I'm loving riding in our group- as you all know I do a lot of my travels solo, and I also work as a tour guide and ride with mixed groups, though mostly blokes. This is the first time I've had an all-female riding group and we have a lot of fun and laughs together.



Sometimes, I'm not sure just why the photo was taken



We're heading onward in search of more monasteries




this looks liek a good one


This monastery was having somework done on it, amongst the male workers was a woman, with her toddler child alongside her



A sobering moment, watching this very young child working by her side and copying everything that she did



I give a hand to some of the rock carriers and manage about a quarter fo what they carry




the view from our room at the monastery


Follow the Monk...

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The more eagle-eyed amongst you may have noticed that our bikes are now adorned with Tibetan prayer flags - we match our surroundings





A short roadside chat about our route


We stopped for a chai at this very friendly guesthouse


always trying to get the pictures that are a bit different


and this was the result


I made friends with this little girl


"Tiff's gone THAT way"!

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The Himalayas, my favourite mountain range


We're in an area to the west of Leh, capital of Ladakh.

Enfields are THE bike to ride out here



and I'm particularly proud of my blue one


We're fuelled by regular chai (tea) stops



I'm not too sure why parachutes feature so prominently as a building material out here.

another aspect of life on the road are fairly regular checkpoints



Roads are a bit rough and ready in places, often without tarmac, and when there is a smooth surface there are other perils to look out for


Regular stops to look around temples -


boots off at the door



and always the lure of the road ahead of us


After that stretch of new road, there are smiles all round



We've paused to look at and get photos of this merging of two rivers



We'd been following the clear Indus river for quite some time, at this point it meets the muddy looking Zanskar river.

And another shot from my favourite pictures folder

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Riding back to Leh


I'm trying to work out which will be the best route to take, we've got the option of a bridge ahead


and we're also on the lookout for a clandestine al fresco loo stop! several
of us plus lookouts mean we end up looking like a bunch of meerkats.
Definitely NO photos of THAT moment

This MUST be the right road

WE turn around to get some photos of us without our helmets on so that our faces are more visible



and here we are

My beautiful bike in all its glory, it was around this point that I tempted fate by talking about my multiple punctures during my solo ride up here - amazingly NONE of us have had any.



A meal stop at an outdoor restaurant where I get through a bucket full of dahl (lentil curry)



Chatting to some locals, who are as usual, incredulous that we're an all-female group.


We get back to Leh, stop long enough to go in search of cocktails and then it's back on the road heading north to Khradung La - the highest road pass in the world.

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#

worth having to post it twice as it was a beauty of a road we were riding - straight up to Khardung La, the highest road pass in the world.It's not too far from Leh, but we managed to have a few stories to tell along the way.
first an unofficial checkpoint, where all non-Ladakhi number plate vehicles were having to queue up, explain them selves AND pay money to proceed. I merely played our matrimonial trump card, announcing
"our husbands will sort it out" and sailing right through with my group behind me, and a casual flick of my plaits as I went.. Round the corner I told the group we were now officially on the run and had better put on a bit of speed


which wasn't hard, because most of the time there was almost no traffic - the pic above was just a blip.
the road looked great as we looked down



the next checkpoint was an official one and so we stopped to show our papers and permits


and also to say hello to my friends there. The previous time I had ridden through, I'd had a puncture and the soldiers had helped out.
remember this scene...


The guys were delighted to see me back again, I gave them photos of our time together (a puncture at 4000m can be a very bonding experience). and they rustled up some refreshments served on a tray - which impressed my ladies


we had a loo stop as well, and were a bit intrigued (and amused) by the sign on this loo


we tried to imagine what a female urinal would look like (lock on door prevented closer inspection)
However as we were not female officers, access was denied and we were sent to the Other Ranks zone, where bad news awaited me


Luckily, there was an unlabelled loo in the vicinity which we could make use of. However I am refusing to put pics of three separate loos on one page

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We bade faewell to our military hosts, ahead it starts to get a bit more tricky. Pausing to take photos, I sent my ladies on in front of me - only a guide (or an anxious mother) can spot her brood on the road - look carefully


It's difficult enough just spotting the road to be fair

we did have one nasty moment when we realised we had lost Barbara, and our calls echoed round the mountain side as I headed back down to find her. A wrong gear at a crucial moment had caused her to fall - luckily NOT over the precipice and then as she got her breath back, a nice family stopped and offered to help her pick up her bike.

