A 15 day cycling expedition from Manali via the lower Himalayan range to reach Leh, covers about 550 km through breathtaking views of mountain ranges.
This 15 day cycling expedition starts from Manali, Himachal Pradesh and traverses through the lower Himalayan range to reach Leh, the capital city of the Ladakh. The journey includes 470 kms of cycling (90 km additionally to KhardungLa pass in Leh) challenging personal limits apart from the breathtaking views of the vast mountain ranges.
A self-supported cycling journey comprises of carrying ones own clothing, cooking utensils & food and shelter (tent, sleeping bag) - all on one's bicycle. Such a journey was on my wish list but an arduous route such as this and for the first time got me re-thinking. Came upon a bicycle tour organizer on an online forum, who organize supported cycling trip wherein food, stay, bike and medical support are taken care off. Only from-to flights (to Delhi) and bike transport charges had to be borne by self.
Personally, the entire package was very expensive that would eat away into my entire year’s savings but signed up anyway. Why? Well, because this would very well be my very first hand sighting of snow and so I just had to do this.
Preparation for the Leh trip
- Mental – Done months ago.
- Physical – Fit but for a nagging left ankle sprain and lower backache.
- Practice – Two sets of repeated Nandi hill climbs and one Kalhatty-Ooty climb.
- Bike – Rockrider 5.3 with two bottle cages and mini cycle pump on bike frame.
- Travel wear – innerwear, track pant, t-shirt, fleece pullover, socks, running shoes.
Requirements for the Leh trip
- Mental – Be prepared. At the very least, please learn to fix a flat tyre by yourself.
- Physical – Not advisable if having difficulty in breathing and/or still recovering from any mental/physical injury.
- Fitness – Few 50-100km rides per day. Any 2 days of 5 repeated Nandi hill climbs and 1 Kalhatty-Ooty climb should do good.
- Bike – A good hard-tail MTB preferably with disc brakes and front suspension lockout. At least one bottle cage and mini cycle pump on the bike frame.
- Travel wear – innerwear, chinos/jeans, full sleeve shirt/pullover, socks, sneakers.
Luggage for the Leh trip
Backpack 50 ltr. fully loaded weighs 15kg
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Cramster waist pouch holds 1 ltr. water bottles each in outer side pockets
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On the bike the rain jacket+pant, lip balm and the warmers (full finger gloves, balaclava) are a necessity. Personally though, the hydration bag was a savior of sorts. When off the bike, the woolens (beanie, gloves and socks) kept me warm while the wet tissues/tissue rolls were most useful.
Day 00 : Bengaluru - Delhi - Manali
Sat, 14 June 2014
With my luggage packed, ready and all set to go. Boarded the scheduled flight from Bengaluru to Delhi. Met the some at the Delhi airport.
Delhi to Manali distance by road is about 560 kilometres and travel time by bus is roughly 14 hours. All the participants for this trip met up at Himachal Bhawan, Mandi House where we boarded the HPTDC volvo bus and started out by 7:30pm. Slept through most of the bus journey.
Day 01 : At Manali
Sun, 15 June 2014
Reached Manali by 9:30am. Unloaded the bags and bikes onto the support vehicle and then walked up to a German Bakery. After a filling breakfast, we walked to the hotel to freshen up. Later got down to unpacking our respective bikes, when we realized a few bikes including mine were slightly damaged in transit. The rear derailleur pulleys were pushed in so much so as to touch the wheel spokes and the shifting of gears on lower gears was misaligned. Sorted out the issue and we were all ready by 4pm. Half hour later, we all started to ride out for about 10 odd km through and past the bridge in town.
On the return leg, we passed by some heavy traffic back into town and crossed the bridge to stop at a small open-top restaurant for a quick biryani and banana milkshake (which was just tiny bits of banana dunked into milk flavored water)…yeeuuuck! Got back to the hotel by 7:15pm. Secured all the bikes, freshened up and we all took a walk into town for small purchases. People/tourists thronged the city central area while blaring punjabi music played in the backdrop, which made the place seem too commercialized, crowded, boring and in a way disappointing. Had dinner and got back to the hotel as soon as possible. The thoughts of the ride the following day was exciting enough!
Lesson learnt: Greet locals by saying 'Jhulley', which means greetings, thank you, good wishes, bye all in one in Ladakhi. Say it at beginning and end of every conversation.
