lette with black cows wandering free-
ly through the unlit 8.5km passage.
Once over the Rohtang Pass, the
route to our midway point where
we’ll dapper up, saw us climb to al-
titudes of 4000m and descend to
3000m before camping at 4250m. Al-
titude sickness popped its head into
our tent and said hello for a day.
It was still there in the morning so
I decided to ride pillion until lunch
when it thankfully disappeared. We
drag raced over the More Plains,
kicking up monster rooster tails of
ancient dust before heading out to
one of the world’s highest lakes we
stayed at a 400yr old monastery.
A swim in the lake is on the menu
for the alpha males and those defi-
cient in vitamin IQ. I thought the
freezing point of water is 0 degrees
Celsius but this lake begs to differ.
High altitude, freezing water and ex-
ercise had me imitating Curly with
my head in my hands rocking back
and forth mumbling, “Brain Freeze”.
Great stories were being told
around the dinner table that night
but at the time, it got you thinking
that you might be taking this mid-life
crisis thing a little too far.
The mechanics on these trips are
the real heroes as they are up well
into the night ensuring the bikes are
brought back up to scratch after the
abuse handed out to them through
the day. In the mornings, we’re often
lulled out of our sleep by the thump-
ing of the Royal Enfield 500cc single
as the mechanics tweak them, so
they are purring perfectly each day.
The road tyres on the Royal En-
field’s were soaking up the rocky
tracks while providing some “oh
fuck!” moments in the sand. I’m
thankful I’m not carrying any gear
and it’s all in the support vehicles.
I love the whole inappropriate bike
thing that has taken off in the past few
years with events like Dirt Quake, Af-
tershock and Dust Hustle and I can’t
help but think that it won’t be long
before the Royal Enfield Himalayan
TRAVERSE 27