Ladakh – Bike Ride from Leh to Pangong Tso via Chang La – I
I rented a motor bike that weighed three times my weight and rode from Leh to Pangong Lake. Riding with a payload more than 150 kilos (me, a pillion rider and about 40 kilos of luggage) on a super heavy bike and heading to a no man’s land at an altitude of 14,000 feet was like inviting a disaster. Disaster did not come, but the hardships along the way almost forced us to abandon the journey.
The plans were grand. We were to leave Leh for Pangong Tso, spend a few days at the lake and continue further to Tso Moriri before returning to Leh. A week long trip meant carrying plenty of luggage. With us was a large 80 liter backpack, two smaller shoulder bags, a heavy tripod, two sleeping bags dangling at the back of the bike and twenty liters of fuel supplement. I would not be surprised if an onlooker thought we were shifting house. After all, Pangong is a great place to call home, especially during summer months.
Although I wasn’t very kicked up on doing these long rides on a bike, economics and logistics favoured renting one. Hiring a cab was going to be prohibitively expensive. While we did have enough time to take a bus or to look for a shared jeep, it would have been a crime to speed away through the mountains without stopping along the way to see all the beautiful sights as and when we wished. Choosing a bike seemed practical even if the ride was going to be an effort.
The beginning of the journey was smooth and easy. We made an early start and rode on the smooth highway that ran parallel to Indus until the small village of Karu. The smaller road to Pangong deviated here from the highway, but the surface nevertheless remained smooth and the ride was trouble free. Taking the bike appeared to be a good idea.
The first signs of trouble started showing up during the long climb to Chalng La, the mighty pass at 17,360 feet that we had to cross before descending towards Pangong. The Bullet Thunderbird now seemed unhappy with its load and was reluctant to respond to the accelerator at difficult ascents. It refused to go further in a few occasions when the ascent was very steep, forcing the pillion rider to walk for a few minutes till we found an easier section of the road. This however was a small problem and did not threaten us from completing the journey. But once we reached closer to Chang La, the tarmac on the road disappeared and we were left to wade streams that cut across the road, ride through mud, rocks and wet soil. It wasn’t exactly an easy ride, but was nevertheless completed by struggling to balance the heavyweight bike on rocky and slippery surfaces, sometimes supporting it by dipping my feet into the frigid waters. It must have taken us a good thirty minutes to cross the pass to be welcomed by another stretch of smooth tarmac. We were cruising again along an easy stretch, descending comfortably on a metalled road.
The big trouble however came an hour later when we least expected it. Bigger troubles were to come next day, just a few kilometers before reaching Pangong.