11th Aug 2009 (10 days before the start)

This is the day me (Ravi) and Vikky parcelled the bikes to Jammu, Our first step to the "Mother of all biking trips in INDIA".

GATI : Bangalore to Jammu
Bikes : Cbz (ravi) Unicorn (Vikky)
Transit time : 10 days
Amount : 3600 / bike including all
Contact : Nagesh 9741160086 (good OK guy)

Bikes will reach Jammu, our starting point usually in 8 days, since it was Independence month and J&K being sensitive, takes 10 days.

Mission brief:

Days : 17 (2weeks of leave)
Distance : 1600 approximately
Track : Jammu - Srinagar - Kargil - Leh - Nubra - Leh - Pangong - Manali - Mandi
Bikes : Cbz(Ravi), Unicorn(Vikky), Pulsar(Pradeep)
Climate : Hot and humid in the day, extremely Cold in the nights

Ravi and Vikky will fly to Delhi from Bangalore, Pradeep will fly from Hyderabad to Delhi. Take an overnite train to Jammu. In the meantime parcelled bikes will reach Jammu. Pick the bikes and kick-start the trip from Jammu.

How the hell did the idea take life ?
Biking in Jammu is a dream every biker has, so did i. Vikky (my roomie) contacted Arun (guy who has already been to Ladakh), Arun then drafted a detailed mail on July15th 2009. The plan started shaping arround this draft.

After that how did it fall through?
Mails floated, all intrested frineds looped, feasible dates checked, leaves applied, some friends dropped, final list confirmed. Responsibilities like booking tickets, getting the bikes parcelled, and conforming the schedule are shared among 3 bikers.


Some homework done till now:

Task 1: Finalising the dates.
Starting from July to September end is the riding season in Leh ladakh circuit. confirmed to start by August 21st and end by September 4th.

Task 2: Book the air and train tickets up and down
immediately, since airfares increase exponentially.

Task 3: Find good parcelling service.
GATI, Jaipur Golden, ITC enquired all of them. Told them the plan and asked them if they can parcel.

Task 4: Initial cheklist
RC, DL , Insurance is a must. Cant do without them. some essential clothing biking items.


Catch :

1> Initially found the transit time as 5 days from Bangalore to Jammu. Later since the situation was tense in Jammu transit time rose to 10 days :( unexpected. So had to hurry bikes to GATI.
Consider the unexpected and buffer properly.