Okay, so around 2 weeks ago I headed up to a place called Aut (really, it’s called that) to join a cycling tour from Aut to Jalori Pass.
For those of you who don't know what Jalori Pass is, it's a Pass (NO? REALLY?)
Nothing significant in terms of geography, but the view, oh wow, it is spectacular! I mean you’re at 3050m so the view is amazing already but the day that we went up, there were no clouds, no cars, and no smoke. It was stunning. You could see the underlying valley that we had just come up and then when you looked further you can just see the hills slowly fade out and get replaced with the massive line of the Himalayas
But really, for anyone planning a trip with a little adventure, go to Himachal, the views, the people and the scenery are so worth it.
Anyway, enough tourism promotion. I don't get paid anyway... :P
The biking trip was an interesting experience, lots of insights into oneself and their surroundings, but hey, that's what happens when you go to a place where there are no two-wheelers trying to kill you...
I was planning separate posts on each day, but time has passed and frankly, the small irritants have long but passed leaving only good moments and those insightful moments...
So,
Day 1: Got onto a bus at Chandhigar, my uncle mentioned before he left that there were some 4 foreigners putting a bike into the bus. Naturally, I’m thinking, wait, cycling? I'm going for cycling! Maybe they're in the same camp! Then I thought, wait, the Youth Hostel Association of India (YHAI) who organised this is so small (stupid me.) I mean I only heard about them like 3 months ago (silly Me.) how could these guys be coming for this???
This feeling was increased when one of them mentioned that they spoke to someone and *mumble mumble* destination *mumble mumble* Aut *mumble mumble* we're going to Manali.
So my head is now thinking, okay, I guess they are going to Manali. :(
The bus ride starts and it goes on for a good amount of time when I decide to ask the conductor to tell me when Aut comes so that I can get off. To which he responds "okay, the 4 foreigners are also getting off there"
The feeling comes back again...
I know what you're thinking, why didn't I just ask them where they were going? Introduce myself?
Well, I made a weird first impression... when the ride started, I was sitting in the row behind the 2 girls and one girl reclined her chair, and the other was doing the same only my knees stopped her from doing so. She looked back and saw me and I went "sorry, my legs are in the way" only it sounded like” sorry, mahs lehgt are int thwhis wayhjsis" so after an awkward smile, she turned around.
Oh and they were speaking French for most of the trip, so I was convinced that they were French and didn’t speak English (which I thought was retarded seeing that like 0.005% of Indians could speak French - Less actually...) I sent a message to my friends expressing how much I wished I knew French, just so that I could freak the shit out of them!
Anyway, so we got off at Aut and it's just the 5 of us, 4 foreigners, one with a cycle and me with my gigantic blue duffel. Yeah, I carried like 15 kg worth of clothes for a 7 day trip, for which 5 days would be on the road...
Not the smartest move...
Day 2: So, started with a jog to a little temple, oh and we woke up at like 5:30, 'twas a blessing as I had been positioned so that the cool night breeze came onto my face throughout the night.
Oh so the foreigners were actually there for the cycling thing too.
The day was mainly for acclimatisation walks and testing bikes out, getting your gear and sleeping.Day 3: so we woke up and were on the road by like 9 am. I honestly had believed that we would be on the road by like 7am to beat the sun because up there, once the sun is out, it's just hitting you with strong rays.
I'm going to summarise this and just say, it was brutal. Not for everyone, (at least not to my knowledge) just me.
We made it to a checkpoint, where everyone was chilling and drinking water, some 4 km into the day and my spirit was already broken. I had gone there thinking that day one of the cycling would be the easiest, 24 km on relatively flat ground. Sadly, relatively means that you climb 500ft at the end of it, but you’re going up and down almost the whole time.
See it's not that I didn't know how to cycle uphill or something I mean I do know, in theory, low gears are the key, but I just kept pedalling and got nowhere. I had sweated buckets, so much so, that when I removed my helmet at any point the straps were actually DRIPPING sweat.
Demoralised beyond belief, I think I must have walked 15km that day.
That day itself the ride along motorcyclist and the mechanic told me that if I wanted to, I could go back. Go back to Aut and then home.
I really considered it I mean my mind was like screw this, we're not (I refer to myself as several people) ready for this! Let’s go back and try again next year! but there was this bit of me, oh a bit so small that if I wanted to I could silence it, but this bit of me, I realise, in hindsight, was my willpower. I mean my entire body was ready to quit but that one voice made me realise something that I’m going to say for the rest of my life, actually 3 something’s.
1 - Everything is possible, if you just take it one step at a time
2 - There is a solution, when all is lost and your back is against a wall, there is always an escape and a solution. It just depends on you, what you choose.
3 - We all have our place in the puzzle, it just takes some time to figure out what and where we fit.
With those ideas in mind, I decided I would sleep and see how I felt the next day. Surprise, surprise, I felt better and decided to continue along with the fact that I can try and do the next leg on the bike and if I can’t do it, then I can walk. I've already established to everyone else there that I wasn't able to cycle uphill so, if I walk I won’t feel embarrassed at all. Cause the worst has already happened.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------END OF PART ONE
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