We, the Fools

Our “Red Head” motivation lasted for about an hour or so. The Sun was at its peak, but the cold winds were playing their part very well. Despite applying sun’s cream frequently, we could feel the sun burn on our face. The path became a bit difficult, as the roads were broken and the curves were steep. My head ache was a bit tolerable, which was overruled by the dry grey mountains and the perfect blue sky. Dhyani tried all his best to keep the ride as smooth as possible but the path was completely broken, with bumps and small pebbles spilled perfectly all over the place. This gave us a back ache but when it was unavoidable, I requested Dhyani to stop the bike in some safe area. We were crossing over some mountain, and when my thighs became numb, I asked Dhyani to stop the bike immediately and take some rest. I really needed a small walk to get the blood flow back to my thighs. Siddhu and Ujjwal were following us and after 10 min or so, even they joined us. The place where we were standing was not as steep as we faced earlier. It was a flat long mountain with deadly curves. We could see the road, about a kilometer in one stretch, and follow up on two or three curves where they join in with the neighbor mountain road. 

Standing on the edge of the road, we could see the road going down the mountain, and continuing on our way further. There were a few bikers whom we saw overtaking us on that mountain, and suddenly, when we were about to get back on our bike, we heard a crashing sound. It was those bikers who were trying to take a shortcut and run on the mountain hill, instead of taking the actual road. Frankly speaking, it was kind of funny, looking at some grown old men, on a bike and falling down on a hill, which could be easily avoided, if they would have taken the ROAD. 

“Zindagi ke 10 second bacha ken a jaane kya ukhaadna chahte the wo log” was the first thought that came to my mind. Anyways, we ran to the accidental area and tried to help them. Luckily none of them was hurt severely, only a few scratches on their hand. Just a few minutes later, a big group of bikers came up. There were around 5, 6 bikes and a four wheeler. All men came up and inquired about the accident, when suddenly a fat guy, a bit small in height came up and shouted, “Benchod!! Chutiye ho kya. Dimag kharab hai tumara jo tum pahaad me chad gaye” and the moment we heard this, we backed off. It seemed that it was kind of a private issue. After a few minutes of scolding, that short guy came to Siddhu and thanked us for our help. He was really pissed by the act his friends tried, and he told them to go and sit in the car and let other people ride the bike. The accident seemed to be a small one, but looking at the bigger picture, these guys could have been fallen off the mountain if there was a few more seconds of acceleration or if the bike went out of control. Anyways, a major accident was avoided. All is well, that ends well.

After a small talk, the short guy asked us about our rest of the crew. We all looked at each other, confused, or proud, we murmured “There are just four of us”. I feel, this statement gave him a little SHOCK, as he couldn't believed us and kept looking at us as if we are some kind of alien asking him questions about Einstein’s theory of relativity. He was quiet for a few seconds, and after a long pause, he said, “tum pagal ho. Tume pata bhi hai tum kahan aaye ho aur kahan ja rahe ho? Ye LADAKH hai bhai, pata kia tha iss jagah ke baare me, ya aise hi aagaye byke utha ke. You are supposed to have a back up, and that’s why people carry a four wheeler with them, in which there will be mechanic and some bike parts, jo ke kharab hote hi hai and toot te hi hai iss raaste me. Socho, yahan tumari byke kharab ho gayi, ya clutch plate ya break toot gaye, to kya karoge? Socha tha ye. Yahan door door tak koi nahi milega. Thoda bahut adventure hona chhahiye, jawan log ho, but ITNA.”

We were all dumbstruck, looking at each other, thinking all the negative things that could have happen to us or could happen to us. The guy was actually correct, what if our bike broke, what if our breaks or gear box or any other thing dysfunctions. What if there is a major accident. All of a sudden all negative thoughts covered our mind, which made us speechless. Then suddenly, Siddhu asked, “do you mind if we could join you guys in your group”. His main idea was if anything happens, at least these guys have a mechanic. The short guys agreed and told us to follow them. The moment we started, Siddhu looked at me, smiled and said, “ho gaya kaand. Marr jaati apni, ye sab socha to tha but itnaa detail me nahi. Chalo, isi ke saath lag jaate hai, kuch hua to madad to mill hi jayegi”. So there was no other choice for us, but to follow them. We have travelled so much, faced so much, now no turning back. “Jo bhi hoga, dekhi jayegi” 

