I - The plan
"What amazing pictures dude! When are we going to Leh?" A discussion I have encountered on countless occasions, whenever someone in our group would come across pictures from somebody else who went exploring Ladakh. Excitement would build up and that would trigger a splurge in everybody's eagerness to make this happen.......for a few days! Ultimately, we would settle down with the usual one day rides and the more frequent weekend breakfast 'rides'!
This routine continued for a few years, and we made peace with the fact that this dream ladakh ride would happen for us 'someday'! This was about to change last year (2021). During one of our usual catchup rides, a dear friend - Rayhan again sparked the same conversation all over. We had been through this enough number of times to simply brush it off saying, "sure, why not?', and leave it at that. However, it was different this time. Rayhan was determined to make it happen soon; enough of waiting and just aspiring to go on to this magical ride. I paused for a moment and gave it a serious thought - this is exactly the kind of push that was needed to make this happen. Hell yeah! we can, and we will do this soon!
Well, 'soon' was not going to cut it anymore. This was going to need tremendous planning - the ride itself, prepping our households to operate without us - getting the right support system in place (especially with un-schooling children), managing office work and arranging the right backups, and so on. That pushed 2021 out of the window, but then we shook on 2022 being THE year. Our requirements were simple - having like minded riders along, a free flowing, not so rigid itinerary, riding through the snow, avoiding typical touristy peak crowded times; tons of fun and great memories were guaranteed then! With these thoughts and tremendous gleam of hope, we rode back to our abodes. We had many, many things to plan up and pieces had to fall into the puzzle for this to happen smoothly.
The family:
My wife, Prachi, had been hearing about this adventurous but elusive ladakh ride since the last 10 years or so. And, knowing me so well, I guess on some level she had seen this coming; the question was - when? I chose a happy moment and slipped this idea of the ladakh ride next year (2022) with her. Although she was not very surprised, she was certainly wondering where all this commitment to make it happen next year is coming from. Nonetheless, after asking her usual set of questions, like when exactly, with whom, how, etc. (for which I had no answers at all yet, honestly) - she was on board. How she manages to be so supportive of all my motorcycle madness every single time - I don't know, but clearly shows her mettle to be with me, and be a part of everything I aspire to do!
Now, the kids. Like Prachi, I picked my moment with them, and introduced them to this idea of a motorcycle ride to ladakh. Their impromptu reaction was '2 weeks! No way! We will miss you, so you are not going!' I sat down with them, explaining that this has been one of my dreams since the last few years. That I would dearly miss them too, but this is something I really want to do. I guess they were able to relate to this part with their un-schooling and child led learning journey - so they ultimately caved in and said 'If this is what you REALLY want to do, then you should! We will miss you, but that's okay!' Such level of maturity, understanding and support, coming from 7 year old twins, really left me perplexed.
We thought it would be a great idea to have Prachi's parents over to help her run the show at home. After all, she would have to manage everything - her own business venture Snugbub, the house, the kids, 2 dogs, 2 cats - all by herself! Did a quick check with my in-laws - and they committed to extend their full support. Spoke to my parents as well and explained them about my plan. They have seen my fascination with motorcycles right since my childhood - and my entire motorcycling journey so far. "Go ahead - just remember to not take unnecessary risks, and keep us posted on your journey". That sense of empowerment you get when you know your entire family has got your back in your adventure - priceless!
The job:
I was looking for an opportunity to switch to a different team, so could not have possibly planned this out at work at this stage.
The ride:
I used to ride the Honda CBR650R at the time, with Rayhan riding the Kawa ZX10R. While technically, we could do the Ladakh circuit on these bikes, it would not have been a lot of fun, since these bikes are made for perfect tarmac. Plus, we did not want to be worried about the bike and the suspension bottoming out every time we hit those off road trails. For quite some time, both Rayhan and I had been thinking about venturing into the off road space; so far we had been into sports riding - all about cornering, bhps and red lines. Recently, Rayhan had come across a rider on a Hero Xpulse 200 with the rally kit installed - and he was mighty impressed with what he saw. The Xpulse made a lot of sense - light weight, proven off road capabilities, cheap to own and maintain, can be used as a secondary bike as well, for daily chores and what not.
