mlkexpedition

[mlkexpedition]

MLK Expedition. July 1st to July 13.

Team: Brajendu Das, Saroj Mohapatra, Tirumal Kotani, Prabhat Chattoi, Sibabrata Pattanaik, Sujit Goswami, Bikram Kumar Sahoo, Shiba Prasad Sahoo, Anil Mallick & Anshuman Behera.

Trip Started on 1st of July and Ended on 13th Of July.

1st July:

On this day we started our journey to Delhi from various locations. Apart from me and Prabhat rest all started from Bhubaneswar. Me and Prabhat started from Bangalore and Kolkata respectively to Delhi. In the afternoon, we all meet at Delhi Airport. From airport we started our journey to the ISBT bus stand to catch our Bus to Manali. On the way we had our late lunch.

By evening 6PM we get into the Bus to Manali. It’s a multi axle Scania bus. Very comfortable bus. It took us almost 2 hours to cross Delhi traffic and get onto the Delhi- Chandigarh highway. We had our dinner on a good Dhaba. As usual Saroj sir did little majak with the bus conductor, but that guy did not like it and we had a good laugh during our dinner discussion.

2nd July:

We woke up in the Bus and we realized we were on the Himachal Mountain roads. The sceneries are just awesome and scary as well. It was raining and foggy at the same time.  Around 9 am we reached Manali Bus stand. And our Guide Namgyal Ji was there waiting for us in his camper van. We all went to our Manali hotel i.e Manali Queen and refresh ourselves. We had very heavy breakfast and went out for Manali site seeing.

We visited: Vashisht temple, Hidimba temple, Jogini waterfall, pine tree forest and Manali market street. We are very tired by the time we return to our hotel.

Around 8pm over a cup of hot tea, we were all briefed about our next day mega journey. And we retired to our beds for a good night sleep.

Note: Because of high altitude many of us had headache and slowly it went away.

3rd July:

Day 1 of our cycling. We got up early with excitement and get ready with our cycling dress. We had heavy breakfast. It was raining in the morning. So, we had delayed start of the journey. Before to start, everyone in the team gave a 30sec brief introduction about themselves and we had some photo sessions and with Chanting of Lord Jagannath, we started our Day 1 cycle Journey to Marhi.

Marhi is around 38km from Manali Hotel. And it was entirely uphill journey. As we crossed Manali town, the roads become more scenic, left side of the road it’s the river Beas and right side it’s the mountain. In the 1st hour Tirumal sir got a puncture and we took a break of 10 min, while Namgyal Ji fixed the puncture. And as we were climbing, the view keeps on changing and we were getting amazed with it and recording those things in our memory and cameras. After climbing around 20Km we had our lunch next to a waterfall, lunch was stupendous, and place of lunch was mesmerizing. After around 45min break, we again started climbing but road are at the edge of mountains and it was scary whenever you see down. We were taking break in every 5 to 10 mins to take photographs and the scenery was so beautiful and mesmerizing that anyone want to stop and take as many photographs as possible. By evening 5PM we reached our day-1 destination i.e Marhi. It’s a very beautiful place. We checked in to our tiny temporary tents and changed our cycling dresses and covered with warm and comfortable dresses. We had some good discussion during our snacks and dinner time. And we retired to our respective tents. It was our first experience to stay in tents. My tent partner was Anil Mallick.

On the first day our mantra was: It never gets easier; we just get tougher.

4th July:

Day 2 of cycling. We got up early. It was very cold. Dew droplets are falling on us inside the tents. As soon as we come outside from tent, we were welcome with mesmerizing morning beauty of mountain. Some far away mountains have snow on it and sunrise was spectacular. As this is the first day in tent and without proper toilet, we all struggle to finish our morning routine. Fortunately, we found one restaurant which was providing free toilet facility and we thank the owner whole heartedly for allowing us to use it.

Around 7am suddenly the weather changed, and it started raining heavily, in mountains one cannot predict weather, it keeps on changing. We immediately put on our rain gears and getting ready to start our Day 2 cycling, by the time we finish our breakfast, it become sunny again and we have to remove our rain gears and repack.

On the Day 2 first 15km was entirely climb to Rohtang pass and after that it was downhill for 20+ km. And on this day we saw and touch glaciers on the mountain top. As we are nearing Rohtang pass, the climb was getting tougher and tougher. By 12 O Clock we reached Rohtang pass and wait for other cyclists to join. We had some hot Maggie and tea here from a roadside dhaba. We will not recommend this, as it is not hygienic and very high chance to upset the stomach.