KTM DUKE 200

Our next destination was NAKEELA pass, which was 15,574 feet above sea level, the highest of all the passes we covered till then. All the scenery seemed monotonous now, same blue sky, similar mountains. Slowly, we were riding up onto the mountain, and my same headache. Most of the time, my eyes was closed and my head was resting on Dhyani's shoulder. He was trying his best to keep the conversation going but I was in no mood for any chitchat. Moreover we had nothing much to talk about. Somehow we managed to reach our destination. Siddhu and Ujjwal were running 10 - 15 minutes late, so we had no option other than to wait for them. My back was hurting so I the first thing came to my mind was to search a place to sit and relax. It was like hundreds of drums were beating in my head. Dhyani was concerned about my situation but there was nothing that can be done. Both of us were clueless. All he said was, "hang on Bhai, aate hi honge wo". A few minutes later, they arrived. Both of them were looking exhausted. I was not feeling comfortable so we did a quick photo session and were back on our beasts.

I was the quickest among us to get down from that hill. I was not getting the main reason of my problem, but all I understood was that the intensity of my headache was increasing with the increment of the height above sea level. I took control of the bike, and rushed down the hill as much as possible and within 15 20 minutes, my headache intensity was reduced to half. I was kind of feeling fresh and later it occurred to me that like other passes we crossed over, even NAKEELA was covered with multi coloured flags and small stones were piled up on each other all over the place, but there was no point pondering over it when you're sure you won't get answer to it. I was trying to start some conversation with Dhyani but he doesn't seemed interested. A few minutes later, all of a sudden he asked me to stop the bike. He was feeling sick and the moment we stopped, he ran to one side of the road and puked. Apparently the dinner they had last week was not as good as they thought it would be. Anyhow he took rest for some 10 minutes and we were back on track. It is not a good thing to say or to feel, but looking Dhyani's condition, I was a bit relieved as I was not the only one who was getting sick in this trip. I became pretty sure, Ujjwal and Siddhu might be sailing on the same boat.

Soon we were on to our next destination, which was LACHULUNGLA Pass, which was 16,616 ft above sea level, and the effects were affecting me again. Again I gave my bike control to Dhyani, and I was again resting on the rear seat. Somehow we reached that destination, which was same as NAKEELA, similar view, same piles of small rocks, same multi-colored flags covering all approximately all the area. I was so exhausted, that this time I didn't felt like going for a picture. Siddhu and Ujjwal joined us, we had a quick chit chat followed by a quick photo session and were back on track. All of us were exhausted like anything, back ache, head ache (but their intensity was much less than mine), but determined.

The road was not as smooth as it was earlier and was degrading as we were moving on it. We were now moving across the feet of the mountains, and the view reminded us of "Ali baba Chalis Chor", as all of it looked like Arabian mountains, and I could literally imagine some horsemen riding across those mountains with swords and shields, with gold and silver loaded on them, and the next moment I remembered Siddhu telling me that it was the famous SILK ROUTE. Where ancient Chinese people used to trade silk to India, and the next moment, I could imagine caravan of Chinese people with silk luggage. But my imagination didn't last long. The road was all broken and it was very difficult to cross that area, and moreover the bumps were causing back aches. The surroundings were of the similar mountains but the view was totally different. I tried a lot to capture the view in my camera, but couldn't. It was all compacted, and I guess it was all meant to be felt, and not captured. But that didn't last long, as the bumpy road was disturbing my concentration. As usual we were facing difficulties, but on top of it, we were also enjoying the most.

The path lasted for one hour or so, and by the time we crossed the crooked path, our back ache was at its peak. But luckily soon after we came out of that valley, there was a small camp where all the riders were resting and having their meals. It was almost noon, and we all needed some rest and to fuel ourself. We occupied a table and resting on a chair at that moment was nothing less than a cushion. We all were quiet and tired as hell, so instead to chatting we were just observing other riders.

