A solitary night ride through the treacherous Zoji La

                         It was the fourth day of our 11-day long bike ride to the Himalayas. We started the day from Srinagar after a morning Shikara ride in the Dal Lake. Our target for the day was Kargil. On the way we visited the Chashma Shahi and one other Mughal garden. The ride through the banks of the river Sind, horse ride at Sonmarg., altogether it was a very good and enjoyable day for us, at least till 6 PM. But the fortunes changed once we reached almost halfway through Zoji La - the second highest pass on the Leh - Srinagar national highway.

                         This pass that runs at an elevation of around 12000 ft from the sea level is well-known for the extreme riding conditions it offers. There was literally no road and one have to ride through the dust and loose rocks on the path. Since Winter hasn't began, thankfully there was no snow, the presence of which could have made the situation worse. On reaching almost halfway up the Zoji La, my friend felt some uneasiness in the chain of his bike. So we pulled up to put some lubricant on the chain. As he was doing it, the rear wheel hit the ground and chain got stuck. As we tried harder to fix it, the chain broke and we needed a chain link to fix it. But didn't had one - a BIG mistake for any Rider. In fact, we had those spare parts in our list but somehow missed to buy it. The daylight was fading and the temperature was dropping fast. We should act fast and come up with a solution.

                         We decided to ask help of any passing truck to carry the bike to the next junction where the bike can be repaired. We asked help to a few trucks but their response was not what we wanted. Finally after almost half an hour, a truck stopped at us and offered to take the bike till Kargil, but at a cost of 4000 rupees. We negotiated with him and he agreed for 2500. Now that the deal is done we have to load the bike on the truck, which is gonna be herculean task at this altitude where even a couple of kicks to start the bike can make you struggle to breathe. However, we got support from a few guys who were staying on this pass as part of the road construction done by the BRO. Somehow we pulled it off - 7 people toiled really hard to get the 200kg bike loaded on the truck. My friend and his wife also got in to the truck taking our bags too with them. Since my bag also was loaded in the truck, I thought I can ride my bike a bit more freely without worrying about the luggage on the back. But I never knew how tough it is, what lied ahead for me...

                         After arranging everything with the truck I started riding forward with the truck following me. The road was nothing but dust and stones, with plenty of potholes and occasional slush and water streams. The daylight was gone and it made driving through this path more arduous. I lost sight of the truck behind me as I went far ahead of it. The pitch black darkness, surrounded by mighty peaks of the Himalayas, the sound of water rolling in the below ravine - the whole setup was frightening. I could see only whatever fell in the range of the headlight. After almost an hour of riding, the tyres touched some decent tarmac and I sighed with some relief. But that too was short-living.

                         After a few minutes, a truck that came opposite stopped at me and the driver said, 'Bhayya, aage bade bade bhaloo hai; kisi truck ke peeche chalo' (there are big bears on the way, go behind any truck). Scared on hearing this, I looked for any nearby trucks, but couldn't find one. Waiting there alone in that night for a truck to come is not at all a good idea. With all the courage left, I kept riding and finally reached Dras, the next village in an hour. I didn't see any bear on the way, but the next morning, my friends who were traveling on the truck told me that they saw bear on the way last night. Fortunately, I didn't have to confront one on the way.

                         Kargil is more than 60kms away from Dras, and driving till there that night was so risky. It was already 9 PM, getting colder, and we had no idea about the situation of the road ahead too. So, I decided to stay for the day at Dras itself, the second coldest inhabited village in the world. My friends however reached Kargil safely by 11pm and stayed there.

                         After that horrific ride while lying on the bed in the hotel that night, I started rewinding the whole incidents in my head. We had to break the basic rule of 'no night driving', especially in the mountains where the dangers are not predictable. One slip or an animal encounter or dizziness for a fraction of second, could have been fatal. But, this time I was lucky enough to survive and reach the destination unharmed. But this might not happen every time, to everyone. The risky night ride might sound very adventurous, but this definitely is not something to be tried or wished for...