The compromise left us with one
option, to leave the city at 5am,
taking on the local roads under the
cover of darkness. In case you were
wondering, this is not something to
recommend. The combination of
potholes, piles of building rubble,
stray animals and road dominating
trucks meant that sunrise couldn’t
come too soon as we climbed towards
the high pass. There was snow
and ice to contend with and we all
wished we’d worn more by the time
we reached the top. Harley, our
antipodean boilermaker and ‘tryeverything’
guy was frozen. The team
donated clothing until he could feel
his circulation again.
As quick as the snow had
appeared, it fading as we rode down
to meet the support truck for an
alfresco breakfast. The support
guys always there to provide drinks
and snacks, from chocolate bars to
pressed figs and candied ginger, and
on this occasion, we got to share our
meal with a herd of wild horses.
Pressing on down the valley, we
soon started to catch sight of the
vast Pangong Tso lake alongside
which we’ll be camping, the lake
is the largest saltwater lake in the
world, stretching an incredible 130
kilometres from its start in India
to the finish in China. We rode
TRAVERSE 106