nice trip there fantastic four.. Waiting to see your adventures throughout this trip in the form of pics and good text...

One doubt? Who is playing Jessica Alba's role out of these four ? One is a girl in real Fantastic 4 rite

That is not filth. That is the colour of the stones.

Hey guys cmon get up .... its been 2 days and nothing on this thread so post your travelogue and pics bro......

hey shivanshu,
am already about to complete the first few days trip log with pix, so will be posting soon..
am sorry for the delay, as just too tied up with the piled up work ..

thanx Rachit I am eagerly waiting for it

Congratulations guys. Nice pics of Baralacha Pass there. Waiting for the complete logs and pics

Congrats to all 4 of u Guys...
Eagerly waiting for the Log and the Pics .....

Ahem ..

Initial Struggle to be a part of this Dream Journey

Its been quiet a while this trip log was pending. Its taking time to remember, re-arrange the pix which are in 1000's. Afterall this was a journey of 21 days on 2 wheels, need time to recollect each moments we spent each day. While on the journey I could say the dialogue "I live my life Quarter Mile A Time.!" So am trying to re-collect the moments & pen down this trip log from my point of view. Here I would like to let you know about how easy/difficult it was for me to get ready for this mammoth journey. I will never forget what it took for me to convince my near ones & how the unplanned plans where planned.
This all started suddenly, we four riders joined in without any expectations. I met Prasad through one of my friend, as even Prasad was a tourer & insane about bikes & hence my friend thought of introducing us as we both shared the same passion & belong to same species "Biker". On first meet, he said he was planning for a ride to Ladakh. Hearing this & getting excited without a second thought & without knowing the real feasibility I gave my confirmation for this ride. To which he counted on me. Later I mentioned on xBHP thread & ride that am planning to go Leh this year. All of a sudden I get a private message from Mr. Gopi (aka RazorBlades) saying even hes interested for this ride. I met gopi on a xBHP Ganpatipule ride & interacted offline on xBHP. I never took this plan that seriously & the things started shaping up. All thanks to Prasad for taking this initiative & keeping the journey plan alive, he started working hard & making plans, itinerary collecting info & mailing us. There was also one of my friend (Lucky) who showed an initial interest for this Dream Journey, now this forth guy. So tentatively we four riders where suppose to start this journey if at all it happens. The days started nearing, things where getting real serious. The forth Guy due to some problems dropped off. Now the journey was on three of us. Making my parents understand was an extremely difficult task. But somewhere I had a faith am not gonna miss this lifetime ride. The main reason behind my parents denial was, Once on discovery channel they where showing a Journey to Leh, the host was in a SUV & his narration where "Look at this road, all ice everywhere, my vehicle is not able to get a grip at all on the roads, I may fall anytime, this mountain are very vulnerable for land slides. I cannot breath now, I need oxygen. Its very dangerous here". This things made my parents firm for not sending me to this place called "Ladakh". Damn.. I hate that bloody anchor. To make my situation more worst, just 15 days before the journey I met with a serious bad accident. Had some deep cuts & worst bruises. I left hopes, so did the other two (Prasad & Gopi). Days passed by, my wounds where not completed healed but on the verge of. I gave my fellow riders & myself a hope of trying one more attempt of making my near-ones understand about how important this journey is for me. The day came, when I dared to re-ask my parents for this journey & they straight away said a big NO, lot of emotional stuff & swears where given. I had to do lot of acts & various roles (courtesy : Hindi Films), like not eating food, being depressed (which I really was watching my dreams getting shattered). One day dont know what happend I just went with Gopi to buy some things for this journey. I got Saddle Bag, Sleeping Bag, Knee Pads & rest of the stuff I already had. The evening I bought this things home, my dad was badly pissed off, he didnt even let me watch MotoGP as bikes where shown up. I said them, "Alright, am not going for this journey but henceforth no-one will question me for what I do or where I go & tears rolled down." Later due to gods grace even they understood how important this ride is for me & can give up anything for this. They started getting affirmitive & having confidence on what am doing & finally they agreed (Thanks Mom, Dad). Infact they started taking interests in the preparations, making the checklist, dad helped in getting things & ensuring everything is in place & am not missing anything. Packed up my bags with all the required things like Clothes, Bike Spares, Medicines, etc.. I promised my parents & my better half "Just have a faith & let me go, I wont let you down & I Promise will return in the same way am going, Nothings gonna happen to me, I swear." I informed about this good news to my friends & fellow riders & everyone was damn happy about it. Again my dream became alive & then I knew "Am soon gonna meet my destiny.. Just have a faith, Believe in Yourself..!" This developed an anormous confident in myself.
Just 2 days before the ride day, I get a call from Razor telling me even Winzee (Fellow xBHP member) is also seriously ready for this ride. I was like WTF.? How a person can get ready for this massive journey in mere 2 days. (FYI, hes just 22 & completed his T.Y exam). But somehow he did manage to get ready for this ride & completed our checklist for the journey. Lots of xBHP members helped him out sharing some stuff to him & last moment everything was final now. We four riders where going to get LEH'd very soon. Finally, the "Big Day" was couple of hours away. None of us could sleep the entire pre-journey night. Lots of mix feelings where going on, excited, nervous, afraid, happy, curious. Razor called me up the previous night to know if I was sleeping, even I wasnt sleepy at all. Tried many times to close my eyes, but cannot get that feeling & curiosity out of me. Just we all where too anxious & waiting for the Big Day to arise..!

