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Have bike, will travel

A group of city bikers loves nothing more than riding through the highest Himalayan reaches. PRINCE FREDERICK reports

THE ROAD TO ADVENTURE Rangarajan taking a breather at Zozilla.

Khardung La spells magic for a few bikers in Chennai. They just love the idea of forcing the two wheels of their bikes on what the Guinness Book calls the highest motorable road in the world.

In pursuit of this goal, these men have taken on odds. A futile attempt in 1996 did not prevent one of them, Girish Mylandla, from trying again. Over the next three years, he reached this pass three times — alone. He extended one of these trips beyond Khardung La and covered the entire trans-Himalayas. "What makes Khardung La (which lies in Ladakh) unique is that to reach this pass you have to cover three other passes listed among the highest in the world — Baralacha La, Thanglang La and Lachang La. On this terrain, there are endless possibilities for the adventurer," says Mylandla. "I sometimes say with pride that Mylandla has seen four of the highest las (`la' means pass in Tibetan)."

In 2004, Rangarajan embarked on what is called a KtoK (Kanyakumari to Kashmir) expedition — the top-most agenda was to just breathe in the fresh mountain air on Khardung La. Bad weather ruled out any progress beyond Jammu, and Rangarajan and his friend Daniel returned disappointed. This failure may have given Rangarajan many sleepless nights, but he was sure he'd give Khardung La another shot.

Last year, he joined three Bangalore bikers (two were from the Rolling Thunder Motorcycling (Bullet) Club and one was from a small, informal RD350 club) and rode through this Himalayan pass.

As these bikers are not keen on setting records or making money, they spend time soaking in the spectacular views. Rangarajan and his friends stopped at Magnetic Hill, which seems to be governed by zero gravity. "Even while on a slope, there is nothing to pull down a bike in neutral gear," says Rangarajan. "And would you believe it, we found desert land in the lap of the Himalayas!"

Girish Mylandla celebrating a successful solo expedition.

After crossing Leh, the group took a road that forked into two. They decided to go down both the tarred roads — the decision resulted in two rare experiences — in Hunder, where whirling winds scooped sand into their eyes even as they were watching Bactian camels carry tourists on their double-humped backs. In Dixit, they stooped beside hot springs, resisting the urge to wet their fingers.

Precarious moments

These bikers always look for new routes. In 1996, Mylandla traversed the Thar desert on way to Khardung La. On another occasion, he covered Eastern India before going up north. On their way back, Rangarajan and company took a road less travelled — from Keylong to Gulabgarh. The unused track led to precarious moments.

"The road was overrun with plants. As it was narrow, a slight lapse in concentration would have sent us hurtling down the cliff. At times, we had to cross freezing streams that made our toes go numb. When we reached Gulabgarh, the whole village came to see four fellows with loads of mountain dust all over them. Some of them said we were out of our minds," says Rangarajan.

Mylanda has had many close shaves. He survived flash floods in Sagar (Madhya Pradesh), landslides in Doda and the Orissa cyclone. Although these natural disasters throw schedules into disarray, they also open the door to fresh adventure. "For 39 km, I pushed the bike. I left Behrampur, which was the epicentre of the cyclone, at 10.30 a.m. and reached Machilipatnam in Andhra Pradesh at 3.30 p.m. On the way, I saw trucks being washed away. When my bike was submerged by the flood waters, people came to my rescue, lifting the machine with tree trunks."

Girish thoroughly enjoyed this experience. "Adventure biking is all about surmounting unexpected obstacles." It is, however, foolhardy not to be prepared for the known or expected problems. Rangarajan modified his fuel tank, enabling it to carry more petrol. "There are long stretches without a petrol bunk in sight." Girish carries fuel in cans. It is prudent to pack `fuel' for the biker as well.

"After Kargil, till you reach Sankar, you have a Hobson's choice as far as food goes — it is noodles and nothing but noodles. The only available drink is chai made of yak milk. I am not exaggerating, but it has the viscosity of an engine oil." Rangarajan winces at the thought.

"All the three times I went to Khardung La, a chai shop run by a Malayali was the only business activity I could see," says Girish. The bike has to be kept in top condition. "Every time, I identify four points where my bike can be serviced," says Girish.

Naren, who rode to Khardung La in 2001, says bikers have to be very disciplined. "You have to follow a strict code of conduct — only vegetarian food and no booze. You can't ride with an upset stomach and a hangover can put your life and limb in danger."

Rangarajan and his friends after the conquest of Khardung La.

All these bikers have made sacrifices in terms of money and time.

While Girish and Naren take time out from their businesses, Rangarajan, who works in a marine consultancy firm, conserves his leave for these trips. It's not just leave that he scrimps and saves, but also money. "The reward is worth the sacrifices."

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