Solo Bike Trips: September 2014

I am +Reddy Satyaprakash a qualified #Automobile #Engineer and a #Freelancer - #Digital #Marketing in #Hyderabad, #India. My foremost hobbies are #Automobiles, #Travel, #Internet and #English. It has been my ambition since college days that to see the world as much as possible in my lifetime. So finally I was able to pull off the trip on 17 Jul 2014 at 5.00 AM on #Hero #Hunk from my home in #Hyderabad. I did not plan everything in advance because I did not have a clear idea as where to go, number of days to travel, when to come back etc.. All I know was to head north and see as much #India as possible depending on my stamina, my #hunk capacity and my wallet weight.

My Inspiration:

+Bharadwaj Dayala
+Jay Kannaiyan
+Ted Simon
Kedarnath Gm
Jaspreet Singh Monty
Steph Jeavons
Grant Johnson
Kaleem Ma
Anders Stridfeldt
Nick Singh Sarao

And scores of other great travelers, forums and sites etc.

Things I carried:
Hero Hunk, 150cc, 14 bhp, Electric start (only), Tubeless tires

Viaterra Claw bag
2 Crashguard bags (Air pump, tools and spare parts)
Tent, Sleeping bag, Plastic sheet
Few cloths, toiletries, ropes, 2 maps
Digital camera, GPS and Internet enabled Smartphone
Spare fuel and Engine oil
and finally
Lots of excitement, little apprehension and Increased heart beat etc..

Day 1: 17 Jul 2014:
I started at 5 am and lost my way in the darkness, but finally came out of the city towards Nagpur highway by 7 am. Since it is my first day of long distance solo bike trip in my life, I had mixed feelings and stomach crunching for some time. I was highly excited and rode at high speed like 80-100 kmph for most of the day passing Nirmal, Adilabad and reached Nagpur, Maharastra by 2 pm. Since it was hot, I decided to continue riding north instead of a break. By 8 pm I reached Narsingpur in Madyapradesh and took a room in a lodge.

Nirmal Town

Day 2: 18 Jul 2014:

I started at 9 am passing Sagar, Lalitpur, Jhansi and Gwalior to Agra by 7 pm covering 600 kms. I was excited about seeing Tajmahal next day.

Day 3: 19 Jul 2014:

Visited Tajmahal, Red fort and rode around the army city. Everywhere I see army stations, soldiers, heavy vehicles.

Tajmahal Entrance

Tajmahal

Agra Cantonment

Redfort

Day 4: 20 Jul 2014:

I started at 8 am and rode towards the north, passing Mathura, Faridabad, Delhi outskirts, Panipat, Karnal, Kurushetra and reached Ambala city by dark.

Day 5: 21 Jul 2014:

I started at 9 am riding towards north-west passing Ludhiana, Jalandhar and reached Amritsar by 4 pm. I was very excited to go to the Wagha border to see the Closing ceremony. By 5 pm I was at the Indo-Pak border at Wagha watching the ceremony. My excitement has no boundaries since I was standing only a few feet away from the International border having Pakistan rangers other side.

Wagha border

Day 6: 22 Jul 2014:

Today I went to Golden Temple, my long time wish. It is really a magnificent and well maintained temple indeed, especially the Lungar, where food is served round the clock (24/7). After a week of long distance traveling, I felt peace at once inside.

Golden Temple

Day 7: 23 Jul 2014:

I roamed around the holy city and in the evening again went to the border to take some more pics.

Wagha Border

BSF Woman Soldier

Pakistan Rangers

Border Mark

Wagha Border

Amritsar City

Day 8: 24 Jul 2014:

I started at 9 am. After crossing Pathankot, hilly area started. Here the fun begins since I am able to speed at only 30-50 kmph as compared to 80-100 kmph on the plain national highways so far. I reached Dharamshala in Himachalpradesh,which is the seat of His Holiness Dalai Lama's Govt-in-Exile by late afternoon. In the evening I went up to Macleogunj which is inhabited mainly by Tibetans and refugees from China. It's a lovely place in the mountains.

Pathankot

Kunal Guest House, Dharamshala

Dharamshala

McLeod Ganj

Day 9: 25 Jul 2014:

It was raining the whole day in Dharamsala. The hilly town looks so beautiful that I felt like settling down there. I had to stay indoors because of downpouring but enjoyed eating in nearby roadside eateries. Did some shopping and couriered some girly gifts to my daughter.