Info :
Riders & Rides
Rachit (Myself) (Karizma)
Prasad (Royal Enfield, Electra)
Gopi aka Razor (Apache RTR 160)
Winzee (Pulsar 150 Dts)

Days : 6th June 2009 - 21st June 2009 (21 Days on 2 Wheels)
Total kms : 6200kms

Next : The Big Day , Journey Starts.,.

Day 1 to Day 4 (6th June - 9 June 2009)

Day 1 : 6th June 2009 (Destination : Ahmedabad, Distance Covered : 561kms )

I woke up by 4am. My eyes where Bang opened at the alarm tick. Got ready & geared up with the Jackets, Gloves, Knee pads. My friends where already waiting for me by my bike. Saddled up the bags which was the most difficult part for me as I had never done this. Somehow we all managed to do it. My parents came till the bike to see me off, I touched their feet & took their blessings for this journey & said Good Bye..!!. Promised them will call everyday.

We where suppose to meet at Hotel Fountain, Ghodbunder, Thane at 5am. My good old friends accompanied me for a see off till hotel fountain. I couldnt believe I was going to be out for 21 days without meeting them. Prasad accompanied me on the way & Reached hotel & it was truly amazing to find wonderful fellow xBHP friends already present before us to wish us a wonderful journey. Thank-You so much guyz. We commenced our journey by breaking a coconut which is kind of a Good Luck & acquire Gods Blessings, Gopi was totally unaware of whats going on, later we made him understand. Few pix where clicked here & finally we started for the journey. Seeing so many well wishers we than realized, Man.! We going for something big..!! Wouldnt have been possible without any of u my friends..! Thanks for being there ..!! it was a special moment for each of us travellers.
Gopi & Winzee where already waiting. Winzee didnt had any saddle bags, jacket. Our lovely xBHPians friends helped him with this stuff & he was now all set for the ride.



Before starting for this journey, we discussed & decided some discipline rules for the entire ride. Everybody will be in a formation of zig-zag, each of us will have a responsibility of his follower to keep a watch from his RVM, no body will overtake a vehicle from Left side no matter how long it takes for a vehicle to give us a side, lights on, max speed will be 80-85. This where the things which we very well followed throughout our journey & really helped us to have a safe ride overall.
We left from the hotel. Rode for around 80kms approx, me & gopi stopped for a while to drink water & for others. I was damn hungry as didnt had anything in morning & left. I was just telling about my hunger & Gopi came out with a lovely Chicken Sandwich which he packed from Fountain Hotel.. Vow.. God Bless you Mr. Gopinath.! He had bought 4 sandwhiches which we had & resumed the journey & amazingly none of us where hungry for quite a long time. The Ahmedabad highway is extra-ordinarily
As we entered Gujurat we faced the worst traffic of our entire journey. There was some construction going on for almost 10-15 kms, & literally we took over 2 hours to pass through that. The traffic was just stalled. Thanks for being on the smallest vehicle on the road we could somehow struggle & get out of the hidden gaps among the vehicles. Lot of times our saddle bags got stuck in between cars, then we realized we are loaded on bike apart from us & had to be careful with those saddle bags. As we stopped in the traffic lots of people use to scream at us asking several questions from cars, bikes, bus. They where stunned to see aliens there. Some asked us are we from some racing teams, are we there for Dhoom3 (yuk,.!!) & lots of things. They even did asked us why are wearing this jacket in this baffling heat & we didnt had any answers as we where damn bugged by the traffice & the sweat dripping off the body. Then all of a sudden a Elder Guy came in & helped us by guiding us on a off road, which was suppose to be the shortcut to reach much much ahead of the traffic. He even did invited us at his house which wasnt possible for us. But thank you to this person who came in for our rescue & yeah helpful people do exist in all parts of India.
Finally made through the heavy traffic of our lives & halted for a refereshment break.







