Chandigarh to Manali (August 2010)

Biking through the Himalayas

One great day in August 2010, Bhanu called me up and asked “Hey Deepak, have you ever thought of cycling up to Ladakh?” I said “Are You Mad!!?? What about the bicycles and leaves?” He said “Don’t worry about bicycles. We have ORBEA as our sponsors; office leaves are up to you.” And that’s how it all started. Bhanu was senior to me in college. We had one thing in common – ‘Passion for Adventure’.

Negotiating Steep road near Kofridhar

As this was my first Bicycle Tour, I prepared for it with all the seriousness. I wanted to keep this event personal but Bhanu pushed it to the newspaper, radio, and internet – wherever he could. After all, he’s a marketing guy. We started from Panchkula after an interview with Big FM. As we approached Parwanoo, the road got steeper and I was getting out of breath. This was the first time that we had engaged 2x2 speed gears. It was difficult to decide on the correct speed gears on the slope as for some of the steeper stretches 1x2 speed gear was also inappropriate (for our bikes 1x1 was the lowest and 3x7 was the highest speed gear). Soon our energy drained off, as we were struggling with the slope without carbs and fluids. After having some glucose and roasted maize from the road side, we moved on. After Dharampur, the road was almost straight up to Solan. That night and the next morning we were suffering from aching limbs and rashes on the legs. The next 10 km to Shimla was a joy ride on the ‘buttery’ road and we made it in good time.

After Shimla, our plan was to leave the main highway to avoid traffic. And we also wanted to explore the real countryside. So, we took the route through lush green Mashobra. Organic apples on the way were very cheap and we filled a lot of them in our panniers. About 10km ahead of Basantpur, a road bridge over a local stream had turned on its side. We were amazed that the bridge was still in one piece. We called it the “Sleeping Bridge of Basantpur”, as it just looked like it has taken a break from its duty of ferrying the traffic and was taking a short nap on its side. Passers-by pointed toward the alternate path (a steel gerder for a water supply pipe across the river) with sarcasm, thinking we will not try. We crossed our keeping brakes tight as the stalled traffic and crowds watched our heroic feat! Just after 3-4 km, we came across a huge waterfall right in the middle of the road. We were getting late. But the conditions were perfect - two days of stinking rides, a strong sun, and a huge waterfall in the middle of a winding road. It was all too irresistible and we instantly made up our minds to stop, as if by ESP (Extra Sensory Perception). After all, it was for these thrills that we were out there! We just drove into the waterfall with our bikes. This “out of the world experience” is something neither a Swiss Alps vacation nor site-seeing by a land-cruiser can provide. And while we were still basking in the sun, something funny happened that made our faces turn a little pale. As I was trying to strap on my trusted partner, CASIO chronograph watch, it slipped and fell almost 20 feet below the road. I jumped down into the valley and managed to find it in the bushy undergrowth. But how was I to get back up on the road? We had no rope with which Bhanu could pull me back! The previous year I had completed my Basic Mountaineering Course from HMI (Himalayan Mountaineering Institute, Dehradun) and knew rock climbing was risky with a cold body. While climbing back, my shoulder overstretched and I was in pain. Bhanu dangled on his one leg, securing himself between two roadside slabs, and finally I managed to catch hold and be pulled up. The small shoulder injury was not a hurdle, as we only had to pedal, pedal and pedal throughout the trip. 

Waterfall before Saverakhad

That day was very long and we reached Saverakhad (a village on the way) after dusk. We asked the owner of the solitary shop, if any rooms were available for the night. Luckily he had a room further up, next to a wonderful stream, where we parked ourselves. After a very exciting and exhausting day, it was just perfect – a setting sun in backdrop, stream at our feet, and a bottle of ginger wine to enjoy. Don’t know if this has happened to a lot of people we know… another tick in the diary of “days lived”. But, the night was horrible, the whole room was abuzz with sounds you never hear in cities - chirps, buzz, crickets and what not. We were too tired to be zoological that night, so we slept without bothering.

In the morning when I looked out of the window, I knew why the place is called “Savera-khad”. We were inside a valley and our view was covered with two ridges on either side, between which, the sun rose. A small rivulet was flowing in front of our modest accommodation; the place was like a dreamland! Jalori Pass was a mystery that we looked forward to, with awe and adulance. Bhanu often spoke about how a small car full of friends and some kilos of apples could not ascend even in second gear. We stayed at the Panchayat Ghar of Kamand village that night. We were drenched in sweat and moisture. But it was too cold even for a shower. It was chilling but, unlike Saverakhad, we had a good mattress and quilt for the night. We ate dinner in a small shop where they served us rice, daal and cow’s milk to drink. They did not fail to mention that a fresh landslide has taken place just before the Jalori Pass, which might recur if it starts to rain at 11,000 ft. The thrill got us high, surreal images of the pass were already flashing in our minds, “a steep pyramid dense with trees and we were pedaling our bikes with front wheel in the air.”

Jibi Valley

Next morning we began with enthusiasm and a full stomach, but after 15 minutes we realized that the next 5 km might tear out our souls, or at least our lungs from us. It was difficult even to engage 1x3 gear. Most of the time we were at 1x2 speed gears. The gradient had increased to 1:8. A look at the speedometer said 3.7km/hr. Every pedal was a medal! I can’t even remember how many times I had stopped the bike. At some places, there was heavy fog and temperature was around 11°C, sweat and mist mixed equally in our hair giving us a strange feeling. Finally, we saw the ridge. We took almost an hour for those 6 kms. At the top, people (French, Israelis, and Indians) stopped and clapped for us. We basked in the sun, rested at a dhaba and relaxed. Bhanu had told me that Jalori Pass is going to be a preliminary test for Ladakh, if we qualified. After this difficult task, it was going to be a long downhill drive on the other side of the pass. That beautiful place is called Jibi Valley. We stayed there overnight and left next day for Kasol. This road meets Manali highway at a place called Aut. We went through a 3 km long tunnel - it felt like we are doing time travel. At Kasol, we got to know that there has been a flash flood in Ladakh five days ago and 300 people have been killed. The roads after Rohtang Pass were also blocked due to landslides. We cycled up to Manali and waited for next two days but barriers were still down. We met a Spanish group and had cultural exchanges over dinner.

Next day I heard a bad NEWS - That my fiancé’s cousin had expired. I was shocked and decided to go back. I told Bhanu that I will leave, if he wants to wait, he can. I loaded my bike on the Volvo Bus and reached home the next morning. While returning back in the bus alone, all that we did during the last week flashed before my eyes. It was bad luck that we couldn’t reach the targeted destination, but the journey had taught us many things for life. We discovered many parallels between Life and Journey.

The journey that started with a quest and enthusiasm, ended with wisdom at rest.

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Route: 484km (7Days)                                         aug'2010