Kunal Guest House, Dharamsala

Dharamsala

Day 10: 26 Jul 2014:

I started in the afternoon to Mcleodganj again with the intention of checking some trekking trails. The upper hills are famous for trekking and Paragliding here.

Mcleodganj

Day 11: 27 Jul 2014:

I started by 10 am passing Pathankot and reached Jammu by evening. Finally I reached J& K state and was quite excited. So far I was reading, watching about Kashmir, but today I am here physically. My prepaid SIM stopped working. They allow only post paid connections in J&K. I went around the city, visited war memorial and took some pics.

Jammu

War Memorial at Jammu

Day 12: 28 Jul 2014:

I started at 9 am to Srinagar passing high Himalayan mountains, Udampur, Patnitop and Anantnag. On the way I met a cyclist Sandeep Eadi from Hyderabad who is cycling all the way from Delhi to Leh. Tough task indeed. It's amazing to watch scores of young and old, Indian and foreign, men and women cycling the high Himalayan mountains with a passion and stamina. I think they are the toughest. I was greeted by heavy downpour just before Srinagar. Reached Srinagar by 8 pm with the whole city in water and somehow managed to find a room at Dal Lake.

Jammu

With Sandeep Eadi at Jammu

Jammu

Patnitop

Srinagar

Day 13: 29 Jul 2014:
It was Ramjan festival day here, incidentally. I found the bazaar is closed. Luckily I found a shop "Sharma sweet shop' for breakfast. The entire city is filled with army personnel and checkpoints, watch towers. etc.. Some how its scary and felt like I am in a war zone. I have seen few stone throwing and youth fighting incidents. But the city and Dal lake are really beautiful. I spent time at the beautiful Dal lake and clicked some pics.

Dal lake

Srinagar

Dal lake

Day 14: 30 Jul 2014:
I started by 10 am passing Sonamarg snow heights, military stations, Zoji La pass and Kargil war memorial at Drass reaching Kargil town by 8 pm. Today I had my first technical problem enroute. Carburetor overflow. I could not rectify myself. Luckily A passerby called up his mechanic friend and soon the problem was rectified. Sure, people are normally good anywhere. I could see lots of snow peaks still at Sonamarg town. At the Zoji La pass I met fellow riders +Madhav N +Piyush Nandi and Abhishek Bobade. After a brief chat we decided to ride together as a group.

Sonamarg

Zoji La Pass

Drass

Drass War Memorial

With Piyush Nandi, Abhisek Bobade and Siva Madhav at Drass War Memorial

Day 15: 31 Jul 2014:
We started late by afternoon after fixing some bike repairs. We had breakfast at an army cafeteria and passed the highest point between Srinagar-Leh @13479 ft. We passed few Tibetan villages and monasteries en route and reached Leh by 9pm.

Kargil

Pic by Piyush Nandi

With Piyush Nandi, Abhisek Bobade and Siva Madhav Pic by Piyush Nandi

With Siva Madhav, Pic by Piyush Nandi

Pic by Piyush Nandi

Kargil

Day 16: 01 Aug 2014:
I was very excited, since reaching the Khardungla pass (Highest motorable road in the world) is my ultimate aim of this trip. We started at 10 am ascending from 11000+ ft to 18000+ ft in a 40km span. It was a terrific feeling and experience which can't be explained in words, but can be experienced practically by oneself only. Out of excitement I rode faster and reached Khardungla top much before my team mates and took some selfies. I noticed a warning board by the army , that says "do not stay here by more than 5-10 minutes else you may get health problems." I did not pay any attention to it and it proved costly to me later. By the time my friends came and had lots more group photos there I already spent more than half-hour. We had masala chai at the cafeteria run by the army and left towards Hunder (Nubra valley) for night camping. It is another 100+ km from here.

While at South-pullu army check post before Khardungla top, I was just allowed to pass, but at North-pullu check post after Khardungla top, the army guy in cowboy hat just kept on talking on the phone thus ignoring us. He is clearly showing attitude. Because since we left Khadungla top I started feeling breathlessness and dizziness due to the lack of oxygen in the air. I just wanted to go downwards as much as possible to minimize the breathing problem, but this cowboy hat wearing army guy is simply chit chatting on the phone (not official as I can hear) instead of noting down our details and let us go on. By evening we reached Hunder after crossing amazing and surprising sand dunes. It was cold already and we pitched our tents near a water stream. We had 2kg cylinders and ready to eat foods so we cooked Maggi, coffee etc.. We had a campfire, around it, we put up our four tents and bikes. It was a memorable experience of camping out, first time in my life. Soon I caught cold along with some breathlessness.