Wherever we stopped we ensured we have lots of water. The most expense of daily was on water. We where getting lot of attention, people crowded us wherever we halted. I was chosen by the board of Leh Riders to be the Finance Manager in the Journey. We daily contributed 500 Rs & took care of daily Accomodation & Food. We managed to reach Ahmedabad by around 4-5pm. The traffic was bad, heat was burning. We where having tons of chilled water from wherever we can get it. We stopped at one point & thought of checking some hotels for cheap. Couldnt find & then we left for some nearby place & asked a traffic policeman. He instantly pointed out a perfect & ideal hotel for us & we headed there. I am partially Gujurati so it was easy for us to communicate & make us feel comfortable with the localites. There was some guy with a pillion on some bike was chasing me in traffic & came next to me asking me "Sir, are you on some mission.?" I was like.. What.?? Mission.??.. I said no, we are just exploring places & went ahead..!
Finally found our hotel "Hotel Peace".



After lot of bargaining in Hindi, Gujurati for the room rate & telling him stories like We are on the entire India Tour & college guyz, hence please give us the room for less. We would also mention your Hotel Information on internet & am doing it right now .. We got a good deal, a nice AC room for 850 with television. Ordered something to eat & begged for Old Monk to celebrate the first day of our journey or some drink. To which he straightaway denied & then we realized we in Gujurat. Gopi was suppose to get a Old Monk, which he forgot & he got all the curses in return from us for this big mistake. Anyways we chatted for a while as it was our first night of the journey & with other members (we all are straight ). A day before we didnt knew much about each other & never spoke much. So this was the time where we all got comfortable with each other. Had our dinner, did some timepass, called up friends/parents & fell down on bed. Next day had to start by 5am & had to reach Ajmer.


Day 2 : 7 June 2009 (Destination : Krishangarh, Ajmer, Distance Covered : 600kms )

Today, we woke up on time as everyone of us was too curious for the journey. We got up & all set to leave by 5.30am. Here we faced a big hurdle of finding a way to come out of Ahmedabad city.
Damn.. We where revolving on the same places. Asked few people about the way out, gopis GPS helped us & we finally found a way through sabarmati. Around sabarmati, there was a beautiful Air-Force colony. Here we asked a kid about the way, he said we have to take a turn around a centre place where couple of pipes are there where the smokes comes out from. When we reached that circle, those where God Damn Huge Chimneys & a Jet Plane. And we had to stop here for a while to click some shots..














We had a breakfast & left from there to continue our journey. The roads where so beautiful, we where so busy riding. Passed by the bypass for Mt. Abu. Wonderful Ghat..!! Awesome road.. but lots of unexpected issues so we where ultra careful. Some trucks coming by suddenly in the wrong direction, cows standing in middle,..! Filled up fuels, it was somewhere around Udaipur. I went bit ahead due to some traffic & others halted to ask directions. So had to come back where this three guyz where waiting for me. Meanwhile Gopi & Prasad clicked some pix of localites



This lady straight away insisted to take her snap & hence posed




Saw a Dhaba & thought of taking a halt after the ghat. None of us where at all tired, later looking at our respective odometers we realized we just did 210kms non-stop stretch..! It was amazing.. so had to rest for a while atleast for our machines.





It was remarkably hot & sun was smiling at us with the max heat..
Later on the way we started seeing the rajasthan characteristics, Sand around & camels.. Saw some camels, dry terrain, dry trees & stopped for a while to click snaps..











There was a spot where lots of roads, diversions, turns where taking place. We where confused, once even took a wrong way & rode for almost 20kms in the incorrect direction. We had to wait many times & confirm the right way. All of us where getting beaten by the worst heat & burning like hell. Gulping water like a dog. No doubt the roads where incredible & best among seen in the life. Never seen so much of dessert except for movies.






Finally after a descent ride & small halts after every 100's of kms we reached Kishangarh in evening around 9pm. Kishangarh is 20kms ahead of Ajmer.
Here too after lot of search, managed to find a good hotel & after lot of negotiations & the usual story got an AC room for mere 800 bucks..! Yeah, but there where lots of mosquitoes here, Gopi's Odomus came for a rescue & mosquitoes where dead The climate here was very dry & warm, thanks to the air conditioner. We had chicken tandoori (Gopis all time favorite) & finally prasads effort helped us to find a drink. After failing to get an Old Monk or any other known brand we got a Whisky named "AC".. Some Rajasthan made was it.. For munching Prasad got Lehar Numkin, it was opened in such a way that our destiny remained on the packet & we where all laughing..


