Chintu Travels| Bir Billing Cycling | Day 2, Warming Up

Warming up

I slept like a log last night, not sleeping for 48 hours does that I guess, I woke up around 11:30 AM, and then took another 40 odd minutes to get things in order.

I had no plans for the ride today, I took a short sprint till Landing Site, had 2 Paranthas and a coffee, at the same Dhaba I had them yesterday. A tall glass of coffee with extra sugar is the perfect dose of energy I'd need to start for a ride. I was regularly doing this on the Spiti ride, and sticking to basics here too.

I reached Sherabling monastery in about 40 minutes, They have stopped allowing cycles till the Main Monastery, now you have to park about 500 meters before at a barricade. Cars still go inside. I was told that in the last couple of years cycling has boomed a lot, and people had started doing stunts in the Monastry campus. Someone fell into the valley while doing stunts.

I wasn't surprised, I had already encountered a few loud tourists who while riding were playing music in huge speakers or were making TikTok videos and shouting.

When I reached Marher, I couldn't find the trail I had taken in 2016, I asked a few people, but they had no clue, so I turned back and took the main road.

I entered Gunehar, and decided to go to the waterfall, but I may have taken a wrong turn somewhere between small lanes of upper Gunehar, and then on a hiking trail to the source of the waterfall instead of a reservoir which I intended to go to. I parked my bike, and started to hike, halfway I realised I won't be able to come down before sunset if I go all the way, I turned back, and started riding towards Bir, it gets dark as soon as the sun sets, and I was still about 6 odd kilometres away when it was pitch black. Thankfully I carried a front light!

At around 7:30 I had my second meal of the day, the two paranthas had given a mileage of 15 kilometres, while I sat there and talked to the Dhaba owner about riding to Mcleodganj and @amit_sejwani dropped in, he heard cycling and Spiti and was interested.
We later talked about cycling a lot over chai, and some over-friendly dogs.