Usually all of them were foreigners and military personals who were travelling on bikes, and there were some, who were travelling on cars, and SUVs. Breaking the odds, we heard a revving sound of a motor bike. It was a KTM DUKE 200, a newly launched bike in India, which travelled all the way through Manali with other Royal Enfields, but the most amazing part was when the rider took off the helmet, we saw a red head foreigner girl, with a leather jacket. She adjusted her helmet, shouted "YEAHHH" and was on the road. We all looked at each other and all of us were speechless. In our one and a half day journey, we found so many crazy people, all inspiring each other, and all teaching the same thing, it's not about what you do, it's all about how you do it.
We had some discussion about the path while we had our meals, which was as pathetic as most of the other meals and after resting for some time, the riders were back. We put our helmet on, gave HELL YEAHHH to each other, highly motivated, we were back on our route, determined, focused and excited, about our next few hours would be like. 

A crazy inspiration

The view was fantabulous. We were on a broken road, on the edge of a mountain. Down below a thin dry river was flowing and we were moving along with it. The sky was perfect blue, with small white feathered clouds sprinkled all over it. It was a bright sunny morning and the sun was shining at its best but the surroundings were neutralising its effect. In fact we were feeling a bit cold even in that situation. Thanks to Siddhu's research, we were carrying a high SPF sunscreen lotion which we needed to apply every 2-3 hours. A rider is supposed to act tough and feel tough and that was my first doubt on buying a sunscreen, but as usual, I was wrong. Its a must to have a sunscreen lotion with you. The surroundings and the chilled breeze won't make you feel warm and hot but the sun rays won't reduce its effect. There was a high chance for getting a sunburn on the exposed skin, which was usually the face. Dhyani was in charge of the bike now and I was holding the camera on the rear seat. I tried to take as many pictures as I can but was still missing something or the other. The view was like no matter how much time you spend there, just looking in one particular direction, or one particular way, you won't get enough. The mountains were spread as far as you can see, kissing the perfect blue sky, and these mountains were not the regular mountains that we used to see in Dehradoon or the ones we saw in Manali.


These were the perfect desert mountains, with dry rocks, and gravels. At one side, I saw a mountain, far away, and while I was capturing it into the camera, I saw some movement in it. I removed the camera and saw it with my naked eyes. At first I thought was hellucinating but then I realised, without any specific reason, there was a landslide occurring on it. What a beautiful scene it was which was not meant to be captured in the camera. I told Dhyani to stop the bike and look at the view but by the time he removed his helmet and shades, it was over. Maybe I was the lucky one, but as soon as it was over, it occurred to me, what if this happens on the mountain next to me. Phew, that freaked me out for a moment. To be precise, it was the perfect example of a "deadly beauty".

As we were moving forward, and I was capturing pictures suddenly I saw something on the road ahead of us. It was unbelievable to see a guy, on that height of the mountain riding a cycle. As we overtook, I looked back and saw a 50+ year old foreigner with long beard. He was a below average looking thin guy, and he seemed really exhausted. Well, who wouldn't be. He must have started from Manali, and that too in a cycle with a small bag carrying on his back. My condition was miserable last night when I was travelling on a bike. What a hell of a guy he would have been. Marvellous, simply marvellous. He was continuously paddling on the first gear and was moving very slowly over the mountain. As soon as I saw him, instead of taking his photograph, I smiled at him and showed him a thumbs up. His expression totally changed and he smiled back and replied with a thumbs up. Wow, what a crazy fellow he must be, covering the worlds toughest motorable road on a mere bicycle. Even Dhyani was awed by looking at him. Moving further, we saw some more cycle riders on our way. Some taking pictures of the surrounding nature, some taking rest and some struggling their way up the mountain. What an inspiration it was to look at them. Many people will call them crazy, many will call them fools, but they were nothing but Heros, following their dreams. We learned a lot from these strangers, and I was sure there was more to come and in return we were giving them a thumbs up and a smile, just to motivate them, which might help them the same way as it helped us.

Welcome to the Paradise of India

It was a proper black out. Not even a single thought was running across my mind. All I remember was when these guys came back and were preparing the bed, and all I can hear was “abbe ab kya karna hai” and I was down again.

