Solo is for the Soul
- shivaram1970
- Oct 11, 2015
- 16 min read
For me Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up,totally worn out and loudly proclaiming,”wow, what a journey it was!”.
I would like to dedicate this road trip to my father who was responsible for instilling the sense of adventure in me.
A sneek peak of how the ride went
This trip was conceptualized virtually out of thin air. A chance remark by a friend and a random forward by my brother were the seeds for this trip.in as much as I would want to call solo was never solo as I had a bunch of friends and well wishers travelling with me all through on whatsapp.
The trip was an amazing way to discover self and also see my country in new light.
The trip can be broken up into three parts Preparation Planning Execution
Preparation had a big role to play as I was planning to do this solo. I needed to be strong both mentally and physically. I joined a gym for 2 months hired a personal trainer to strengthen my core and back so that those long hours on the bike would not hurt my back. I also decided that I would not speak to anyone who has done this trip, as I wanted no preconceived notions in my head about the trip or the degree of difficulty. Also it had been a long time since I had ridden a bike and I needed to get used to it all over again. For this I used the bike extensively in Mumbai for nearly six months.
Planning Route I had to decide on a route that I would take and also have a basic framework of a theme for photography in mind. I decided to start the trip from Mumbai reach leh via Srinagar and get back to Mumbai via manali. The theme I had in mind was to photograph monuments, forts, temples and landscape on the way. Timing of the trip was also very important so as to avoid the rains on the plains and the cold on the mountains. I found September to be best suited. Each day’s halt was pre decided so that it gave a target to achieve as most of us are target driven and I am no exception. The route decided ,was to take me through 10 states. I had also decided the places where I would halt for the night and the no of hours I would ride in a day. 1) Maharashtra 2) Gujarat 3) Rajasthan 4) Punjab 5) Jammu & Kashmir 6) Himachal Pradesh 7) Haryana 8) Delhi 9) UP 10) MP
Equipment I needed Protective riding equipment and Bags to carry luggage .Rynox was the brand I chose . The people at Rynox gave me a list of things needed. 1) Good helmet 2) Riding jacket with protective armour for elbow, shoulder and spine 3) Leg guards 4) Gloves 5) Shoes 6) Riding glasses 7) Saddle bags 8) Tank bag
My mechanic suggested that i should change the existing seats to bucket seats to make it comfortable for those long rides.
Execution The plan was successfully executed and i am sharing the experience through written and visual contents. I choose to start the trip on the 12th of Sep, was given a traditional send off by my friend’s mom.
Gujarat
Mumbai- Bharuch (Sep-12)dist. 400 kms
Bharuch-Patan (Sep-13)distance 371 kms
By far the best roads exist in this state. Even the worst roads here are comparable to the good roads in some of the other states. I visited Dandi near Navsari from where Gandhiji started his salt satyagraha.was ignorant of the fact that it was located so close to Mumbai. Reached Bharuch by lunch time and stayed at my friend’s place.In the evening visited a temple on the banks of Narmada. Next morning left for Patan to visit the rani ki vav there via Ahmedabad.
The roads as usual were very good. Have to mention a curious conservation I had with a fruit vendor on the outskirts of Mehsana
I had stopped to buy some apples from a lady on the highway. The lady hesitantly asked me if I would answer a question of hers to which I said yes.
She asked I see a lot of people dressed in the way you are and riding similar bikes, going through this place always wondered where they were going? And who sends them? and for what? but could never ask as no one stops to buy fruits. I told her most of them go to Leh and are not sent by anyone, also the cloths they are wearing are riding cloths and the bikes are mostly bullets. she then added I have a piece of advice for you all of them ride too fast you please don’t as you are going alone.
At Patan visited the Rani ki vaa which is an amazing step-well.
