Ladakh Day 0 – August 03, 2007 Fri

Leh Ladakh Motorbike Expedition 2007

Statutory Warning: The following series of posts contains material that can cause irreversible damage to your lifestyle. It may also put all your career aspirations of being a lawyer or a stock-market expert or a CEO or or any other serious role that you want to be in, in serious jeopardy. It is therefore recommended only for nomads and dolphins.

p.s. For the weak-hearted, beware. It also contains some references to Hridaynath Mangeshkar.

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Ladakh 1. Day 0 – August 03, 2007 Fri
Gurgaon

There is almost no comparison to the way I felt about the Ladakh ride even before I began. Most people compare it with Mekka for bikers. Well, this was Mekka for a staunch fakir, who is denied a visa and travel for at least 5 years. Maybe even worse ...

Many years ago I bought a bike – a Royal Enfield Bullet 500cc. I bought her with the sole purpose of this ride. I bought a jacket from Noida. I bought hand gloves from Minneapolis, USA. I bought a pair of shades and got the glasses numbered. And then I had to wait for five goddamn years, for reasons beyond my control.

Today, as I write this, all I think of is how the life’s purpose of all these things is satisfied. (Even this blog’s main purpose – the ‘porpoise’ – is capturing this particular ride). I wish I could say the same with my own, but then if life were that simplistic, it would not be worth living.

After planning every year and dropping the ball at the very last moment, I finally cross the chasm and get ready for the Big Ride this year, some thanks to my family's support, some to Alok's relentless pursuit and some to that constant hammering in my subconscious mind.

The day is gone like a nanosecond, with all the last minute shopping of essentials, mostly for us and also for the bikes. Pappu and his able mechanics give a finishing touch to Saki, with oil, tyre pressure, chain, brakes and so on. I get very little time to plan things, and as usual the last minute rush sees me packing bags in frenzy – a record packing time of less than 20 minutes.

I hardly get any sleep this night, since I am working till 3:30am in the morning on some last minute handovers and work from office. I am wide awake, have not got even a wink, but the blood is surging in my veins with un-natural horsepower. I feel like I have had gallons of Red Bull.

- Shreekant

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