Hero had come with a 4V version of the Xpulse, and was received very well. I got sold on it, looking at the reviews. A new Xpulse200 4V would have costed me ~ Rs. 1.7 lacs on road bangalore. I made up my mind on getting a new one in white and blue paint scheme. Unfortunately, all the showrooms I checked on quoted a waiting period of minimum 3 to 4 weeks for this color. In spite of getting the funds ready with me, something kept me from booking the bike with either of the showrooms with the waiting period.
In the mean time, decided to check for any pre-owned options - a well maintained bike, not later than a year old, and less kms run. The 4V was a good to have, but I was fine with the 2V as well, provided I get a good deal. After extensive search, came across a couple of options which fit into my criteria. Ultimately, settled on 8 month old, ~3,000 kms run white Xpulse 200 2V for ~Rs. 1.2 lacs. The date was Feb 24, 2022.
Started taking the Xpulse to the trails around my house to get used to the dynamics. Also attended the Adventure Training Level 1 at BigRock Dirt Park, which was an amazing experience - gave the much needed insights into seated and standing body positioning, cornering, braking etc. during off roads. Started riding the Xpulse more and more, and finally felt ready for the big one later this year!
The route:
This is the part where I am generally good at. However, I have to admit, it got a bit overwhelming for me to start with. What places to include/ exclude, where we can pitstop, etc. - with too many options, I hit the paradox of choice. I decided to keep it simple and exclude Spiti and Zanskar valleys for this ride. After all, you need an excuse to visit the place again!
I finally landed with my first draft of the itinerary, after reading many blogs and watching multiple youtube videos. The most useful videos I found were from falconriders.
I shared this high level itinerary with a few close friends to check if they would want to join. It is not an easy task to take out 2 weeks from your life for this; mere 'wanting' to do this is not enough. So I was not expecting many to join anyway, and I was right. Co incidentally, the metal fabricator who worked on my house recently - Santhosh, was a good chap, and a motorcycle enthusiast. He rides a Pulsar 200NS himself, and was highly interested and committed to join. Essentially, it was down to Rayhan, Santhosh and me.
My research told me that August would be the best time for us to ride, considering our requirement of avoiding peak touristy times. This would be a gamble with respect to snow encounters - generally all the winter snow would have melted by August, and any chance of getting snow would be due to local weather conditions. It was down to what we prioritize more, and ultimately I was fine to take this gamble. In the mean time, I moved into a new team at work, and realized that I could not make it in August due to important deliverables at that time. Accordingly, the plan moved further down to September. It would be very cold at this time, but it was now or never, and I was totally up for it!
The commitment:A detailed look into flight/ train options for myself and the bike revealed that the best way that suited me was to take the train from Bengaluru to Delhi, and ship the bike as luggage. As time passed and September started looking pretty close, it was time to solidify our commitment to the plan, and make the necessary reservations. This is where things started going south. An unavoidable commitment meant Rayhan had to drop out of the plan. He himself was still hopeful of making it somehow, but realistically, I did not see that happening. This was a big blow since it was our plan to begin with - something we had been meaning to do together for years! Further, Santhosh's brothers engagement got arranged in the 2nd week of September - exactly during our ride! This meant it was going to be a solo ride, or no ride at all!
I have had multiple solo rides before - but nothing for this long and over a territory so unfamiliar. The wife started to get worried, and rightfully so. However, to be honest, the decision was already made in my mind - these folks dropping out did not bother me too much. I was not going to throw away everything for lack of a riding partner. However, this implied I would need to research even the minute elements further, and be as prepared as possible for things to come.
Finally, after multiple discussions and trying my best to make Prachi comfortable with this whole madness of a plan, I went ahead and booked my train tickets - Bengaluru - Delhi - Bengaluru. There was no looking back now!
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