Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/128103
(Right) The bikes come equipped with plenty of protection - at le a st for the motorcycles. (Left) You can lead your Royal Enfield to water, but you can't make It drink. The author gets wet while the India n Shepards' crew prepares to save him. IAbove) "He y, hey, we're the Monk... " Local monks pose on the one of the tour's Enfields. Gr e a ter Himalayas . No b ig garage ; just a couple of barren pu mps whose gl a s s facing was long -since destroyed . The place totally lacked a food ma rt. We tanked up the bikes while our jeep filled the gas canisters that would keep us running the rest of the way . By nightfall, we made it to J ispa , where we stayed at the Ibex , the la st hotel before total wildemess. We were down to 9000 feet, and the night here would further help with the acclimatization . Even so , jogging up a flight of stairs left me dizzy . It was a s imple build ing , but a g re a t place to rest. Ha ving spent extended periods standing on the foot pegs , transferring weight to the front wheel for the stability to get through rock beds and other debris, our bones were quite weary . Over dinner, we remarked how much harsher the ride was than any one of us had antic ipated. When Kumar came by , after s upervis ing maintenance work on the bike s , we asked him to confirm the ob viou s .. . tha t today's climb into the mounta ins was the hardest part of the tour. He thought about it for a moment before saying , "No, I think tomorrow will be more difficult.· And he was right. The next morning, the sun was shining and our butts were brand new a g a in . We rode off from the hotel , zipped through another army convoy , a nd headed for the hills . The road from Jispa was paved, or "m e ta lle d" as it is called in India, though it too disintegrated as soon as we started to seriously climb . At least today we were mentally prepared for the task. At the first pass , 14,OOO-foot Baralacha La, Kumar had us break for an hour. He encouraged us to slowly do walking exercises to assist the a c c lim a t iz a t ion process, fo r there would b e no Ji s pa a t th e en d of today's ride , Ou r ca m psi te t o ni ght wo uld also be at 14, 0 00 fee t, a nd that is a huge jum p to m a ke from 60 00 feet in o nly two da ys . Altitude s ick ness would be visiti ng e veryone , he a dvi s e d, a nd th e o nly question was the degree to wh ich we wou ld get it. The lucky o nes would develop a s ligh t headache . A severe he ada che would be the da nger sign to watch for. So our options for the day ranged from little headache to b ig headache . Ain't tha t so m ethi ng to look forward to? But we d id not have to wai t long to see the signs: One of our rid e rs ignored the "slow walk" instructions and walked down the side of the hill. By the time he climbed his way back, he was hav ing mild hallucinations. Our break was extended wh ile Kumar administered first aid and allowed the rider to rest. That was enough scare for me , so I reached for my altitude-sickness pills that I had not yet started taking. But the jar was in my saddlebag and , when opened, I found that all the pills had been smashed into powder. Yes , it had been a harsh ride. Eventually ready to continue, on our downhill ride , we encountered the first serious water crossing. It was onl y a foot or so deep, but it washed ou t a hairpin covered in ro ugh rock . That gave us the normal difficulty of riding on the uneven surface plus the fun dimension of riding it blind , because you can't see through rushing water. I was the only squid this time , plung ing my wheel deep between a couple of rocks and stalling out. Before I could right my wrong, Kumar's crew was in the water taking the bike from me and pushing it to "s hore." My embarrassment lasted only until the next water crossing when one of the other riders dropped his bike and went butt surfing in the water. I appreciated his kind gesture. We had beautiful weather and scenery throughout the day, highlighted by a 16 ,OOO-foot pass called Lachung La. The ascent is called the "2 1 loops" in honor of its various hair pins covered with pavement, sand, or bo uld er s the size of a Yugo. It wa s followed b y a I S-m ile gorge ride co m plete wit h s mall rivers th at we c ross ed in the