Road Conditions
Roads in the Indian Himalaya are subject to the vagaries of the seasons and it's something of a miracle that they even exist, given the remoteness of the region, let alone are looked after. In many places surfaces are surprisingly good, largely thanks to the tar blackened road crews who toil in the bleakest of conditions, just to patch them up and keep them open in the midst of regular landslides - and after the constant freezing action of the winter months. But in others they're more of a rough and tumble affair, with jeep tracks linking one small village to the next, and superb singletrack shortcuts criss-crossing the land.
Manali to Leh
The Manali-Leh 'highway' is 475km long. Some 75% of the road between the two towns is tarmaced. But this is Indian, schizo tarmac. Buttery smooth one moment, craters-sized potholes the next. Remaining stretches of packed mud and rocks vary from year to year. Being so high in altitude, the gradient of the road is unexpectedly gentle, so overloaded Tata transport can winch their way up and over the mountains to Leh. Altitude soons makes up for it as far as cycling legs are concerned…
The road is always subject to the elements and in 2004, several sections of the climb to Rohtang Pass were closed to traffic for several weeks. Bar bicycles, of course! Detours to Tso Kar and Tso Moriri involve much more challenging conditions, with rocky tracks and deep sand thrown into the mix. 2005 Update - this year saw unusually tough conditions, with a powerful monsoon wiping out great swathes of road, bridges and anything else that lay in its way... On top of this, the Baralacha La road was being rebuilt earlier in the season, with a bed of rocks adding to an already gruelling climb from the south side.
Explore Ladakh
The conditions around Leh are fairly varied. Much of the area is linked but good quality tarmac roads. In fact, the route to Shrinigar is far better in quality that the Manali-Leh highway. We head up into the Sham valley, where jeep tracks form the bulk of the riding - generally smooth and hardpack with some sketchy turns, as well as some fast but loose singletrack. The road south to Tso Kar is excellent until about Puga, where it morphs into a track that's sandy and rocky in places, with some corrugation for good measure. All in all, this trip involves a mixed bag of conditions.
Spiti
Terrain on our Spiti Epic includes velvet smooth tarmac with occasional potholes, tightly packed gravel and dirt, sandy patches and even the odd bit of simply teeth rattling hell. It can be tough going, with chicanes of fallen rockfall to steer round, streams and gorges to negotiate... We head very much off the beaten track, so most of our ride is on quiet roads and all-but-empty jeep tracks, spiced up with loads of short but breathtaking sections of singletrack too. Although much of the main road through Spiti is (theoretically) tarmaced, our route is about 80% unpaved.
If you're pushing on into Kinnaur, a yearly landslide at Moring guarantees extra excitement as this section of the road must be negotiated by foot, while the bikes and kit are ferried across the valley on a zip wire… However, in 2005 a Chinese dam burst further up the Sutlej, knocking out pretty much every bridge and road in its path (when Cara was on a reckie, she even had to get helicoptered out!). As a result, most of the road between Recompeo and Nako was closed all season - the damage was so great that no one's quite sure when it will all be up and running. Rumour has it that it might simply be replaced by a new road altogether. Persistent cyclists could still get through (with a lot of pushing and carrying) but it was off limits for jeeps. If you're planning on riding through Kinnaur in 2006, check on road conditions first.
I love you darling, but not so fast!
Equally noteworthy are the classic examples of Indian signage, courtesy of BRO, the Border Roads Organisation who balance masterminding road repairs with poetic creativity in their sign making. Here’s some of our favourites:
Don’t Gossip, let him drive!
I love you darling, but not so fast!
Overtaker, beware the undertaker!
Test your nerve, on my curve!
This is a highway, not a runway!
The journey of life is long, and the path unknown. (for those 'it's just me and the mountains' moments)
Sorry for Oooh, Ahh, Ouch! Inconvenience regretted. (shortly after a landslide)
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