Friday 25th July, 2014. Lots of tarmac and still spectacular views as Brian and I headed towards Keylong. But the magic of Spiti was missing. More traffic and hot but that wasn’t the reason. Spiti is special. I get the feeling that a lot of this traffic is going all the way to Ladakh so …
Thursday 24th July, 2014 The goats are only here in Spiti for two months in the summer. Then the shepherds walk them back to Kashmir, a few hundred difficult kilometres to the west. We discussed but didn’t seriously consider spending the night at this little place. It’s a wonderful location, alone in the mountains, across …
Wednesday 23rd July, 2014. Bumpy. Bumpiest yet. Wet. Wettest yet. Generally downhill. 600m descent, one bump at a time. Relentlessly beautiful scenery. Love it!!! Downhill, so I can keep up with Brian. For a while, anyway ;) It’s always a bit of a surprise to see the daily bus on this road. But they race …
30.9 km, 7.15 kph, 802 km so far. A big day today – over the Kunzum La at 4550m. Highest so far and, because I’m not planning on the Manali-Leh ride with its 5300m passes, this will be the highest of the trip. It’s uphill so this is probably the last I see of Brian …
Sunday 20th July 2014, Kaza-Lossar An entertaining start to the day: I went to the German bakery for eggs, toast and coffee, and to pick up some bread rolls and yak cheese for lunch on the road. While at the counter to pick up my cheese, I heard noise and the shuffling of chairs behind …
Friday 18th – Saturday 19th July 2014. Kaza, Ki and Kibber. We had all planned a sight-seeing day for Friday. Brian and Josie, who did not know each other before the start of their ride only a couple of weeks ago, decided that they didn’t really want to know each other any longer, so Josie …
Thursday 17th July, 2014. 48.6 km, 9.37 kph, 708 km so far. Another splendid day! A mani wall; keep left. Two men resting for lunch at the side of the road invite me for a cup of chai. Why not? I’m sure the water is boiled ;) Then back on the ‘road.’ It’s threatening to …
Tuesday 15th July 2014, Nako-Tabo The most pleasant day so far. It was initially steep up to the Malling Slide area (notorious for regular landslides and road closures), a climb of around 200m vertical up to 3800m. The last section was steep sand and rocks, not rideable, but (which the exception of a particularly offensive …
I’ve been here for three days now and am feeling largely recovered from my exertions on the way up. I’ve spent the time sleeping, eating, reading, catching up on my blog, and wandering around taking pictures. It’s a nice place to while away a few days. I’ll be back on the road tomorrow, on to …
Thursday 10th July 2014, Kalpa – Dubling 76.9 km, 9.7 kph, 559 km to date I ate breakfast in Kalpa and coasted down to Reckong Peo. The internet cafe which had had no access the previous day was available for business now and I fired off an email home to let those that cared that …
Late start, about 10:30, after a breakfast in town (the cook from the Mehta Resort had gone to visit his family in Rampur for a few days). Straightforward downhill to Kircham, much easier than on the way up! Back in the Sutlej valley, the road followed the north side of the river with a nice …
This is my fifth day here; time to get back on the road. After my dismal performance on the ‘ride’ up to Sangla, I had a very low-key day, resting up around my hotel. My legs are sore. On the next day, I wandered around Sangla. Not much to write home about; typical small Indian …