It was around early May when our riders club “The Bikerni “put
up an ad which read “Ride to the Monkland”, I took a glance at it and brushed
it away like any other WhatsApp message that holds no priority in my mind. This specific message began to get repeated
every other day and people started nominating themselves for the same. I thought thru and smiled to myself that
these are some lucky people who are making it. I almost then began ignoring
these messages and moving ahead until early June where one day I was invited to
be part of a panel discussion at the Design studio on St Marks Road. This
discussion was specific of women riders sharing their experiences. I took Maansi along with me for this meeting
as I wanted her to see more women like her mom who love riding and get her
exposed to the larger world of women riders.
I met my co riders from the club and this topic of the ride
to the Monkland - “ SPITI Valley” was
brushed again . This team my friend
Minakshi who is the admin of the club , began sharing some interesting details.
The deal was to have complete safety for this ride , with
backup vehicle, mechanic, a paramedic and experienced riders to help us
navigate hard stretches. This sounded very interesting . Maansi was listening
to our conversation and did not say anything. We finished the program and
headed back home. It was almost 9.30 pm. In the Cubbon park traffic signal as
we stood for the green light , she asked me
“ Amma, do you want to go for that ride ? “ . I told her it sounded
interesting, but I was not sure if I could ever do it.. She then said “ I think everyone should live
their dreams Ma “. If you think you can you should. The bug had bit me now.. I kept thinking over this the next few days
and spoke to Mina again asking her all questions about the ride and safety
part..I must say She did a damn good job in explaining where I just got further
sold to this . I then had the next
challenge in front of me and that was convincing my family to let me go for
this. Over a normal afternoon call with
my husband, I just dropped the ball on him of this plan . I was hoping for some abnormal reaction, but
to my surprise he was quiet composed and cool and told me that if I had the
confidence that I could do it , then I could go for it. This surely boosted my confidence that I was
heading in the right direction . Now came the real challenge, “ Mission Mother”
convincing part of it. As I sat after
dinner in my balcony my mom came over and sat next to me. We went ahead with a
general chit chat of daily matters and then I began to stitch a story of
friends going ahead to the ride to the Monkland. I got very descriptive of the goodness of the
place and the easiness of the ride and just then when she said it is wonderful,
I bounced the question if I could go for it.
She being my mother , knew well where I was heading too and reluctantly
agreed for the same. Post that day , my
conversations about this trip did not happen much as I did not want her to get
more inquisitive to know more details of the ride. I became more regular going to the gym and
started taking my fitness a bit more seriously . This ride was fixed for the 9th of
Aug to the 19th Aug. Days passed by and I kept busy as work being
the peak period of our annual appraisals . June passed and it was now the 3rd
week of July and the traffic in the Whatsapp group specific for this ride
started increasing. Tips on what to carry and all details related to the
preparation started flowing. I wonder why butterflies of different variety
started roaming freely in my stomach garden.
This child like excitement and fear all in one go . I must also make a special mention when I spoke about my plans at work, I received tremendous support from my colleagues and also HCL was kind enough to sponsor jackets and Powerbank for this team. These two came in so handy during this journey on the many unforeseen situations which I will narrate below.
I had done my ticket bookings , informed at work place of my
leave during this period and started buying my little wants for this trip thru
amazon and other outlets. Got an awesome trek backpack , shoes, gloves … my
flight was on the 8th morning to Delhi. 7th morning Maansi gets up in the
morning and begins to cry . She said “ Ma I m not able to believe your leaving
me and going’ , by now the fear factor in me also had been steadily increasing
. Conflict in my mind with the good over evil and finally I conclude its too
late to back out and take time to talk to her and make her feel better. Looking
at her my mom asks me “ do you really want to do it “ . It my accident two
years back that left me bedridden for 3 months that left a deep impact on their
minds.. I stand by my decision and talk
it out that this is a trip of my lifetime and I would be very careful.
