The worlds first Cafe Racer in Khardung La & Chang La

There are feats and there are FEATS! 

Truly built like a gun is none other than our very own Royal Enfield and taking it further is a bunch of travelers lead by Aashish Thapa, who is the first to take Royal Enfield’s latest offering to the highest motor able pass  - Khardung La on 7^th June 2014 riding in temperatures as low as -7 degrees around 9pm! and then rode to  Chang La on 8^th June 2014 in similar temperature conditions. 

Stay tuned to read Aashish’s experience while he takes a café racer to the above locations not once but twice during the same day on separate occasions and provides you with an overview on things to keep in mind. 

For all who thought, that the Royal Enfield Continental GT was uncomfortable and is not suitable for long distance riding, buy into the culture I say forget about your back. Read about achievements such as these, only on ThrottleQuest! 

And here is the full write up on a trip to remember for a lifetime – Chandigarh to Leh Ladakh

Well truly built like a gun is none other than our very own Royal Enfield which is made to take us anywhere we want and do what we think of doing. I truly bow down to the people at RE for I am a proud owner of not one but two Royal Enfield’s  - A Classic 350 and more recently a Continental GT .

What can I say about the GT, as a kid I always wanted to own a mean machine which was truly made for Indian Roads like other RE’s. So  to begin , I had a poster stuck up on my ceiling  whenever I would go to sleep I  looked at it and it made me reach one step closer  to having the bike of my dreams. The day I received a call from my dealer that my bike has reached to the showroom , without wasting any time I started my classic engine and headed straight to the showroom and when I saw the glimpse of it, it was truly indescribable.Thank you RE for this amazing bike which also gave me the guts to be the 1^st person to take a Continental GT to the highest motorable road in India and set a record for myself and RE.

The journey is always amazing when you step in your shoes , start the engine and ride the rough road.

To begin my Journey, I started off from Chandigarh with some of my friends. The journey from Chandigarh to Jammu was quite smooth as I was looking forward to reach the heights of Led Ladakh. The weather was quite sunny as usual, the kind of weather we would expect during the month of June .From Jammu on the 2^nd day we started off to Srinagar passing through those valleys and mountains and taking the blessing of Vaishno Devi Mata for making our journey quite smooth and without getting in in any hassles, but while riding we were thinking what’s a motorcycle journey without the usual hassles which makes it even more challenging .Well the whole journey was quite picturesque. Srinagar was very beautiful as I had heard about it .The roads , the trees , the breeze , the smell , the mountains , the people , the Indian jawans who are posted there to protect us all . A SALUTE to them all.

The roads were smooth as silk, especially the main national highway - NH1. I have never ever driven on such a highway in India. Being a travel junkie, I have gone to many locations around North India The GT was running quite nicely as I expected with the sounds of those engines buzzing in my ears and as I was driving to Kargil on the 3^rd day from Srinagar , each car that was passing by stopped to take a glimpse of the GT and was saluted me for my guts to bring it up to the heights .Believe me seeing this made me feel so energetic because instead of taking pictures of the mountains , people were busy taking pictures of the GT and having a serious discussion around having the GT parked in their garages as soon as they reached home. 

Kargil , how can we forget the Kargil War or Kargil Jang that took place in 1999 and reaching there  gave me such a huge adrenalin rush .The temperature was dipping as we inched our way reaching to the top of the world . On the 4^th day we started our engines and hit the road towards Leh .I was eagerly waiting to get on my GT and start the journey as soon as possible .The road was amazing and seeing each army truck passing by made us stop at the side of the road and one by one so many of them had crossed , I could not even remember the count of it .But then it was worth waiting .Finally we reached our destination Leh which made me go back reminding me how much I was talking of being there and having quarrels with my parents but then I wanted to be the 1^st person to reach on a GT .

That evening we searched some hotel rooms so that we could really relax ourselves from the journey we had so far .Everyone was tired but then the whole atmosphere and serenity made us feel so alive .We sat outside on the roof gazing at the stars and seeing at each other saying we did it we did it .At that point of time I felt so proud of myself with what I have achieved so far and what I was going to achieve .It gave me an immense sense of satisfaction and joy .I was truly loving myself and my whole family who are always supporting me with my decisions .

Well that night we sat down and made a plan of visiting some beautiful landscapes we can find in India the next morning .We all were so much in need of a nice sleep so that we could get up fresh and get on our bikes and start the journey again . Getting up in Chandigarh and getting up in Leh was quite a fantastic feeling .There was so much of peace you could feel , it was as if you were dreaming while you were still awake .I got on my GT and headed towards Shanti Stupa ,Hall of Fame and Leh Palace .

After being the whole day out visiting these places, on the 6^th day we started moving towards Khardungla and Diskit and Nubra Valley which was even more higher than Leh and we could really feel the need for oxygen out there .But eventually reaching there made me want to go more higher and higher making me test the limit of the GT and it did not disappoint me at all during this whole time and I absolutely loved it. On the 7^th day we went to the 2^nd highest motorable road Changla Valley and Pangong lake and I was thinking to myself I have attempted to make a world record to be the 1^st person solo on GT and I was jumping like crazy .I looked around clicked pictures with my GT and bowed down to the GT .

On the 8^th day we headed back from where we started and I really did not want to leave the place and wanted to continue my journey even more higher and higher but then I thought I have achieved quite a lot .

Well I cannot tell how much I feel proud of myself making a world record and that too being associated with the GT gives me an immense pleasure to tell people that no matter what comes in your way one should surely make a trip down to Leh on your Royal Enfield .

Thank you Aashish Thapa for providing ThrottleQuest with an opportunity to post about your experience.  

Text - Aashish Thapa

Article Coverage - Sheldon D'cruz