Uttaranchal Conquered

Uttaranchal Conquered
Saturday, November 10, 2007

Inddiethumpers Conquer Uttaranchal

It all started years ago, when my folks had gone to Uttaranchal for a vacation, I had to unfortunately miss it due to my “oh so vast” students curriculum then. I always wanted to see for myself, the endless twisters, the deep valleys, the simple people, the wild flowers...
Fortunately for me, a fellow Inddiethumper, Nikkhil Khanna also had the same yearning to ride to Uttaranchal.
The plan was frozen. We were to ride. Eventually our twosome riding group turned into a gang of six bikers. The others who joined in were, Monish, Annish, Jairam, and John. All from varied fields (as you will see below), all varied personalities, but with one ambition, to Conquer Uttaranchal.

The Riders:
Christopher Keve - The Sandman - STD 350, 1959 - IT and Quality professional - Completed
Nikkhil Khanna - Vagabond - LB500, 2007 - FX artist - Completed
Jairam Chandrani - Devil’s Advocate - Electra, 2003 - Advocate - Completed
Annish Sarin - Iceman - LB500, 2007 - Film and TV Producer - Incomplete ride (burn above the right ankle from the bend pipe)
John Anthony - Linen - STD 350, 2007 - Media - Incomplete ride (bike trouble)
Monish Bansal - Dark Knight - Thunderbird, 2007 - Film-maker - Incomplete ride (hand injury)

The ride as it was was a constant enthralling endeavor. Almost all of us had had accidents a week before the ride. I kicked it off with a torn shoulder muscle, Nikkhil with a hairline fracture on his wrist, Annish with road burns, and Monish with an old wrist problem that was aggravated during his accident. And of course, bike problems, I was luckier than most in this regard ;)

6 guys started off with the ride, from Delhi. 3 returned to Delhi. Drastic figures for any ride. Here’s what happened:

26th Oct: Departure by August Kraanti Rajdhaani to Delhi
The train journey was pleasant to say the least, the attendant on the train, I’m sure, wouldn’t agree with me. Our constant pleas for more butter, food, tea, coffee and every other fathomable consumable would have definitely challenged his will to complete an entire term, and retire from the railways with the promise of a pension plan. Loads of photo sessions, some uncannier than most you would see, pursued.
27th Oct: Reached Delhi (Nizzamuddin) with a slight delay.
Got the bikes in our custody. The bikes had been loaded previously, and were waiting for us at Old Delhi Railway Station.
Stay was organized at Hotel Landmark, Karol Baugh, a wonderful duplex room, totally furnished with a TV, a fridge, an AC, and a bathtub, something which would be very dear to us when we returned).
We needed to get John’s motorcycle serviced, headed towards a mechanic who Anant had suggested. Where all of a sudden my motorcycle, felt a little home-sick, and decided to choke on some debris left in the tank during a recent paint job.(How I hate shoddy paintjobs). Called up Anant when I ran out of patience, and changed the place of meeting. While waiting for him, I decided to give her some first aid treatment and get her thumping again, cleaned out the chocked fuel line, and just then I heard the sweet sound of another bullet, looked up, and it was Anant. Headed towards the mechanics place, the customary greetings, and checking out each others bikes ensued. I can still remember his almost totally scraped off foot pegs. The New India Motor vehicle Insurance Company needs to include foot pegs in the list of non-perishables for Road shakers ;)



