The next day, i.e. on 24th June, we were joined by Dana, Histasp, Nazneen (Histasp's wife) and Zubin, from Mumbai. Vivek, Vaibhav and Imran from Delhi and Satish from Bangalore. Where was the meeting? On the road of course, in true 60kph style, at the beginning of the four lane Delhi-Chandigarh expressway.

After 230 Kms. of riding on straight roads, on entering Pinjore, I saw the Himalayas in the far distance. The view of the peaks through the valleys of Apple and Strawberry orchards and stands of coniferous trees is simply breathtaking. Riding on these stretches is sheer, undiluted fun thanks to all the blind turns.

Hotels in Shimla, 370 kilometers from Delhi were way too expensive for us to stay. And Shimla isn't exactly a paradise for the biker anyway. So we thumped ahead for Narkanda, 90 kilometers away. The temperature was dropping as we were moving into higher altitudes, so we decide to camp in the forests of Pine and Deodar at Fagu Top. No dinner, freezing cold and the endless rain throughout the night; morning dawned with most of us feeling a little dizzy till we were recharged by a hot breakfast at Narkanda.

The region after Narkanda is remote, with little or no traffic at all. Needless to say, the Sutlej river snaking among the mighty mountains offers a fantastic view with small villages on the slopes brimming with life and munificent with color.

We were now 13 kilometers from our first high-altitude pass, Jalori pass. The climb to the pass is excruciatingly straight up, so not many vehicles ply on this route, instead taking the national highway via Swarg ghat to reach Manali. The ascent took its own toll on some bikes, necessitating an impromptu halt at Parmar Hotel, just after descending the pass.

The next day was one of my most memorable from the entire ride. We rode on a small road running parallel along Sainj River giving the feeling of being in middle of nowhere before reaching Aut, where we took the National Highway 22 to reach Manali another 70 Kms.

At Manali, two more 60kphers joined us, Rishad from Bombay and Lailt from Delhi.

A day's rest at Manali and then we were on what is considered not only the most scenic but also one of the toughest roads to ride on in the world, the 475 kilometers road from Manali to Leh.

Next...
It was the smallest, yet one of the toughest rides of my life. All of us were suffering from headaches, feeling nauseated and very lethargic...(read on)


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