Dawn broke and Ujjwal woke me up. Woah, what a feeling it was, as if it was the first time I felt of being ALIVE. I stood up, and everyone was looking at me. Within these five to ten seconds, the whole journey crossed my mind. All that danger we all went through, all the pain and all the problems, and we were just half way through. It was a physical as well as a mental torture for the all of us. I looked up when Siddhu asked me, “negi, kaisa hai? Kya karna hai ab”? I looked down, closed my eyes. My head was still paining, but not as intense as it was the previous night. I was glad we took a night halt in Manali. If we would have continued, I don’t think I would have reached Sarchu alive. Took a deep breath, stood up and said, “kya matlab kya karna hai, CHALO AAGE”. All of them looked at each other and asked me again, whether I was sure to continue. I smiled and said, “chalo yaar, jo hoga dekh lenge” and I went outside the tent.

Woah!! What an amazing view it was. We reached Sarchu in the dark, so had no idea how it looked, but now I was, standing on a green plains grassland for about one km on each side of the road, and stretched about four km long, everything in between huge mountain range, running parallel to the road. All of them were Desert Mountains, light brown in color, glowing with sunlight all over them, and above them was a clear blue sky. I can smell the freshness in the air, pure air. I stretched my arms, looked up into the sky, and smiled. I was so proud of myself, that I finally made it, WE FINALLY MADE IT. I could recall all the words that the foreigner said to me, and why he was so happy and why he shook my hand and congratulated me.

All I can say is, it was my life best achievement. I turned back, and saw Ujjwal and Dhyani loading our luggage on our Enfields, and Siddhu was trying to ignite the engine. It was cold there, and due to that, the bykes engine was jammed. But within ten minutes, we were all set and Vroom Vroom, we were off. I, as usual, convinced Dhyani to give me control of the byke. I was recharged, confident, and more over very eager to find out, what more this journey has for us. The road ahead of us was not as good as it was before, plus all the riders were starting all along with us and within one km, there was big traffic jam. It was a broken road, with small sand mountains in the middle of road. I was so happy at that moment, that I lost the calculation of my bike luggage and the sand mountain that I bumped into one. Lucky enough, the byke was still under control. Dhyani asked me if I was comfortable, and there was no need to prove anything to anyone. I calm him down and said it was just a small miscalculation. After few minutes, we saw one more water stream ahead of me, but it was a bit safe as compared to the previous day water stream. I was able to cross it, without a single halt, but my fear started when I saw ahead. We were on a mountain and big deep river flowing along with it. We needed to reach the other mountain, which was connected by a bridge. It was an old, iron bridge, but the path on the bridge was made of concrete slabs, and some of them were broken. It was not as dangerous as compared to what we have faced earlier, but my main concern was what if the concrete slabs breaks. I could see down across the broken slabs, river flowing with high current. Dhyani advised me to go slow and easy on the slabs, but I didn’t even heard him. The moment I reached the starting of the bridge, I raced to the end of the bridge. All I could figure out was, the soon we cross the bridge, the better it was. The bridge was connected to the main road. What a relief it was to be on a well constructed road.

Sun was shining, the climate was perfect, the mood was set, and the surroundings were perfect. We all were awed by the views and were enjoying all of it. After a few km, we saw a sign, “WELCOME TO THE PARADISE OF INDIA”. We all stopped on that sign and took some photos standing near that sign. There we all took a small break for a short talk. There Siddhu told me that how all of us were so exhausted and tired last night, and at dinner, they were discussing about me. Everyone knew I was not physically accepting the changes, and was most affected. Even they were physically and mentally tired and came into a conclusion that we all should return back. No one was sure how the road and situation would turn up for the rest of the journey. In the morning, they all decided to came up to me and we all be returning back to our respective places. It was a very important journey for all of us, but all of us were scared, mostly because it was affecting me the most. But when I stood up, and in my condition, I was the only one, who said that we should continue forward, that motivated them and there we were, standing on the Paradise of India. I was all surprised, and dumbstruck, what to say. All I said was Chalo yaar, and we were back on our bykes. On my way, I thought of all the situations and scenarios, and was again very proud of myself. But more than being proud, I was happy.

