Day1 (Sat, 13th June): Safety Gear is a MUST...
After reading numerous travelogues and seeing thousands of pics...It became a dream to ride my bike to Ladakh...To experience the beauty, adventure and thrill it offers... Then finally, in June, 2015, nearly after four years, my dream turned into reality.
A hectic day in the office, but the feeling that tonight I'll be heading for a soul fulfilling journey charged me up. Came from office @ 10pm(Friday night), had dinner, packed all the stuff, bid adieu to mom,dad and left home @12:15am. I prefer traveling at night for three reasons... to avoid getting roasted in Delhi's scorching heat, to avoid the crazy traffic jams and the fact that I get so excited that I don't get sleep at all. So why waste time and wait for the dawn.
Like always, stopped by Gurudwara Majnu Ka Tilla on NH1, to take blessings from the almighty and to pray for my journey ahead. Saw a big group of bikers near Mubarka Chowk, hoards and hoards of them, they were all packed in their riding gear (I would meet them later at Zozila). By looking at their riding gear, I realized that in all the hurry I forgot to wear my safety gear(knee and elbow pads), a huge mistake and I would pay for it later. There were dark clouds all over the sky, couldn't spot a single star, so I asked god, it would be really nice if he can shower some rains and make this ride more joyful. To which he listened and in no time sent thunderstorms on me, well, I only asked for a light drizzle. I realized that we need to be very specific nowadays, even with the god. It really started raining cats and dogs, to a point where the droplets weren't droplets anymore, they felt like needles piercing into my face. I was all drenched and it was getting difficult to ride, so I had to take multiple stops near Sonipat, Ambala, Jalandhar and Pathankot.
Reached Ludhiana in the afternoon and was welcomed by a sandstorm. I was feeling very hungry, so decided to stop by a roadside dhaba for brunch. I patiently waited for the storm to settle down while sipping a cup of hot milk tea, after about an hour, the storm calmed down a bit, so I decided to move on. Started feeling signs of fatigue since I was awake for over 24 hours but the real culprit was the bright sunlight. Its always very hard to stay focus and keep the eyes open when you've been riding for over 12 hours and had no night's sleep and now the sun's out and shining bright on your face. But I have faced similar situation in the past and know how to deal with it. The trick is to have frequent tea/coffee breaks, thoroughly wash your eyes the moment they start shutting down and eat very very less. But it would be a lie if I tell you that I was not affected by it at all. Fatigue was taking its toll on me and there were times when I was forced to take short naps(few seconds) while riding. Met with heavy rains again at Jalandhar and Pathankot.
The funny part about Day1's ride was that at one place I was getting drenched by the rains and on other place was getting parched by the sun and winds and this happened with me not once, but four times. My feeling was similar to that of a dirty cloth's that gets soaked, washed, spinned and dried up in a washing machine. Finally the rains vanished after Pathankot. At one point, near Udhampur I met with a minor accident when I tried overtaking a car on a curvy stretch. While taking the curve, the Ladakh carrier came in contact with the road, I lost balance and the bike tipped over. My right knee got scratched, but thank god, I wasn't riding fast and got away with just a minor wound. I realized how important it is to wear safety gear and cursed myself for forgetting it at home. But Ladakh carrier, God damn you! It was the first time I was riding with the carrier, the extra bulge created by it at both rear ends of the bike changed the riding dynamics to certain extent. After this accident, I had to adjust my riding style and be more careful on corners and curves as the ground clearance on both rear ends was clearly reduced by a few inches. I finally reached my destination Jammu in the evening around 7:30 and found a room in hotel "Touch Wood".
Gurudwara Majnu Ka Tilla, NH1
@ some dhaba near Ambala
NH1
Near Pathankot
@ a dhaba near Pathankot
Approaching Jammu
My room in Hotel Touch Wood
After reading numerous travelogues and seeing thousands of pics...It became a dream to ride my bike to Ladakh...To experience the beauty, adventure and thrill it offers... Then finally, in June, 2015, nearly after four years, my dream turned into reality.
A hectic day in the office, but the feeling that tonight I'll be heading for a soul fulfilling journey charged me up. Came from office @ 10pm(Friday night), had dinner, packed all the stuff, bid adieu to mom,dad and left home @12:15am. I prefer traveling at night for three reasons... to avoid getting roasted in Delhi's scorching heat, to avoid the crazy traffic jams and the fact that I get so excited that I don't get sleep at all. So why waste time and wait for the dawn.
Like always, stopped by Gurudwara Majnu Ka Tilla on NH1, to take blessings from the almighty and to pray for my journey ahead. Saw a big group of bikers near Mubarka Chowk, hoards and hoards of them, they were all packed in their riding gear (I would meet them later at Zozila). By looking at their riding gear, I realized that in all the hurry I forgot to wear my safety gear(knee and elbow pads), a huge mistake and I would pay for it later. There were dark clouds all over the sky, couldn't spot a single star, so I asked god, it would be really nice if he can shower some rains and make this ride more joyful. To which he listened and in no time sent thunderstorms on me, well, I only asked for a light drizzle. I realized that we need to be very specific nowadays, even with the god. It really started raining cats and dogs, to a point where the droplets weren't droplets anymore, they felt like needles piercing into my face. I was all drenched and it was getting difficult to ride, so I had to take multiple stops near Sonipat, Ambala, Jalandhar and Pathankot.
Reached Ludhiana in the afternoon and was welcomed by a sandstorm. I was feeling very hungry, so decided to stop by a roadside dhaba for brunch. I patiently waited for the storm to settle down while sipping a cup of hot milk tea, after about an hour, the storm calmed down a bit, so I decided to move on. Started feeling signs of fatigue since I was awake for over 24 hours but the real culprit was the bright sunlight. Its always very hard to stay focus and keep the eyes open when you've been riding for over 12 hours and had no night's sleep and now the sun's out and shining bright on your face. But I have faced similar situation in the past and know how to deal with it. The trick is to have frequent tea/coffee breaks, thoroughly wash your eyes the moment they start shutting down and eat very very less. But it would be a lie if I tell you that I was not affected by it at all. Fatigue was taking its toll on me and there were times when I was forced to take short naps(few seconds) while riding. Met with heavy rains again at Jalandhar and Pathankot.
The funny part about Day1's ride was that at one place I was getting drenched by the rains and on other place was getting parched by the sun and winds and this happened with me not once, but four times. My feeling was similar to that of a dirty cloth's that gets soaked, washed, spinned and dried up in a washing machine. Finally the rains vanished after Pathankot. At one point, near Udhampur I met with a minor accident when I tried overtaking a car on a curvy stretch. While taking the curve, the Ladakh carrier came in contact with the road, I lost balance and the bike tipped over. My right knee got scratched, but thank god, I wasn't riding fast and got away with just a minor wound. I realized how important it is to wear safety gear and cursed myself for forgetting it at home. But Ladakh carrier, God damn you! It was the first time I was riding with the carrier, the extra bulge created by it at both rear ends of the bike changed the riding dynamics to certain extent. After this accident, I had to adjust my riding style and be more careful on corners and curves as the ground clearance on both rear ends was clearly reduced by a few inches. I finally reached my destination Jammu in the evening around 7:30 and found a room in hotel "Touch Wood".
Gurudwara Majnu Ka Tilla, NH1
@ some dhaba near Ambala
NH1
Near Pathankot
@ a dhaba near Pathankot
Approaching Jammu
My room in Hotel Touch Wood
Taking a nap and starting early in the morning would have been safer and I thought you were carrying too much luggage... Anyway good post.
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