6 Aug 2018

Cycling to Spiti, Day 3, Entry to Kinnaur

Day 3
Distance Ridden: 87 kms.

Jeori To Kalpa, via Wangto, Tapri, Karchem, Reckong Peo

Misadventures.




When I woke up, I had the alarms blaring. I had missed 3 alarms and it was now 8:45, after having a breakfast (paranthe and chai) I freshened up and repacked my bike, and started to ride. It was 10 AM and the heat was gradually increasing. The initial few kilometers were steep climbs, and then it looked easy.







I do feel like a minor celebrity, people often stop and ask for selfies or want to pose with the bike, I think my picture or my bikes picture is on atleast 10 different phones till now. Though almost all of them think I should have done it on a bike.

I crossed Bhavanagar and reached Wangto via few rough patches, and some beautiful slopes, the route was till now most scenic, wangto was supposed to be my stop for day 4 but it has nothing except a couple of grim looking dhabas.








I realizer I that my sandals had fallen somewhere between Bhavanagar and Wangtoo, I unloaded the bags at a dhaba and rode back uphill only to find them 6 kms from wangto, a labourer had found them and had decided to keep them. When I came back looking he gave it back and asked to test the cycle, I gladly accepted the deal.

I rode back to wangto had my lunch and packed the bike and decided to ride till Karcham; Not the best of ideas. I crossed tapri where the NH was closed because of a landslide and I had to take a detour via a broken down road for the next 3 kms. I reached Karcham around 5:10 and found that Karcham just has two dhabas and a power plant.



There was no choice except riding to Reckong Peo, 24 more kilometers in fading daylight and terrible roads or lack of them. I did complete 20 kilometers in the next hour and half, but after that the uphill to Peo was excruciating and I had to take a lift in a pickup, after reaching peo, I thought I should go further ahead to Kalpa, but it was dark already and the road isn't that great, I heard it has leopards roaming at night.

I found a couple looking for a cab till Kalpa, and I split a ride with them, and after getting stuck amidst sheep, I did find a cozy homestay, and later had one of the best coffees and daal chawal.

I think I am going stay another day here to acclimatize, I can afford that as I am 2 days ahead of schedule.

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