After Rohtang pass it was all downhills, even if we all discussed to control our speed on the downhills, but after 1 and half days of painful climbing, riders were all very excited to ride faster on the downhill. Unfortunately, Shiba had a bad fall, but apart from few bruises, no serious injury to him, but his cycle was damaged and he got a replacement cycle. Buy this time Anshuman our youngest champ, got the mountain sickness with headache, stomachache, and vomiting. He was advised to sit on the support vehicle for couple of hours to regain his composure.  But after some time he got fever as well and has to be in the support vehicle till we reached the tent, and he was given antibiotic for stomach upset, anti-vomiting and paracetamol tablets to recover.

Day2 lunch was very tough, as it was on a plane place but it was very windy and it was too difficult to eat facing the wind, somehow we manage to finish it. By the time we finish our lunch Saroj Sir was feeling bad with bad stomach. But with that, we all started our journey towards Day2 destination (Sissu) on the way we saw Atal tunnel entry point, unfortunately cycling is not allowed in Atal tunnel so just took some photographs in front of it. We reached Sissu around 3 pm and retired to our tents.

Day 2 highlight was Rohtang pass and @Shiba Prasad, after his hard fall on 2nd day. Even if he was shaken, emotional still he could not sit on the vehicle and get on the road within no time. During that time "Giving up was never an option" for Shiba. Hats off to his spirit.

Lesson learned : In the land of Lama, do not be a gama(i.e hero).

Pain is temporary but quitting last forever. Giving up was never an option. It never gets easier, you just get tougher.

5th July,

Day 3 of cycling. Not a good start for me, I was having an upset stomach and from morning I had lose motion and was not in a mood to eat anything but determined to cycle to our next destination i.e Jispa. Since I had to take antibiotic, I had poha banana and sugar as my breakfast and took the medicine. Similar case with Saroj Sir and Anshuman. All of us on antibiotic for the upset stomach. It might be because of the roadside Maggie. This day supposed to be an easy ride, but it was not, we started climbing from the start and continue climbing for next 11 to 12km. The morning view was amazing and with continuous chit chat with fellow riders we manage to finish the first 12km climb. After that it was down hill for 12km, we all enjoyed the relaxed ride for few minutes, and we reached Tandi bridge. We had a photograph and tea session. Lemon tea was amazing.

After the Tandi Bridge, it was all climb till Jispa. On the way we had our Lunch. Lunch point was very scenic, we were very tired and hungry by the time we reached here, lunch was good, and we did take rest for almost 45min.

Any ride after a heavy meal is very tough and that to if we must climb it’s just exponentially increased the toughness. Anyway, we do not have any other option but to ride and the best way to take our mind from the pain, is to enjoy the view. Towards the end of the journey there were some downhill to enjoy and we reached Jispa. Here we have big and fixed tents with hot water supply. All of us were very happy and relaxed ourselves after a good hot bath. Most of us cleaned our cloths as well.

Day 3 of our ride ended in a happy note and after a good dinner we retired to our tents and had a good night sleep after two days.

On day 3 of cycling, we covered 53km. And in total we covered around 140km.

Our mantra of the day was: Pain is temporary but quitting last forever.

6th July,

This is the Day 4 of our cycling. Since we slept well in the fixed tent, we all are feeling good and after the breakfast we all got ready to ride to Zingzingbar. The distance is around 38Km but its all uphill from the starting point. On this day we climbed around 1200m. On the way we face lot of traffic due to big army convoy and traffic jam because of the same. Because of the continuous climb and traffic, we all were tired with in first 15km itself. During the start of the journey, we thought its only 38 km and we had already covered many climbs in last 3 days, so it will be no difference, but we all were wrong in our judgement. Every day our ride was different and every day it was challenging. With that realization we took a break in a place where the traffic was eased out and we all started dancing on the road to some popular Odiya and Hindi songs.

The dance helped us a lot by taking away the mind from the pain and we all were happy and mentally ready again to climb the next 10km. On the way we saw two beautiful lakes Suraj Tal and another lake (I forgot the name). The lakes are so cleaned, and one can easily see through the water and color of the lakes are between blue and green.

One realization, wherever human do not interfere with nature, its so beautiful and blissful. We only made it dirty and hell otherwise nature with its purest form is heaven.

