alfresco...

"Alfresco breakfasts and fur coats on route to Spiti Valley"

The next day we were up at 6am for an alfresco breakfast and an early start on the ride up and over the Rothang Pass. As we continued to climb the 16 km of tarmac to the pass, the road gradually disintegrated into potholes and dirt, with the occasional sliding tata truck to keep you on your toes. Lucky with the weather, it was cold but clear at the top, and unlike the Indian tourists from Delhi, we didn’t need to hire one of the gaily coloured coats or pairs of welly boots to keep warm, though Jim just couldn’t resist the temptation to try on one of the leopard skin prints – what can I say?

Dropping down the other side of the pass we headed straight off-road. Why take the road when you can cut off the corners on fantastic alpine style singletrack. We started with an eyeball jarring race down a rocky path followed by a sudden plunge through a small stream. At the back I watched as Cass’s bike disappeared up to the hubs in water. Miraculously he survived without a dunking, but I chose discretion and scouted out along the banks for a slightly tamer crossing.

As the road dropped dramatically down into the next valley, the shortcuts too got steeper and steeper and there were a few comedy moments as Dan and Andy both had their over the handlebars moments. Judicious choice of line was the order of the day. Following goat tracks and local’s short cuts, the trail wasn’t at all safety conscious and this definitely wasn’t Glentress. At one particularly steep section with a yawning drop to my right I unclipped my upper foot from the pedal. Situations like this I have no pride and would rather dab than fall. I admit it I’m a ‘big wuss’.

On from here and we danced down the last narrow section of short drops and small boulder chokes to turn up back at the road and a small dabha. Back down to 3000 metres at Gramphoo and we had just descended a 1000 metres and almost all of it on singletrack – beat that! It was obviously time for tea again. Replenished we were ready for the long trek along the valley to another idyllic campsite at Chatru. The following day was another gruelling climb along a long unpaved road following the impressive Chandra River. By now, we were riding at 4000 metres and with everyone feeling the effects of altitude, a general weariness was creeping into the group as we arrived at the high meadow campsite near Chandra Tal.