Leh

Pic by Piyush Nandi

Leh

Khardung La Top

Khardung La

Khardung La Pass

With Siv Madhav at Khardung La Pass, Pic by Piyush Nandi

Pic by Piyush Nandi

With Piyush Nandi, Pic by Piyush Nandi

With Siv Madhav at Hunder, Pic by Piyush Nandi

With Siv Madhav and Abhishek Bobade, Pic by Piyush Nandi

Hunder

Day 17: 02 Aug 2014:
In the morning, I tried to taste the water in the stream. Later, I was concerned coz of possible parasites in that water. We wake up late in the morning and went to a nearby Camel stand to have camel ride. Camel ride on the sand dunes of the Himalayas is a nice experience. After that we started riding back to Leh crossing amazing sand dunes of the Himalayas.

Hunder

With Piyush Nandi at Hunder

Hunder

Pic by Piyush Nandi

Hunder

Hunder Camel ride

Pic by Piyush Nandi

Hunder Camel spot

Sand Dunes at Hunder

Sand Dunes at Hunder, Pic by Piyush Nandi

Local kids at Hunder, Pic by Piyush Nandi

Sand dunes at Hunder

Indigenous Livestock

Day 18: 03 Aug 2014:
By the morning time, I was running a high fever, cold and breathlessness. So I skipped today's trip to Pongong Lake, to see the doctor. Later I went to a nearby chemist and got the medicines. I wish I carried basic medicines to avoid this kind of trouble. I remained in the room whole day while others went to Pongong Lake and came back in the night. May be next time I will visit the lake sure.
My friend got a leg injury in a minor accident. So we went to a nearby hospital for bondage. Staff are least interested in attending us, though they were quietly attending the locals. Upon my persistent inquiry, they gave the excuse "the concerned medic is on leave today" and asked us to go the main hospital. Surely the public medical service is pathetic and needs lots of improvement. With no option left, we had to buy bondage items from a medical shop and do it ourselves.

Day 19: 04 Aug 2014:
We went to Shanti Stupa, Tibetan museum and other attractions and continued to Manali skipping a visit to Tso Moriri Lake since some of the teammates does not have enough leaves. By night time we were in the middle of nowhere so we decided to halt for the night at a home cum hotel called Tashi Restaurant at a deserted place. It was very cold. But we had a hearty and heavy dinner cooked by the old man/owner of the house.

German bakery, Leh

Siva Madhav, Piyush nandi and Abhisek Bobade at German bakery, Leh

Leh

Shanti Stupa, Leh

Day 20: 05 Aug 2014:

We started at 9 am in what constitutes a most difficult terrain to pass in the whole trip. We passed Paru, Pang, Sarchu, Keylong Pass and reached Tandi petrol bunk by 4 pm. I don't understand the logic behind not providing a petrol bunk between Leh and Tandi a distance of around 400 km. I have seen few bunks operating inside the army stations along the way. Its unnecessary burden to carry extra fuel by everybody. Unfortunately, there has been a landslide just after Tandi area. We had to wait till 6pm for it to be cleared. We are yet to travel for another 100 kms to reach Manali. And it's already getting dark. So two of us decided to move forward and the rest of the two decided to stay back and start in the morning.

Abhishek and myself boldly started riding at 7 pm. I always fascinated about riding in the night. The whole road ahead is yours and you can enjoy the cool breeze. I used to ride bikes in the nights before and it excites me a lot. Moreover, my bike got tubeless tires and I did not have a single puncture in the last four years since I purchased it. The road is horrible and can be referred as a trekking route infact. On that night fate has decided to test my patience it seems, as my rear tire got a puncture around Rohtang pass. We two are in the pitch of darkness with no vehicle to be seen anywhere. For a moment I did panic honestly, but composed myself quickly. I had a spare air pump with me. Luckily tubeless tire does not loose air completely in the event of a puncture, so I started ridding with a punctured tire covering another 60 kms and reached Manali by 11 pm. Surely it was a hell of an experience.