Stretching my limits

It was around three O’clock and we have still reached our first water stream. Till now, our main focus was to enjoy the scenery, take photograph, and enjoy each and every moment of our journey. But in this we forgot one essential thing, our “tight schedule”. We actually were very slow as compared to what we should be covering till then. Our aim was to cover till Sarchu before it gets dark. As per our instructions, we were not supposed to ride in the dark. The main reason was that in dark, if by any chance, some land sliding is there or some rock came down the mountain, there will be no chance that we could survive. Plus, Sarchu was the only place where we will be getting a tent for a night halt. No other place will provide us with accommodations. We enquired from other riders, and were told that there was a hell lot to cover. Plus in between, there was another pass that was to be covered. Baralacha la Pass, which was 13,054 feet above sea level. As per our last Rohtang Pass experience, I was sure, if we get the same road as we got in Rohtang, we are screwed. But we had no other option other than to face it. So, we decided to gear up and cover it without stopping. We all were exhausted, talked a lot till now, so there was neither mood nor situation for more chatting. We started our bykes and Vroom Vroom, we well off. Best part of heavy cc vehicle is it can carry a heavy load, and still runs like hell. No more stopping, no more photo session, just talking with the winds. Dhyani kept asking me to give him control, as he was just sitting at the back seat since five in the morning. But I was too stubborn to listen to him. Sometime I get this crazy fits, and once it’s decided, it’s decided. No more turning back. All I wanted was to see how much I can stretch my limits. So all I said to Dhyani was to gimme some more time. Luckily, the rest of the road was newly constructed. We rode like thunder on a nonstop one hour long ride on a long and wide lane, with smooth curves.

In between, we took one halt to fuel our stomach. It was a small canteen made of just plastic cover near a lake. It was a heavy windy region, but as we entered the canteen, it was quiet calm. We sat and checked out the menu. It was pathetic. All the canteens till now had the same things, chocolates and egg maggie. We had no other option other than to eat the same thing. We all were tired and exhausted and we can look at it in each other faces. Didn’t even felt like eating at all, but we had to fuel up. We didn’t even eat all of it, and came outside. I was damn tired. Just wanted to lie down somewhere, but no place, so sat on my byke and stretched to the back seat. My back was aching, my thighs were numb. My stomach was aching because all I ate since morning was a lot of egg Maggie and few chocolates.

All day, I was sitting on my byke, and was having problem in digesting my food. We were told not to stuff ourselves with more food, just have sufficient amount, but when I am hungry, I can’t resist the temptation. I was half lying on my byke when Siddhu called me up to take some pictures. The view was amazing near the lake, so even I didn’t want to say no to it. We took some snaps, when suddenly, a Sumo entered a scene. We turned back and saw two ladies coming out of it. Siddhu was overjoyed, and told me to check one of them out.


