III: Entering J&K
After effectively putting in a litre of fuel in the tank, I finally set off for my dream ride. I had to look for a petrol pump to fill up the tank so that I can be on my way. I asked the locals, and was told to follow the road through which I exited; it would take me to the main road and the petrol pump would be right there. Reached the main road but the petrol pump was no where to be seen! Would have continued for possibly a km more, and the engine started knocking; I knew what was coming. Hoping to see a petrol pump very soon, I continued, being very, very gentle on the throttle, applying the 'lift and coast' technique as much as I could. The bike could not go for long, and soon it stalled. I did not want to damage the fuel pump, so I did not push it after it failed to crank in one or two attempts. I saw a gas pump on the opposite side of the road. Parked the bike on the side and walked over. I was told the nearest petrol pump is 1.5 - 2 kms ahead.
I already had started to feel the heat, quite literally. So took off my riding jacket and hung it on the bike, and started the 'walk' with the Xpulse. Would have covered maybe half a km or so, and a good Samaritan on his Honda Dio scooter stopped at me, and asked what the matter was. He offered to 'reverse tow' my bike from behind, by using his left foot to push on my exhaust as he is riding his Dio. That did the trick, and took me to the nearest petrol pump in no time. Such a huge relief! I conveyed my sincere thanks, and we parted ways.
After having the tank filled up, I parked the bike on the side and took a seat at the curb to take a moment and shake this whole thing off, so that I start afresh. I had also realized that my mobile phone holder had moved a bit during the train transit and that was hitting the tank bag, preventing free handle bar movement.
Took out the right size spanner and allen key and moved it to the left, and that fixed the issue. I also had to tighten the rear view mirrors, especially the left, since it got very lose as I was riding. To my surprise, I realized that I was not carrying the 15 number spanner needed for this job, so I will have to carry on with a loose, freely rotating left rear view mirror.
The important thing was that finally, FINALLY, I was on my way.
The plan was to try and reach Udhampur today, but it was going to be a long, ~700kms journey. My policy on this throughout the ride was going to be don't push, don't stop - meaning don't push yourself too much to compulsorily reach the planned destination, nor stop there if you reach ahead of time and want to carry on.
Crossed Sonipat. As I neared Panipat, started having goosebumps thinking about the third battle of Panipat. My brain began visualizing the >50,000 Maratha troops and > 200,000 pilgrims that marched to Panipat to fight off the Afghans from Hindustan. Paid my respects to Sadashivrao Bhau and all the 100,000 Marathas that paid the ultimate price, and carried on.
Since last night itself, I had started to feel bloated and in general, not so great with the tummy. This meant a very light day in terms of food. After crossing Karnal, spotted a road side juice vendor, and decided to stop for a sweet lime juice 'breakfast'.
The heat was really starting to build up, and couple of tall glasses of fresh sweet lime juice was a respite. Continuing the ride, crossed Ambala and entered Punjab. You know you are in Punjab when you start seeing Thekas (Liquor stalls) almost every kilometer on the highway! The highway, in general, was pretty awesome, apart from the usual village/ town crossings and the occasional repair work sections.
As I bypassed Chandigarh, I was reminded of another friend of mine who is from there - Pankaj. Decided to give him a call when I stopped next.
It was well past noon now, and the heat was really getting to me. Spotted a series of sugarcane juice vendors about 30 kms before Ludhiana, and I stopped at one of them instantly for a quick 'Lunch' pitstop.
Relished the sweet and soothing sugarcane juice to my content, and took out the phone to call Pankaj. Guess who had already messaged me a short while back, checking if I can meet up - Pankaj! It is easy to brush this off as a co incidence, so I am going to do just that.
My tummy had started rumbling and was getting very uncomfortable now. Udhampur for today seemed far fetched, and I started to think about alternative places to halt for tonight, maybe Pathankot.
Out of nowhere, I got this feeling that the handle bar is slightly bent, and further that my tail bag has become tilted due to uneven weight on both sides. I stopped to look into these, and both of these concerns were unfounded. I started looking out for places where I could stop for a bio break, and within a few kms, experienced the joy of finding a Cafe Coffee Day just when you needed it!
Stopped over right away, took off my helmet, jacket, etc and headed straight to the toilet. What a relief!
Had black coffee, spoke with the family, and got some respite from the scorching heat. Wasting no further time, I was on my way again.
And now suddenly, forget Udhampur, even Leh directly seemed to be doable in my head! I was back with confidence that Udhampur was easily doable. I pondered over this sudden change of momentum - I guess its important to get shit out asap, and not just from the gut, but from the mind and heart as well, for healthier relationships.
As I started nearing Pathankot, it started to drizzle. It was already past 4PM, and though that was a welcome change from the intense heat, it also meant that I might to fall back on the Pathankot plan, unless the rain subsides. To my dismay, it only got heavier, and I immediately stopped at the next settlement. Udhampur was still ~125kms away.
I was welcomed at a hardware accessories shop by a middle aged gentleman, and we had a very interesting conversation around the brilliant roads infrastructure, his children and the choice of their colleges, and the way his town has seen tremendous progress over the last few years.
I would have easily waited for more than 45 mins. The rain did not stop, but it slowed down a bit, and I was back on the saddle. Reached Pathankot, and it started raining again! With dampened spirits, I entered Pathankot town, filled up fuel and inquired on the places to stay. As I was roaming around, I noticed that the skies were actually clear on the north. I immediately headed back towards the highway, intending to continue north towards Udhampur.
And it turned out to be a wise decision - it indeed stopped raining completely after a while. Roads all the way till the J&K entry were fantastic. Entered J&K through Lakhanpur after crossing a huge military checkpost, but without any fuss and checking. It was my first time in J&K - and that gave me goosebumps. All the news and stories that I heard, movies that I saw - started coming back to me in a flashback. It took a few minutes for my nerves to calm down, and I finally started absorbing the beauty of the place.
Initially, the roads were very good, but as I headed further towards Udhampur, the roads turned from bad to worse. It had already gotten dark by now, and I was really looking forward to reach my destination. Met a few bikers from Mumbai and Sangli on the way, but did not really ride together. Reached Udhampur by 7:30PM, only to be stuck in a horrible jam on the highway. Luckily I was on 2 wheels and was able to navigate thru the jam relatively easily, and found a hotel called 'Le Mars'. Got a good deal, so decided to check in. It was decent stay, and the staff was eager to do what was needed to make my stay pleasant.
Grabbed some dinner from nearby, spoke to the family again and it was time to call it a day! A long one indeed.
Distance: 670 kms
Saddle time: 10.5 hours
Elevation: 755M (2,477 ft), + 455M (+ 1,493 ft)
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