After spending the night at a small hotel on the highway left for Ranakpur in Rajasthan
A link to the video of the ride from Mumbai to Patan
Rajasthan
Ranakpur (sep-14) Patan to Ranakpur Distance -281 Km
Left very early in the morning to cover as much distance possible before the sun started blazing. From Patan I rode to Palanpur and then took the Palanpur Abu highway. This road is better than many expressways I have used. The drive from Jaswantgarh to Ranakpur is very scenic as we ride through the Ghats of the Aravalli range. Ranakpur is situatiated amongst the lush green forests of the Kumbhalgarh National park. I checked in to the RTDC hotel shilpi situated right next to the temple complex. The first sighting of the temple just takes your breath away. The small sun temple located nearby is also beautiful. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ranakpur
Met a French couple at the Jain temple and the lady wanted to know if I was a Jain, A Buddhist or a Hindu and I told her I am an Indian (the reply though not original) I felt good telling them that.
Jodhpur (sep -15)
Ranakpur-Jodhpur Distance 215 kms
This was the first destination where I started staying in Army guest rooms. The ride was peaceful and easy. Visited the famous Meharangarh fort. Also went to the main shopping area and had some local food.
Bikaner (Sep 16)
Jodhpur-Bikaner Distance 203 kms
First time when I had to take to roads which were not good. I found a lot of people carrying flags and wooden horses and walking on the roads. I stopped to ask where they were going and was told that they are visiting the temple of Ramdev peer, which is a 5-day walk from Jodhpur. The wooden horses and flags are offerings to the Baba.
I stopped at a dhaba to have tea and something to eat the owner was a singing man was always singing. He could speak only Rajasthani and very little Hindi. I asked what he could make for me to eat and from the list he gave I thought I was ordering something light to go with tea and ended up ordering a full meal.
I reached Bikaner and a very funny incident happened. I asked for directions to the military station and was told it was on the other side of the railway track and I had to cross the level crossing gate to get there. I found the gate closed when I reached there and assumed that it was closed for a train crossing. I found it strange that no one was waiting and everyone were going under the gates. After about 10 minutes a kind soul approached me and asked “app bahar ke ho kya”? (Are you an outsider)? I said yes then he told me the gate is Permanently closed and I had to take the newly constructed over bridge to go to the other side.
On the highway witnessed a very scary thing and I am sure this type of travelling would be causing a lot of accidents. There was this mini lorry on whose tailgate this small boy and two girls were sitting the girls were busy talking to each other and the boy was nodding off to sleep. The lorry was travelling at 80kmph and it was a matter of time before the boy lost his grip and fell off. Thankfully I noticed and got it to the attention of the girls and made them get the boy off the tailgate.
I visited the Junagarh fort but decided to skip the rat temple as it was far away. Went to the markets and bought a bit of the famous Bikaner bujya to taste.
The army guest room was just amazing.
Lal garh Jatan (Sep -17)
Bikaner-Lalgarh Jatan Distance 398 kms
This is a small military station near Sri Ganga nagar on the Indo pak border. Started of the ride with a lesson, never assume anything I asked a passer by as to how I should proceed to Lalgarh. I was directed and soon I reached a railway crossing and I asked a person how do I go to lalgarh and he told me I was there. Then I knew I was probably asking the wrong question, as there was a railway station named Lalgarh 10 kms from Bikaner and I had been directed there.
I celebrated Ganesh chaturthi with my cousin. This town which has been carved out of sand dunes is an example how hard work can make a place prosperous. This city was supposed to be the first planned city of India it is modeled after Paris.
Link to the ride from Ranakpur to Sri Ganganagar
Amritsar (Sep-18) Lalgarg-Amritsar Distance 373 Kms
The ride from lalgarh jattan to Amritsar was great. Though the roads all through were 2-lane they were well maintained. I wanted to go via the border but missed a turn so had to be satisfied with a ride to the border at hussaniwala border check post. Today was my longest ride of 8 hours covering 373 kms. Visited jallianwalla Bagh to pay homage to the hundreds killed by the English general Dyer who ordered firing on unarmed protesters. In the evening visited my favorite place the Golden temple where I find mental peace. I spent about 3 hours in the temple complex also had langar there.
