We both could easily keep up the same way as we used to when riding 2-up on 1 motorcycle. The Duke is just aces!
BHPian shyamg28 recently shared this with other enthusiasts:
The wife & I took our 5th trip to Ladakh, this year. That’s five trips overall, not all 5 in the same year. The difference this time – we would be on separate motorcycles, starting all the way from Bangalore.
Mouna learnt how to ride on her 13th birthday, and teaching her, was dad. Probably the best birthday gift ever one might say! And ever since, she has wanted a Yamaha RX100. In January this year, she decided she wanted her own motorcycle. We got one for her. And as things are with her, she had already made grand plans for Ladakh. Some 6000 kilometers all considered. Sounds crazy but knowing her, I knew this wasn’t a pipe dream – she would make it a reality. Of this much, I was certain!
So, where were we? Ladakh, yes! We planned meticulously, overpacked, repacked, packed and overpacked. Got the motorcycles ready for the big day. Got through all our workload a day before, only to realize we wanted to be mentally fresh, so we ended up delaying our start by a day. That’s just how things are. As Bruce Lee says, “be like water my friend”!
Starting off, I was quite nervous as the designated “Ride Lead”. I have probably never looked into the rear-view mirror as much on any other trip! But once I observed how easy the first day turned out to be, I gained tremendous confidence in us. This was happening!
Up until reaching Ludhiana in Punjab, we hadn’t really encountered any issues. We’d done about 2000 kilometers on some smooth and rough highways, some strewn with potholes, and some strewn with cows. Yep, you heard that right!
Now, the day we reached Ludhiana, turned out to be nothing short of a nightmare. We were about 150 kilometers into the journey when we hit an Expressway. And this one did not anything below 4 wheels. We did consider joining our motorcycles together through some bungee cords to pass off as a 4-wheeler. Better sense prevailed and we took an alternate route. Which, as it turned out, increased our arrival time by two fold. What was supposed to be an 8-hour journey, now turned out to be 16 hours! Through some of the worst B-roads ever. Broken so bad in some places, even a massage wouldn’t suffice. There were also several road closures along the way (the best one would come around 10pm that night), which meant us navigating through villages, where a car wouldn’t even fit. There was one hilarious instance where we had to ride and bend our backs 10 different ways to fit through an overhead railway bridge, which was all of 5 feet tall.
It’s 10pm, we’ve found the National Highway and we’re coasting. Barricades! What do we do now? A young gentleman came over to us on his motorcycle. He had a flag of either the community or mission he belonged to, waving on his motorcycle. He asked us to follow him, and without a second thought, we did. But we did make sure our live location was being shared (yay technology!) throughout, and our cameras were recording throughout. He took us through the slushiest, darkest single lanes I’ve ever come across. Mouna as usual, was singing along and enjoying the “adventure” while I had my heart in my mouth throughout. The fact that I’m here writing this is testimony that it turned out well. We reached the highway and carried on. Turns out, the National Highway was blocked by farmers protesting a new bill. For several kilometers. Disruption at its best!
The next surprise arrived as we reached Srinagar, two days later. Cloudbursts are becoming a common occurrence in certain parts of the world and this part is no exception to it. A flash flood the previous night, meant that the only road we could take towards our next destination, would be washed out. BRO had other plans. Not my loving relative, but Border Roads Organization, responsible for all road constructions in the Himalayan belt. They cleared up the path and onwards we proceeded! “Pahadon ka mausam aur Mumbai ka fashion ka kuch nahin keh sakthe!” Equates to, “you can’t predict the weather in the mountains as much as the fashion in Mumbai!”
We reached Leh city, capital of Ladakh! We spent an extra day to acclimatize. But the body knows how to adapt as long as you give it time. We rested! Watched a movie or two after almost 3000 kms of being on the road. The next part of the journey would be the most challenging one we had ever taken – 19000 ft! Higher than Everest Base camp! Umling La – the highest motorable pass in the world! (Enough with the exclamations Shyam).
We made our way from Leh to Hanle, the nearest town/village to Umling La. That night we would meet a couple from Australia, who were out on a world tour on their motorcycle! Talk about “Goals!” It’s a dream I’ve always had and one I’m trying to “Inception” into Mouna. Meeting Ollie & Maddy was a true-blue highlight of the trip for me. Here we were, pushing ourselves quite hard, unwavering in our commitment to a month long trip. And here was this couple who had made a 3 year plan (if not more) to be out on the road, doing what they loved best! They go by Tilly2Wheels.
The next morning, we would say our goodbyes to them and make our journey towards Umling La. Through a series of switchbacks, possibly a hundred thousand of them, we made our way to an intermediate mountain pass, Photi La (pronounced Foti La), casually sitting at 18000 ft. We descended and then ascended again towards the mission. Weather was turning by this time. Dark clouds appeared darker, and the indicated 5 degree Celsius seemed -5. We were excited, and the adrenaline kept us going. So much so that it took us a moment to realized we had reached! Tears streamed down. I noticed in that silence that Mouna was overwhelmed too. She too was consumed in that moment. It meant a great deal to both of us. For me, the moment was all hers. She had made it. Both, the 13 year old and the 33 year old had! A dream. A challenge. A hope. An accomplishment. There would be no “conquering” today. There would only be relief. Of having lived up to ones own expectations. There would be happiness and gratefulness, for the privilege of this life. We had made it to Umling La! We spent some time absorbing the moment, space and time. Then we quickly took some photos and videos to serve as memory were we to ever forget.
The return journey was eventful, but I won’t bore you with that now. This journey of ours served many powerful life lessons to us both. And also taught us one thing – the paradox of humanity – we all seek comfort, and the next moment, we seek discomfort through a challenge, until the next comfort! Haha!
I leave you with one quote – “It’s not what happens to you, but how you react to it, that matters.”
Cheers!
Leaving you with a few photos of the journey.
Bijapur – We visited Gol Gumbaz again.
Decided to visit Ajanta Caves which turned out to mess up our route a fair bit over the next 2 days, but well worth it.
En route Jaipur, the 2nd time we got stuck at a traffic jam caused by a Roadways bus related accident.
Jammu.
We messed up and followed a Pulsar chap and ended on the opposite end of Dal lake. Gorgeous nonetheless.
En route Srinagar.
Zoji La! Extreme traffic this time around but good weather ensured we made it through without any incident.
Continue reading BHPian shyamg28’s travelogue for more insights and information.