dark . Our ca m psite that night was ne s tled by the roadsi de at 14,000 feet. It wou ld pr o v e to b e o ur last n ight to gethe r as a gr oup , for o ne rider wa s so overco m e by altitud e s ickness we ha d to evacuate h im . Th e rest of us managed ok ay, but no one was lo ving life at that moment. Wa lking a hundred feet involved deep breathing and maybe a rest stop or two , It was difficult , but the absolute surrealism of it also made it entertaining . Kumar assured us that the next mountain , Tanglang La at 17,582 feet, would finish our acclimatization. We thought he was nuts. Or perhaps by "finis hing" he meant we would die there . But amazingly, after descend ing Tanglang La, we then felt 14 ,000 feet to be pretty comfy. We came to trust Kumar. He kn ew the roads and this land so very well . What he said would happen , would always happen . Even the mad dogs were right where he said we would find them , And vice versa .. . and they did just what he sa id they wou ld (i.e. cease attacking if we would stop the bikes until the dogs got bored). He was fiercely dedicated to our safety and to our enjoyment of this highly surrealistic rid ing experience. Every t ime we would seemingly come to a ride-ending barrier, Kumar led u s through. Massive la nd s lid e ? Ride up and over the debris . Washed out road? Even facing two -feet-deep roc k y ic e water with swift current across the top of a waterfall (don 't run wide!) turned out to be a highlight of the entire tr ip . I mean , how often do you get to go white-water ra fting on your motorcycle? The captain brought us out of the wilderness and into the II,OOO -foot Dg W®G!J Buddhi st tow n of Le h. He then took us up to the top of Khard ung La that, at 18, 3 80 feet, is the wor ld's highest motorable road . And, once up there, he surprised us with cake and cha mpagne . I had only a sip, knowing tha t alcohol hits harder at high altitude, It was all downhill from there , as we rode down into the Nubra Valley on the Ancient Silk Road , There wa s a great stretch of paved canyon ro a d allowing us to enjoy r iding h ar d instead of hard riding . In the villages, we saw beautifu l children and twi n hump camels. Kumar brought us to a monastery where those who wishe d to do so were permitted to join the Buddhist monks for morning prayer. I think one of the best th ings a bo ut traveling with Raaj. as we came to know the captain, was that, at every military checkpoint, our veteran army leader always got us foreigne rs the permission to pass . His c re w d id a great job keeping the weary Enfields running, and the same for the weary American riders . The camps we re well ru n from a great mess te nt to morning tea service in our te n t s , The ir staff made us feel as comfort able as one can be in high a ltitudes . The ride across the G rea t Himalayas is a crowning achieveme nt for a lifet ime of riding . Indian Shep herds is a great company , and Kum a r is a man worth y of entrusting wit h your life. And oxygen? Frankly , it is overrated. CN @®O O O What: Indian Shepherds' expedition over the Himalayas. When: American group departs New Delhi on September 3, retums September 14 (weather permitting). To Prepare: Visit your doctor early to check for immunizations. Get prescriptions for altitude sickness and atomic diarrhea. Cardio workouts are good preparation and conditioning for riding in thin air. Make sure your passport is valid through at least April 15, 2002. Risk: Besides the obvious (falling off an 18,OOO-foot ledge like Wile E. Coyote), it is generally not predictable who is at risk for High-Altitude Pulmonary Oedeoma until you actua lly get up there. The only cure is to get down to a lower altitude but, under some circumstances, evacuation can be difficult. Ifyou have asthma or a heart condition, don't go. What To Bring: Tons of film. Extra batteries for the camcorder (no place to recharge) . Sunblock. Cold-weather riding gear plus warm-weather gea r (it can reach into the 70s due to rarified atmosph ere). Slee ping bag. A couple dozen cheap ball-point pens as gifts for the children of the Himalayas. (This will make you their hero.) Expedition Info & Reservations: In America, contact Travelcraft: 800 -241-1223 or www.travelcraft.com/himalayas.html c ue I e n e _ S • M AY 9, 2 0 01 31