The whisky was tasting pathetic, damn strong.. None of us had it & went for a sleep.. We had to wake up early as the next Destination was the Capital of India, Delhi..


Day 3 : 8th June 2009 (Destination : New Delhi, Distance Covered : 360kms )

As expected, we could'nt get up early.. Courtesy : AC whisky & nice sleep..
Got ready & left around 8.30am, winzee wanted Castrol Oil, I mean his bike wanted. Today we where to reach Delhi & where quiet excited to come on bike from Mumbai to Delhi.. Reached at the diversion which is taken for Jaipur & had breakfast. Soon we located a mechanic & bought the Oil for Winzees Bike. The mechanic changed the Oil of pulsar & lubed our bike chains as well.


In the meanwhile, my lovely Mumbai xBHPians where co-ordinating with fellow Delhi xBHPians so they could be of some assistance to us for finding certain things in the crowded city & we dont end up in a mess. Thank-you guyz so much. On the way after completing some significant distance we located a tapri in a nice small hut where we stopped for a small break. Clicked some nice snaps here.





There was a nice blue bird siting on the above tree..


The sun was beating us, it was badly hot out.. But no option, had to ride.. Ride made us feel cool.
The road was fabulous, just have to hold the acceleration on 80 & dont think about anything.. I wish bike could be now put on auto-steering or I could have an acceleration lock.. We where trying all poses which could make us feel comfortable or bit relaxed. Moving legs, kicking.
Finally, after a descent riding & gulping in lot of mineral water we where nearing the capital from what the signboards showed us. Here we saw the huge toll-post of New Delhi & we where here. Vow.!! Then comes few more pix with some posergerri as a witness of delhi.. No stress on our faces at all.







Now, we coordinated with Shivanshu & Abhishek. They asked us to wait below some bridge not sure where it was. Identify it delhi ppl.



All of us where very excited to meet Delhi xBHP. Till now we had only seen & read their threads & hardly interacted. But when it was known we from Mumbai are riding to Delhi, they went out of their way to help us. In a while Abhishek arrived, we introduced & left quickly as Shivanshu & other people where waiting for us. The streets where heavily crowded, massive traffic, suddenly we heard a RX100 & yes, it was Mr. Shivanshu. Even others joined in, this was all in the moving traffic We reached at some place, dont know again where it was. We could see a huge Hanumans Statue & the metro train bridge. We all introduced each other, chit-chatted for a while. Wonderful people, must say. Shivanshu is full timepass & a great buddy. We didnt felt as if we seeing & meeting them for the first time. All where like knowing each other through a common factor "Biking".







We also spotted the metro after waiting for a train just to click. "Ye Delhi Hai Mere Yaaar..!!"




Kamal, told us they have already found a descent hotel & spoken to the owner. We where like, Vow.. what more can you expect. They literally escorted us to the hotel in that intricated traffic. We went in a formation, the guyz where ahead & behind us to make sure none of us get lost which was very easy for us in that new land. This guys really helped us a lot, some even took half-day off, just to ensure we dont face any problems. Hats off to you guys, really appreciated. Thanks to xBHP, never would have met such wonderful people in my life. Reached the hotel, it was in Karol Bagh where everything was well accessible for us. We got this room for 1500 for Two Days, again an AC room which was an excellent deal compared to the area, city & the room. Without aircondition we could have died.. The temperature is so high.. Room was very beautiful, it would have been a real task for us to find such a room on our selves. We chatted for a while & then they left telling us, had there be any problem dont hesitate to let them know. Next day DesiDeep was to meet us in morning & then we will take our bikes for a check-up to their best mechanics.
We took rest for very little time & thought of roaming around the streets of Karol Bagh. Our guys where very fascinated by this Kulfim, it being so long


We took some food as parcel & went back to hotel. A while back, gopi got a call from Maverick that hes coming to meet us. Then we met Maverick & had a chat for around an hour. Very chilled guy. Thanks maverick for comming all the way & giving us a visit. Later after eating nice dinner of tandoori (as usual) we all dozed off. Good night..!!

