way up to Chang La ? Later I found out that the rivers only run in the evenings after the sun has melted the high glaciers . They reach maximum flow around midnight then dry up by morning .
By now , Ravi was visibly pushing us on to reach our destination before the rivers made our way impassable . Then disaster ! I took a minor fall on a gravelly bend , but it was enough to make my bike break down . This held us up for an hour while our mechanic fixed the bike . Ravi was getting increasingly anxious and hurried us on as soon as the bike was repaired .
We encountered a tarmac laying gang and rather than wait for safe passage through the roadworks , Ravi decided to ride up the berm and pass the asphalt machine . I followed and disaster struck again !
Yes , I fell over ! No , I wasn ’ t hurt but falling into soft hot asphalt left a perfect imprint of my bottom in their lovely newly laid road ! My bottom print will probably still be there in ten years time “ Carolyn woz ‘ ere ”.
We continued through deepening rivers , Sandy learned to put his feet up on the handlebars to stay dry , but I had neither the suppleness nor the confidence to do this so ended up absolutely soaked and freezing cold . Finally , after many landslips and rivers we reached our destination at Pangong Lake .
My discomfort was immediately forgotten , and I was completely awe-struck by the beauty of this famous lake . Still , it had been a long exhausting day and I gratefully collected a hot water bottle from the campsite attendants and cuddled down in my tent for much needed sleep .
The next morning , I rose early and sat at the door of the tent watching the sunrise . Me ! Here ! In the Himalayas at 4,000 metres ! And I rode a motorbike all the way .
We ate breakfast and set off along the banks of the lake . We were powering over sand dunes and Sandy was having a ball , skidding , and sliding his bike around . I was rather more restrained .
We returned onto the road , and I was dreading the river crossings but as Ravi had explained , they had mostly dried up to a mere trickle . Amazing ! But ... a big but ... the nighttime wind had shifted a sand dune over the road . I just had to get my head down and power on through it and apart from a wee wobble I made it through without mishap . Another of the riders and pillion came off behind me but the soft sand provided an easy landing and meant no-one was hurt .
We travelled through the stunning scenery of the Hunder Valley and made a few tea stops . This was a much gentler ride although we were still encountering the usual landslips and loose gravel . An afternoon visit to a monastery completed our days ’ ride and we arrived at our campsite for the night .
Next day was our last big riding day and the highlight of our vacation . We were setting off for the highest road in the world !
We rode back down the Hunder Valley but soon branched off the valley road and started to climb and climb and climb . We rode around hairpins and tight s-bends , some on tarmac , some on flattened boulder tracks . Army trucks and the decorated TATA trucks vied for space with buses and taxis and Royal Enfields . Road gangs desperately cleared landslips and avalanches . The switchbacks got steeper and tighter . And I was terrified ! I was riding at the very limit of my capabilities and endurance .
There had been a fresh avalanche that morning and we ground to a halt in a traffic jam at 5,500 metres . The bulldozer was flattening a track for the traffic , but it still felt like riding in a newly ploughed field . The
trucks and buses were passing each other with millimetres to spare and often with one wheel hanging over a precipitous drop . They are tough guys these Indian drivers .
It truly was a frightening experience . There were huge drops on the left of thousands of metres , and I am afraid to say my cornering went to pot ! But I made it !
Khardung La , 5,602 metres , the highest road in the world ! The bikes were stuttering along in first gear , and we could barely breathe but we were here ! We were on top of the world !
Sandy and I had achieved a lifelong dream !
I ’ m still deciding if I would do it again … CL
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