Chandagarh

 Arriving In Chandigarh

After about 7 weeks of anticipation, I departed the USA and arrived 26 hours later in Chandigarh, in the Punjab region of northern India. My arrival on Sunday morning was after a delayed flight thru Amsterdam and then Mumbai and 26 hours of travel, several passages thru security and two deplanings for mechanical problems on both Delta and Air India.  Sheesh!  

As I had anticipated, the temperature in Chandigarh was around 110°F. I'd been watching the heatwave that had been hitting India over the previous weeks and so knew what to expect.  Nevertheless, the heat hit me in the face when I stopped outside the airport.   Lovely!  

Heatwave Headlines for New Delhi

Happily, I arrived one day early.  I like to have time buffers coming and going, especially from challenging places such as India.  The challenges are many but one is the major time difference.  I was now 10.5 hours ahead of Wisconsin!  This time shift takes some getting used to!

I took a taxi to the 3-star hotel, GK International.  This was the arranged starting point for the motorcycle tour.  After checking in, I got to me room and immediately collapsed into  bed.  There was a good overhead fan running overhead.  Air conditioning was week but with good air circulation, I was comfortable.

Hotel GK International, Chandigarh

Pretty Nice Room!

I got up in the late afternoon and headed out to the local market and purchased some cola.  The temps had dropped below 100° but it was still toasty.  Back at the hotel I met up with Damen.  The other participants would start arriving tomorrow, Monday.    

Back in my room, I had good wi-fi and so caught up with news and looked at maps and the upcoming 12 day itinerary.

The Overall Two Week Route
You can open a point-by-point Google Maps version of the route HERE

The Route stared by taking us north out of Chandigarh and gradually climbing out of the Punjab plain and into the foothills of the Himalaya's.  There were two rest days scheduled into the itinerary and so I calculated eleven days of travel.  

The Daily Segments:

Chandigarh to Shimla

Shimla to Sarahan

Sarahan to Sangla (Rest Day)

Sagla to Kalpa

Kalpa to Tabo (up River Sutlej with a major stop at Jangi Police Post to register with the military police)

Tabo to Kibber

Kibber to Losar

Losar to Manali (Rest Day)

Manali to Shoja

Shoja to Chail

Chail to Chandigarh

You can look up individual towns on Google. I think all of these are in the Indian state of

Himachal Pradesh. ,

As it would become very apparent to me during the next two weeks, this trip was not about linear distances.  Rather the day was generally characterized by the intensity of the climbing/descending and the difficulty of the terrain.   In the United States, on our highly engineered roads, we can cover many 100s of miles, when traveling in motorized vehicles.  As I wrote earlier, I had previously bicycled in Western India in 2013.  But in the mountainous regions of Northern India, with narrow two lane roads and often heavy traffic, this was a different sort of experience.  Also, I will later write about the experience of navigating at high altitudes of 10,000 to 16,000 feet of altitude.  This an additional source of challenge and stress.

During the ride there would be arranged housing for each evening.  Also, there would be periodic pauses so we would be able to take in water and food and for time to catch one's breath.

Years ago, Blazing Trails had it's own fleet of Royal Enfield motorcycles. At one time there were simultaneous groups going out on various tour routes in India (and also South Africa). But after COVID, the firm's size was apparently somewhat diminished.  They also started running into permitting problems for motorcycles in various regions of the country. India is famous for bureaucracy. So, it began to made more sense to rent regional motorcycle that were on top of the permitting process..  Blazing Saddles had arrangements to have the bikes delivered to the starting point by the rental firm. The firm also provided a mechanic as well as a 'chase' vehicle and driver. This vehicle was there in order to carry luggage of the riders as well as spare wheels and repair gear..  

On Monday in the late afternoon I met the other riders and staff:  Here is a list.

Damen (Owner and Lead Guide) British Age 61

Lynn (2nd guide) British Age 61

Paul  (Medic) British Age 53

Sanjay (Motorcycle Mechanic) Indian Age 40?

Baloo (Truck Driver and Mechanic) Indian Age 43

Neil (client) British Age 51

Charlie (client) British Age 47

Robin (client) Australian Age 65

Myself (client) American Age 72

All the other folks had many decades of motorcycling experience.  I was the oldest and the least experienced.  Robin had been riding motorcycles since age 15 so had 5 decades on bikes.  Damen had been racing and doing adventure riding for 3-4 decades. Lynn was very experienced at adventure cycling all over the world.  Charlie and Neil both had plenty of riding experience from back in England.   Paul was a motorcycle first responder EMT from south London and so was used to riding on a motorcycle thru congested city traffic on his way to individuals in trouble including vehicle accidents, some involving cyclists.   Sanjay was a highly competent mechanic and rider.

Obviously, this group was light with only 4 paying clients!  This ratio of staff to client was to my personal advantage for that I was grateful.  I think they could easily have supported eight clients but were were all they had.  I wondered how this could be profitable for the firm.   

In the early evening Damon sat us down to explain the rules of the road.

He would lead the group and be at it's head. He had ridden this route numerous times and knew it well.  Lynn would vary in her location in the group so to make sure that everyone was together and on route.  Paul, as medic, would always be at the back of the group as the Sweep so could quickly be there if anyone was down or injured.  Baloo & Sanjay with the truck would by necessity be further behind and depending on traffic, might be at some distance.

Damon emphasized the need to stick close together the next morning as we slowly got out of the heavily congested city traffic.  Once we were out the thick of it we would need to try to stick together and not be afraid to "overtake" (pass) when the opportunity was there.  

We were responsible for our own driving and avoiding accidents.  Watch out of pedestrians and cattle.  Use the horn to communicate with all the rest of traffic surrounding you.  People needed to know that you were there (often in their blind spots) so we should not hesitate to honk the horn.  Each of us was responsible financially for any damages to the motorcycle or any vehicle we might collide with. Damages to the bikes would be between the rider and the rental company!  If there was an accident, Damon, Lynn and Paul would be there to intervene. If they told you to leave, do so. They would negotiate with other parties and/or police.  

Sounded reasonable.    Then we had dinner and got to know one another.

Later in the evening, the motorcycles arrived by a large straight frame truck and were unloaded and lined up in front of the hotel.  I went out in the evening heat and took a look at the machines prior to retiring for the night.

The Fleet of Royal Enfield Himalayan's

For anyone who might be interested, Royal Enfield was originally a British Brand.  In the early 1950s the English company licensed an Indian Company, Madras Motors to make copies of the RE "Bullet", a 350 cc model which continues to be produced (updated somewhat).  The tooling from the British company was eventually sold and shipped to the Indian company.

Royal Enfield has grown over the years to over a billion $ company and makes over 850,000 machines a year.  Their motorcycles are very popular all over the world (not so much in the USA) are are well respected for making reliable, economical machines.  The Himalayan is a design that has been very popular as an entry-level Adventure motorcycle.  With a one-cylinder motor, 411cc's  with high torque, it is very good at getting up steep angled roads.  A bit of a 'Tractor', it is not a powerful or very fast bike.  Rather, it is durable and strong at the slower speeds and is designed to handle the poor roads of India as well as gravel and rock surfaces.  

    The Himalayan would be sorely pressed to keep up with road touring bikes made by BMW, Harley or Honda. While it can get up to 65 mph, it's best cruising speed really doesn't get much above 55 mph. But it is well respected for the dual-sport adventure segment of the market, especially at the lower price point.  You can spend $25,000 for a BMW  R1250 or buy a Himalayan for under $5500.  

BMW R1250 Dual Sport