28th Oct: Delhi to Dakpatthar
Karnal - Pipli - Yamunagar - Asan barrage - Poanta sahib - Dakpatthar
Decided to leave John’s bike behind in Delhi, as it was loosing compression due to work out threading in the sparkplug and decompressor units. He was to come along as a pillion. The ride was nice, felt nice to ride in the open air. Rode across Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and into Uttaranchal. Stopped in Haryana, a state with lovely roads, but very discouraging speed limits for the most amazing paranthas that have ever laid my taste buds upon. Rode on at full throttle, for another couple of kilometers. Entered Panipat where Monish realized his oil cap had been left open, and his engine had lost quite a lot of oil. Fortunately we were carrying loads of it, due to the whole British engineering leaks oil fundamental that the bullet was built upon. The road to in UP was pretty much straight, literally built for a nice leisurely ride, save for the stray cow, truck, or bus who decided to drive in our lane to keep us company. Nikkhil and Annish followed by Jairam were doing a constant 90-100, as always, I preferred to ride at my constant of 80, with bursts of acceleration to keep up with the pack. Reached Dakpathar after sundown. No dinner available where we were staying, managed to get some semi-spurious rum, beer and whiskey, Annish, me and Monish sat down for a couple of drinks, while our two sleeping beauties, Jairam, and Nikkhil blew their trumpets to glory. 6 riders, all of whom snore, in varying eardrum piercing frequencies. A little later we were all starving, and just as we brought up the topic of finding some food, Jairam woke up. He and Monish set out on a quest for food. Now finding food in a remote place at 1 A.M. isn’t exactly easy. So we settled for papads and coffee, which is all the place we were staying at had.
This was the night, people would bear witness to my sleeping habits, I sit, stand, walk and sometimes even eat and smoke in my sleep. My bet is Jairam is still recovering from the fright of seeing me sitting upright, and snoring away to glory.

29th Oct: Dakhpathar to Barkot.
Dakhpathar - Yamuna bridge - Barkot
While Annish caught up on some beauty sleep, the rest of us headed out to a nearby dam.
The ride started after a hearty breakfast and Annish and Jai lost track and began to let loose their machines again. Monish and I decided to ride safe, even if it meant we reached a little later. The roads at times are a little dangerous due to collections of gravel in the center of the road, which cause your tire to go hay-wire. The pack was split up, as it was the day before.
This was out first twist with the Ghats. The twisters were
A pleasure to ride on. Reached Barkot, booked accommodation, and headed to the town to buy some necessities. Had a small discussion about the riding speeds, safety and riding as a pack. Nikkhil and Annish decided to tone down their speeds and stick to their pack positions of head and tail respectively. The cold was starting to kick in, and this aided our sound sleep greatly. Nikkhil, Annish and John dozed off immediately, while Monish, me and Jairam transferred all our pictured to my pen drive.

30th Oct: Barkot to Harsil
Barkot - Uttarkashi - Harsil
Rode from Barkot to Uttarkashi, located a mechanic and got the tank flushed for debris. Started off again, a little while later Jairam’s rear tire sprung a puncture. Annish suggested we use the can of tire sealant (Thanks Kaka), however I thought it would be wiser to keep it for a rainy day, as the puncture repair shop wasn’t far behind. Got the tire fixed, while John and Nikkhil decided to brave the cold waters of the Ganga. Jairam got some welding work done on Annish’s bike, unfortunately he hadn’t got the battery disconnected, so one cell and the battery’s charge retaining power was lost. Calling the ride to Harsil interesting would be a gross understatement. The roads, or rather absence of them, were a constantly faithful companion. Nothing quite like waiting for a bulldozer to clear the road for you to ride on.
Some of us had more fun than the others on this road. For me it was like I had found my so called “happy place”. Annish was unfortunate enough to have a fall here. No major injuries, burnt his leg on the bend pipe.
The road to Harsil, took its toll to Monish’s already strained hand. In-order to avoid more damage, he decided to opt out of the ride. John also decided the same.
The place where we had stopped for the night, had a small glass house, not much different from a green house for plants. We sat inside like little mice cowering in the cold. Had some grub, and immediately hit the sacks so that we could wake up on time the next day.