Tashi Restaurant

Leh-Manali Route

Tandi

Day 21: 06 Aug 2014:

By afternoon rest of the two guys reached Manali and all the three moved on to Chandigarh. Here we parted ways as I decided to stay one more day in Manali. With heavy heart I said bye to my three buddies with whom I rode across Kashmir and enjoyed their company a lot. Surely the group riding has lots of fun and got its own advantages provided everybody gel with others perfectly. I heard so much about the beauty of Manali and here I am walking across the same town in a leisurely mode. The climate is cool and natural scenery is awesome.

With Piyush Nandi, Abhisek Bobade and Siva Madhav,

Manali

Day 22: 07 Aug 2014:
I started at 10 am to Shimla along the Beas river road. I think Himachalpradesh is like a picture card natural beauty. Finally, I reached Shimla at 8 pm. The city is truly mesmerizing, a darling favorite of any romantic person.

Manali-Shimla Road

Day 23: 08 Aug 2014:

I just roamed around the city. These people are really great coz knowing that one side of the road always leads to deep gorge still they quietly drive/live here.

Shimla

Day 24: 09 Aug 2014:
I started at 10 am to Dehradun passing Solan and Nahan two beautiful and picturistic towns on the way. Reached Dehradun by 5 pm.

Shimla

Shimla-Dehradun Route

Landslide near Nahan

Day 25-26: 10-11 Aug 2014:
I was just roaming around the city and went to Mussorie town nearby.

Mussorie

Day 27: 12 Aug 2014:
I started at 10 am passing Muzaffarnagar and Meerut, reached Delhi by 5 pm. I got an eye infection since last few days. This is the result of exposing eyes continuously while driving at high speeds. Metro rail is very convenient for city travel. I went upto Noida just to expereince metro travel.

Day 28-29: 13-14 Aug 2014:
I had to rest after having eye drops.

Day 30: 15 Aug 2014:
Today is Independence day. So I went to Chandni Chowk to see the crowd and celebrations.

Delhi

Day 31: 16 Aug 2014:
I started at 9 am visiting India gate, parliament street, etc. to take pics. I went on passing Gurgon to Jaipur by 4 pm. I went around the Jaipur city. It is full of forts. They look royal from outside, but inside all are encroached by illegal constructions. How sad? The city is surrounded by marble/granite hills. It is a big industry here. I noticed that the pillion rider also wears helmet compulsorily in the city. That's a good practice. Later I passed Ajmer by 10 pm and slept in a Dhaba.

Delhi

Delhi-Jaipur Road

Jaipur

Day 32: 17 Aug 2014:

I started at 8 am passing Udaipur, Ahmadabad and Vadodara reached Surat by 10 pm. Somehow I lost the way and entered the national park area. I slept in a temple in the jungle. It's fun to sleep in the open sky at road side.

Day 33: 18 Aug 2014:

I started early passing Saputara hill station, Aurangabad, Nanded and reached Nizamabad by 11 pm. After Aurangabad, the engine started misfiring. This is the second technical problem during the whole trip. I was eager to reach home and not in a mood to halt the ride. So I continued riding in low gear. I slept at a Dhaba.

Day 34: 19Aug 2014:

I started early by 4 am and reached Hyderabad (Home) by 9 am. I was tired, exhausted but happy for completing the trip successfully without any major breakdowns/falls/injuries/untoward incidents. But I had to take rest for about a week after the trip due to the infection in both eyes.

My Tripline Map..

http://www.tripline.net/trip/North-India_Solo_Bike_Trip-115705477305100784DFAECB6274B1D6

Costs:
Duration: 33 days
Total distance covered: 8000+ kms
Fuel & others: Rs 20,000.00 @Rs 2/1 km
Stay: Rs 15,000.00 @Rs 500/night
Food & others: Rs 10,000.00 @Rs 300/day
Miscellaneous expenses: Rs 5000.00
Total: Rs 50,000.00

The Feeling:
Can't be explained in words, but can be only experienced by oneself.

Travel again?
Yes, Definitely... O..God.. Why I did not travel earlier in the life?

Future plans:
1) South-India bike trip
2) East- India, Nepal, Bhutan bike trip
2) South-East Asia bike trip (Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore)
4) Europe bike trip
etc.

Dream Ambition:
To cross International borders (Read Intercontinental) on a bike one day.

Advise:
Just do it!!!

Are you passionate about Bike riding? Did you travel long distance on a bike before? Do share your comments/opinions/suggestions below. Thanks for reading :-)

Solo Bike Trips

Saturday, September 20, 2014

8000 kms, 33 days, 10-state, ‪‎North-India‬ solo bike trip...