Random Bits

Parking my motorbike out in the cold for good part of winter had resulted in a frozen clutch. As a result clutch could not disengage the transmission and so a gear shift caused a jerk and halted the bike. Thanks to a quick tip from Action Sports and help from CJ, this was fixed!

Grip the front wheel against the  parking curb and then holding both the brakes, shift the gear on slightly high throttle.

Note: Exercise caution while attempting this! At your own risk.

Team:
Srikar Yekollu, Shobith Alva, Chandan Reddy

When?:
June 16th - 25th, 2007

Route:
Bangalore - Delhi - Manali - Sarchu - Paang - Leh - KhardungLa - Nubra Valley/Diskit - Hander

Base stations:
Kshitij’s house - Delhi, Room in Manali, Guest house - Mandi, Sarchu Tent, Paang Tent, Hotel Zar-la - Leh, Snow Leopard - Nubra Valley

Passes:
Rohtang La (3,978 m, 13,050 ft), Baralacha La (4,892 m, 16,050 ft), Lachulung La (5,059 m, 16,600 ft), Tanglang La (5,325 m, 17,470 ft), Khardung La (5359 m)

Transport:
Air Deccan (Bangalore - Delhi, Delhi - Bangalore ), Raj Travels Volvo ( Delhi - Manali ), Bullet 500 cc from Anu Motors ( Manali - Manali ), Sonu’s Oil Tanker ( Sarchu - Leh ), A Pickup truck ( Army station after Hander - Manali ), Some shitty Volvo ( Manali - Delhi )

Adding spice:

• AMS - Acute Mountain Sickness in Sarchu, Diamox + Disprin
• Running out of fuel while going back to Leh from Hander

Photos:

• Srikar’s Leh-Ladakh Album on Picasa

Resources:

• Yogesh Sarkar’s BCM Touring

PS: Wanted to write a travelogue but ended up scribbling notes. Posting this to archive stuff, before things fade out…