Tour Spiti - Jispa - Leh / July 2023

roads still closed for the most part, but there is encouragement ...
 

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Looks like tomorrow is the day ... weather forecast is good for the next 3 days and that should be enough to make it to Leh.

here is a picture of my own back yard - the tall building is my hotel - so hopefully none of these I will encounter en route !!!
 

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Weather looks to be good, have a safe ride, AI does not think you are going at the best time :giggle:

I clicked it by mistake!
 
Which Bike? the one built for all roads or none!
Bs?
Mods :unsure:
 
Now that the BS6 seems to run OK I chose that. I have handed the carby 477 to Deepak for a ride, but he has only 7 days off so this time be go seperate ways.
 
August is actually the best time to go - except THIS year the monsoon was so crazy that the road damage is extreme - I can only hope the Hima is good enough for that mud bath where improvised surfaces have just been made of earth thrown on top of rocks and then pressed into a semi solid surface (until the next rain)

The worst part is likely between Mandi and Kullu so I will only ride to Mandi tomorrow, then I have a full day to navigate the more or less destroyed part of the road with several sections currently under repair. but a bike can usually sneak thru where a car has to wait.
 
reached manali noon today. the last 150km are easily the most adventurous i ever experienced, including a 6km tunnel with no light which had its lowest point in the middle and no drainage so running head on into knee deep water with zero vision… .being fully drenched at 3000m has its own exitement. guys, if you wanted to come and didnt, you missed bigtime 😆😆😆😆
 
from manali onwards to Jispa same day, didnt want to waste the 3 days forcasted good weather by staying in manali. stayed the night in Jispa in my fav place with hot hot shower from solar so I could enjoy it for some length - most hotels only have geyser with 5 minutes hot water max.
Next morning beautiful but uneventful riding at 4000+ meters until the one bridge you have to cross 5km after Sarchu. Just my luck !!!
a heavy truck had broken the wooden planks and even mangled the steel support beneath it. repair work was going on but in good indian tradition: 10 onlooking workers and one who did some welding.
 

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I reached at 9.30 and asked for an estimate, was told 2 hours. I figured it would be more like 4-5 hours and well, at 3:30 we all could pass.
In the meantime shitloads of riders from all over the planet had assembled, even a russian group but mostly europeans and americans
a similar backlog assembled on the other side of the bridge of course.
 

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I figured I would not make it to Leh before sunset and opted to stay overnight in Pang in one of the "hotels". it was the worst decision ever, not only could I hardly breathe, pang is at Elevation: 4521m / 14833feet - rats where rambling about in the walls all night long and of course no running water. however the road after Tanglang La, the 5300m pass, is in horrible condition and doing that at night could have ended badly.
I ended up at Tashi - my all time favorite mechanic in Leh who did oil and air filter, fixed a broken lamp attachment and washed it. all for 2500 INR. including the oil.
 

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The Rats have Acclimatized I suppose from being born there!
They could likely run faster still at lower altitudes.
 
I am still in Leh enjoying good weather since my arrival. I guess another 3-4 days and I am on my slow ride home via Kargil, Srinagar, passing Jammu and then back to Rishikesh. A 5 day relaxed ride I figure.

Leh this year is rather empty, only the occasional band of flown-in bikers on rentals with Leh number plates. Funny how they always ride in full and expensive western gear while everybody else rides in t-shirt with 30 C in the sun.
 
I think I stopped overnight in Kargil on a 2 day bus trip from Srinagar to Leh, arrived in the dark , left in the very early morning.
Not a good bargaining position to be in and the quality of the room was a reflection.
 
Last day in Leh
 

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Staying in Kargil for the night. Kargil is such a dump. Better to continue on and find a hotel down the N1 highway. The road from Leh to Kargil is now like brand new, i made it in under 4h.
 
The interesting stretch of the trip back to Rishikesh was definitely the Kargil - Srinagar leg. Put it on you big flatscreen TV, mute the sound and play some soothing tunes while you watch ...

 
mostly good, except a few km on the highest pass, but they are putting cobblestone there, apparently better than blacktop for extreme temperture variations
 
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