Finally the day arrives 8th morning , I send
Maansi to school and then head towards the airport and with a bit of drama for
an Allen key in my bag, I do a round about with my luggage being taken back ,
putting this key into the checkin baggage and then I run for my flight. Land in Delhi, weather is horribly humid and I
just think of all the warm clothing I have packed in my backpack and what I was
to do with it, if the weather continued this way and move towards the
hotel. We checkin and get to meet my
other fellow riders who have come from other places and we set out to go to the
place Wheelify where we are to hire our bikes for the ride. With a bit of fuss on the quality of the
vehicles and getting some repairs done , we take our bikes and set out to the
hotel to get ready for the D Day. I had
taken my favorite Avenger Cruise 220 . Little did I know that it was a vehicle
for the highway and not for the off roads.. but yeh interesting stories ahead..
So the team started to get ready for the
ride Sameera was our lead and she had done SPITI before. We also had Praveen who was there to guide us
thru this journey.
The trail we were to follow was Delhi- Narkanda-Chitkul-Nako-Tabo-Kaza-Chandrataal-Rohtang-Manali-Delhi
The trail we were to follow was Delhi- Narkanda-Chitkul-Nako-Tabo-Kaza-Chandrataal-Rohtang-Manali-Delhi
Day 1
9th Morning 5 AM Day 1 , flag off happens and the
confident riders set out to achieve something that none of the women riders as
a group have ever done before. The weather was hot even so early in the
morning. Riding jackets seem more of a
burden but have limited choice but to have it on for safety . Patches of rain , patches of sunshine and we
reach the foothills to move towards Narkanda our first halt point. The roads on
the way to Shimla are horrible. Road
widening was on and full of construction work making two wheeler ride a horrible experience. We were not in a position to pick up speed at
any point either due to roads or due to traffic. It was getting dark and also began to rain .
We took a short stop for a sip of tea and as we started I realized that I have
left my gloves behind. I went ahead to
get it and by then the team had started the trail to Narkanda. The weather got
so foggy and the rains added to my agony .
I began to realize that my vision was blurring out and I could hardly
have visibility for a few feet only . I started moving at a slow speed trying
to figure out which side was the valley , the road and the rocky
mountains. It started to become very
difficult for me to view and my heart began to beat a little faster .. At one
point I wanted to stop the bike and give up , just then an Alto black car came
in front of me . This car had the words
“ James” written at the rear window . This car started moving very
slowly with the dipper lights on. It was
so hard for me to believe that this car was like a rescue car showing me the
way through the thick fog. The driver of this car for some reason went very
slow and I in all blind faith just followed the dipper lights of this car and
moved ahead. We went on for about 8 kms
on this trail, till we reached the next human habitat and my fellow riders were
waiting for me there. After I reached
the spot, I further did not see the car and just felt that Miracles do happen
and we just need to see them . We
reached the hotel at about 10 pm in the night and all of us were exhausted. It
was solid 13-14 hours of riding. We all
had quick dinner and crashed to bed with full confidence that next day would be
filled with all possible aches and pains.
Day 2
It was around 3 am in the morning and I was not able to
sleep any further , for a reason that my back was paining . Omni gel ointment
and hot pack were something I did thru the night and by 5.30 am it was unbearable
to lay on bed anymore. The sun had just begun to rise and I moved the curtains
and what do I See… magnificent beauty of nature. Dumbstruck for a moment. From the hectic
Bangalore traffic sound to serene beauty and peace was a journey . We all had an early breakfast and then saddled
up for our ride to the next destination Chitkul “the last village of India “.
