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 7th June 2014 riding in temperatures as low as -7 degrees around 9pm! and then rode to Chang La on 8th June 2014 in similar temperature conditions.
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 7th June 2014 riding in temperatures as low as -7 degrees around 9pm! and then rode to Chang La on 8th 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
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 1st 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 2nd 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 3rd 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 4th
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 1st 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 6th 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 7th day we went to the 2nd
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 1st 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 8th
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
Proud of you my brother "AASHISH THAPA" for making this a super awesome achievement .Keep on riding (Y)
ReplyDeleteProud of you my bro "AASHISH THAPA" for making a super awesome achievement (Y) .Keep on riding
ReplyDeleteGreat bro !! Keep Riding >>>
ReplyDeleteWe are proud of you brother ... Keep riding !!
ReplyDeleteI'm impressed!!!! I want one!
ReplyDeleteDont mix coke and rum on Hills and carry enough fuel buddy.
ReplyDeleteBhai pranam kyon kar raha hai... gaadi chalu nahi ho raha hai kya :D
ReplyDeleteJokes apart... CONGRATS on the awesome feat ! Keep riding, be happy !
Happy riding dude!!! Your story is quite an inspiration as I own a GT but had my apprehensions about riding it so far, now im going there for sure and killing it. Cheers! - Abhinav
ReplyDelete