31st Oct: Harsil to Chamba
Harsil - Uttarkashi - Dharasu - Chamba
Fortunately Annish woke up relatively easily today.
The day began with the discovery that Annish’s battery had drained out during the night, so with the help of Nikhil’s battery I jump-started his bike.
We reached back to Uttarkashi, where we made arrangements for Monish’s bike, bade our farewells and proceeded. The ride from Uttarkashi to Chamba, was more of a joyful marathon. We made amazing time, and reached our destination in-spite of the delays.
Found accommodation there, there was a TV available, so plugged in the cam, and we had a look at the pics we had taken. Had a good nights sleep.

1st Nov: Chamba to Karnaprayag
Chamba - Maletha - Srinagar - Rudraprayag - Karnaprayag
The battery problem repeated its performance of the previous day, this time I made a more permanent solution for it. A custom set of Keve designed jumper cables ;) Also got the H2SO4 from the battery flushed out, and replaced.
Rode from Chamba, via Tehri, Tehri dam, and some really scenic mountain roads. Reached Rudraprayag, and carried on toward Chopta. Jai and Annish were standing on the footpegs, something that cought my concern, The bullets footpegs cant exactly take the weight of someone standing on them for long, expressed my views to both riders. Chopta is on the Kedarnath road, whilst Jai took the wrong turn, and we proceeded toward Badrinath. So we decided to halt at Karnaprayag. Stopped for some coffee and nicotine. Where Jairam noticed that Annish had successfully broken his foot peg by standing on it too much. Fortunately Jai had gone off route, and we found a welder nearby.
After a nice doze of offroading in the dark, we reached our destination.
The accommodation at Karnaprayag had a view to die for.
The meeting for two rivers, the memory of the names of which have forsaken me.

2nd Nov: Karnaprayag to Auli
Karnaprayag - Chamoli - Joshimath - Auli
Rode till Joshimath, towards Auli. Jairam was leading missed the right road, and took us up a slope that was covered in rubble, it was at this slope that I committed the mistake of a lifetime, in order to make way for Jairam to pass, I went into a ditch, now a pothole the size of a crater at such a steep incline, coupled with a overloaded 350, isn’t a very good combination. The bike refused to come out of the pothole. The ground was a little too low for my feet to reach, so had to jump off the bike and then put it on the stand. Maneuvering the bike with my torn shoulder muscle proved to be more than a handful. Signaled to Annish for assistance, however he decided to go ahead. He had gone ahead only to have another fall. Luckily, no injuries again. Fortunately the idea of unloading the luggage from the bike stuck me. Unloaded the luggage, and just then Jairam showed up, and helped me with the bike. While trying to get the bike out of the ditch, I revved a little to hard I guess, cause the tappet rod had jumped its slot, also succeeded at burning out the clutch plates. Rolled the bike back to the place where we should have taken a right. Parked it there, we had reached Auli, a beautiful place, problems could wait till tomorrow.
Found the first decent place to buy cigarettes (a nice break from the beedis I was smoking for the past few days).
The bar was nice and cozy, I decided to go for a sort stroll in the cold, Annish and Nikkhil were nice and cozy inside, and in no mood to brave the forces of the Himalayan winds. Ended the day after a hearty meal, including some nice authentic Garewal food.


3rd Nov: Auli to Karnaprayag
Auli - Joshimath - Chamoli - Karnaprayag
At Joshimath, we found a mechanic, who did more damage than good. He set the tappet rod, and while replacing the clutch plates, put the first plate in, the wrong way. I told him to turn it around, but he insisted that he knew what he was doing. After assembling the whole thing, and seeing it wasn’t closing, he called upon a comrade of his, who to say the least, was as oblivious of the working of a clutch assembly as he was. Finally he conceded and asked me how to put it in. Finally he managed to finish the job. In the mean while, Jairam who was pretty upset about all the mud on his bike, decided to get it washed ASAP. Eventually we left for Kasauni, I wasn’t too pleased with his shoddy work, but beggars can’t be choosers.


