Episode 244 : The Devbhoomi Experience- Part 8

Day 10: October 9, 2008

We wake up to a very cold dawn, pre-dawn actually. Ron decides he will start before any of us for two reasons- he does not want to slow us down, and he will use the time to take photographs. Soon Srini and Tiger follow him. Zim and Muthu start before me and I am the last to kickstart.

All of us are outfitted in thermal wear. The gang is already outfitted with some kind of riding gear made for cold seasons. I do not know what possessed me to think I will put a thermal layer inside my summer riding gear and manage.

I barely ride for ten minutes when I see Zim and Muthu have made a stop already. I ask why and they tell me while shivering and rubbing their hands that 'It is very cold macha... how the hell are you managing?!'

I shrug. Perhaps I held a cold bottle of beer for too long...

The morning cold has pleasantly numbed me. I take in the countryside as I ride up and down the hills. Zim and Muthu have the more powerful LB500cc engines, so they go ahead. In the excitement of overtaking them I ignore the bumpy road.

As it is wont with us, I stand on the footpegs everytime Garud bounces over a pothole. The speed is a shade over 70.

It soon stops when I almost, almost fail to negotiate a curve while standing on the footpegs. The brakes are unable to slow the motorcycle as the tyres keep bouncing off the road- there isn't enough traction to grip the road and slow down. I stop an inch away from the rocky wall and heave a sigh of relief. I turn around and give a sheepish grin to an anxious Zim. He throws his hands in the air and shakes his head.

I indicate to the guys that I want to photograph them when they cross a water crossing. Every water crossing I halt, wait and take their photographs. After the second water crossing, we reach a village called Narayanbagher.

60273 @ Narayanbagher

We stop for breakfast and have ande ke paranthe, a welcome change from the daily aloo ke paranthe!

I do not know if the pen stopped writing because it ran out of ink or because of the cold. I contribute to the local economy by buying a pen from the neighbouring provision store. The pen writes well (even today!).

The first water crossing from there is the largest, easily spanning 10m. I see Zim and Muthu have stopped on the other side- it looks like Zim has a problem.

Zim complains the clutch is too weak and Muthu sets about to fix it. I hang around, handing out tools when required. Things don't look well, so Zim's mechanic tells us (over the phone!!) to open the gearbox chamber. One look at the cam inside and I declare this is not something we can fix.

I had seen the same problem on another motorcycle while riding out of a town in Andhra Pradesh earlier in the year. Since the spare part is not available outside big cities, we had "fixed" it by welding the crack.

What makes it worse for Zim is that the cam has broken in two. We need a welder and a good one at that. I ask a local who suggests we may find a welder in the nearby village of Simli, failing which we should try Karnaprayag.

The welder at Simli suggests we go to Karnaprayag as we require a nickel welder and he works only on iron and steel. We proceed to Karnaprayag and I ask myself how Zim is able to change gears with a broken cam.

I lose the guys at the outskirts of Karnaprayag. I wander out of town and manage to find my way back in. I spot an ATM on the way and realise this is my chance to stock up on my finances. A few text messages and calls ensure I am reunited with Zim and Muthu.

60306 @ Karnaprayag

I hope the excitement for the day ends at Karnaprayag and the rest of the journey to Joshimath is uneventful.

Who would have thought it would turn out otherwise!