India / Himilaya Tour

[arn]

By July the monsoon will have reached north India too. However, it's not the unending sheets of rain that you can experience in the South, and the high mountains have an independent weather system anyways. It will rain/snow occasionally, but unless excessive, the roads will be cleared within a few hours.

Unless you are unlucky, you should not have a problem due to the rain in the plains anyways.

[GurgaonTrails]

Originally Posted by alkirk89

What would be really helpful is your comments on the route provided by this company/ the company itself/comments on weather & any general tips - anything!! I'm really enjoying reading all the current threads about this region, and will continue to do so.

This is the tour:
http://indianmotorcycletours.com/iti...urs-india.html

The route:

Hey AlKirk.

You seem to have sparked off a major debate on costing. Hopefully you've got all that info down. So I'll concentrate on your original question. I'll assume the tour is fixed and doesnt allow you variations. Having said that, the only major thing you are missing out is Tso Moriri lake.

But it's a great route. I am doing the EXACT same route next month. I've been up in the region a few times, so I made this year's plan based on all past expereinces and that is THE route to do. Ofcourse, I live here, so it's self guided.

The only difference in my ride is that we start riding from Delhi straightaway, but this is just for self-torture in the heat of the plains. And we're doing a few additional section after Leh, some of which you would not be permitted to go to, being foreigners.

The other thing is the ride plan they have for you is incredibly leisurely. You will have tons of down time, so bring a good book or two. I personally think that's the right way to do it anyway. Wish I could get more time off from work.

So yeah, good route. Cant be better. And you'll enjoy a magnificient ride, with enough easy riding and enough challenging rides too.

Check back with me later if you like, I'll be back home at the end of July. Hopefully will put in a ride report too.

[Mattsplat]

Planning on doing the same trip with a friend in 2013 but we will be doing it ourselves.

Spending a month in India with 3 week bike hire and flights, we are thinking about 2000 euro all in.

[Damianridge]

We did 3 weeks in August last year. It is relatively straight forward. Easy enough with a lonely planet guide, map and a hire bike. A few tour groups went past (they generally have support vehicle, and precook the better accom available.... And to be fair, they did save my ass when i went down with altitude sickness.

Everyone does it on Royal Enfields, so we did the same. The trip would be easy on a dirt bike like an xr250 but royal enfields are part of the challenge.... Actually enfields are most of the challenge!

Just remain flexible and tolerant. The mountain pass from kaza to keylong 'dissapeared' just before we got there in an unseasonal snow storm. Got stuck in a great little town for a few days before turning back and just exploring out towards the manali area. Everyday for a week we asked when will the road be clear... Lots of head nodding and 'yes tomorrow'


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UN9B96IA2PI&sns=em

[alkirk89]

been a while - but thanks for the info and opinions.

All booked & sorted now, 100 days till we fly out.

[Mountain Cruiser]

It sounds like a great ride.

[KingKong_500]

I would not find anything wrong in going for a tour operator. I used to work for a mountain bike tour company here in India and I can tell you we worked our ass off so that the customer can enjoy his vacation - including getting up pre dawn to pack stuff, cook, get the gear on to the cars etc. And then fixing customer bikes - punctures, brakes, etc. Of course you can do this trip for cheaps on your own, but on this route maybe its good to go with a company. Especially when it comes to Enfields. Although the current lot - like my 500 EFI are more reliable. Plus it is good for the economy

I am planing on doing Leh/Zanskar this year sometime. But the way things are going, I might end up doing solo on a cycle.