By Aggie Rider
Spring, the transition time between winter and summer. The King of Seasons in some
cultures. A season that brings
life after the long cold winter. In
Bhutan, spring is usually windy but not wet; warm but not hot. And the perfect biking season for us
bikers in the club. The April ride
to Trashi Yangtse and Lhuentse was to be perfect – warm and dry. We start our ride a little later than
planned, but that was ok as we are never on time. All went well until Chazam after crossing Pelela Pass;
nothing out of the ordinary – couple of flat tires, falls and a few stops. So we are late. So what if we are late, as Toxic Rider
says “the journey is not in the destination but in the procrastination”. And then it starts raining after we get
to Chazam; let me take that back – it starts pouring. We expected it to go away; hey, it does not rain during spring
in Bhutan. But it did not stop;
even the best rain gear could not keep us dry. Not a lot happened on the way to Trongsa. Let me rephrase it, nothing out of the
ordinary happened on the way to Trongsa.
More flat tires, Swiss Riders damn tires again. Change in plans, dinner in Trongsa as
Bumthang was another 70 km away and we still had to ride over the Yotongla
Pass. We were all wet but the
dinner was nice and warm. We
continued the ride after dinner.
Mind you, it was raining even harder. It was difficult to see as visibility was low due to
fog. We were all wet and freezing
and all I could think of was a nice warm bed. Nonetheless, nobody complained. It was a wonderful to see the guys in good spirit. I guess, like in life there are times
when nothing goes as expected and it is depends on how you respond to the
situation. There was a lot of mud
at Kikila about 10 km before Bumthang.
A lot of falls but we made it through. And then, as if on cue, the rain stopped as we got to
Bumthang.
We continued the ride next day toward Mongar. This was another long ride. The road between Bumthang and Mongar is
probably the most uninteresting in Bhutan. Tedious and mind-numbing at best, it makes me feel sleeping
just thinking of it. The highlight
of the ride - Thrimshingla Pass; 12,400 ft. I did not see a lot out there except fog, dirt and more
fog. Oh.. and before I forget, it
was raining and we were all wet again.
Additionally, one should not leave out Namling Bra. This stretch of road; I take it to be
around a couple of kilometers is fucking scary. The road is no wider than 5 m is hewn on the rock. One mistake and you are off the road;
you’d be lucky if they recovered your body. I rode on the inside almost hugging the rock praying nothing
would fall from the top. We arrive
a little late in Mongar; Swiss Rider’s tires again. Well, Swiss Rider suffered a total of 7 flat tires during
the 9 day ride. Other honorable
mentions; Bap Rider fell 8 times; TT Rider quite number of times as well but
less than Bap Rider, Toxic Rider’s motorcycle (parts kept falling off along the
way; think the motorcycle’s a true chopper now), and many fucking days of
rain.
Day 3’s ride from Mongar to Kanglung was rather uneventful other than
Swiss Rider’s tires. Quite a few
mudslides and road blocks on the way.
But we were used to this by Day 3.
It is much easier to take in in stride. We were going to get to Kanglung no matter what. It was a wonderful lesson we were
learning on this ride. There are
times when nothing goes on a planned and we have to keep adapting to changes. We get to Kanglung eventually and
camped the night there after distributing helping Shoe Vival distribute shoes
to the Sherubtse College Social Service Unit. Sad news on Day 4.
Our friend Robin Joshi has passed way suddenly. He was a genuine human being. Always giving. He completed the Snowman Trek (one of
the toughest treks in the world) more than any other person I know off. The ride to Trashi Yangtse felt very
long. The guys lit butter lamps
for Robin at the Gomkora monastery.
Rode to Trashi Yangtse after lunch. Did rounds of Chorten Kora with Swiss Rider. The last round we did in silence in
memory of Robin. After Chorten
Kora, we rode to Toetsho in the rain.
Got there late as usual. Did
Charity the next morning.
Started early on Day 5 as it was a long ride to Lhuentse. The ride to Lhuentse was very
beautiful. The road is along the
river with enough short straights alternating with the twists and turns that is
characteristic of Bhutanese roads.
Speeding on the straights, slowing down while entering and accelerating while
exiting the turns felt wonderful on a the motorcycle. And then as they say, the heavens let loose; damn rain
again. Wet, wet, wet again. Got to Lhuentse late – night halt at
Hotel Shangri-La; wonderful name but that is about all. Don’t want to talk about it. Worst night of the ride; Toxic Rider
may write about it.. good luck Toxic.
The next morning we took a day trip to Dunkar; the ancestral home of the
Bhutanese Monarchs. The ride up
was rather forgettable – 40 km of rough road but Dunkar is beautiful.
Returned to Bumthang of Day 7, Punakha on Day 8 and to Thimphu on Day
9 (will leave it to Toxic and the others to give a more descriptive account of
the trip). Personally, this was
the longest motorcycle trip I have ever done. It was exciting when we started the trip,
frustrating and exhausting along the way and now I am sad that it is over. 9 days I will not get back but 9 days I
will cherish. A lot of things did
not go as planned. It was not the
easiest of ride; was actually quite hard.
In the end, we all pulled through.
Met the challenges before us and came out on top. It all worked out. I know in life, there are many
unknowns. I just hope, I can pull
through the challenges and come out on top as we did on this ride.
*Robin's Photo And Landscape Courtesy Rebecca The Reb
(^) Love To Ride; Ride To Love - {{{::::::::::::>>>
1 comment:
loved this as well.
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