Out of surprise, one of them was wearing one piece. We were all covered with jackets and sweatshirts and there she was, standing in a windy cold region, trying to pose for a picture, and at the same time, was holding her skirt kind of dress as the heavy wind was playing games with her. All I can think was if Marilyn Monroe was alive and saw her, she would have committed suicide. Anyways, we still had a long way to cover, so we sat on our beasts and rode off. Dusk was approaching and we still haven’t reached Baralacha la Pass. We had to increase our speed more, but the road was becoming dangerous, but we managed. I gave Dhyani the control, and agreed to sit on the back seat. While approaching the Pass, I was damn tired, my back was hurting and a new thing started. My head started to pain. Earlier I was ignoring it, but the more we were approaching the Pass, the more intense it became. For some time, the surrounding view was relieving. What a beauty. We were on top of a mountain, and the sun was about to hide into the mountains. Dusk was never so beautiful. Huge snow capped mountains on one side, and few rocky mountains on the other, with an orange sky. My headache was getting intense but this beautiful scenery was distracting it a bit. I thought of taking a picture of it, but it was too beautiful to capture in a frame. Beautiful things don’t ask for attention. The only thing I can do was to enjoy and feel each and every moment of that scene. For a moment, my headache was gone, or maybe it was there but I was way too much awed in that moment that it was not affecting me. Maybe this is known as living The Moment. But it didn’t last long. My headache increased and when it reached extreme, I had to stop. Later came Sidd and Ujjwal, and were scared when Dhyani said I am not feeling well. Sidd asked me the reason, but even I was not sure, because I was the only one who was facing that situation. Sidd and Dhyani concluded that it could be some kind of mountain sickness and advised me to take some meds. Even I agreed with them, and swallow two capsules. I didn’t wait to recover and was back on track. It was getting dark, but the road was again smooth. We passed Baralacha la Pass in no time, but due to lack of time, didn’t took pictures, but carried on, on our track. While coming down, I thought that the meds are showing their effect, as my headache was still there but not intense, but backache was increasing exponentially. But there was no point of complaining about it. Everyone seemed exhausted but no one was complaining. All we can do was to cover the distance as soon as possible, reach Sarchu, and rest our bones. I was slowly punching Dhyani’s lower back to ease him from pain. After sometime, I again convinced Dhyani to give me back the control, and as usual, he got convinced. Now it was his turn to punch my lower back. Damn it was relieving, but not effective. We were speeding up as much as we can as it was getting dark. Half an hour later, we reached at a plateau region. It was already dark, and was not able to see anything apart from Siddhu’s byke tail light. I was at my limits, but was managing it somehow. Far ahead, we saw some light bulbs, continuous on both side of the road, in a
straight direction. WOAH!!!! What a relief. We finally made it to Sarchu. Reaching the region, I came off from the byke, and stood straight. Literally I can hear my back making funny sounds. But a small satisfaction was there, with all my pain. Finally, we made it. As I was walking to the entrance, a foreigner came up to me. He was holding a high resolution DSLR camera, with a camera tripod stand. He shook my hand and was so happy to see us all. He didn’t even knew proper English, but all he said to me was, “congratulation! Finally you made it. Amazing.” We met him the first time, but he was so happy to see us all, for no reason. All I can understand from his expression was what an achievement we had made, and he was there to appreciate it. He showed us his tent and invited us to meet up for dinner. We went to negotiate about the tent, but they were not ready to reduce the price. We were getting 1200 per two people, but it was way too much for us. In the end it was decided that we can’t afford it. My heart broke, but we had to move forward for a cheaper accommodation. I was not ready to even sit on that byke but what the group decides, is what is to be done. I was ready to pay any freaking amount for a bed, but it was too late. We moved forward in search of a much cheaper tent. A kilometer ahead, we found some more tents. I requested Dhyani to take this one. This was a much cheaper place as compared to the previous one. We got one tent, where all four can stay, with dinner for all of us in just 400 bucks, but it didn’t look as comfortable as the one we left. Dhyani and Siddhu went to arrange for some mutton, for dinner, while Ujjwal and I went inside the tent to set all the mattresses. We unloaded our luggage and jerry cans and placed them inside our tent. I was hell tired and even my headache was not totally recovered. All I wanted was to sleep. I thought that the reason for my tiredness was because I was way too much tired, plus I might have caught cold. I was lying down, shivering at one corner when Siddhu and Dhyani came up, and called us for dinner. I stood up, and ran outside. My stomach was hurting as I was not able to digest all the egg Maggie, and it came out. I ran out and started vomiting. After throwing up, I came back, and crashed at one corner. Dhyani came up and asked me if I am alright. I was shivering, nodded and asked for a band to cover my ears. I didn’t felt like eating and asked him to continue. I was down and within no time, BLACK OUT.

