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Crashed in Ladakh - 2018 Ladakh Ride
Hello guys, and here is the intro into my version of Ladakh. I guess, it is a bit lengthy. Hope you guys will show some patience to read and enjoy my wording. I am not a good narrator and please bear with me..
February 2018:
It was a Sunday afternoon, and I was sick
with viral fever. I made a visit to the local pharmacist in order buy some pills. Coincidentally I met my friend, Moncy George, who also was in same situation, viral fever. We bought some pills and exchanged few words, from which I came to know about his plans to get Leh’D
. That moment, pored some more oil, into my mind which was burning with the idea of Leh from a long time. For a moment all the vistas and roadways just ran through my eyes, and I realized that this time I should make it happen, and I named it ‘The ride that should happen’ 
.
Moncy’s plan was solid. He had already done enough groundwork and has spoken with some of his friends. He already started preparing himself and his bike for this rider. He had few problems like finding leaves and transporting motorcycles. I had problems at other end of the line, family, leaves, the bike, and literally everything I thought about was some way or other a big hurdle. But I was firm with the idea of ‘The ride that should happen’.
I talked with some of my friends, kept planning and modifying the plans. Meanwhile Moncy got bigger problems and had to abandon the ride
. Later through the plan, Amrider had to drop out, and he too was getting engaged 
. So, the final team of eight was ready and is as follows:
By this time the final itinerary was also ready. Chandigarh was the starting point, from where we will be heading to Leh via Jammu and then return via Manali. Considering the riding experience of the team, we split the plan so that the ladies will join us in Leh, will continue with us throughout the Leh circuit and will fly back from Leh. Ourselves with the motorbikes will travel from Leh to Chandigarh and then we will fly back from Chandigarh to Chennai. The two folks from Kerala will be starting from Delhi and will join us at Chandigarh and will finish their ride at Delhi.
Even before the above plan was ready, I had a major problem. The problem being the bike. I am using an Yamaha R15, and doing this ride on R15 was fine for me, but not for my wife. She, being an anti-motorcycle person, was reluctant enough to do even the smallest distance on a motorcycle. I somehow convinced my wife, and almost landed on FZ25. But a few days before this decision was made, one of my friend happened to buy a Dominar 400. His words flushed my mind and the availability of ABS at similar price point made me change my mind and go for it. I finally booked Dominar 400 in the month of March
.
Dominar 400 @ Cold Desert
Once the bike arrived, we had to start preparing it for the ride. I contacted Lluvia industries Coimbatore, bought saddle stays, luggage rack and rear seat back rest. From Trek n Ride, I sourced the rear luggage box, while additional comforting to rear seat was made with Ride on Air. Other accessories like Bolt Charger, Grand Pitstop puncture kit, Air Pump, Rynox Drystack saddle bag, Gods Zeon R1 tank bag also came through. I already had the riding gear, but for rain and cold, I had to buy Jockey thermals and basic rain wear from Decathalon. Protecting the hands from cold was done by sourcing a winter riding glove from Probiker through gearbest.com. I had the idea of helmet intercom, but again the budget was not enough to accommodate that.
The next major problem was to ship the bikes as well as our hotel bookings in and around Leh. I tried lot of sources for both these, kept talking with many people around, and finally, I understood that going by any source to ship the bike has equal chances of being positive and negative. Finally, I contacted Mr. Shankar – VRL Logistics, who operates the shipping of bikes thorough pallets, and located at Hubli, Karnataka. He promised to arrange the pallets here in Chennai on the required date and to make the bikes available at Chandigarh within 12 days. This gave us some confidence and the biggest figure in the trip, Rs. 11000/- (From Chennai to Chandigarh only). The next major hurdle was Hotel booking. Since our plan was so dynamic, I was unable to put money through any online resource. Meanwhile I happened to meet Date a Bike (DAB) team at Chennai. Their lead, Mrs. Radhika had some favorable package. But again, my team was not able to digest their package completely and had to drop. But I thank Radhika for her inputs in planning phase and her support throughout the ride. Incidentally I saw a post form Mr. Bunny (CarToq Magazine) on FB and contacted him. He gave us a package which was approved by the team, and we finalized with the accommodations in and around Leh.
