आditi

There is an endless list of things that we are carrying for this bike trip. I have categorised it in four groups -personal, common for the group, bike-related and medical. The list has been compiled after talking to people who have done the tour before, from reading experiences of such people and from the internet, of course! We are taking on one pair of saddle bags, one magnetic tank bag (see pics in previous post) and one waist pouch with us. We are strictly not taking any backpack and have managed to fit all the following things in these bags (with packing and unpacking for 'n' number of times :D) PERSONAL Five-six T-shirts -half sleeves, full sleeves, thin material, cotton, polyster. The variety would be necessary as everything depends on weather Two pairs of jeans One water-proof trackpants five-six pairs of socks Pyjamas for night Innerwear Thermal wear/sweaters Towel Napkin Toiletries (as needed) Torch Swiss Army knife (everyone should have one) Riding ...

After the short ride to Mulshi road, Tejas and I went to Tamhini ghat and back, on Sunday -May 29. Since we had some work in the morning, we happened to leave at around 10.45am. We decided on Tamhini ghat because it is farther enough to give us a feel of the ride, but doable in a day. (around 200 kms). Here are some pics before we started The  Cramster  riding gear -saddle bags near the seat and the tank bag that holds on to the petrol tank with six magnets  That is another view. The saddle bags are extremely convenient and the pillion rider need not worry about comfort of sitting behind at all.  Those are out Cramster  riding jackets with elbow, shoulder and back padding for safety. They are heavy, but we got used to them during the short Mulshi ride a couple of weeks ago. Also, once we removed the inner thermal lining, they were pretty much okay even in the heat. So we are all set... Tejas rode till Pirangut, then I rode from Pirangut till Mulsh...

There are a number of groups from Tier I and Tier II cities that plan bike tours to Leh. But, most of these tours mean transporting bikes to Delhi and starting the ride from there. For others, who are crazy like us and want to start driving from Pune itself, planning the entire ride in 20 -25 days takes a lot of time. Here is a list of must-have references -online and print, to plan the route. In other words, our planning would have been impossible without these: BCMTouring Google Maps, of course Nest and Wings Trekking map of Zanskar and Ladakh Nest and Wings ready reckoner for Baspa, Kinnaur, Spiti and Lahaul valleys Following must be ensured, while planning the route: * Keep at least two reserve days for your return * Cover at least 350 to 380 kilometers every day till Delhi, after which it would come down to 150-200 kilometers because of the terrain * Stay in cities and town closer to the highway so as to save time in travelling further inside the city...The aim is to r...

Over the last year that we have been planning for the Leh trip, there were two weeks that were spent under extreme pressure when we thought we would never be able to make it. It was when we suspected that I was pregnant! Although we were not very sure about the pregnancy, tension was mounting each day and we were trying hard not to think about the consequences if our doubts were to come true. Of course we have been taking all precautions to avoid this situation, which made it all the more frustrating for us. The pregnancy home tests that I had taken were negative -twice and that gave a little boost to our spirits. We continued the bike practice and the stamina-building exercises. Tejas, had, however, completely stopped his homework on the trip and it was replaced by endless discussions on 'what if...' at nights. Tejas had even asked  Chaitanya  and  Sagar  to postpone their plans to buy the riding gear. I am sure it must be as much of tension for them a...

For the first time after we bought the riding gear, we went on a practice ride to Mulshi road with the saddle bags, tank bag and the super hot riding jackets! For Tejas, it was more about getting used to the weight and jackets and for me it was about driving in the crowd and managing the weights of the bags, Tejas, me and the bike...not very difficult though as it sounds. Felt good and got a hang of how hot we would feel in the jackets, even after we had removed their thermal lining. More practice need for the pillion rider to get on the bike as the saddle bags make it difficult to hop on the rear seat More to come...

I don't remember how and why Tejas and I decided to do the bike tour to Leh-Ladakh, but what I do remember is that the plan was crystallized around a year ago. The honeymoon to Sikkim-Darjeeling made us fall in love with the region and we decided to do the tour in June 2011. Even when I had the nerve compression in my shoulder in September last year, I was somehow sure that it would not deter me from the ride. To take a test, we went to Amboli -370 kilometers from Pune on bike, for our first anniversary in November 2010 when I was still recovering from it. After the trip, we became confident of covering 350 to 400 kilometers every day. We also realised that I need to learn to ride the Karizma -not just to relieve Tejas from continuous driving, but for the pure joy of feeling the wind on my face, in my hair and maneuvering along the curves. The preparations began and Tejas procured a tubeless rear tyre for the bike. We are still looking for the tubeless front tyre. The bike...