Bike trip

We Split the ride up into 3 days. The first day was a 6 hour ride up to Keylong, over some of the worst excuses for roads I have ever seen. We went over a pass that was covered in snow where people from all around go to try skiing or sledding or whatever. It makes for a great backdrop with the bikes infront.
Day 2 was a slower more technical day. Its only 105km, but it took us over 6 hours. There were numerous river crossings, some over 1 foot deep! The switchbacks up the side of 60 degree slopes were amazing. You could actually feel the power in the bikes disappear as you increased in elevation. Not that they had much to begin with, they are single cylinder engines with a carb. They were originally used by the british military in the 40s. So its cutting edge technology by Indias standards. We spent that night in a temporary town called Sarchu at 4253 meters, it is there only for the summers when the road is open. We rented a tent for 150 rupees that night and I had one of the worst sleeps Ive ever had.
We were up at the break of dawn to get an early start for the day. It would be a 12 hour ride into Leh, over the Tanglang pass at 5360m. The landscape changed several times on us, starting at baren mountains in every direction. It looked similar to the rockies above the tree line, then the rock turned purple and then it turned to desert. It was incredible to see desert sands with snow capped peaks in the background. And then we were there, we had made it to Leh in one piece. Our bikes had dropped a few parts along the way but they had served us well.

another snowy pass

better gas up

river crossing

2nd highest road

Leh, India