First Water Stream

After moving ahead for another hour, we were able to get one mechanic shop. It was supposed to be the only mechanic available for the rest of the journey. We took a halt and asked him to prepare the carrier. By that time, Dhyani and I, we went ahead in search of an ATM machine. We were down with money, and also, I had asked one of my cousins to send me some cash. There was no mobile signal throughout the journey so far, but luckily, I got a text message stating that my account has been credited. After transecting the amount, we went back and by that time, Siddhu and Ujjwal were ready, with byke and baggage. It was getting a bit tiring, and we have just covered 20% of our journey. The more we moved towards our destination, the more difficult it was getting, as the road was way too much uneven, and also, all the dust on the road was making it more difficult. Slowly, I was realizing why it is known as “the toughest road of the world”. But our craze for this journey was way too much as compared to the entire obstacle we were facing. The only motivation we were getting was from the other riders who were returning, and showing a Thumbs Up. No words were spoken. Their face was not even visible, just a mutual connection. Another motivating factor was the view of the mountains and the path on which we were riding. Splendid view of huge rocky mountain placed one next to the other, and a small path in between them, taking us to a far better world, that was still left to be seen. It was totally separated by the world that we all live in. Quiet and calm, nevertheless dangerous too. Sometimes, it’s sunny and shiny and the next moment, there is a black cloud over us. Frankly speaking, I love rain, but in that situation, I was freaking out every time I was looking at that cloud. If it rains there, we won’t be having any shelter, the roads will become muddy, and above all, there will be a huge chance of landslide. But, it was not meant to happen. That black cloud was there just to scare us, and after an hour or so, it went off. The main problem I was facing was the unevenness of the road. It was pathetic, plus a huge heavy byke. But somehow I was able to manage it. Later, the condition of the road was improved, and for about five to six kilometers, it was brand new. There was no better feeling than to ride a heavy motorbike on a smooth road. But, it didn’t last for a longer time. Again we were back on uneven track, but this time it was more challenging. This is where we had to cross our first water stream.

First when we were discussing about the path that we were about to take on, this water stream was of major concern. Everyone in their blog wrote that it was very difficult to cross those streams, as heavy current flows across the road. As per me, I was completely chill. Don’t know why, but I thought that it will be just a small stream of water, and we can easily cross it. As per the pictures I saw in Google, it seems quite easy. But images in the mirrors and in Google are far more different than they are in real. I mean, the moment I reached there, the first word came across my mind was FUCK. Bloody, streams were not supposed to be like that. The sound of water was so much, that I was not able to hear my own voice. I waited for a few minutes on one side of the stream, thinking, what to do. One wrong handle tilt and it’s all over. The stream was on the edge of the mountain, and it was flowing down into deep pit. Looking down, once again, was the huge mistake I made. Also, this path was itself not much dangerous on its own, but there was another factor added to it. There was a specific path that we should cover while crossing this stream. Bykers ahead of us took a different one, and the stream took his jerrycan along with it. Somehow, the other byker managed to help him, and he crossed that stream. Now, it was my turn. Always learning from others mistake, I took the other path, and always trying to be over smart, lead me into a deep trouble. I went into a non solid path and my byke got stuck. Plus the stream current was so high, that my byke was moving along with the current. Damn it was scary. Plus the byke was too heavy. Once again, Dhyani was coming for my rescue, but luckily, I was able to manage it myself and within no time, I was on the other side of the stream. Woah. What an experience. Despite wearing gumboots, water went inside them, and it was hell lot of cold water. Later Siddhu also managed to cross this stream, with the help of Ujjwal, and we were able to cross our first water stream. What an achievement. Bravo. They all were getting ready to do some photo session, and told me to take some pics. I neglected them, went in the middle of that water stream, there were some rocks. Sat on them, looked up into the sky, and with my arms open, I laid there. Siddhu was watching me, and shouted, “abee ooo Shahrukh Khan, pose baad me mario”. To that I replied, “maa chudaye shahrukh, saala yahaan peeth ki band bajj gayi hai. Mai ni aara abhi, thodi daer laet ne do”. And everyone started laughing. We splashed some water on each other, and later Ujjwal joined me for some sun bath. We did some photo session and after a quick laugh and a small talk, we were back on track.

