The Dream Ride !

It's believed that the knowledge, experience and wisdom, which one gets by travelling and exploring the world, is far superior than the one acquired by reading books. I was always in agreement to this belief, but somehow I could never relate to it as I am not a travel freak, and so I left the realization of this belief to my future wants and desires.

So when my friend proposed an idea of travelling to Ladakh, covering a stretch of around 1800 kms from Srinagar to Manali, I thought this might be the time of it's realization. The divine beauty of the place, a re-connect to my roots, adventure of a bike ride and the pure greed of having beautiful photographs / potential FB profile pics, made me immediately surrender to this idea.

As soon as I got interested, it was easy to find some information through Facebook and zero down on a group which could realize this idea of ours. It was the Dream Riders group based out of Ahmedabad. The Facebook page of the group was filled with amazing pictures and YouTube had many adventurous and professional videos of the ride, with good reviews. This prompted me to contact them and fix a ride without a second thought. The instructions from the group were quite clear and useful, which built our confidence in the success of this mission :) 

The bike journey started in Srinagar, where we had already spent a day with all the fellow riders. Everyone started knowing each other but none had a clue of the intensity of fun and adventure, which was in store for coming days. From the serenity of Dal lake and the spirituality of Hazratbal, we zoomed our way through ups and downs of the valley, to reach our very first stop at Sonmarg. The evening was well spent with bonfire, amidst a lot of laughter, songs and guitar.

The next day seemed a bit challenging as we had to cover around 120 kms to reach Kargil via Zojila pass. Although it is not the toughest, but the bad and narrow road made it one of the scariest pass of the trip. With riders just starting to learn to ride through the mountains, the pass was a litmus test of our riding abilities.The first halt came when there was a road construction going on and we had to ride over the obstructions. The Dream Riders crew and other members immediately got down for supporting each other. With the director standing over the edge of the cliff to protect anyone from skidding and others pushing bricks under the tire to lift the bikes, it was a fantastic team effort by a team which was just a day old. 

The journey ahead led to added adrenaline rush as we reached the Kargil War Memorial at Drass. The Dream Riders group arranged a briefing by one of the officers. The peaks of Tololing, Batra Top, Tiger hill and many more, were right in front of my eyes when the officer was narrating the heart wrenching story of our brave hearts. Soon I could feel my throat getting choked with emotions. My hand just went up to salute those brave soldiers who laid down their lives for us. Yes I know, that every year we are at the peak of patriotism on 26th Jan or 15th Aug, but tats nothing as compared to the feeling which you get while standing in front of that Indian flag at the war memorial. I believe, every Indian should and must visit the Kargil War memorial to show their gratitude towards Indian Army.With a night's rest at Kargil, it was time to move towards Leh and cover over 200+ kms. Fortunately the roads were good and we enjoyed the ride across the desert.It was also a good stretch for frequent photo sessions.:) We reached Leh city in evening and took the next day off to explore the city and friendly Ladakhis.

On day 5 we headed for camping at Nubra valley which is 150 kms from Leh and it required us to venture on the world's highest motor-able road, the Khardungla pass, at a height of 18380 feet above sea level. The oxygen levels started dropping down as we progressed to the top. Although it wasn't a matter of grave concern, but we had to take necessary precautions.  

Reaching at Kardungla top was no less than a lifetime achievement for all the riders and everyone just wanted to bask in the glory of that out of the world feeling. It was mixed, full of emotions, happiness and not to forget, dizziness. We had to move quickly as it was not recommended to stay on top for long, due to low oxygen levels. After crossing that landmark, ride to Nubra was really smooth and enjoyable.

After Nubra, we covered another beautiful ride of Leh to Pangong Lake.The lake looks as real as we have seen it in photos or movies. At a single point of time different portions of lake would reflect different colors and you would be mesmerized with the tranquility of this wonder of nature. The night was lit up by the stars which were glowing to the maximum,as if they too wanted to impress us and show that they were no less than the Pangong lake. View of the galaxy was amazing and while looking at the horizon,I could feel the seven stars coming down slowly to fill a spoon of water from the lake. Just can't express it in words!!

With Nubra and Pangong conquered, it was time to move out of Leh and head towards Manali. Next stop was Pang. Now one should definitely research a bit about Pang before thinking of this trip.Pang has its own specialties, it is an useful halt on Manali Leh highway, the camps are on sharing basis with at least 10-12 members and it may not have all the basic amenities. Yes, with basic, I mean really basic. So everyone had to give a serious thought  about morning, before hogging on to the dinner delicacies.:)

Anyway, as expected, the night was full of masti, gaana-bajana and deep conversations. I felt the bonding within the group was at its peak at Pang.:) The morning started with the struggle to discover the right place at the right time to do the right thing. Most of our riders bravely sailed through this storm by getting up before the sunlight, while few lucky ones were benefited by the discovery of the golden bowl by one enthusiastic rider, who was later conferred with the degree of Columbus:). This para is more enjoyable to those who were part of the trip.

The journey to the next stop Keylong via the Changla pass was the toughest of the trip. The Changla pass is stretched over 70 kms with steep ups and downs, and we had to go down that 'Rocky Road', quite literally. The silencers of the bikes were just falling now and then and some or the other issue was popping up due to the extreme conditions. However, the best part was the support vehicle which was following us. We had to just wait for a maximum of 10 mins for the help to arrive, and then 2 mins for the bike to get started. The Dream Riders support staff was brilliant at their work. But whatever be the case, I would say that Changla was not at all (read in marathi) changla ! As soon as we reached the hotel, everyone just dozed off, obviously after taking the password of the hotel wi-fi:) 

The next was the last leg of the journey to Manali, the most beautiful one. Clouds over the Rohtang pass and the view of trees made the ride quite soothing to eyes.  While riding I was feeling happy about the rare fate I was about to achieve but it had a pinch of sadness too, as the trip was ending. It had given me loads of memories to cherish and friends to bond with, and it wasn't easy to leave them. But as time waits for none, it was soon time to say goodbye. With a heavy heart and a promise to meet again, the riders bid adieu to each other.

Its been two weeks, but the feeling hasn't sunk in yet and I thought of penning it down before it could. Its been most fun filled and thrilling two weeks of my life and I thank each one of my 55 group members who made it really memorable. Julley !