On the banks of River Sindh
Beautiful Sonamarg
14/07/2018 - Saturday: The previous night was hectic, and I was busy with packing stuff for the trip. I managed to pack all the necessary items. All my clothing in the left saddle bag, and tools and other stuff in right saddle bag. The luggage box contained first aid kit, puncture kit and other quick access materials. It was morning 06:00 Hrs and I called Saran, he too was ready with CBR and luggage. We inspected the bikes for final time, ensured all papers are available, and we started from our flats to VRL Ambattur, Chennai. The distance was around 40kms and I asked Saran to keep an eye on my rear luggage box. Not very late, we understood that there is a problem. the rear luggage box is moving vertically by a fair amount. I quickly contacted Ashwin at Lluvia, and he gave the solution by shipping the support brackets. Saran had bigger problems since he didn’t have the saddle stay itself.
Packing of bikes at VRL was not smooth. Pallets were not good, and we had to hunt for a good one. Saran’s bike went into a good pallet, while my bike with luggage rack was a bit longer than usual, had to wait. The hunt began for a good and longer pallet. By the time we found one, it was lunch time. We skipped the lunch and sat along with bikes and pallet. Finally, the packing boys arrived, the bike was loaded and locked in the pallet. Completed the payment and paper works, we were hell tiered. Soon we were in a cab and started talking with A4 Moto - designs Mumbai for CBR 250 saddle stays and top rack. He gave a timeline of 8 days and we agreed to do the payment.
Mystical Pangong Tso
26/07/2018 – Thursday: It was a busy day at office, and towards evening, me and Saran left office to nearby courier office, to collect the saddle stays and top rack for CBR. Few days back I received the luggage rack support for Dominar. With the last piece of accessory also arrived, we started packing and crashed to bed late in the night. It was around 2 AM, our dear friend, Mallesh, who doesn’t sleep at night, arrived. Loaded our luggage into his i20, we headed to airport. As usual Chennai airport was busy early morning. Without much delay we completed check in and boarded the flight, and our long-awaited journey began.
Tso Moriri
Kygar Tso
Catch a glimpse of what lies ahead...
Hope you guys enjoyed the trailer..
Let me break for now.. Will continue..
February 2018:
It was a Sunday afternoon, and I was sick
with viral fever. I made a visit to the local pharmacist in order buy some pills. Coincidentally I met my friend, Moncy George, who also was in same situation, viral fever. We bought some pills and exchanged few words, from which I came to know about his plans to get Leh’D. That moment, pored some more oil, into my mind which was burning with the idea of Leh from a long time. For a moment all the vistas and roadways just ran through my eyes, and I realized that this time I should make it happen, and I named it ‘The ride that should happen’ .Moncy’s plan was solid. He had already done enough groundwork and has spoken with some of his friends. He already started preparing himself and his bike for this rider. He had few problems like finding leaves and transporting motorcycles. I had problems at other end of the line, family, leaves, the bike, and literally everything I thought about was some way or other a big hurdle. But I was firm with the idea of ‘The ride that should happen’.
I talked with some of my friends, kept planning and modifying the plans. Meanwhile Moncy got bigger problems and had to abandon the ride
. Later through the plan, Amrider had to drop out, and he too was getting engaged . So, the final team of eight was ready and is as follows:- Anu & Saran on CBR 250 – From Chennai
- Haris & Hamna on Royal Enfield 500 std – From Chennai
- Shafeeq & Shana on Dominar 400 – From Chennai
- Jinu on Classic 500 – From Kerala
- Yedu on Classic 350 – From Kerala
By this time the final itinerary was also ready. Chandigarh was the starting point, from where we will be heading to Leh via Jammu and then return via Manali. Considering the riding experience of the team, we split the plan so that the ladies will join us in Leh, will continue with us throughout the Leh circuit and will fly back from Leh. Ourselves with the motorbikes will travel from Leh to Chandigarh and then we will fly back from Chandigarh to Chennai. The two folks from Kerala will be starting from Delhi and will join us at Chandigarh and will finish their ride at Delhi.