Day 4 : 9th June 2009 (Still In New Delhi, Managed to Reach Chandigarh. Distance covered : 270kms)

Today we where suppose to stay, spend time in Delhi with getting our bikes checked & serviced if required & then next day leave for Chandigarh.
We got ready & sometime Desideep came at our hotel. Very much glad to meet him as we had virtually known him on xBHP through xBHP Delhi Meets. First he took us to a very popular mechanic who is also a Motocross champion & expert in disc brakes "Iqbal". He doesnt works for bullet. We took our bikes to him. Gopi had been suspecting that his clutch plates gone for a toss due to low pickup. Later Iqbal did some setting with the clutch cable & Bingo the bike was perfect. Gopi was more than happy to discover there wasnt any problem with the clutch plates.
Then he checked Winzee's Pulsar & did minor settings of brakes & clutch & it was perfect too. Later my Karizma he checked & no adjustments had to be made, he said. So all our three bikes where now set for the himalayas. Iqbal also shared his set of valuable tips & experiences of dos & donts on the mountain ride. Desideep insisted Iqbal on letting us peeping his personal garage & Iqbal happily agreed. We stepped into his rooms filled up with bikes & where stunned to see his work over them. As I said, he specialized in disc plates, he had mounted rear discs, front dual discs very well on bikes like Rx & had some real mountain kind of moto-cross dirt bikes. Have a look.













Thanks Iqbal Bhai for letting us view your state of the art creations. A big thanks to Desideep as well for that.
Then it was Prasad's Bullet turn, which we been taken to a Bullet Specialist. Man,.!! The kind of bullets we say where legendary. The punjabi mechanic suggested prasad to change the exhaust for a better performance which he agreed. Prasads silencer & Oil was changed finally. We said Bye to desideep from there & reached hotel. Now we didnt had much to do in Delhi & where already getting beaten up badly by the heat. So we decided to leave for chandigarh today evening itself. Chandigarh was around 270kms from Delhi. We got ready, saddled up the bikes & left at around 7.30. It started getting dark, highway was wonderful & hence where feeling quiet cool now while riding. The distance was covering fast. We passed by Karnal, Ambala & with one stop for little freshening up at a dhabba we reached Chandigarh by 11.30 pm sharp. Found a nice hotel with a very small room, but all we needed a place where our asses can rest for few hours. Late night we went at a dhaba where we ate nice chicken & our regular dish tandoori with chilled Beer... Vow..!!
Some guyz sitting beside they enquired about where we came from & where we heading towards. After knowing about our plan they & shocked & started criticizing each other, that even they should go & do this kind of lifetime adventurous things rather than cribbing while going to nearby place. They appreciated our efforts & wished us luck. Next day we had to start for Manali. Doing chandigarh today, saved our one day of our journey & we where open to utilize it further on a more required place. Oh yeah..! It was Razors birthday the next day.. We wished him expecting a nice party on the journey. Gopi will always remember this birthday & will be memorable throughout is life. He must have got the best gift on his special day, "Living the Dream".

Nice log there Rachit.... am reading all this with sleepy eyes... and still!

Fk! Someday!

The thread is up finally, i will spend one good evening to read this entire log....
Congrats again for an amazing feat....

Regards,

That's just amazing write up Rachit.. Loved it.. didn't miss even a single line..

The convincing to parents part.. aah loved it.. I can already see me doing the same thing.. My parents are wrost.. very scared of all these long rides and things.. But I have already started convincing them... I showed them the pics of your journey and they liked all the pics.. At the end when I used to say.. I want to go there next June.. mom used to leave the room yelling at me.. "Melya kuthe jaycha nahi evdhya lamb.." hahaha.. but am quite determined to do it in next season.. for sure..

Loved the way you described every day..without making it lengthy yet not missing anything..

Roads in Rajasthan and towards Delhi looked just amazing.. Loved the pic with Kulfis..

Great ride indeed yaar.. Lucky fellas..

Now I can't wait for the rest of the log and pics.. Bring it on soon man..

Congrats once again..

haha.. thnks Satyen..

Sure anup.. take ur time.. this not even the quarter part

hey thnx a ton ketan for the wonderful appreciation. Parents are never worst, they are just too caring sometimes.. SO nothing wrong with it.. take ur time convince them.. make sure they are happy with you going there or atleast understand how important this is for you... & its not something out of the box.. its a adventure which everyone likes to do.. so nothing to be scared.. just gain that faith..
All the best for that..
About the log, More is never enough.. WARNING..! Lengthy Logs Ahead.!! Working on it..

wow great going Rachit... I read each and every line your convining you parents...winzee dropping in at last moment.....But the best part was the Lehar Namkin showing Leh while you all consuming it..... Damn you guys were going to be Leh'ed anyhow..... great going bro I am waiting for more eagerly