4th Nov: Karnaprayag to Kasauni
Karnaprayag - Simlee - Tharali - Gwaldham - Baijnath - Kausani
Reached Kasauni, and I could tell the bike was loosing compression. Relaxed for a while, and then headed back to the bike to sort out the tappet problem. Set the tappets. The clutch was still burnt out. Would wonder and ponder upon that in my sleep. How can a set of new clutch plates burn out in a day?
Luckily we got a doctor for Annish’s burn. Unfortunately he was more of a quack than a doc. The ride however was peaceful. The bike was starting in one kick, but loosing power. The foodies that we are, we had found this great place to refuel our stomachs on the way. Stopped at a small little village shop, where he dished out the most amazing omlettes and bun-maskaas and not to forget the malai.

5th Nov: Kasauni to Ranikhet
Kausani - Someshwar - Upat - Ranikhet
The sunset and sunrise at Kasauni are critically acclaimed. However, as usual, luck was not on our side. Fog had covered almost the entire thing.
Woke up pretty early, Annish’s dressing had come off, so I re-did it. Hopefully it would last this time.
We headed toward the nearest mechanic, who was at Baijnath. He got cracking on the bike. Jairam and Annish, were desperate to get a shave, so they headed off hunting for a barber, and to find a cyber café to transfer the pictures to the pen drive. Got the bike done, got the tappets also set (big mistake) But no barber. Poor Jai must have made a gazillion trips to the barber, but one was more redundant that the other.
Reached Ranikhet. Locals and a few army guys were dead against us riding to Jim Corbett in the night, so we halted at Ranikhet.
One of the most luxurious places we stayed in post our departure from Delhi. The food at the end of the day was a pleasant surprise. The sight of chicken biryani made my day, well night.

6th Nov: Ranikhet to Delhi
Ranikhet - Ramnagar - Jim Corbett Park - Kashipur - Moradabad - Delhi
Finally found a mechanic who knew what he was doing. Tony Singh. Worked like a Picasso on a canvas. Found and rectified all the goof ups of the other mechanics.Found out that i had broken a tappet rod, the exhaust one, and was super suprised that the bullet hadnt stalled. After a drab PJ that i cracked, it was decided that it was the genius of the rider that prevented the bike from stalling ;)

Rode toward Jim Corbett National Park, on the way we stopped for a cuppa and some breakfast, at which time Annish decided he didn’t wanna stop, so he just continued toward Delhi. We had a nice strong cuppa coffee, and some biscuits, and continued down our road. Reached Jim Corbett, took some pics, and continued toward Delhi. Were on a race against time to catch up with Annish, however the only news we got from him was when he was at the airport with a booked ticket. Before leaving from the coffee joint, I had told Jairam to be more careful on the turns, and honk to catch the attention of any on-coming traffic. Nikkhil also re-iterated from his own viewpoint. During this race, Jai who was racing with the speeding breeze, ran head-on into a truck. Luckily he wasn’t hurt. Both of us took off the foot pegs from his bike, and tried straightening them, but with no luck. So simply inverted them. At least now the bike was ride worthy. Finally we kept him in the middle, with Nikkhil leading, and me tailing, so that he could cool his heels.
Reached Delhi and crashed out.
The stay at Delhi was heavenly, it’s surprising how even a mediocre accommodation can seem so royal and flamboyant when you return from a trip such as this.
Sadly our Rajdhaani was delayed by a good 10 hours, but fortunately; we all made it home on time.

This trip taught me a couple of things I was a partial stranger to. The importance of repairing the things on your bike you know to work on and not relying on a mechanic. The importance of having riders with you, whom you can rely on. The importance of safety and travelling light. The difference between a biker and a rider. The importance of discipline on a ride. And above all the importance of staying calm in a trying situation.



Photos: http://s95.photobucket.com/albums/l134/christopherkeve/Rides%20n%20Trips/Uttaranchal%20-%20IT%20-%202610-08112007/?action=view&slideshow=true

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