The Preparations

Before the big trip, there were a hundred little things to be taken care of and remembered as part of our preparations for the expedition.


First and the foremost, we started with practice sessions to see if we, as individuals and our bikes, as machines are actually fit for this challenge or we need to prep ourselves up. For this, we chose Matheran and Bhimashankar as our locations - both close enough to Mumbai to be back in a day and both right for their own reasons. Matheran ghat is steep enough to test the engine power of the vehicles and Bhimashankar is quite far, making it a long journey to test our stamina. And if we factor in the weather in which we undertook the practice sessions (heavy rain and fog), they were both just the perfect rehearsals for the main event. A couple of bikes encountered some problems on the ghat and we had enough time to get them fixed and run a few more practice sessions after that.

*from http://philipdennis.blogspot.com/

Secondly, the vehicle is all you are going to have. So, it's important to have the proper sized luggage carriers fixed on it. Most of us had regular carriers fitted on but there are special carriers available, called "Ladakh carriers", where there is space for two fuel cans, two suitcases and the back carrier.


Speaking of luggage, pack light. But don't compromise with the essentials for that. Proper raincoats, winter-wear, thermal wear, goggles, food for the hilly, less-habitated regions, medicine and first aid kit, fuel, spares for the bikes: a tool kit, a puncture kit, clutch wire, accelerator wire, spark plug, chain lock and a hand pump.


Finally, according to our plan, we are going to ride from Khardungla to Kanyakumari. So, we put our bikes on the train to Jammu in luggage compartment and we'll just pick it up there. But, the hitch is that we have 5 bikes amongst us and sometimes, if there is a lot of load, it's not necessary that they will all be packed in the same train as us. so, we sent them a few days ahead of us. They will be waiting for us safely when we arrive at Jammu on 6th September. Things you will need when you go to deposit the vehicle: a copy of the RC book, a copy of your driving license and your bike's insurance (along with the originals to show there.) If at all you are borrowing someone's vehicle, you need all these papers along with a copy of the owner's authority letter and a copy of their photo identity proof. Make sure you remove all the fuel before handing over the vehicle for packing. The approximate cost of sending the vehicle from Bombay to Jammu, including the packing was Rs. 2200.


There! After this final step, it's only get, set and GO!