We stopped at Suraj Taal and had sweet chhatu drink, it gave us enough energy and motivation to start the climb again.

By around 2PM, we reached Zingzingbar. The location of our tents was just amazing. We are so grateful to Namgyal ji and its crew to give us the experience of staying in tents at some exotic locations.

Our mantra of the day:  Happiness is all about finding the joy in the adverse conditions.

7th July,

This is the Day 5 of our cycling. So, we were all excited to reach Sarchu today, as we will have a fixed tent and will get hot water to take a bath and the same time, we will be climbing to Baralachala pass. So as usual first 16km is all climb and after that it was all downhill. On this way we have to ride through couple of water streams and the water from the glaciers is too cold to bear even 5 mins. But it was fun, and we had a different experience with water. Baralachala pass was comparatively easier than Rohtang pass. It was cold on the top so we did not spend much time there, after photograph session we started the decent and as usual Sujit and Prabhat lead the group with some good speed.

Without much delay we reached Sarchu and got into our tents. Fixed tents are big and have proper bathroom. After a hot shower I slept for an hour and went to the dining tent to have tea and during that time, Namgyal ji told us to go near the army base to get the mobile network and call home. So after 2/3 days we could able to talk with our families.

At this facility, we meet with another cycling group who told us about the next day tough route and how to get mentally prepared for it. This guidance helps us in the next day ride.

After dinner we went to sleep early for our next day tough ride.

8th July,

This is the Day 6th of our cycling, and we all get prepared for the tough day ahead. Mentally we were all prepared to climb Gata Loop, Nakeela and Lachungla pass. First 30km was down hill and we all had a very good ride for the first one and half hour, and we reached the Gata Loop starting point. We took some mandatory photographs there and start our climb. We all decided we will stop after every 2km and once all riders assemble, we will target our next 2km, so that way no rider will left behind and instead of thinking of a big climb we will just think about the next 2 KM. This plan work well for us, it may take extra time, but it helps and rejuvenate all riders.

As we were climbing Gata Loop, it was not ending for us, we all are getting restless, like when the 21 loop will end, and finally after almost 11km, we show the Gata Loop end sign. We were all happy because we conquered another bigger huddle of our journey. Now it is the time to reach Nakeela. So, after a brief photo session, we started climb again to Nakeela Pass. It was getting colder as well and Nakeela pass was not in sight, even it is another 10Km from Gata Loop end, but to climb another 10km was getting tougher and tougher. So somehow, we reached Nakeela pass and were overwhelmed with our happiness that we have now conquered 2nd huddle of the journey. After brief photo session we started our ride to whiskey Nala, which is a downhill of 5km from Nakeela. So, it was quite helpful for us to rejuvenate and gain some energy back. We had a tea break of 15min at Whiskey nala, and after that we started our last climb of the day to Lachungla. It was around 7km from Whiskey Nala and gradient was around 5%, by the time we reached middle of the climb we all were dead tired and our body was telling us, that’s enough for the day now take the help of support vehicle to reach to the top, but at the same time mind was telling us, only another 3km to go and you can do it, just do not quit at this time, you have already made to the last point just few more steps to take. With all the battle going on in the mind we keep climbing and praying to our Gods, Mountain Gods and Goddesses to give us the energy and determination to reach to the top.

I think it all worked for us and finally we reached Lachungla Pass. It was a moment I will not forget ever. Tear just flows through my eyes; it was the tear of gratitude, determination, and the help we got from almighty. The feeling of accomplishment will be always there in my heart.

After all riders reached the pass, we all just held each other and shouted and took photographs and videos and started descending towards our tent, which was another 5km to go. And we reached there in no time and were welcome by the support staffs and were served hot tea.

I will always remember this day. It’s one of the finest and most satisfying day of my life.

Our mantra of the day: “To conquer ourselves, we must remain intensely focused on the outcome, not the obstacles.”

9th July,

This is the Day 7th of our cycling. Our destination was Dibring.  Distance was around 60km. After our breakfast we started our journey around 8.30 Am. We all were very excited as we will be passing through the beautiful More plains. First 15km of this ride is downhill and with awesome scenery but with not so good road. So, we were careful while riding through it and were taking enough photographs to capture the beauty of the nature on our lenses. After the downhill we have to climb around 6km to More plains after Pang. Today’s climb was not tough like yesterday. So did it easily and reached starting point of More plains. It’s a totally different view than what we have seen earlier.

