The Best Exotic Marigold Expedition

India is a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma. The best way to start unravelling that conundrum? Riding there and taking it all in – the good, the bad and the downright bonkers

Touring in India is like sipping a fine cocktail – it fills your mind with an intoxicating mix of colours, smells, sounds and flavours. Except that you can't just delicately get your lips wet for a little taste – it's more like being thrown into a swimming pool filled to the brim with the stuff. Like it or not, you better start swimming.

But I'm getting ahead of myself… Let's start at the beginning.

I had booked myself on a sevenday Trailquest expedition to the north Indian province of Himachel Pradesh, at the foothills of the Himalayas. The bikes on the trip would be the gentle little Royal Enfield Himalayans. I couldn’t wait!

To get to Chandigarh where the circular riding route would start and end, I first had to get to Delhi.

Delhirium

My first few hours in Delhi were a bit of a shock. No amount of prep can prepare you for the enormity of the city, the intense heat, the chaotic traffic, the hordes of people all around you and it all just immersing you into the colourful and joyous carnival that is Indian daily life.

As much as I enjoyed Delhi, I was happy that I was here just to meet with the rest of the tour group, then heading up north to Chandigarh.

On yer bike

In Chandigarh we were introduced to the Himalayans that would be our rides for the week. Both nervous and excited, I grabbed a bike and hoped for the best.

We started our expedition with a tentative ride out of town, followed by a recovery vehicle carrying our luggage, refreshments, spares and tools.

The weather was nice and sunny, if intensely hot and humid. The good news was that the monsoon rains hadn’t caught up with us yet. The bad news was that lifting your finger was enough to get you sweating.

City limits

Our first destination was Chail, home to the world's highest cricket ground at 2444 metres. It seemed like a good place to head for when you were surrounded by the heat, noise and pollution of a city the size of Chandigarh.

The start of the ride was a bit nervous, but after seeing that there was method in the madness, I was fairly confident that it was possible to get out of town alive. However, the cars, motorcycles, Tuk Tuks and all manner of motorised transport whizzing around you seemed to suggest otherwise. But as with most things, after a while you get used to it, find your rhythm, and become a part of the crowd.

It quickly became clear that it was best to forget about indicators, lane discipline and other such trivial road rules. The key was to weave your way around slower traffic, and watch out for the faster vehicles overtaking you.

Moving on up

We got out of the city unscathed and soon got on the small roads climbing up and down the Himalayan foothills. Pine forests lined the roads, and troops of monkeys had their greedy little eyes on our snacks whenever we stopped for a breather. On the roads it was not uncommon to have to deal with an overtaking lorry, a motorcycle coming at you on the wrong side of the road, a cow lying on your lane behind a blind bend, cars trying to join the road seemingly unaware that you were there too, and kids wanting to high-five you – not all these things always happened at the same time, but often they did.

Trying to negotiate all this, I wondered how many changes of underwear I would need during the first few hours of our trip.

The dust settles

Most of the afternoon of our first day on two wheels was spent on gravel tracks, and the Himalayan dealt with the rough surface easily.

Getting more used to the conditions all the time, we plodded on, with a huge cloud of dust following us. These roads appeared eerily quiet after the melee of the urban roads, and you only met other traffic on occasion. The riding was tiring, but it was great fun, too.

We had set off at 9am, and arrived at our hotel in Chail at 5pm. It had been a full day of full-on riding. To get a better picture of how demanding it was, consider this: during the whole day we had only covered 137km

– and we hadn't stopped for anything other than a packed lunch by the side of the road, a few rehydration breaks, and to sort out a couple of minor bike problems. It was tough. But it had been a fantastic start to the expedition!

The journey continues in the next issue…