The Curious Case of a Swimming Motorcycle

It was the month of June, on The Himalayan Sojourn 2.0 in June 2016. Satvik, Pops & I had rode Lukung (the first town on Pangong Tso) the previous time. This time around, seeking some extra adventure, we had decided to not do the same route via Chang La back to Leh, but try and go further along Pangong Tso towards Chushul and then on to Tso Moriri.

We started at about 8 from Spangmik, our place of stay the previous night. Merak the next village we would come across on this route (a beautiful small little village with less than 10 homes). This 20 km ride was a complete dirt-track, running alongside the beautiful Pangong lake for the entire stretch. We got to see a total of 4-5 cars and no other bikes. Since there is a much more complicated procedure to get permits to travel further from Spangmik (which cannot be obtained online), owing to the remoteness and unavailability of any essentials (petrol, chai or any help whatsoever) and the fact that there is no road really, the number of people travelling here is a tiny fraction of those travelling upto Spangmik. I will always remember this road as one of the more spectacular stretches I have ever rode on. That gorgeous lake just a few feet away from you all through out! It was meditative. But then started the steady steams and as we proceeded, the water crossings became bigger. The many little streams flowing down to join the mighty lake had formed little lakes of their own, leaving no clear path for us to ride on.

For a major part of this ride, we only knew that we had to follow the electric wires and poles that ran alongside the lake. This was the only map for us to travel. This was during a tour that we were running, and owing to the different paces people ride at, the breaks everyones takes for pictures, etc, we soon split into two groups. I was with the first group, and Satvik with the second. There were some very tricky mini-lakes on the way after we had split where it was crucial to figure out and find the right path. The banks of the lake have little silt and little pebbles, the kind we see at beaches. And they sink in, just like in the beach. At one of these relatively deeper crossings, I was leading the first group, and we crossed from the edge of the crossing, where we could at least see how deep the water was. Quickly, everyone else followed the same path and off we cruised along. We reached Merak in about 3 hours from start, and we expecting the second group to join us anytime soon. The flatland allows for viewing as far as a few kms, and there was no signs of the second group.

The wait was never ending. The sun was blaring! Thankfully we were at a home stay which has a restaurant in it. The couple graciously offered to cook up a simple yet delicious meal for us after we had waited for about an hour. Some of us dozed off for a while, some others walked about the little village. One hour became two, and then three hours later, the only vehicle we had until this point approached us- a Maruti Alto- from the direction that we had come in (from Spangmik). We quickly stopped them and asked if they came across a couple of motorcycles on the way. The three guys in the car seemed a bit high to us. They said - 'Woh Log tho lake me Party kar raha hai". Hmm. Interesting!

On any other day, at least a few of us would have gone back when the rest of them didn't join us in about half an hour. But this time, we would not have enough fuel to do the round trip again. We had to reach Tso Moriri, and then touch Manali, and the entire stretch, no petrol pumps. 270 kms to Tso Moriri + 350 more to Tandi which would be our next petrol pumps. We had spare fuel, but it was a risk.

And now here are these guys in the car telling us that the bikers were partying! Something did not seem right. But then, after they had confirmed to us that there was nothing wrong. Everything and everyone was alright, we were very curious to know what kind of a party this was!

3 hours became 6, and we were so tired, sitting in all that gear. Some of us went back about half an hour, but upon spotting nothing, returned to Merak. Then, we heard the distant sound of the Royal Enfield. We knew it had to be them! The sound got closer and closer, and from the distant landscape, with dust flying off the tracks, emerged these party people!

They were famished, and had eventually run out of water. After drinking bottles together of water, they sat down to telling us what had happened.

Remember the pretty deep water crossing I had mentioned earlier about? One of the bikers chose the wrong track to cross it, and there was a sudden dip in the ground which he had not expected. For a moment there, he put his leg down and lost momentum. The water level was up to his bike's tank. Then, he tried to rev, but due to the soft silt on the bed, the bike was stuck. By then, there was water everywhere inside the bike. Satvik and another friend went to help him, and after some effort dragged the bike out, wading through waist deep (freezing cold) water in their boxers, so as not to get their riding gear wet!

This was over in a matter of few minutes. Then started the fun. The bike wouldn't start. Not like the tools would have helped, but that was out of question since the main tool kit was with me. They tried to start the bike, giving it a break now and then, but it was dead. They even held the bike upside down, like drying out clothes on a cloth hanger, to drain the water out!

They even held the bike upside down, like drying out clothes on a cloth hanger, to drain the water!

This was when the Alto had passed them. And just for the fun of it, these guys jumped into the water, standing on their knees making it look like the water was that deep! The Alto guys stopped to check what was happening, and Satvik told them that the water was so deep, that below him standing, there was a bike that had drowned! Just when the Alto guys were beginning to panic, these guys emerged out of the water laughing and told them that they were just kidding, and went on to show them which path to choose to ensure they pass it smoothly. In all their fun, they forgot to inform the Alto guys to pass on the message about the swimming bike to us! And that's how the Alto guys ended up telling us what they saw - a fun party!

Eventually, Satvik told our friend that this was probably it for his bike on this trip, and that we should now find a vehicle to load the bike onto, and send to Manali. As he was saying this, our friend tried to start the bike, and it came to life! Just like that! It's as if it was listening to the whole conversation, and decided to freak them out a bit before starting! Soon, they wore pants, and left the place and joined us :)

When we think back now, there are so many things we could have done differently that day. Sometime, the most obvious things don't occur to us, and we later think back and say "Oh ya! Why didn't we even think of that"!

Anyway, no harm done. Lost some time, but got one helluva story that we will never forget! But that wasn't the end of that day! We left Merak only at about 4-5 PM, and knew we could definitely not reach Tso Moriri. But what we didn't know what that there was nothing we would find to stay that night!

Read the story about what happened to us that night here.