It occupies 40 km of the highway between Leh and Pang. The plateau has an average elevation of 4,800 metres. The road is flanked by beautiful mountains on both sides. At some places, it runs along the Sumkhel Lungpa River, featuring stunning sand and rock natural formations.

As it is downhill and with tailwind for 40km, we just blown away with easy ride after a long time. We were taking break after every 10 or 15km to take photographs. And with no time we reached our destination Dibring.

We were all hungry and went to the dining tent to have our lunch. On this day we had Khichidi, curd and salad was served as lunch. It was not that yummy but definitely very healthy. And after lunch we just slept in the dining tents. But there was a surprise waiting for us. Suddenly dust storm started blowing with very high wind speed and it just uprooted all the temporary tents including the big dining tent as well. We run towards the permanent Dhabas to save ourselves from the dust storm. Namgyal Ji and other support staff did arrangement in the local Dhaba’s for our dinner and night stay. Our night stay was very memorable as we all have to squeeze ourselves to a very small and closed room. Somehow to manage to sleep. And another memorable day come to an end.

10th July,

Day 8th of our cycling. Our destination was Lato Village via Tanglang la pass and Rumste. Total distance we covered was around 60km. After the breakfast we started our journey around 8.40am. First 20km was all climb to Tanglang la, as like our best practice, during the climb we keep taking breaks in every 2 to 3km or less based on the gradient. And we reached Tanglangla pass after 3.30 hrs of climb. It was chilling cold at Tanglangla. We just quickly took few mandatory photos and started descending towards Lato village. Descending was very tough because of very cold wind. Road condition was ok, but lots of loops so we need to control the speed. After one hour or so, we reached our lunch point. Its a beautiful plane area with a beautiful river flowing next to it. But the weather was very cold and windy, so we quickly finish our lunch and take some rest inside the camper van. After around half an hour, we started our journey towards Lato.  Again, downhill and our cycles were keep rolling without much effort. On the way we passed through Rumste village. We reached the Lato village around 3PM. After refresh and hot tea, I just went inside the tent to sleep for some time.

On this day dinner was stupendous with mutton curry and chicken dry pokoda preparation etc. This is also the last day we will be staying in the temporary tent and last day of the support staffs as well. So, we were happy as well as sad. After dinner we went to our respective tents and call it a day.

11th July,

Day 9th of our cycling. Our destination was Leh which was around 70km, out of which 60km is downhill. So, we were all relaxed. We had our breakfast and took photographs with the support staffs as they will be leaving for their home. We had a very special bonding with all of them in these 11 days, they had taken good care of us on those extreme conditions and places. They had made our journey as much comfortable as possible in those unknow terrain. I will remember them for lifetime.

 With that we started our journey towards Leh around 8AM. We all are in good mood and started moving in with some good speed. But the vistas are so good that, we stopped multiple times to take photographs. As we proceed fast, we reached Upsi after crossing the Indus River. Also, we visited army museum on the way. After half an hour break, we started our ride and move towards Thiksey Monastery. It took us around an hour to reach there. Our organizer Namgyal and Sonam ji waiting for us there.

Thiksey Monastery is a must visit place. It’s such a beautiful and serene place that would take away all your tiredness and make you calm. We spend almost like an hour here. We talked with the monks and learned about the monastery and its history. The monastery is located at an altitude of 3,600 metres (11,800 ft) in the Indus Valley. It is a twelve-storey complex and houses many items of Buddhist art such as stupas, statues, thangkas, wall paintings and swords. One of the main points of interest is the Maitreya Temple installed to commemorate the visit of the 14th Dalai Lama to this monastery in 1970; it contains a 15 metres (49 ft) high statue of Maitreya, the largest such statue in Ladakh, covering two stories of the building.

From the Monastery we ride to our lunch point. It’s a nice quit place next to the flowing river. Lunch was good, after half an hour we started our ride towards our hotel at Leh. Another 10km to ride, but it was all climb from that point onwards. As we were nearing Leh, the climb was tougher and tougher. After all the downhill and lunch, this 10km climb felt very tough. But Namgyal and Sonam ji keep motivating and cheering us. After quite a struggle we reached our Hotel at Leh. And it was so relaxing and fulfilling. A sense of accomplishment prevails in us. The happiness of fulfilling the dream was so nice, that we were overwhelmed. We thanked Namgyal Ji and Sonam ji for the support and help they gave us throughout our journey to Leh from Manali.

