Planting The Seed
It was a simple aspiration… solo cycle the Himalayas, full stop. With the crowning glory of this journey being the Manali-Leh Highway, a very high altitude route famous among cycle tourists in equal measures for it’s stunningly beautiful landscape, diverse traditional cultures, and the many challenges it presents. Challenges? High altitude, deteriorated road conditions, rainfall, relentless sun, freezing cold, snow, and wind. All the things you would expect from the unpredictable mountain passes. Culture? Landscape? Well, you will have to check out the photos!!
This would be a test of my courage and my resolve. Did I have what it takes to bike solo and unsupported across one of the highest motorable highways in the world?
Well, the trip is now over and I have cycled the distance…. though the trip ended up quite different that I had thought and the above questions remain unanswered!
I conceived the idea from the luxury of my house sitting gig in Thailand where I had been relaxing for several months after my epic world cycle trip that brought me from London, England to Koh Lanta, Thailand. Having spent over a year in the tropics, I was dying for some crisp mountain air and wild mountain scenery and as my house sitting gig was about to end… I jumped at the chance to cycle a high altitude highway.
Part of wanting to tackle a high altitude pass was to make up for missing out on the Pamir Highway when I cycled through Central Asia a year and a half previously. The Pamir Highway is another high altitude route also coveted by adventurous cycle tourists and one I missed out on because Tajikistan, the country in which the Pamir Highway lies, was in the midst of some political instability and access to the highway was cut off.
Bummer.
So here it was two years later and opportunity knocked to do the Manali-Leh Highway. And it was sooo calling me!
Only thing was, the window to do the route was closing. It was May and I had about four months to gear up, get me and my bike to India and cross the pass before it closed in September. I had to giddy up!
Slight Change of Plans!
Gearing up was no easy feat, considering I had been cycling in fair weather for the most part of two years and I had long ditched most of my cold weather cycling clothing. Not to mention all the essential biking clothes I had which was all but worn out.
Yikes! But the lure of the adventure before me made preparing a joy and the anticipation of what lay ahead filled me with wonder and excitement.
It was early in these preparations though that my journey took on a completely different flavour. The way in which I wanted to travel required me to be self supported, which meant I needed my cook stove that I had left with a friend in London. I emailed Heather telling her what I was up to and if she could please send along my cook stove?
I also asked her along! I knew she was an adventurous sort as well and what did I have to lose by asking…
Me:
" I still haven't given up on some crazy adventure karma having our paths cross again. I mean if biking Ladakh appeals to you... you are totally welcome to join!!"
Heather:
"I would actually love to come out & join you on part of your cycling trip, if it was ever possible to co-ordinate. I am looking for a bit of a cycling adventure.."
Say what?
Holy shit!!!
The face of my trip changed completely. And for the better. Yes I like the challenge of solo travel and all that, yet only because I usually can’t find anyone daring enough to come with me! Here was a good friend wanting to share this with me. I could not have been more please and I gladly let go of my solo aspirations to include Heather in my plans. No… it was more like the adventure all of a sudden became ‘our’ adventure. As much hers as mine.
With about three and a half months to go, there was a very real possibility that I would now have a cycling companion!! It may seem like a silly thing to be excited about, but none of my friends who I have invited to cycle with me have ever taken up the offer. Which is cool I understand about priorities, but I have longed for the opportunity to share my world with friends, a friend, anyone!!
And here was Heather saying an enthusiastic “yes!” to become part of this Himalayan adventure.
Despite repeatedly pinching myself to ensure that this was really happening, I also often remind myself that at anytime, circumstances in Heather’s life could prevent her from joining me.
Though as time progressed, it became very clear that she was totally serious and committed to doing this journey with me.
I remained in this flux between anticipation of her arrival and the very real possibility that she may not make it, right up until I saw her arrive at the Chandigarh airport.
Arrival
Heather, my intrepid cycling companion who booked two weeks out of her busy schedule to accompany me on a journey of a lifetime, a bicycle adventure from Manali to Leh, was here in Chandigarh! I could not stop staring at her as she struggled with her bicycle in the baggage area. I mean sure, she is totally cute… but I was staring at her (mostly) because I couldn’t believe she was actually here! It was like seeing a mirage….
“Really? She’s here? This is happening?”
“Darren, stop staring and help me with the bike.”
Right.
Oops!
The plan was to relax a bit in Chandigarh and then catch a bus up to Manali later that evening. In the meantime I would get my bike adjusted to make it easier to climb the many passes on the Manali-Leh highway. Well, I never did get my bike fixed! I left to go get it done then realized that I had left it too late and had to have Heather meet me at the travel agent where the bus to Manali was booked.
So not even a day in India and I had Heather flagging down an auto rickshaw, piling in with her bike and luggage and go off to a location she only knew the name of with a rickshaw driver who soon got last and our only communication was through texting through her London mobile account. I was down to six remaining txt messages and about to cancel our night bus, when she appeared out of traffic with a big though nervous smile that said, “Okay I made it… but that was tough!”
I had hoped to make the first bit easy for Heather as this was her first time in ‘real’ India outside of her resort trip to Goa. But no. I blew it and there she was alone in a rickshaw in a strange city in a strange country. Oops… sorry ’bout that! But as I say, she arrived with a smile and an “Oh well, shit happens!” and we hopped our bus to Manali in the nick of time.
So not even a day with my new travelling companion and I came face to face with one of the biggest challenges of travelling with someone… having someone witness, and be affected by, my mess ups! When I’m on my own they aren’t really mess ups, they are just the way I do things!! But with someone along, I am acutely conscious of the fact that how I do things don’t always go as planned and I’m especially conscious when it affects them in a negative way. And the illusion I have of myself as a fully capable and competent traveller… is put to question! Ugh.
Manali – Mile Zero
I had just been to Manali with my cousin Allison. And had the place sussed out, and even had arranged for the guy who runs the guest house we would be staying at to pick us up. THAT all went smooth and even the rest of our two day stay in Manali went smooth. It was a nice backdrop to get reacquainted. Not to mention gear up a little more and put Heather’s bike together.
We booked a room with a loft and so had plenty of space to sort out our respective gear. I had bought a tent on account of a suggestion from two Scots who had done the trip the previous year and highly recommended that we travel with one…. yet it also put my gear quotient over the top.
I was simply carrying too much gear.
Though it was too late to leave anything behind as I may not make it back to Manali and I didn’t trust leaving my laptop behind. Yeah that’s right… I brought my laptop!!
So I resolved to just suck it up and carry the load. Tent, campstove, camp fuel, cookware, laptop, camera, assorted charging cables. Oh and food as well!!
Didn’t feel quite right… but what were my options?
We did a fun short cycle without the panniers the day before we left, just to make sure the bikes were okay and ensure we knew our way out of town! I had cycled with Heather before in Bolivia and in England and I knew her to be an extremely good cyclist. She had her doubts about whether or not she could keep up… our little fun cycle reassured her that she was up to the task.
Our few days in Manali ended with a great dinner and a beer and a last minute planning session at a very nice hotel. We returned to our guest house for our last sleep before the big journey began the next morning! Both of us excited, yet nervous to begin this crazy adventure cycling one of the highest and most difficult highway on the planet!
