The interceptor - Royal Enfield

HIMALAYAN ODYSSEYTanglang-LaRocky roadsTso Kar or the white lake. We climbed themighty Tanglang La again and also made astopover in More Plains for the customaryHimalayan Odyssey group picture, anotherpicture which we are going to cherish fora long time to come. We stayed in mobiletents and ate in the small but warm diningtents set up for us. We were campingjust off the majestic Tso Kar and the strongwinds ensured we were inside the diningtents. We called it a night earlier than usualand packed off in our warm tents. FromTso Kar we headed back to Keylong coveringa total of 230kms. We rode over threepasses Nakee La, Lachlung La and the notoriousBaralacha La for the second time20Riding into Sarchuto get to Keylong. We also encountered thesame water crossings that we saw earlier,but because of the now increased level ofconfidence and better riding techniques,the riders could cross them without anydifficulty. We made it to Keylong beforesundown and prepared for what lay aheadthe toughest terrain and the most fun rideof the Odyssey. 5th July saw us move outof the Ladakh region and enter the SpitiValley of Himachal. The destination forthe day was Kaza, the capital of the Spitivalley. We rode out early post the briefing,regrouped at Koksar and turned off froma village called Gramphu for the Spiti Valley.The terrain and landscape changedremarkably here as this route had neverseen tarmac and was filled with rocks,sometimes boulders, long (and deep) watercrossings and some really tight bends.We re-grouped at this small village calledBatal for lunch and rode into Spiti valley acouple of hours before sundown.Some of the bikes had taken a beatingand the rest day on 6th at Kaza gave usenough time to get them fixed. The town ofKaza was also in its full glory with peoplecoming out on the streets performing traditionalart and dance forms to celebratethe birthday of the Dalai Lama this day. Agroup of 26 riders rode out to a small villageoutside of Kaza called Demul for a homestayexperience. At Demul, some hoppedonto the gentle but gigantic Yaks on a safariwhile some learnt how to make momos attheir respective homes and spent the nightwith the locals.The next three days the Himalayan Odysseyrumbled through Kalpa, Narkandaand Parwanoo in the hills of Himachal andsaw the landscape change once again. Theoff-road sections gave way to smooth tarmacand endless twisties. The ride was inits 3rd phase and we knew the journey wassoon going to come to an end. On the 10thwe started from Parwanoo and reachedDelhi in the evening, checked ourselvesinto a resort on the outskirts and partiedlate into the night.After 16 days of riding through extremelytough and testing terrain all theriders realized that they had become muchbetter on their bikes. The Himalayan Odysseyis always special for each rider for differentset of reasons, but each one definitelycherishes it for life.