Tale of a solo ride into the dreamlands and the lifetime of memories - The start

Prologue:

I was watching the sun set and the beautiful golden rays of sun bouncing off the snow capped peaks sitting on the river bank, the entire area was turning into gold! The calm gurgling river and the serenity was shattered by a shrill sound.

Yes I was dreaming again and the sound of the alarm once again put a stop to the views I have been visualizing since days now. I as any other rider dreamt of riding to the land of fairies and mountains and every year the dream remained a dream due to friends giving up, money and you know lots of reasons. Not this year, I had decided and I was ready to ride solo if needed.

I chased my dreams and yes I lived the dreams I had visualized sitting here in the concrete laden city for years. Back in one piece to narrate the story and to be lost for words, to describe the beauty of nature that I witnessed, the torturous roads I travelled and the furious streams I crossed.This log will be about the experiences I had in the journey trying to relive the month long trip into the heaven in the form of pics and videos and words.

The plan:

The seed was planted deep within the heart and the desire to chase the dreams was getting stronger and stronger. I started initially with the help of Google Maps charting out places, distances and all the plans. I wanted to ride all the way from Bangalore and then ride back. The map which I had planned for was like this.

Now the problem was leaves, getting any manager to approve a month long leave is not easy and somehow I was lucky enough to get the leaves sanctioned. I was to ride from 11th July to 10th August which made me very happy as this leaves me enough time to enjoy and wander in the dreamland.

The next big task was getting approvals from home. Somehow there was no resistance from Mom! May be she was fed up of me ranting Leh Leh from last 2 years and she must have thought that even this time it will be the same story.

Thanks to Saquib, Yogesh Sarkar from bcmtouring, for the help in route planning and also the things required and the list was ready. The count down timer was ticking in my phone and everyday I used to feel excited looking at the days left.

While the clock was ticking, the anxiety was growing. I had to carry lots of things and financial requirement was growing exponentially. The biggest factor was that I was riding solo and I had to be prepared for any surprises. The preparations were in full swing and finally the days were close.

The bike was taken care in the able hands of Indranil, and Dinesh and Karthik from Tansi Honda. Really appreciate their efforts in getting the bike ready and going out of their ways to help me out.

I mentioned that there will be 2 of us going so as to avoid people getting worried and trying to discourage me. Still there were lots of comments, lots of "Why do you want all this.." kind of words which I ignored.

So the final plan was decided as below.

11-Jul	Friday	Bangalore	Pune
12-Jul	Saturday	Pune	Udaipur
13-Jul	Sunday	Udaipur	Amritsar
14-Jul	Monday	Amritsar	Srinagar
15-Jul	Tuesday	Srinagar	Srinagar
16-Jul	Wednesday	Srinagar	Srinagar
17-Jul	Thursday	Srinagar                   Gulmarg	Sonmarg
18-Jul	Friday	Sonmarg	Sankoo
19-Jul	Saturday	Sankoo	Padum
20-Jul	Sunday	Padum	Padum
21-Jul	Monday	Padum	Kargil
22-Jul	Tuesday	Kargil	Leh
25-Jul	Friday	Leh	Turtuk
26-Jul	Saturday	Turtuk	Diskit
27-Jul	Sunday	Diskit	Pangong Tso
28-Jul	Monday	Pangong Tso	Chushul/Chumtang/Tso Moriri
29-Jul	Tuesday	Chushul/Chumtang	Tso Moriri
31-Jul	Thursday	Tso Moriri	Sarchu
1-Aug	Friday	Sarchu	Kasol
3-Aug	Sunday	Kasol	Chandigarh

This is pretty close to the itinerary I followed too, but a trip into the mountains without delays and reschedules is no fun. As the log goes forward, you will see lot of delays and re maps to the plans. As far as I am concerned, going with a plan and then deferring is lot better than going without one and wondering what happened.

For those who are planning to head out to Leh and Ladakh, please refer to the map available in BCMT website as that is the best guide for the distance and route planning. Putting it up here with due credit to BCMT and the creators.

All this done, I was starting to get scared as the days went by. I was feeling that I should stop this madness and go again with friends where I can be safe. I was loosing my head and sleep too, as I have never done long solo rides and the one I was planning was no highway ride to the nearby hill station. There were lots of things that could go wrong and I would have no one with me at that time! All this was swirling in my head, but I decided that I will be going and what ever happens will be dealt with.

Finally the D-day was here, I was to leave next day early morning and I was still to finish my packing. I was really struggling within if I should be doing this or not. Finally it dawned me that this is what I have been dreaming of, everything had come together in making this dream a reality and it was just me who was afraid to chase the dreams. I had to be strong and if I missed this chance, it would be all because of me! I sat for a while, thinking silently in the dark of the room. Few more hours left to start and here I am thinking if I should start!

I made up, finished packing and I slept, infact I had a good sleep! I never am able to sleep the day before a ride and today was the biggest ride till date and I was sleeping peacefully, all set to head out in a few hours! 

Next up, the journey begins and the fun starts.