Day 27

Distance covered: 153 km
Total distance 4399 km

It has been a day of riding and what a ride its been. It has taken me years of riding and a lot of pain to know what I know about bikes but the love for Kaya was born in an instant as I rode down the Ghats of Coorg. Today’s ride was a reinforcement of that love and a reminder of how beautifully she handles the hills. She feels most at home along the winding roads that are so symbolic of our mountains. If the ride down Coorg was good the ride from Gangtok to west Sikkim was nothing short of spectacular. Each day I think this is the finest ride possible only to experience something far better. Each turn brings with it a spectacular view and each bend a breath taking pictures. Kaya literally flows down these hills and handles the bends to perfection without so much as a twitch. With the carriers and extra weight I was a little worried about banking her but once we got into the flow it was like she had a mind of her own. The entire journey is a revelation of the different mountains that make up this region from snow-covered whites to dense greens. The entire landscape is like a gigantic rock garden with gurgling streams, waterfalls and suspension bridges. Sikkim tourism provided us with star accommodation at Mt. Pandim, Pemayagtse but we decided to head out and camp at Yuksom, the last bastion of civilization before we entire the realms of the great Himalayas. Yuksom is also the start off point for the climb of Kanchenjunga. The view if anything, gets better and the road, well there is no road to speak off just a gravel track that is as treacherous as it is exciting but then with so much else to appreciate who gives a fuck about the road. You can catch sight of the narrow path snaking its way along the side of the hills for miles and the sheer drops send tingles down your spine. The entire path is along landslide regions and covered with loose gravel and innumerous streams that greatly trickle across the path. The tire is no more than a foot from the precipice and one miscalculated turn will send you hurtling down into the foamy depths of river Ranjit that is a constant companion along the entire journey. We reached there just in time to avoid the rain. But it put paid any ideas of camping out. The place is a trekkers paradise and teeming with foreigners. We got talking to a lovely French couple (Violet and Phillpe) and enjoyed their company a lot. It was nice talking to them about our culture, religion and belief. There are very few places available for accommodation and they were kind enough to share a room with us. The place in serene and quite and even the two restaurants close at 8 pm with the police making sure that everybody is off the streets.