Super pics Ananth and Steve..congrats..now, dont keep us waiting for the logs..

Thanks for the credit Ananth! Happy to help... And B2L is just an epitome of help and kindness! Good to know that ur ZMR worked without flaws in-spite of all the trouble it gave u in the plains! Fi rocks

BTW where is the credit for my black colored saddles (that look brown in the pic) ?

Did you take photos with the SI soldiers.? If you have, can you post them.?

What.. Mileage was around 50..? Hey.. Don't lie. I was thinking that such a big machine will be able to give a mileage of max 30.

aahaaa I was waiting for the thread. Finally its up and the teaser pics are sure worth the wait. Awesome is the word. Dil maange more
Thank you so much for the overwhelmingly kind words.

Lovely teasers! I like what I see and I am sure I'll like what you present in the upcoming days!

Amazing teasers Ananth! Was following you guys' plans in BCMT. Happy that you ppl made it! And yes, 2 TN reg bikes posing at K'Top is gonna be awesome

Let the log roll! Adichu kelapu

Awesome stuff, guys..Bring on the Rest!!

@Ananth: We are waiting for some updates ..

Thanks!

I was getting around 51 and Steve was getting 45.

Guess what? DK from Mumbai got 55 from his R15 in Spiti Valley

Yeah, Was happy to have dared to chose the Manali road that day

Thanks!

Thanks machi. Yeah, I almost forgot all those ECU problems i had with the ZMR. Fi Rocks

And again, I also forgot that those saddles were yours

I dont need to lie. I was getting 29 initially - then 35 - 40 in Highways. 50 is something i cant even dream off, It was just because we could not speed more than 40 kmph / never out ran 4k RPM!

Thanks Sirji!

Thanks Kurt. Ill hope not to disappoint you

Thank you!

Thanks Swagat!

Oops! Sorry Paaaji! Stuck with work, Heck - I'm working like 9 AM to 9 PM everyday - Will surely update the logs ASAP

Wow! Thanks for the info, its wonderfull what a tiny little FI unit can do to a bike

Awesom pics man!

Excuse me???!! I was there too and I have photos too! I'm just not posting them cause I haven't blogged up to that point yet!

The Prologue

Just like any other tourer, even i was going crazy about riding to Ladakh. Tried planning up for the Big ride for atleast last three years, but some problem or the other stopped me from the ultimate ride. The goosebumps i got from the trip logs of Imran (B2L), Praveen (xinfii), Praful, Rockyy, Archistar, PKM was just adding fire to it.

I'm doing it this year somehow - a voice inside me said. Steve too joined around, for he himself was trying the same for the last few years. Around December, We sat around and decided that we should ride to Leh after the Riding Season starts for Leh in June 2010.

Come March 2010, I was hinting my manager about a upcoming vacation and he was OK to approve it, For i hadn't taken a long vacation in the last three years. Boom. Next week there was restructuring in the Organization and I land up with a new Manager! Again i had to play the hard worker role for the new manager before i apply for leaves. First week of April, I run to the new manager asking for leaves - She comes up with a new proposal - Transition to Canada for a Month in May - She casually said enjoy your vacation in Canada.
There went my Ladakh Dreams.

June 1st week, Back in India - Clicking mouse 10 hours a day, Life was going hayward. Steve meanwhile was even ready to go Solo. Atleast, even there would be a riding partner if at all I'm going this year. Checked out forums and the roads were still closed.

I want to goto Leh, I said. Leh? Why would you want to ride to a extreme place and no way you are going there - my parents screamed! I could not convince them. Next day went to office, Applied for leaves. Disappointments everywhere, Another year bites the dust i thought. I have had similar experiences in the last three years. Fourth year was not so different.

For a change, I again begged my manager for leaves. May be Lady Luck was with me, It got approved. Two weeks - 10 working days and 3 weekends. Convincing my parents was tough, finally i told them I'm going no matter what. They let me go half halfheartedly! And so the Ride begins..

Smaller Yet Significant Things:

1. Choosing the Right Bike: Royal Enfield ThunderBird Vs. Karizma ZMR - It was a tough decision to part up with the Bird and get a ZMR - But it was worth it. Reliability took over comfort

2. Time Of Journey: Almost everything went right for us for the dates we went: 12 June to 27 June 2010. We did not face major hurdles nor got stuck anywhere due to calamity / nature's fury!

3. Friends: Choosing the right friends is the best thing to have happened to us. Where ever we went, we met some one or the other who helped us have a safe trip. Right from spares to accommodation to route planning to advices. We got it all from them.

4. Mobile Network: Ladakh is now connected! We really did not feel lost, We had a mobile tower or a Satellite phone or a STD booth somewhere on the way, to communicate back home. It was a blessing in disguise to see a satellite phone between Tangtse and Lukung!

5. Office Tension: When i reached leh, I received a email from my manager that she saw my Facebook profile with Leh updates and asked me to call her ASAP. Couple of days later i got another message that the third line manager wants me to be on a conference call, I gave a shit about it and went to work after 16 days (Dont ask me what my manager said after reaching office)

..To be continued..

Day 1: In & Around Delhi

*makes notes to NOT add boss and peers in Facebook*

ROFLMAO! Your story is quite similar to mine, this is the third year and 4th plan thats gone bust! But I guess the wait will be worth it, it better be!

Teasers and prologue and office be damned. Let's have the log Ananth

Ananth, this is why I have two social networking sites. Orkut for Office and FB for Personal!! Dont mix them.... ha ha ha ha!!