Our initial ride thru the mountains was blissful with beautiful roads , lush
green mountains small huts here and there and smoke coming out of the chimney
all looked like fairy tale. This journey went on for a couple of hours till we
reached a certain point of hard , muddy roads and from then on, did I least
know that it would be a beginning of a hard and challenging journey. The muddy river which was an outcome of the
glacier melting from the muddy mountains continued to follow us . The tribe
kept moving and at one point we saw a cattle herd. All looked normal and first
four bikes moved ahead as well . As I started getting closer to make my way one
adolescent cow began jumping and hoping all over and began running in the
direction of my bike. I was taken by
surprise and on the narrow road my mind started to race thinking what should be
my next move. The cow had now inched
closer to me and just when it had lifted its front feet I honked like a crazy
freak in the bangalore traffic and all I did was closed my eyes tight. can you
imagine what an action that was ..just praying for whatever best could happen
of that moment. In a fraction of few seconds the cow decided to jump to the
side and continued to run. I put my brakes , got my bike to a halt and just
took a deep breath thanking god for the miracle again and for having survived
the moment. We continued our ride with a
break in-between to get our bikes checked as the terrain ahead was going to be
tough. We got our chains sprayed, our oils checked and air in the wheels
intact. We crossed mountains after mountains and now they were more muddy
mountains than green that we had just left behind. We crossed some amazing
bridges and some patches the roads were so beautifully laid by the BRO (Boarder
roads organization). it just looked like
these roads came out of nowhere in these dessert mountains. We were on these
roads for a few hours and after a certain distance they only started to get narrower
as we were getting closer to Sangla on the way to Chitkul. During this whole journey the
backup truck that we had hired could not follow us from one of the bridges as the
bridge had developed a crack and hence the truck had to take another route. We
were already braving this journey without a backup vehicle hoping and praying
that nothing goes wrong with our bikes. As we moved ahead a little we
saw two vehicles stranded and as we got closer we got to see the first display
of natures fury or naughtiness if I can say . we had huge stones fallen from
the top of the mountain on the roads. These stones were of different shapes
sizes and most of them were sharp too. We waited for a few minutes to see if
more were falling and then were asked to cross this road. Sorry .. what road ,
there was no so called muddy road , but a path full of stones everywhere. Mind kept racing to think how do we maneuver ,
and I began to see my fellow riders move one by one. We carefully moved the
path and all thru just hoped we do not have more stones of love being showered
on us by mother nature. We finally reached Chitkul around 7 pm took a snap near
the point that clearly stated that we were in the last village of India about
14500 feet above sea level. The feeling of accomplishing our first milestone
was just amazing. We then went to the hotel and settled down in our rooms. We spent time playing Dumb
Charades and must say thanks to Richa for popping up some
names of the movies that I never heard ….. what was that name “ beheti nadi
mein sukhi laash…”… what was that .. still cannot remember .. “ Don Muthuswamy
“ wonder who even produced such movies.. but we had our share of laughter
trying to get it right . We then also braved to try some form of weed (don’t
quote me 😉 ) and had early dinner and crashed. the weather was
cold but manageable. Again the night
with Omni Gel and hot pack to get ready for the next day . I was able to get
some good sleep due to the tiredness of so much riding that I was never used to
…and the sense of joy of having conquered a significant milestone.
It’s a very bright and sunny day and we spent the early
morning taking a walk in the village of less than 100 people. We visted the
Devi Mandir, which I believe is several years old and attracts tourists. We
then get started and our journey on the long , endless muddy, stony roads begin
. The muddy river refuses to let go of us and continues to follow as if it were
her responsibility to see us through these mountains. Our next destination is to reach Nako ,
another village on the mountains with a beautiful monastery. All these
milestone points are less than 200 Kms
but the ride is not easy. We descend the mountains from Chitkul and start our
journey towards Pooh , and beyond to go to Nako. Intermittent roads beautiful and most roads
awaiting to test our skills. I by now realize
that I’m more the tortoise of the team keeping my speed a little slower than
the others. I realize the challenge with heights is beginning to creep into me.
Maneuvering a cruise is harder while most of my fellow riders had opted sports
bikes. Looking down as I move on the roads, made me feel a bit dizzy. Not
allowing my fears to creep in I continued to tread this path. I looked at the mighty mountains around and
just begin to relax my breathing and there at about 200 mts ahead, I see one of
my fellow riders fallen on the road. Oops.. what was it and why was it .. no
idea , by the time I reach there other riders are already helping Richa get up
and are checking the bike.. We see there is a crack near the tank , which needs
attention without which riding is not possible . With lesser choice and the
night falling in , we decide to load the bike onto the backup truck and we head
to Nako. It begins to rain and the weather goes chill and we reach the hotel
with a bit of hardship finding the route.
We have our dinner for the night and go up to the terrace of the hotel
for star gazing. Post the quick showers
the skies clear to make way for us to gaze at the astronomic skies. As we settle down to sleep ,we get the
information that there has been a landslide during the day towards kaza and the
roads have been closed. The JCB’s ( heavy off highway vehicle ) are working in
removing the debris and the roads would clear only by afternoon . We all are anyway tired and feel a bit more
rest would not do any harm. Nako also
had “the Lama” visiting them and a discourse in the monastery the next day and
I hope to get a chance to see him . With
a hope for more rest and the fear somewhere still inside I hit bed .
