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Unromanticising himalaya rides. Long Read.
Its so good to be back to fresh towels, clean linen and hot shower. This was after 2 weeks of riding a 373cc adv bike through treacherous himalayan passes.
I wish someone told me the brutal reality of such a ride. So here it goes.
The good parts are as obvious as one would expect. Spectacular views, mind numbing heights, soul cleansing terrains, beautiful sunsets, dense starlit sky, camaraderie with strangers and once a lifetime experience of riding on edge of earth, literally everyday.
After few days these scenic landscapes become more like a screen saver while you are trying not to be thrown off the rocky roads into abyss or be run over by the merciless trucks or gasping to take every single breath you could get at 19000ft, all the while carrying half your body weight as riding gears on you and then trying to manoeuvre the bike itself.
I thought I was fairly well prepared for the ride thanks to many riders who went before me giving priceless tips. Even then every morning was a chore. Starts with applying pounds of moisturiser all over the limbs and groin to prevent chaffing, then applying thick layers of sun screen and lip balms. Then wearing thermal inner layer and a performance layer on top of it. Then the thick level 2 armor jackets and riding pants, then the rain gear on top of it. All this before getting into knee length MX boots that wont let you walk easily. You look and feel like a 17th century warrior going for war at this point.
After all this, fill up hydration bladder along with electrolyte tablets. Load up day bag with another jacket, muffler, gloves, protein bars and more. Then chew some gums and get onto bike for a cold start prep. Imagine doing this daily for 14 days. I used to get tired just thinking about it.
Riding through the day was exciting because you never know what to expect next. Like entering scenic Shinkula top and going straight into deep, slushy, muddy downhill for 40kms OR trying to ride through zanskar while evading shooting stones OR the long soft sand no-road terrain from Hanle to Umling la OR the snowy barlach la.
Every half hour, scenery changes, different smell, different color and different air. You get to salute convoy of army trucks, throw candies to kids running to get a hi-fi, giving thumbs up to other riders. No dearth of wide open smiles you get each day.
Daily you stop for ginger-lemon-honey tea or maggi from remote small tent shops. However taking loo breaks is a task because its hard to find your manhood with all the gears. Like Fahadh in 22F kottayam, shivering cold will make that shrivelled piece of junk almost non-existent. Yet you need to constantly hydrate, so you need him every few hours anyways.
By end of the day you are drained from constant riding and radiating pain on shoulders to back due to holding handle bar whole day. All you need is a hot shower but one you can never get easily. Most these places are built for season and hence has no electricity. They switch on generators for few hours from 7pm to charge your gadgets. Provide a bucket of hot water for two. Thats it. Most evenings one would just layer up and snuggle into thick blankets hoping to get some sleep. Or drink copious amounts of rum along with it.
Looks like for most male folks, going to Himalaya is a good excuse to drink, smoke like hell. Mountains will make you pay next day though. It was surreal to watch many struggling to breathe while asking for a lighter for their cigs. They don’t see the irony.
How much is enough though ? Earlier it was Khardung la, now it is Umling la. There is always a taller mountain you can climb, thanks to genuises at BRO. Always another lake, another valley, another scenic landmark you can go. Another circuit, another off road track you can ride.
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