Even before the above plan was ready, I had a major problem. The problem being the bike
. I am using an Yamaha R15, and doing this ride on R15 was fine for me, but not for my wife. She, being an anti-motorcycle person, was reluctant enough to do even the smallest distance on a motorcycle. I somehow convinced my wife, and almost landed on FZ25. But a few days before this decision was made, one of my friend happened to buy a Dominar 400. His words flushed my mind and the availability of ABS at similar price point made me change my mind and go for it. I finally booked Dominar 400 in the month of March.Dominar 400 @ Cold Desert
Once the bike arrived, we had to start preparing it for the ride. I contacted Lluvia industries Coimbatore, bought saddle stays, luggage rack and rear seat back rest. From Trek n Ride, I sourced the rear luggage box, while additional comforting to rear seat was made with Ride on Air. Other accessories like Bolt Charger, Grand Pitstop puncture kit, Air Pump, Rynox Drystack saddle bag, Gods Zeon R1 tank bag also came through. I already had the riding gear, but for rain and cold, I had to buy Jockey thermals and basic rain wear from Decathalon. Protecting the hands from cold was done by sourcing a winter riding glove from Probiker through gearbest.com. I had the idea of helmet intercom, but again the budget was not enough to accommodate that.
The next major problem was to ship the bikes as well as our hotel bookings in and around Leh. I tried lot of sources for both these, kept talking with many people around, and finally, I understood that going by any source to ship the bike has equal chances of being positive and negative. Finally, I contacted Mr. Shankar – VRL Logistics, who operates the shipping of bikes thorough pallets, and located at Hubli, Karnataka. He promised to arrange the pallets here in Chennai on the required date and to make the bikes available at Chandigarh within 12 days. This gave us some confidence and the biggest figure in the trip, Rs. 11000/- (From Chennai to Chandigarh only). The next major hurdle was Hotel booking. Since our plan was so dynamic, I was unable to put money through any online resource. Meanwhile I happened to meet Date a Bike (DAB) team at Chennai. Their lead, Mrs. Radhika had some favorable package. But again, my team was not able to digest their package completely and had to drop. But I thank Radhika for her inputs in planning phase and her support throughout the ride. Incidentally I saw a post form Mr. Bunny (CarToq Magazine) on FB and contacted him. He gave us a package which was approved by the team, and we finalized with the accommodations in and around Leh.
On the banks of River Sindh
Beautiful Sonamarg
14/07/2018 - Saturday: The previous night was hectic, and I was busy with packing stuff for the trip. I managed to pack all the necessary items. All my clothing in the left saddle bag, and tools and other stuff in right saddle bag. The luggage box contained first aid kit, puncture kit and other quick access materials. It was morning 06:00 Hrs and I called Saran, he too was ready with CBR and luggage. We inspected the bikes for final time, ensured all papers are available, and we started from our flats to VRL Ambattur, Chennai. The distance was around 40kms and I asked Saran to keep an eye on my rear luggage box. Not very late, we understood that there is a problem. the rear luggage box is moving vertically by a fair amount. I quickly contacted Ashwin at Lluvia, and he gave the solution by shipping the support brackets. Saran had bigger problems since he didn’t have the saddle stay itself.
Packing of bikes at VRL was not smooth. Pallets were not good, and we had to hunt for a good one. Saran’s bike went into a good pallet, while my bike with luggage rack was a bit longer than usual, had to wait. The hunt began for a good and longer pallet. By the time we found one, it was lunch time. We skipped the lunch and sat along with bikes and pallet. Finally, the packing boys arrived, the bike was loaded and locked in the pallet. Completed the payment and paper works, we were hell tiered. Soon we were in a cab and started talking with A4 Moto - designs Mumbai for CBR 250 saddle stays and top rack. He gave a timeline of 8 days and we agreed to do the payment.
Mystical Pangong Tso
26/07/2018 – Thursday: It was a busy day at office, and towards evening, me and Saran left office to nearby courier office, to collect the saddle stays and top rack for CBR. Few days back I received the luggage rack support for Dominar. With the last piece of accessory also arrived, we started packing and crashed to bed late in the night. It was around 2 AM, our dear friend, Mallesh, who doesn’t sleep at night, arrived. Loaded our luggage into his i20, we headed to airport. As usual Chennai airport was busy early morning. Without much delay we completed check in and boarded the flight, and our long-awaited journey began.
Tso Moriri
Kygar Tso
Catch a glimpse of what lies ahead...
Hope you guys enjoyed the trailer..
Let me break for now.. Will continue..
. We finished the lunch and booked a cab to head to Ambala. Thanks to the truck strike that was going on, rather than reaching Chandigarh and our bikes were stuck at Ambala. We reached Ambala VRL depot and found that it was flooded. With much effort we crossed the gate and went inside. 
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