Day 4
Day 4
Early morning seems very refreshing and I call the hotel guy
to give me a cup of tea but he is no where to be seen. Sumitha is awake and
both of us decide to take a small walk in search of a tea stall to help beat
the cold. As I walk in search , I meet a lady on the road , as I ask her the
way she is courteous to invite us to her house for a cup of tea. As I entered
the house what I realized was that the houses that look small and squarish from
outside actually have huge spacious rooms inside and the setting in the hall
for people to sit is called the “
Baitak” We get piping hot tea , and a
chance to talk to these ladies . The are so feminine beautiful, shy and all
smiles . The are in awe of us for the very fact that we as women are riding
bikes… we then see beautiful ladies getting dressed to visit the monastery to
seek the blessing of The Lama. We also
saddle up, get our bikes and start towards the monastery . After a brief visit
and hearing The Lama for a few minutes , we then watch our clocks , it
afternoon and we hope the road towards Kaza would be cleared. We check with an army vehicle and they
confirm the same and hence we all start moving up the mountain . We reach a point where all the vehicles are
at a halt. We casually inquire what is
the issue and get to hear the fresh stones are falling . I was really not able to feel the intensity
until after a few minutes , three lorries from the opposite side cross over to
this side and head towards Nako. In less
than 5 minutes , huge boulders come down on the road . For a moment I did not
understand what was happening and when I
did , trust me palpitation started. All
vehicle traffic stopped for another 20 minutes or so , the people managing the
situation asked all the bikes to move first. This was to ensure vibrations were
lesser and traffic movement could start.
It was 200 meters that we had to cross .
As we began to start our bikes, people started to say “ Jai Mata Di” (
Hail the goddess) and for each one of us
riders had very different thoughts in our mind for sure. We wished the very
best to each other and got started.. 200 meters ride as I moved got me just the
thought of my daughter .. I just kept saying “ Mummy loves you Maansi “ and my
heart beats were heavy . I did not have
a guts to see my right where the boulders were falling, nor to my left which
was the steep valley beckoning for a fall . I just kept thinking of Maansi and
I moved . As soon as those 200 meters were over , coincidentally there was a
board put up “ thanks” with tears in my
eyes, I just felt “ God! , its me who has to thank you . We continued our ride
thru the mountains and finally reached Geu , which is a place of a beautiful
monastery and a Mummified body of a monk of 565 years old. We spent sometime , had maggi and then
started to move towards Tabo. Sam’s bike
was giving some hiccups but we kept pepping it to make up for the way. it was about 5 pm as we reached Tabo and our
lead Sam kept warning us that we need to move fast. The weather seemed fine and bright and shiny.
About 30- 45 minutes look at this ancient monastery of 996 AD left us wondering
how human habitat was established in this place with such harsh weathers. As we
saddled again, the clouds started to coverup and it began to drizzle. Little
did we know what lay in store for us . We crossed a village called POH and kept
heading to kaza . When the rains got harsher, some of us had to put on our rain
gears . We stopped for a few minutes at a shed and got ready . the villagers
who saw us told us to rush faster or the roads would close. Hearing this we
decided to keep focus and keep pace to cross over. As we started to move I was the last but one
person, a car in the opposite direction that came , stopped me to inform the
roads were already closed. The brainy
person could tell me , but was not able tell Sam our lead who had already gone
far ahead. We were left with no choice
but to chase up to Sam and inform to head back . As we chased the other bikes,
in one of the turns , I could already see Sumitha’s Himalayan was already stuck
. Other riders got down to pull the vehicle. The road in front of us now had
almost melted with no road. We all turned around and now I was in the front
along with Ramya and as we moved a shocker awaited. The road in front of us
started melting and water stream gushed.. Sudden halt and a moment of numbness
not knowing what to do next. WE all halted,
swtiched off our bikes and stood gazing at the road that was and the stream
that had engulfed the road. It continued to rain heavily and my clothes were
wet to the last garment. Except the
upper body as I had my rain jacket. Along with us in the space were also two
lorries who were going towards Tabo. We requested the truck driviers to give us
some place to sit in the truck as the weather was cold, freezing and raining. I
was unable to climb the truck and hence decided to force fit myself in the
backup truck with very limited space. I
changed myself with some dry clothes doing all possible circus in the truck.. I
just felt like the titanic heroine at the back of the car .. panting and
breathing hard.. but the only difference is she had a good time and me a
miserable one . its about 4 hours since
this had happened and the time was around 10.30 pm. All of us are hungry and
with no food but for some snacks. We are
about to fall asleep when we see many torch lights coming from the hills .
