[pulsurge]

With my boss going on vacation, it was as usual planning time for my ride. With Leh and Spiti already done on earlier stints when he had been on vacation- was looking out for a destination to ride. And north India it was- trust me once you ride to the north side in India, you wouldn't want to ride anywhere else. Decided on either Uttarakhand or Sikkim. Had requested for army permits for restricted areas in Uttarakhand through my references which never came. So Sikkim it was- and visuals of the Gurudongmar Lake situated at 17,000 feet ASL- it was more than a reason to ride. And overall it took 6000+ kms of riding in 13 days of fun, frolic and well- a few inconveniences too. So here I go with the pictures.

First click halt of the trip- just for landmark sake (near Bhopal, MP)

Amazing roads to roll

Results of a mild dash into a jaywalking cow

Journey continues after an overnight halt- from Lucknow (UP) towards Purnea (Bihar)

Entering the state of Bihar

Majestic view of the Teesta River

Went nuts at the views of the Mighty Kanchenjunga Peak in the distance

Yipeee, got the permits

 

[pulsurge]

The last fuel pump at Mangan (Sikkim)- no pumps ahead. The CBRs 12.xx litre tank wasn't enough- so collected a few empty bottles lying around to carry extra fuel.

Roads started disappearing, but the surroundings were amazing

Just love these bridges

And the chaste waters of the Teesta for company

Landslides up here make for a slippery ride

Lachen welcomes the CBR, but the town is still quite a distance away

The cold was getting too much to tolerate- time for a hot cup of tea and some snacks

And the journey continues towards Gurudongmar Lake

Everything was going well- and knock knock, AMS hits Sat down by the roadside, sipped some water gathering breath.

 

[pulsurge]

Finally reached the Gurudongmar Shrine

I could feel the dizziness, lack of adequate oxygen was another disturbing factor- never felt so weak. But decided to explore the place and take a few clicks around the Gurudongmar Lake (Altitude 17,800 feet ASL)

Time to head back- the army guys weren't allowing me at the check post, plus I was the alone guy- no network and if anything went wrong, there was no one to help. And with weather at high altitudes changing without warning- had to hurry back.

Crashed in ice a few meters ahead

The CBR taking the torturous roads

The constant thudding meted out by the roads, landed up with panels coming off (they were temporarily fixed after the cow dash). Thankfully bungee cords came to the rescue

Time to say bye to Lachen and head towards Lachung

OMG...tarmac!!!

Heading towards Zero Point

Didnt go right till zero point- as usual I was the lone guy on the entire stretch. Plus didnt wear thermals, plus it was getting dark. Decided to return

Best thing to have after a shivering outing...hot food.

Saying bye to Lachung

The mighty Kanchenjunga says hello again

 

[pulsurge]

Next stop- Tathagata Tsal

That's one of the most amazing views

Return journey starts amidst foggy roads

Stopped over at relative's place in Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh) and it was a straight home run there.

Hope you enjoyed watching- thanks for the patience

 

[Schroeder]

Epic as usual.

 

[MotoMike]

The last fuel pump at Mangan (Sikkim)- no pumps ahead. The CBRs 12.xx litre tank wasn't enough- so collected a few empty bottles lying around to carry extra fuel.

Cool photos.

How did the CBR perform at 17,000 ft. ASL?

One comment on using those discarded water bottles to carry extra fuel... that's very risky considering how paper thin the walls of a disposable plastic water bottle are. Needless to say if one of those bottles were to crack you'd have at the very least an ugly mess, and potentially a much worse situation.

If you need to carry extra fuel, get yourself a couple of these MSR fuel bottles. It's an inexpensive way to safely do so...

 

[jsonder]

This is where I started using those bottles. I have a couple of the 1-litre bottles.

 

[MotoMike]

I'd guess that those MSR fuel bottles are as common place as North Face & Mountain Hardware jackets in the Himalayan climbing region. One could probably buy a few used fuel bottles for next to nothing in that part of the world too.

Here in the US, a new 30 oz. MSR fuel bottle costs about $22.00

 

[pulsurge]

Cool photos.

How did the CBR perform at 17,000 ft. ASL?

One comment on using those discarded water bottles to carry extra fuel... that's very risky considering how paper thin the walls of a disposable plastic water bottle are. Needless to say if one of those bottles were to crack you'd have at the very least an ugly mess, and potentially a much worse situation.

If you need to carry extra fuel, get yourself a couple of these MSR fuel bottles. It's an inexpensive way to safely do so...

It performed flawlessly, in fact I never felt that it lacked the grunt. Actually the roads were so bad that I hardly got up to speeds- but the last section before the Indo-China Border, there is approx 14 kms of tarmac where I pushed it past 100. I dont recollect the 250R gasping for breath- but rather I was not not my sane self. The oxygen level here is in single digit- the only target I had in mind was reaching the spot.

The PET bottles, yeah I do agree they are dangerous, but I wasn't aware of the situation and had no option. Its a small town so getting bottles like these are out of question. So took the risk.

 

[thefeev]

amazing photos and journey! and good tip on those bottles... I forgot I actually have one of those; I might have to use for the bike instead now! (I use a JetBoil for camping now anyway... no more white gas)

 

[sactoCBR]

Nice journey! Great photos! Thank you for sharing!

 

[vickriz]

Totally inspiring! I can't believe some of the "roads" you took your little CBR with street tires on.