With victory in sight, our team: six riders, six support members
Stretching our legs at the foot of a glacier, with our trusty (mostly) Enfields in the foreground
Nine days. In reality, a very short amount of time. But what an incredible volume of experiences we packed in while motorcycling in the Himalaya Mountains of India, August 11-19. Bernie and I were joined by four friends for this once-in-a-lifetime trip. An ABC sampler of our experiences follows.
A—Acclimatization, altitude, and amazing. We’d been warned ahead of time that it would take time to acclimatize to the high altitudes of up to13,500 feet (4,551 meters at the highest pass). I’m not sure we ever fully acclimatized since headaches and tingling in our extremities lingered until we left the mountains. But the discomfort was a small price to pay for the amazing nine days during which we were swallowed up by the Himalayas.
B—Beard and “betty”. As we slept in sleeping bags and crude tents almost every night, morning routines, like shaving and putting on makeup, were eliminated. The three guys grew healthy beards that they paid to have shaved professionally at the end of the trip. Although the accommodations weren’t luxurious, we did enjoy our morning “betty” (bed tea, but with Indian pronunciation)—steaming hot chai served to us in our tents.
C—Chai and curry. I love chai (tea) so much that I’d like to continue this morning routine. Unfortunately, I’ve not yet convinced Bernie to become my chai-carrying, morning wake-up call. I just can’t get enough of it. This feeling doesn’t apply to curry, however. We’ve definitely smelled and tasted it enough for a while. Just ask Abby. She now thinks even nuts taste like curry. But morning sickness surely has much to do with this.
D—Diamox, dhaba, and dust. In case you need altitude sickness medicine, we recommend Diamox. We took our daily doses religiously—all except Abby. (See the note about morning sickness above.) We also had daily doses of dust from the arid mountains in which we rode. (Days after returning, we still had grit in our teeth!) Needless to say, we always enjoyed little “dhaba” stalls, places we could get chai, bottled water, or cold drinks to wash down the dust.
A—Acclimatization, altitude, and amazing. We’d been warned ahead of time that it would take time to acclimatize to the high altitudes of up to13,500 feet (4,551 meters at the highest pass). I’m not sure we ever fully acclimatized since headaches and tingling in our extremities lingered until we left the mountains. But the discomfort was a small price to pay for the amazing nine days during which we were swallowed up by the Himalayas.
B—Beard and “betty”. As we slept in sleeping bags and crude tents almost every night, morning routines, like shaving and putting on makeup, were eliminated. The three guys grew healthy beards that they paid to have shaved professionally at the end of the trip. Although the accommodations weren’t luxurious, we did enjoy our morning “betty” (bed tea, but with Indian pronunciation)—steaming hot chai served to us in our tents.
C—Chai and curry. I love chai (tea) so much that I’d like to continue this morning routine. Unfortunately, I’ve not yet convinced Bernie to become my chai-carrying, morning wake-up call. I just can’t get enough of it. This feeling doesn’t apply to curry, however. We’ve definitely smelled and tasted it enough for a while. Just ask Abby. She now thinks even nuts taste like curry. But morning sickness surely has much to do with this.
D—Diamox, dhaba, and dust. In case you need altitude sickness medicine, we recommend Diamox. We took our daily doses religiously—all except Abby. (See the note about morning sickness above.) We also had daily doses of dust from the arid mountains in which we rode. (Days after returning, we still had grit in our teeth!) Needless to say, we always enjoyed little “dhaba” stalls, places we could get chai, bottled water, or cold drinks to wash down the dust.
E—Enfield. For motorcycle enthusiasts in the United States, Harley Davidson is the big name in motorcycles. But for the British, an Enfield is the motorcycle of choice, although I’m not sure the Enfields we rode truly qualify to carry the name. Even before we got there, there was no original part on any of the bikes other than, perhaps, the frames. During our nine-day excursion, Dev Sagar, our mechanic, changed brakes, a brake cable, batteries, and a clutch plate, and constantly adjusted and finessed our Enfields to start and/or keep them going. Unfortunately, the brace holding the seat to the frame of our motorcycle broke when we hit one especially deep pothole and we had to surrender our chariot. Dev Sagar and Arjun, the support truck driver, valiantly coaxed the suffering Enfield through pouring rain and across arduous, late night roads for three hours in order to deliver it to a meeting place where an exchange bike was delivered. And then they had to ride back again—the next morning.
Stay tuned. Our adventures continue in our next blog.
Stay tuned. Our adventures continue in our next blog.