Looks like the gods had sent these guys to rescue us. With all debate on how they got to know of
our problem as there were not networks at all , we entrusted our lives to these
strangers and started holding their hands tight to move . We climb up and down two
deep streams and muddy hills and reach a road, where vehicles are waiting for
us. Our bikes remain where they are and our backup truck and our driver Ravi
have to stay back with the vehicles . We go back to POH village. The same
village that we had crossed a few hours ago probably had more role to play in
our lives. We reach a house and are very
warmly welcomed and the ladies of the village are already in the kitchen
cooking for us. Piping hot Dal chawal is
what we are offered. God lies in the hands of those who feed the people and it
was so true at the moment. Our battered
bodies needed some warm bed and our hungry stomachs some food . Both of this we
got and thought we were blessed . Next
day morning as the call of nature beckoned , we just realized that this village
did not really have toilets but only pits. Modiji came to my mind and the need
why so much of ads keep coming up asking people to construct toilets. This
place was a live example. Not trying to
recollect the horror , but getting passed that moment was indeed the most
difficult point for me. We then spent
the day that too a fine Monday morning, with no network, no laptop just waiting
for the roads to be cleared. This place had a lot of flies due to the season
harvesting of Peas . In my literal 20 years of work life on a Monday morning I
was hitting flies .. jobless.. never imagined.
I tried sending an sms to family stating I was fine and no network but
it took me a few hours before accidentally the message did reach them . I did not want to tell anyone at home what
was on with us , as I m sure giving them tension with no help was not a great
idea. All of us were indeed worried and
were thinking of what should be our next move. Should we go back the route we
came in or should we wait for Kaza. Next day afternoon we prepared ourselves and
started moving to the place where our vehicles were parked as we were told the
roads were to open by 4 pm . As we started walking at one point I just stand to
take a picture of the way our bikes are standing. I just feel, did we survive
this fury of nature to see what was left for us. We took our bikes and move towards the kaza
side of the road hoping the roads to be opened.
The JCB’s are at work but as we waited to our luck rain gods decided to
show up again and we decided to stay back at POH that night and leave next day
morning. We went back to the house we
stayed as if it were our house and took the liberty to sleep. We were severed
hot “ Khadi Chawal” . food never tasted better.
My mind kept working as this time I had to pass the test early morning
in the man made pit .. and not toilet.. moment of such tension. This was a
problem with many of my friends too and all dreaded to think of the moment when
it would come..
Day 5
I must say I passed the test with the pits in that house..
God ! in sincerely wish people take all the initiative to have toilets in their
house and we got ready around 6 am to ride the most treacherous path that was
just battered by Rain for over 2 days.
As we moved we just realize that 6 odd kms road is completely battered
and very risky to cross. We ride at minimum speed and too much stress on
shoulders holding the handle firm ,
applying front brakes even by mistake was just calling for trouble. We take about 45 minutes but finally we cross
it. Kaza is 22 kms away and we try to maintain some decent speed to move ahead.
As we reach Kaza we halt at the Royal Enfield showroom to hand over the bike of
Richa for repair and then head towards the hotel. As we reach freshening up after 2 days was
heaven and we crash to get a quick nap. The weather was now bright , shiny and
poky . We decided to take a tour around
kaza. Few or us park our vehicles and get onto the backup truck while some
choose to ride. We then moved towards
Langza to see the monastery and the highest restaurant thru a motorable road .
Clicking a few snaps of our tired faces but smiles still intact. We then came
back to our rooms to rest . Richa’s bike is still not done and the great
mechanic promises to give the vehicle the next day early morning. I felt my breathing was hard due to the
altitude but I didn’t take medicines hoping to feel better the natural way. The night was a nightmare, some food poisoning
and all my vents were open . Almost the whole night with 7-8 intervals I spend
in the bathroom and I m all exhausted.