After a hot shower and half an hour sleep, we all went to Leh market to get souvenirs and just roam around for some time. Over our dinner,  we had discussion about our next day climb to Khardungla and with that in mind, we went to our rooms and call it a day.

12th July,

Day 10th and last day of our cycling. Cycling to Khardungla, which is around 17600 ft from the sea level. Total distance to climb was around 37km from our hotel.  So according to the plan we kept the toughest ride of the trip on the last day of cycling. By this time, we were all not in our best form because of 9days of continuous cycling on the mountain range, but this is all about endurance and determination to complete the final climb, the climb of life time, where determination and gratitude take up the physical pain and quitting attitude, and we have to test it again. So, with that in mind, we started our journey around 6.30 am. From the hotel itself we started climbing and there is no respite till we reached Khardungla top.

As per our learning and best practice, we did not look Khardungla top as our destination, but we broke down this entire distance to 19 parts and each part is 2km or less. So, every 2km we took a water break and rejuvenate and start again. As we were climbing we reached the breakfast point around 8.30 am and had very tasty sandwiches, fruits and tea. After a brief stay, we started our ride again, and after around 23km we reached South Pullu and a small water break. From here roads are wider but tougher and tougher. Every kilometre climb was a task for us and we have to work against our wishes and as like Lachungla climb, I started praying Gods and Goddesses to give us the energy and the final push to reach the top. Around 2pm we had our lunch . Sonam ji has got some fantastic rolls and we just gulp those to feel relax and got some energy back. During this time, we had little tough discussion about our climb and charged up ourselves to climb the last part of Khardungla. Even if body is telling us to quit but we were in no mood to quit at this moment of our life and the journey we had made in last ten days. We were climbing continuously for last 8+ hours and every 100meter of cycling on this toughest terrain was feeling like we were climbing 10km, whenever I was standing to take a little rest, my leg was trembling, but my mind was stable and with the help from Almighty we gave our selves the last push to reach the top.

When we reached the top, as like in Lachungla for several minutes we could not talk with each other, tears were rolling down and we bow down to the Mountains, to the Almighty with the sense of Gratitude. So finally, we conquered over ourselves, we conquered over our fear and we realized we were much more than what we think about ourselves. We realized the potential of our strong determination and never quit attitude.

With that feeling, we posed ourselves for few mandatory photographs and load our cycles to the support vehicle. There were few cyclists who prefer to go down to Leh in the cycles to enjoy the downhill. Even if our expedition end here, but I had a new beginning of my life. Now I got a different meaning to my life and I will cherish that with me always.

https://www.strava.com/activities/7456265699

MLK Journey…who's what

Brajendu Bhushan Das, The Windmill

The one among us whose cadence stood beyond. Pleasure to eyes when we saw him peddaling so fast and consistent throughout. When we thought of taking a nap from pedalling he just crossed by and we woke up again. 🙏

Saroj Mahapatra, The Carpathia

One need not to worry if he left behind due to some issue, because the survival partner was always Saroj Sir with his befitting way to reach destination.

K. Tirumal Kumar, Mr Bean

His sense humours not only made us laugh but the entire Himalayan range. Personally felt, his appearance just made us feel secured on roads, full of joy in tents.

Sibabrata Pattanaik, The Top Gun

He is the one who not only boosts but with just his passing by one catches his momentum with a silent sense of talk - If you can't do it…then do it…

Prabhat Chhatoi, The Arktika

He who broke all impediments and rushed hard with his momentum against odd wind too. His riding will be remembered from Sussu to Tandi Bridge.

Shibaprasad Sahoo, The Shark Fin

All you can see is mountain peaks and helmet peaks. It's him can be figured out in uphills with his tall stance and unique force of peddaling…he said it's Tak…Tak…

Bikram Kumar Sahoo, The Jukebox*

He who made mountain dance with varied tune of song selection and energized the whole group with party mode onnn…

Anil Mallick, The Hulk

Great power on the go. Thighs not only feed himself but others…thanks for the recreational massage to co riders.

Anshuman Behera, Sonic Boy

Tough choice over mountain yet crossed it smoothly. Many more adventurous feathers are waiting for you.

Sujit Goswami, The Captain. On the ride, you can ignore N number of things, but you cannot ignore the command of the Captain. He is the thread who tied the team together. We could only win if we were all together and he make sure of that.

Life Lesson : Our adversities and how we deal with them is what makes us the person we are.