We rode on a bit more cautiously - but our nemesis soon made itself known in the form of a comvoy of Army trucks - ten of them, driving slowly up the twisting road which is so narrow and gravelly that it is impossible to overtake much of the time.
It was a case of deep breath, thumb on horn and hope for the best as I overtook each one. I'm afraid in a situation like this, it's every woman for themselves as we each risked going perilously close to the edge at every attempt to overtake - and rememebr, we're having to do it 10 times each
Plus deal with the frustrated car drivers who have got trapped behind and between the trucks and are having even more issues overtaking.

I'm ahead once more and look back at scenes like this


and this


At which point my chest swells with pride, that some of these riders who have never even ridden off-road before coming to India are undertaking manoeuvres like this with such confidence - Go Girls

And we make it...we reach the highest pass in the world - Khardung La

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I've got a feeling that I used that as a title previously - but hey, we're in the Himalayas and these are the highest mountains in the world and so there is a LOT of going up and down.

We'd been bathed in sunshine and warmth on the way up the southern side of Khardung La, now we were facing the northern side and it was not so welcoming with snow and ice piled up, reminiscent of our ride over Baralacha La



we tucked our heads down and just got on with getting the bikes down, slipping and sliding a bit, concious that the Nemesis Army trucks had overtaken us while we were doing our photo shoot at the sign.


That was the only opportunity I had to take photos as we rode through the snow, I shepherded (shouldn't that be shepherdessed?) my group down until we were out of the snow and meltwater, onto flatter ground and able to look around us a bit more


Thanks to Sachin Rana fo rthis shot, my favourite solo riding picture from thsi trip, with yak grazing in the background and I seem to be grinning at something, possible just the relief that we've all made it safely down out of the snow; or perhaps because we've stumbled onto something.
Because on the other side of that massive mountain known as Khardung La is a veritable Shangri La, a warm green oasis of lush fileds and gardens. We hadn't seen greenery since leaving Manali which felt like weeks ago. This was the sight that met our eyes as we entered the Nubra Valley


and it got better

We're heading into the green Nubra Valley



A lunch stop where even the loo has a lovely view



We're feeling very relaxed after our lunch, and make the most of the green grass - it really is a novelty for us after the dry. high altitude landscapes we've been in since leaving Manali.



we even do a bit of boot comparing



and then we hear the ominous sound of the Nemesis Army trucks getting ahead for the third time. Time to get moving.
However what we didn't realise is that despite the fact we had just ridden through the snow and ice up at the pass, ahead of us is this...


less than two hours ride from that wintry landscape, here is a different kind of riding peril - SAND

Scenes more reminiscent of the Sahara Desert



But they're a surprise that lie somewhere down the road, first we've got those lorries to deal with - again!

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Up on the hillsides, it's still quite a dry landscape



the roads are not in great condition, but the lack of traffic means we can make reasonable speed



and then around the next corner, what's lurking there waiting for us?

The dreaded Army lorries, 10 of them in convoy and they've been dogging our steps all day leading to hurried chai stops and speedy departures.

It takes some time due to the twists and turns of the road, but we manage to get past them, and are able once more to look around and enjoy the views- what a spectacular landscape


High on the mountainside overlooking us



A 32 metre(100 feet) statue of Buddha - at the Diskit Monastery, we only ride past for the moment, we'll get a chance to see it closer tomorrow.

and finally reach our destination for the day

- at the far end of the Nubra Valley where there is a lovely hotel in a peaceful setting. Barbara does her Rapunzel impression from one of the rooms.

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We're at the far end of the Nubra Valley



-by the way, anyone else hoping to head this way - don't forget to get your Permit for the Valley while in Leh, otherwise you're not allowed over the mountain, it's apparently a bit of a sensitive area, close to the Pakistan border. I did meet someone who got turned back as he hadn't realise that he needed a permit.



That was the road leading to the village, which itself seems an explosion of colour after the hundreds and hundreds of miles we've been riding where our surroundings have been the greys and browns of high altitude rocky landscapes.