Day 6
Ramya and Sumitha wake up in the morning and try to help me
get some relief by giving medicine and Electrol. We get to know Richa’s bike repair is still
getting delayed and hence I got some more time to rest . Richa offers to ride
my bike but somehow I m still determined to complete this ride. I wake up after
sometime , decide just to be on liquids and gear up to move ahead in our
journey to our next destination of Chandrataal.
Its finally concluded that Richa’s bike is irreparable here and only in
Manali they could get it done and hence it is again backed back on the truck.
We all leave around 12 noon and head to KEY Monastery the weather is hot and
poky and I was feeling a bit weak due to the havoc in my body the previous
night but I controlled myself. We visited and then next headed straight to
Chandrataal. I had heard enough stories prior to my travel and I was definitely
nervous. All my fellow riders who were doing it for the first time did have
this inhibition of what awaited their path. We began climbing and descending the
mountains and the width of the road only got more narrow, hard, full of stones
and mud and risky with many hairpin curves.
I seemed to be in good control maneuvering , but alas me and without a
fall is like a journey incomplete. In one of the hairpin bends, I was not able
to hold the bike any further and got an inclination I was about to fall .
Having been a champion in falling over the many
years , I decided to jump of the bike than fall with it on my knees.
Every tough situation , somehow god gives you the courage to do it and yes , I
jumped off. I lay fallen on the road for
a few minutes and did not want to get up in a hurry with all prior experience ,
just trying to analyze which part of my body could have suffered. I had all my
gears and was hopeful the damage was minimal. I had my fellow riders reach me
soon and pick me up from the ground. I stood still for a few minutes trying to
talk to my body and slowing moved . Gods grace , blessings and well wishes of
people no much damage to my body .. but to my Gaadi(bike) .. yes the windshield
broke, the very beauty icon for Avenger Cruise had broken. No problem , no time to worry and began to
ride again . Just when I thought I was
done , there came two streams that we were supposed to cross. I closely watched my friends cross the stream
and see some of them fall as well and then I carefully took the path of the
successful ones and crossed without falling.
The ride to Chandrataal camp was really getting tough with very heavy
winds and chill in the air. We reached the camp just in time before sunset and
got into our tents. The wind was so heavy and the temperature as I saw was 2
degrees. The coldest that I have been into in the recent past. I change my gears to my night clothes and see
that my left calf muscle has some serious hurt and bleeding and blue patch
under my right arms near the chest. But I wondered why the hell was it not
paining until I touched the wound. Some miracles can never be explained. I gulped
a painkiller , ate little rice and headed to sleep. That night it is Ramya’s
turn for all the aches and pain and ended up with a stiff back . Sumitha and
myself are the working nurses trying to get her feel better. With great
difficult , Omni Gel and hot pack are back to rescue and she tries to catch
sleep.
Day 7
Next morning , we are told that to see the Chandrataal lake
we need to ride for about 15 kms and then a trek for 15 min . I was in no mood
to ride , but have no choice . We begin to ride, reach the place and start the
trek. My breathing patterns have still not improved and I m panting. As I end
the trek, god holds a prize for me , a beauty to behold in my eyes, mind and
soul for ever . The sacred Chandrataal Lake , the lake of reflections. We spent some time mesmerized by the beauty of
the place and then headed back to our camp to move to our next destination
Manali. Our roads from Chandrataal to
Manali was like clearing exams, so many streams and chilled water sharp stones
waiting to throw tough questions at us and expects us to be fully ready to
answer and maneuver . My fellow riders
had their fall and I was like this atmost studious student trying to learn from
their mistakes. I kept myself quiet composed and crossed most of the Streams or
so called “ Naalas” until we came to a very tough one and the current of the
water was so strong. Vijetha’s bike got
completely messed up and I was just wanting to be extra careful. To our luck we
had some very experienced riders who had just finished crossing and were
willing to help us. They then got some of our bikes moved and crossed through
the stream. Team spent a lot of time trying to get Vijetha’s bike started and
her bike now was going thru a surgery with many doctors standing around it in
the hot sun trying to figure out what wrong. Finally they gave up as water had
gushed into the engine and silencer and
decided to move to the next point to get another truck to pick up her bike. As we moved to that village we were all drained
with our experience and sat down in a Dhabha trying to dry our shoes and other
gears . in about few minutes we saw
Vijetha coming on her bike and not in
the truck. Quiet surprised as to how this happened and she narrated how a group
of other riders were hitech in getting her bike started . We all then eat a
quick lunch and its already 4 and sunset happens around 7 and we needed to
cross Rohtang to reach Manali. We are still 85kms away. We kept travelling and
riding thru tough roads and for me now TAR roads seemed like a distant dream .
