Top of the World
THE HIMALAYAS BLEW my mind — it’s as simple as that. They blew my mind and pushed my bike and body further than either has been pushed so far on this trip. We climbed to over 5180m above sea level and, though I had originally shrugged off the effects of altitude, this had a huge impact on so many things.
Altitude sickness SUCKS. Your head pounds and spins and you constantly feel queezy. Five minutes after waking up I was vomiting into a pit next to our campsite. I say ‘waking up’ but I hadn’t really slept all night. In fact, every time I dozed off, my body reacted by flooding my dreams with orders to breathe as I struggled to get enough oxygen.
When I woke up, my eyes felt so sensitive to light, they did not want to open. A scary experience indeed. This is all part of the attraction to thrill seekers looking to prove themselves against the highest roads in the world and there was no shortage of riders. Literally thousands of bikes are riding these roads every day until Sarchu, where things thin out a bit. It is surreal to see so much traffic on such extreme roads.
The road condition varied as much as the weather, the landscape, the altitude and every other element of this journey. At times we found ourselves on the edge of a cliff descending from thousands of feet on a completely unmade or destroyed section of road. This is where the traffic becomes frustrating as novice riders (sometimes in flip-flops) crawl down the mountains, forcing you to stop repeatedly or ride so slow that you lose all momentum and risk toppling over.
This became an issue at water crossings as riders stopped in the middle of rivers — queuing does not exist here, so if you wait for the person ahead to clear the water, someone else will cut in front of you.
After leaving Leh and heading to Kargil, the roads improved significantly and the traffic was comparatively light. On this road you’re treated to stunning views of plains, mountains and lunar landscapes before riding through Zoji La pass, which is absolutely stunning. It’s also an absolute nightmare for traffic, as trucks battle to pass each other on a narrow and unmade road on the edge of the mountain. It was here, waiting for trucks to honk it out, that I saw a bearded vulture circling above — a special moment for me.
The Himalayan section of my time in India is something I’ll never forget and was definitely worth making the effort to complete. Yes, the traffic can be infuriating; yes, the permits and checkpoints are inconvenient; but I have never been anywhere where I saw something new — something that cannot be found anywhere else — at every turn.
It was certainly a welcome embrace with the wild after the heat, humidity and intensity of Delhi.
Henry Crew is aiming to be the youngest person to circumnavigate the globe on a motorcycle, at 22 and raise £35,000 – £1 a mile - for the men’s health charity Movember. He writes exclusively for RIDE and you can follow his progress or donate at www.35000miles.com