We've got a couple of days here to explore and get to know the locals



On a stroll around the village, we get invited into a house and have tea with these young women.



They're 16/17 years old and attend school in Leh - which although not too far away maybe 140kms, it IS the other side of the world's highest mountain pass, so they usually stay in Leh and only come back in the holidays when the pass is open and the snow is cleared.

They join us on our exploration of their village.


Cutest donkey foal I've seen in a long time


The English that is used is very correct and often quaint



I find an interesting souvenir


Yep folks - that is a genuine yak horn

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We'd headed down to the river with our local friends, the kids were there, catching fish.


I went out a bit deeper




After all the snow, it felt a bit unreal to be enjoying what feels like a summer holiday.

On with our walk, and a few of the sights

the local post box??



I did succeed in getting water out of the pump



and then it was time to go further afield, back onto the bikes




we're off to this wonderful place

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y

The Monastery is up a steep twisty road (hmmm, thinking about it, that describes most places in Ladakh )




From above someone is watching us as we make our way up.



and then is somewhat surprised when he sees that we're female riders.



It's a very old monastery, built during the 14th century, and there is a peaceful air about the place, combined with great views through every window.



The monks make us welcome


and show us around,

local villagers are helping with some repairs to the walls


Once more, all the work is done by hand, with the women alongside the men- look closely and you'll see that one of the women even has her baby on her back.

through this window is another good view


Aaah, yes, THAT Buddha statue we'd seen the day before on our way into the Valley.

we headed back down to it, it's further away than it looks and so we get back on our bikes.

More twisty roads

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We've ridden across the valley to the Maitreya Buddha statue at Diskit Monastery.



We go closer

and closer


It's only when you're at the foot of it that you realise just how big it is, especially after stepping back to the railings around it. The views are incredible


The railings are adorned with Buddhist symbols, though this one looks more like the Pisces zodiac sign


A final close up of the face - we marvelled at how well maintained it is - over 100 feet up on the side of the mountain that is already pretty high - how do they manage it?


Then it's back onto the bikes and return to our village


Here's a picture from earlier when I'd spotted a truck and decided it would make a good support vehicle


I like the words on it
Hindustan Express - by the looks of it, I don't think it has ever gone at express speed

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It was time to head into the sand dunes


Like desert areas in most parts of the world, there are camels here (admittedly it seemed a bit odd as we'd been admiring the yaks just the day before). The camels here are Bactrian ones - with two humps which is very rare in Asia, only the single humped camels live in this part of the world. This random group have descended from strays from the Middle Eastern camel caravans which followed the Silk Road in Marco Polo's times.



There are some very cute ones

I found a particularly ugly but friendly one.



I climb on board, and with a bit of help get my Giant Loop bags on the back (are you reading this Harold?)


Safely up and feeling a bit more confident



and then I'm off on George the camel to explore a bit



Having been inspired by my ride on George, we headed towards our bikes

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I was determined to ride my Enfield in the sand- somewhat unsuitable choice of bike and tyres for the task - but it HAD to be done. I managed to persuade two of the riders to give it a go and we headed off


we lined up, facing the nearest sand dune


A bit more encouragement


Barbara went first



she got halfway up the sand dune


Before losing momentum

and shared her frustration

help was at hand for her


I'd gone in a different direction



and got into difficulties




Stuck but still smiling...



and then off again once more


What a day from wading the river in the morning, to the beautiful monastery and then the camels and the dune riding

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We'd had an incredible time in the Nubra Valley, but it was time to leave, the view from my window looked like this


Clouds are starting to cluster on the mountain tops- we'd better get a move on to cross the high pass before it started snowing


We encountered some children with no school to go to, who were just playing by a particularly bleak stretch of the road while their parents toiled on nearby roadworks.

we stopped to chat and find out their names



We continue practising close formation riding



heading back up to Khardung La



A roadside snack - with a limited choice of drinks, we tried "Thumbs Up", the local version of coca cola - and agreed there was little similarity between the two except colour


More roadworks to get past


We crossed back over Khardung La


and without the pressure of convoys of lorries to pass, we could take our time going down the other side, stopping for photos and to enjoy the view

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