It is now more than long since I knew what it feels like riding on well tarred
roads. We are about to get on to the
mountain that leads to Rohtang , when Vijetha’s bike finally gives up . We try
hard to make it work like the last time but it simply refuses. We hold no
further chance and hence decide to load her bike also onto the truck. Now
Richa’s Himalayan had Vijethas Pulser ( Bumblee Bee) to talk to 😊
. Time was now already 7 pm and I could see the fog from the top of the hills
just slowly crawling down to engulf us. I was somehow not comfortable and some
kind of uneasiness. We started riding and from a certain patch we also started
seeing Tarred roads. This gave us hope and speed and as we moved the fog gets
the better of us and there we go with almost zero visibility . Sam our lead and champ braves the fog and
takes the lead, we start to move at almost 5- 10kms per hour speed and we make
our moves slow. I also have a harsh awakening that my age is catching up and my
40+ eyesight problem ( chalisa ) is getting on me. I m just not able to see
anything beyond 5 meters and just in blind trust follow seeing the backlight of
Ramya’s bike. My hard luck her tail light also stops to work . To add to the
drama it begins to rain as well . God ensured that I m bound to have one hell
of an experience and I had just signed up for it. Sam does a brilliant job of navigating and we
just take about 3.5 hours to reach
Manali covering just 30 kms from where Vijetha’s bike gave up. So you can imagine
the taxonomy of the environment. All arranged by God to fully test our grit and
determination to be true riders. All
thru the way I felt extreme stress on my eyes, shoulders and back . Certain
points almost I wanted to give up .
Roads so blurr that I could not even know which side was the valley and
which side were the mountains, it was that bad.
I began to feel if I would ever survive the night with so much stress.
But frankly it is the confidence of all these brilliant girls that kept pulling
me up each time I wanted to drop. We reached manali late in the night and had a quick grub and then headed to crash for
some sleep. Manali weather was very
stuffy and can say a bit hot as well ..
maybe it was our internal stress coming out that made us so hot and happening..
if I can say 😊 .
Day 8
Next morning again we
were at the garage as now we had two
vehicles for repair. It was already getting 5pm in the evening and the riders
planned to start whenever we were done to halt midway and reach delhi the next
day . Imagining another night ride with
my vision problem seemed hard for me. My
Sixth sense just asked me to take the right decision . With rains lashing and
time almost 7 pm in the night, I decided that I would end my riding in Manali
with the SPITI trail being completed. I
handed over the bike to the company where we hired as he had a drop off facility in Manali and took
a bus to Chandigarh . I was now
beginning to miss home very dearly . My return flights were for Sunday
Afternoon . I reached Chandigarh Saturday morning and took a taxi to Delhi
airport straight. I kept trying thru the
way calling the helpdesk to change my tickets but with the floods in kerala the
flights were all running full . I still reached Delhi airport and with a bit
more expensive ticket got a 4.20 pm flight back . Reached bangalore and home around 8.30 pm
when my family and friends were waiting to welcome me. Seeing them all was
probably the best thing that ever happened.
I continued to keep track of my fellow riders and they had reached
Bilaspur around 2 am in the morning and started to Delhi around 8 am and
reached on Saturday . They are the most awesome , confident riders I have met and learnt a lot thru this
journey. Sam, Richa, Sumitha, Ramya, Vijetha and of course our backbone Praveen
.
As I sit back to think, frankly I never knew what I had
signed up for, neither a clue that my family had. All I got as I cleared tough exams on the
roads the result was that nature gave me a bountiful view of herself to keep it
in my heart and soul for as long as I live.
There have been few emotional moments when I crossed some hard patches ,
but guess that only made me stronger. All thru the journey I felt the River ,
streams and mountains kept a close watch on me and ensured I moved on her
carefully . Miracles kept happening and as I would look up to thank the skies,
I heard the mountains say , “ Dear “ I hope your having fun playing with me
“ I love you “ and I would say “ I love
you too “.