in full swing and finally the days were close.

                        The bike was taken care in the able hands of Indranil, and Dinesh and Karthik from Tansi Honda. Really appreciate their efforts in getting the bike ready and going out of their ways to help me out.

                        I mentioned that there will be 2 of us going so as to avoid people getting worried and trying to discourage me. Still there were lots of comments, lots of "Why do you want all this.." kind of words which I ignored for good.

                        So the final plan was decided as below.


                        11-Jul Friday Bangalore Pune
                        12-Jul Saturday Pune Udaipur
                        13-Jul Sunday Udaipur Amritsar
                        14-Jul Monday Amritsar Srinagar
                        15-Jul Tuesday Srinagar Srinagar
                        16-Jul Wednesday Srinagar Srinagar
                        17-Jul Thursday Srinagar Gulmarg Sonmarg
                        18-Jul Friday Sonmarg Sankoo
                        19-Jul Saturday Sankoo Padum
                        20-Jul Sunday Padum Padum
                        21-Jul Monday Padum Kargil
                        22-Jul Tuesday Kargil Leh
                        25-Jul Friday Leh Turtuk
                        26-Jul Saturday Turtuk Diskit
                        27-Jul Sunday Diskit Pangong Tso
                        28-Jul Monday Pangong Tso Chushul/Chumtang/Tso Moriri
                        29-Jul Tuesday Chushul/Chumtang Tso Moriri
                        31-Jul Thursday Tso Moriri Sarchu
                        1-Aug Friday Sarchu Kasol
                        3-Aug Sunday Kasol Chandigarh





                        This is pretty close to the itinerary I followed too, but a trip into the mountains without delays and reschedules is no fun. As the log goes forward, you will see lot of delays and re maps to the plans. As far as I am concerned, going with a plan and then deferring is lot better than going without one and wondering what happened.

                        For those who are planning to head out to Leh and Ladakh, please refer to the map available in BCMT website as that is the best guide for the distance and route planning. Putting it up here with due credit to BCMT and the creators.





                        All this done, I was starting to get scared as the days went by. I was feeling that I should stop this madness and go again with friends where I can be safe. I was loosing my head and sleep too, as I have never done long solo rides and the one I was planning was no highway ride to the nearby hill station. There were lots of things that could go wrong and I would have no one with me at that time! All this was swirling in my head, but I decided that I will be going and what ever happens will be dealt with.

                        Finally the D-day was here, I was to leave next day early morning and I was still to finish my packing. I was really struggling within if I should be doing this or not. Finally it dawned me that this is what I have been dreaming of, everything had come together in making this dream a reality and it was just me who was afraid to chase the dreams. I had to be strong and if I missed this chance, it would be all because of me! I sat for a while, thinking silently in the dark of the room. Few more hours left to start and here I am thinking if I should start!

                        I made up, finished packing and I slept, infact I had a good sleep! I never am able to sleep the day before a ride and today was the biggest ride till date and I was sleeping peacefully, all set to head out in a few hours!

                        Next up, the journey begins and the fun starts. Till then a few more teasers



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                        Attached Files
                        Last edited by jeevan.life; 08-17-2014, 07:18 PM.
                        Cheers
                        G1

                        Now running: Solo ride to Leh , Coorg 2 Chikmagalur

                        True wanderer entry
                        Magical Munnar

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Re: Tale of a solo ride into the dreamlands and the lifetime of memories

                          Good pics mate.

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                          • #14
                            Re: Tale of a solo ride into the dreamlands and the lifetime of memories

                            Very nice narration and beautiful photos! Going to follow the complete trip. 😃

                            Sent from 'La Suisse'
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                            • #15
                              Re: Tale of a solo ride into the dreamlands and the lifetime of memories

                              Kudos, mate! A great start to what I believe will be a wonderful travelogue. Glued!
                              No matter how bad the day is...
                              There is always a ride back home...

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