Slacking in Shimla

Sorry there hasn't been a post on the site for some time,
but I seem to have lost the last vestiges of my self-discipline
somewhere in the Ladakh mountains, which I have now left. I
am presently in Shimla, the capital of Himachal Pradesh
state, lying some 700 road kilometres to the south of Leh.

While in Shimla, I have been organising my entry into the
stupefyingly tough Rally Raid de Himalaya (or rather Vijay
Parmar, the event's mastermind, has been organising me), a
seven-day, 2000km mountain race to be held from the end of September
onwards. More information on the race can be accessed at:
www.raid-de-himalaya.com

To compete I've had to take a medical, get clearance from
the British motorcycle racing control body and apply for an
Indian race licence. The only formality left to clear is the
obtaining of suitable personal accident insurance, which will
be sourced through an Indian company.

So what's happened since I was last arsed to open the
laptop?

There were a couple of days in Leh, eating and drinking too
much and generally loafing around, before setting off
southwards. P and I had tackled the awesome Leh-Manali
route in two days when heading out, but wanting to get an
idea of where my endurance limits lie before entering the
Raid I set off at 8am, hoping to clear the 475km run in one
hit. Knowing I only had 11 hours of light (and you really
don't want to ride in the high stuff at night) the XT and I set
off at a fair crack. Speed was hampered by long queues of
trucks, the terrible dust clouds they blew up and the fact
that sections of the road had been washed away by the
recent flooding, but I was still just about on course to make
Manali by nightfall.

With just 50km to go, things took a turn for the worse.
Clouds rolled down the mountainsides, dry ice style, as I
approached Rohtang La, the last high pass before Manali.
Drenched and getting cold, with my speed down to about
25kph, night fell and things got a tad perilous - it's quite
nerve wracking not quite being sure where that 500-foot
drop-off is.

It was thus with great joy that I rolled into the garden of the
Iceland Hotel, a few miles above Manali in the small village of
Solang. It's run by friends of P, is where we had stayed on
the outward journey and was from where I needed to collect
my spare, part-worn tyres. The Iceland was a real touch of
luxury after the places in which I've been staying - clean,
fresh linen, electricity and, and, get this: clean towels! After
such a tough run - fast Enfield riders do Leh-Manali in two
days; most take three or four - it was all I could do to lift
veg' curry to mouth before crashing out before 10 o'clock.

The following morning found me in two minds over whether
to head straight for Shimla, or stick around in Solang,
enjoying the pleasant company, peace, quiet and eye-
soothingly green vistas of the valley (which after a month in
the sandiness of the high desert come as a pleasant
change). The latter won.

I walked up to old Solang village, a couple of miles up the
hillside, and then above that, trying to get to the top of the
mountain. Got close, but there was no way up the steep last
portion and cloud shrouding the very top.

I could easily have stayed in Solang for quite some time
(even before I knew the Iceland's boss, Khem Raj Thakur,
had taken me in as a guest - thanks Khem), but knew that
time for signing-on for the Raid was wearing thin. So off
again, heading for Shimla on the main road and making good
time. Too boring, so I left the main route for a stunning
twisty following the Beas Valley. What a joy, leaving any
tourist trails well behind and getting a charming view of
Himachali village life... until cloud descended to the road,
lightening flashed around and it bucketed down. With
visibility poor, I pottered into the sleepy village of Tatapani,
which is only a short ride from Shimla.

Despite near-constant rain and low cloud I like Shimla.
Almost all the tourists here are Indian and there is much
people-watching to do. I've become a regular client of some
local dhabas (small, cheap eateries) and made some friends.

Shimla was the summer capital of the British Raj, and is a
strange mix of Indian and (mainly decaying) Brit'
architecture. The flavour of the place is, of course, very
much Indian and I'm enjoying the bustle of the bazaars, the
colour and the food.

Yesterday I went out for an overcast-then-rainy ride with Vijay, Suhrid Sharma
and Trigun Vir Singh Pathania.

Suhrid has won the Raid de Himalaya outright three times,
riding a lightly modified Suzuki 150 two-stroke. Over a reccy
ride of the rally's first competitive stage he managed to give
me some perspective on just how fast a good rider can
cover dirt rides on such a small, light bike. He was way
quicker than me - minutes over 26km - his confidence
through the mud making all the difference. Suhrid isn't
competing this year, but there will be plenty of similar bikes
and riders out there with everything to prove. There are also
a smattering of bigger bikes entered, some of them with
professional riders in the saddle.

Trigun is also quite some rider. I have never seen a Bullet
500 being ridden so well and would never have believed I
could enjoy going out for a spin with someone riding a Royal
Oilfield. But Trigun's lines are perfect and he uses every one
of his 20-odd horsepower to its very best effect - one of
the best road riders I've seen anywhere. Thank God he isn't
entered - if he had a big Yamaha...

So what now? I had planned to head east into Uttranchal,
but I think that's now got to wait until after the rally. My
part-worn Metzeler Karoo tyres aren't going to make the
distance (I've now gone through two sets - the rocks in
Zanskar and during the record attempt have knocked
chunks off and prematurely aged them) and I'm waiting on
some Pirellis to be sent out. I'm also expecting some brake
pads, plus oil and air filters so I can service the machine - it
needs it, especially an air filter, having spent so much time in
the desert. And with just over three weeks to go I also need
some practice at trying to muscle such a heavy bike fast on
the dirt and to take a look at a bit more of the course.

So I think I'll spend a week in Shimla, trying to re-find some
discipline while pacing up and down, praying my spares
arrive. I'll do some work on Bike magazine features and also
get out on the bike to try and develop a few of the off-road
skills I so clearly lack. After that - hopefully when the
weather has dried out a bit - I'll take a look at some of the
race route that runs further afield.
Damon