My Second Skid

Post Rohtang was a blue sky, green meadows and beautiful huge gigantic mountains. The road was kind of broken, but it was manageable. Slowly we were coming down the mountain, and enjoying the most of our journey. On our way, Dhyani and I were discussing about our day today lives. How different it is to live away from our family, and loved ones, and still manage. While the conversation was going on, I was so much into it, that I was able to convince him that at the end of the week, we become so frustrated that it’s essential to get HIGH!!! Without that, mind doesn’t relax. After a while, we all took a pause. Enough of riding, now it was time for some photo shoot. We were all set. Dhyani had brought his DSLR exclusively for the trip. But a wise man once said, “if you’ll buy a camera, it will be YOU who will be taking most of the pics”. So that was it. All three of us were ready with our poses and Dhyani was adjusting the lens. After a few clicks, he said “yaar natural raho, naturally haso, ek natural picture aani chahiye”. Siddhu and I looked at each other, and don’t know what clicked both of our mind, he folded his arms around his stomach and said, “oye Negi, aise paet pakad, aur NATURALLY hass, mazak nahi”, and I folded my arm around my stomach, “haan be! Koi mazak nahi, huhuhuhu, hehehehehe” and we looked at each other, and started laughing. And this artificial act got into us and seriously made us laugh. Dhyani clicked two continuous pictures and we knew it, this picture will make us laugh whenever we will look into it.

The photo session was over and the riders were back on their ride. We rode down the hill. On our way, we were crossing some other riders, who were heading for the same destination as we were. Dhyani was telling me about his ship adventures and I was riding at a pretty good speed. About 30 feet ahead, there was another byke, going as same speed as we were. I was hearing Dhyani’s stories and was riding with reference to the byke going ahead of me. He was telling something about his trip to Japan, and I was lost in it, and within few seconds, I saw the front byke getting slipped on the gravel. By the time I could sense what was going on, I was on that spot. Byke was at 60kmph. Couldn’t apply breaks, byke would have slipped. Couldn’t increase the speed, for sure, we would have been killed. All I know was front break was disc, and applying it would have been resulted in some deadly consequences. All I was left with was the rear break. I put everything on that one chance I had. Having a good experience with bykes, I didn’t apply a constant break. Byke slipped a bit, but due to its weight it didn’t went out of control. Applying multiple small breaks saved us that day. Woah! All I can say that I was not sure what was going to happen that day. I was feeling dreadful. Considering myself as a good rider, I was really ashamed of myself. It was the second time that my byke skidded. It was the second time on the same day, I was in a deadly situation, and this time, I was involving Dhyani with me. Anyways, there was no point of repenting, as we have just started the journey. It was a long way to go. Dhyani patted my shoulder and said, “Bhai, dhyan se. Abhi bahut aage jana hai”. We were back on the track, and were able to catch Siddhu and Ujjwal, who were ahead of us, and were waiting for us.

Our next stop was in Tandi. That was the place where we had to fill our tanks and our jerrycans , as it was the only petrol pump available for the rest of the journey. The road was terrible, broken, full of dust. My back started hurting and the main reason was the road. Dhyani asked me to give him control and I could sit at the back seat, but I don’t know why I wanted to have all the controls. It was me testing my limits. In the middle, we took a halt, and were again prepared for some photo sessions. This time, Ujjwal was given the camera, and the rest of us were ready with our pose. As usual, Siddhu was ready with his killer one liners, “Benchod, ab natural pose kahan se laye”? Ujjwal was sent to the other side of the road, and we all were posing, looking high into the mountains. Then suddenly, Dhyani pointed out the topmost mountain said, “oye!! Sab log upar us pahaad pe dekho”. Adding this, Siddhu said, “kya bolta hai Negi, agla destination Vo Pahaad”, and I replied, “Bhai, jahan bolo, vahan chal lenge”. Ujjwal came back to us, handed the camera to Sid, and asked him to take a pic. Everyone knew, he will never miss a chance to get into a picture. We rested for a while and were back on track. An hour later, we reached Tandi. We filled our tanks to the top most, including our jerrycans. All of us were tired and hungry. I asked them to sit for a while, under a tree, but Dhyani gave advice to continue the journey, as we can rest on the place where we can have our lunch. We were back on the road, and were searching for some place to stop and eat, but suddenly, I heard a sound from my byke. Something was wrong and that scared me. We all stopped, and within few minutes, it was observed, the byke carrier was broken. The weldment was breaking and it doesn’t look like it could handle the weight of our bags for a longer time.