Link to video to the ride from Sri Ganga nagar to Amritsar
Udhampur (Sep-19)
Amritsar to Udhampur Distance 300 KM
On this route I rode on two wonderful stretches of roads. One was the Amritsar-Pathankot highway and the other was the Jammu-Udhampur highway. Both of these roads were great to ride on. I stopped at the new bridge connecting Udhampur to Katra and admired its beauty and the engineering skills of its builders. I waited for about an hour there hoping for a train to pass on the bridge but was not lucky. From this spot I could see vishno devi mandir town on the hills. As I waited at a highway shop selling pickles for the train I picked up a conversation with the young men who were working at the shop. They were awed by the fact that I lived in Bombay (it is still Bombay for them) also for them the city is a goldmine where everyone strikes gold. In fact the boy had a sad story to share
He said he had been to Mumbai 3 years back and as he was roaming the streets got picked up by the police who suspected him to be a militant from J&K. the boy did not have any identity papers with him. He spent 3 days in a police lock up in Bandra before someone came and got him out.
Srinagar (Sep-20)
Udhampur-Srinagar -Distance 250 Kms
My first ride into the mighty Himalayas. It was both a pleasure and pressure to start the day. It was cool in the morning and I rode into the mountains enjoying the views. On the way I gave a ride on my bike to two people, one was a college boy whom I dropped to his college in Udhampur. The other was a kid who had walked 5 kms from home to buy half liter of milk !!! The Jawahar tunnel connecting Jammu to the valley is a one-way tunnel and was very nice to ride. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jawahar_Tunnel
Dras-(Sep-21)
Srinagar –Dras -Distance 165 kms
Srinagar to Sonamarg is a very beautiful stretch. The meadows of sonamarg are beautiful and also the fir trees lined evenly on the mountains are a treat to see. From sonamarg I proceeded to Dras the second coldest inhabited place on Earth. The lowest temperature recorded was -60. Dras is called the Gateway to Ladakh. It lies at the base of Zojila pass. Dras shot into prominence during the Kargil war as The Pakistanis had heavily shelled this town. There is a war memorial in the town built for the Kargil war martyrs.I reached Dras and it started raining.
Leh-(sep-22)
Dras-Leh -Distance 297 Kms
Dras to Leh started on a wet note. It was raining and I decided not to wait. Had been cut off completely from the people traveling with me on whatsapp post Sonamarg, as there was no signal till I reached Kargil. From Kargil to Leh it is a beautiful ride but today it was wet and cold,had to concentrate on the roads and ride very carefully so could not capture the usual number of photographs.
I was cold and my shoes socks were also wet, my hands were numb with cold as the leather riding gloves were not waterproof. I stopped for tea at the Mulbekh monestary. Here I met a father and son duo from Vijayawada who were doing the Kanyakumari to Kashmir route covering around 10000kms and the entire length of the NH1.
It was steadily drizzling all through and when I reached Fotula top (13479ft) it started snowing. The temperatures had fallen so much that even the bike engine was not good enough to warm my hands and bring some life back into them. Reached Lamayuru and took some photos of the moon surface. Then proceeded towards leh via Nimmoo village. Some 70 kms before Leh I had a fall. The bike skidded on a metal bridge and I could do nothing to control it. Luckily I was riding very slowly due to the rains and the damage was minimal. I had hurt my left thumb. I was once thankful to the cold as it had numbed my thumb and I could not feel the pain. I rode to leh in total darkness and reached Leh town around 7 PM.
Next morning I visited the Army hospital and took precautionary X-rays.was relieved to find that there was no fractures but I had to wait for the swelling to subside before starting on my return journey via manila. Due to the figure injury I had to cancel my plans to visit Pongong Lake via chang LA and also Kardungla the highest motor able pass in the world at 18380 Feet.
Link to the video of the ride from Amritsar to Leh
Leh (sep-23, 24,25)
I spent the next three days in Leh having a good time meeting my friend and Snow leopard tracker Jigmet and also spending time with my brother and his family. We also saw a movie at the world’s highest movie hall the Rinchen auditorium . The movie hall was at a great height but the movie was the pits. The movie we saw was Hero (not the old one). The enthusiasm with which the army people both officers and others watched this lousy movie showed how starved they are for entertainment. I got my bike serviced and also got the small repairs made. Had some amazing home made stuffed paratas thanks to Richa (my sister in law).
