Bhubaneswar/Leh: “Chadhai se darr nahi lagta, mausam se lagta hai” (Climbing up does not scare me, weather does), were the first few words of the Bhubaneswar Cycling and Adventure Club (BCAC) member Srinivas Sahu, after conquering one of the highest motorable roads of the world – Manali-Leh-Khardungla where the unpredictable weather posed great challenge for the cyclists.
Thirteen members of Bhubaneswar Cycling and Adventure Club successfully completed this trip, which was Annual Flagship Adventure of BCAC on the route of Manali-Leh-KhardungLa (MLK) over an altitude of 17900ft MSL (Mean Sea Level).
What makes this expedition special is that for the first time a lady cyclist, Sipra Hota from BCAC successfully completed this gruesome adventure. “It was thrilling. The last two kilometers were especially difficult and I wanted to give up at every junction. However, the feeling of triumph of having reached kept me going and I did it! It is undoubtedly, one of the best moments,” said an elated Sipra.
This adventure started on August 2, from Manali and concluded at KhardungLa top on August 11. “We rode on their bicycles under scorching heat, shivering cold, sandstorm and spine-chilling hailstorm, gravel and almost non-existent roads, glaciers to complete these 550 km route in 10 days,” said BCAC secretary Ajay Kumar Nanda.
The most difficult part of the trek, Ajay added, was the altitude and the unpredictable weather. “It would rain just about anytime, the roads at times would be shunned due to rivers or streams and we could not rest even for a few minutes as it was bitter cold. We had taken the help of tour operator for arranging food and there was a backup vehicle as well. We carried dry fruits in our backpack for instant energy,” he said.
On the way, the cyclists covered 6 high-altitude passes namely, Rohtang Pass (13050ft), BarlachaLa pass (16150ft), NakeeLa Pass (15547ft), LachungLa Pass (16616ft), TanglangLa Pass (17582ft), and KhardungLa Pass (17982ft). Apart from these passes, the cyclists also covered different glacier driven water bodies (Nalas) namely, Raani Naala, Whiskey Naala, Brandy Naala and lakes namely Deepak Taal and Suraj Taal.
Several times, it rained while they cycled up and they would ride getting drenched in the rain. “It was a strange feeling but quite dangerous too. Hands and feet went all numb after a point,” Ajay said. The beautiful part about such an expedition, he said, is how people stay together as a family, encouraging others to not quit and share not just things, but also their emotions.
“Such expeditions need at least a year of training. Even after years of practise, some of our members walked last few kilometers which shows how difficult this is. However, when you reach the victory point, nothing else matters,” Ajay further said.
For IPS and President of BCAC-cum-Team Leader, Sanjeeb Panda, it was a very challenging job and a lifetime adventure. “Manali-Leh-KhardungLa route is considered as one of the toughest routes of the world and rated as an extreme route by Nat-Geo Adventure. It has many extreme challenges and adventures of high-altitude in low-oxygen levels,” he added.
After the expedition, the team went sight-seeing at Pangonk lake and were invited at the Dalai Lama Trust to share their experience.
Sanjeeb Panda, Lalit Das, Ajay Nanda, Gopal Krushna Sahu, Abhimanyu Sahu, Srinivas Sahu, Sibasis Mohanty, Sudhanwa Das, Sipra Hota, Bibhu Prasad Kar, Jay Narayan Pujapanda, Manoj Kumar Prusty and Santosh Kumar Rout participated in this Cycling Adventure of BCAC.