Sarchu-(Sep-26)
Leh-Sarchu -Distance 269 Kms.
The most difficult part of the journey started now, The return to Mumbai via Manali .A route with no petrol pumps, many passes, innumerable hairpin bends and many streams flowing cross the roads.
Made an early start after breakfast also filled both my bike tank and the extra can of 5 liter capacity at Karu which is the last petrol pump before Tandi which is around 357 Kms away. The first halt was to be Sarchu. I would cross the second highest pass. Taglangla at 17582 ft. or 5328 mts. And The More plains.
The drive was amazing but difficult. The winding roads up to the Taglangla were beautiful also the 52 km stretch of the More plains were wonderful. Once you reach Pong where you can have food and also get tented accommodation the good roads sorry roads end. The 71 km stretch between Pong and Sarchu has virtually no roads and on this stretch I hardly met anyone. I reached Sarchu after dark and it was very cold. I decided to stay in a Breakfast cum bed tent run by a ladakhi lady. The tent had 6 beds and I was alone. The kind lady first gave me a cup of hot water as I was shivering. Then I had maggi and an omelet for dinner and hit the bed at 8 PM. In the middle of the night I heard some noise and woke up to see a dog peacefully sleeping on one of the cots. I was alone and the dog was not disturbing me so I let it sleep. In the morning I had tea and started for Tandi
Kansar-(Sep-27)
Sarchu-Kansr -Distance 136 kms
After hot tea and filling up the bike tank from the spare can I had carried I started for Tandi. Just as I left the camp there was a stream flowing across the road and the bike slipped on the thin layer of ice coating on the road. luckily this time no injuries. I was very cautious as there were no roads and time and again I had to cross streams flowing across the road. In many places the width of the road was not more then 5 ft. I encountered heavy snowfall at Baralacha la. Luckily was able to negotiate it without any problem. After reaching Darcha a village at the border of HP I had a late breakfast/lunch and then entered HP the scenery completely changed from no vegetation to full vegetation. The valleys and the mountains looked wonderful. At Tandi I filled petrol at the petrol pump, which was the first one after Karu. I reached a village called Kansar and took a room in a small hotel. The room was decent and seemed 5 star compared to the tent accommodation at sarchu.
Kulu-(Sep 28)
Kansar-Kulu -Distance 143 Kms
The toughest day of the trip. Had to cross Rohtang pass and the distance to cover was hardly 90 kms to manali. But there were no roads for nearly 35 kms. It was either flowing streams or deep slush for long stretches. It took me a great deal of mental strength to get through these. I realized that if both your feet are not on the ground the bullet could pull u down (remember elders telling you need to have your feet firmly grounded of life will bring you down). Once I fell into a pool of cold water and another time on an slope. I did very well on all the mud stretches. The ride was amazing. But would I do it again? That is a million dollar question. I did not take a single picture of Rothang pass as it was teeming with tourists to see snow and all of them were attired in funny snowsuits hired locally. the tourist vehicles rushing to Rothang pass were more terrifying then the lonely Roadless stretches that I passed earlier.
Chandigarh (Sep 29)
Kulu – Chandigarh -Distance 310 Kms.
I had completely underestimated the roads. I had thought that the mountains were over but had forgotten that I was still in HP. The roads were a series of twist and turns but were also very scenic. For the initial 100 odd kms I had the beautiful Beas with its green waters for company. Then I rode through the Aut tunnel a 2.76 km tunnel connecting mandi and kulu once past mandi one started to climb again and the Govind sagar lake kept you company as it was visible for most of the distance till you went past the road bridge which at one time was the highest bridge in Asia. once I got past Bilaspur till you hit the 6-lane highway starting some 70 kms before Chandigarh the roads were vers bad as a new 4-lane road is being made. After reaching Chandigarh I had the misfortune of a SUV backing right into my bike at a traffic signal, he was trying to avoid a lorry in front whose cleaner started the vehicle and had put it in reverse gear instead of the forward one. This small accident cost me 3 hours and 500 bucks, I had to get the mudguard straigtened. I stayed at the army guesthouse as a guest of the Ladakhi scouts. A fitting departure from the mountains for me.
Delhi (Sep-30)
Chandigarh – Delhi-Distance 274 KMS
The roads between Chandigarh and Delhi were wonderful all through. The highway was a 6 –lane one and smooth. I had a good late breakfast in one of the highway Dhabas. Had to skip the murthal dhaba treat. After reaching Delhi went to aunts place. In the evening went to Raisana hill to photograph the rashtrapathi bhavan, parliament house and India gate. Enjoyed dinner at home.
Agra (Oct-1)
Delhi- Agra -Distance 253 Kilometer
Was highly excited as I was going to take a ride through the Yamuna expressway. It cost me 175 but it was worth the cost as it is a 165 km long beauty. On the expressway after having tea I had another interesting conversation when I was getting onto my bike 4 people were getting out of their car next to my bike and one of them made a sarcastic comment saying “rider sahib ja rahe hai” the guy realized that I had heard it so he was emarassed and had to make small talk so he asked where I was going and from where when I told them that I had completed 5k on my bike could see respect in his eyes and he wanted to tak a selfie with me. One of then asked what profits do I get by doing this (he was transliterating faydha from Hindi) I told him everything in life is not measured by faydha or nuksan. In Agra was happy to meet my friends from Bharatpur who had come over to meet me. went to the Taj and spent time photographing. Evening had some street food for dinner. Slept early.
Guna (Oct-2)
Agra-Guna -Distance-356 Kilometer
Left Agra for Guna via Gwalior on NH3. Probably the worst maintained road I have travelled on. I reached Guna and checked into the first decent hotel I found.
On the way I gave a lift to a person. As we were nearing the place he had to get off he said sir please have tea with me. There was a shop on the highway where we had tea. was told that the roads were going to get even worse before they got better . He also told me that there was no fear of crime in this particular stretch of roads. I told him you couldn’t have a bigger killer then these roads and It was a gunah to be travelling on them.
Indore (Oct-3)
Guna-Indore -Distance-309
Started for Indore and the roads were so bad that I had to look for them between potholes. The potholes gradually grew in size till they became the size of wells. The lorries, which were using this road to avoid paying toll, had to get in and out of these holes could not go over them. I would say if someone had to experience the craters of the moon all they had to do was travel on NH3.After nearly 5200 Kms I had my first puncture. The tyres had survived the roads of Leh but could not stand up to the challenge thrown at them by NH3. When I rode into the puncture shop and saw how long it took for an experienced guy to fix it I thanked all the Gods that I could remember for not giving me one on the mountains . The promised good roads arrived 41 km before Indore. As I entered Indore I found a man who worked as a watchman asking me for a lift. I decided to give him a ride. He asked me where I was from I answered him and in turn asked him where I could find hotels. He told he would show me a best price hotel. He directed me towards it and then he showed me a board, which said Best price and when I entered it turned out to be a wal mart store.
Mumbai (Oct-4)
Indore-Mumbai -Distance- 630 Kilometer
I desperately wanted to get back home and was impatient even to wait for a day. It was going to be a challenge to cover 630 Kms but I broke it into small 90 kms parts which I could cover in 90 minutes and then take a 20 minute tea break, Thus the big 630 kms became 7 tea breaks and the mind was comfortable accepting this target. The roads were fabulous and I did manage to cover this distance in around 12 hours. Was exhausted when I eventually reached home but at the same time was thrilled at having done a 5965 KM solo ride. This was an amazing achievement for me considering the fact that the longest I had ridden before this trip was a grand 30 kilometers.
Link to the video of the return leg Leh to Mumbai
At the end of this marathon ride I will say that A Solo ride is for ones soul.
Some facts Total Distance- 5965 Kms Total Stops- 19 Total days -23 Total Expenses Petrol Rs 11830/- Stay Rs 14780/- Food Rs 6223/-
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