The day got off to a flying start with a magnificent 20 km downhill ride weaving its wave through a rocky river gorge.
Only 5 minutes in at speed i heard what I took to be a mechanical sound and began to slow down just before my tyre blew out causing a rifle shot effect to echo through the gorge making Danish Mike ( just in front of me) think that he was the target for some local terrorist group.
Thankfully Mike did ride back and kept me company while we waited for the support vehicle to catch up and replace both tyre and tube both with gaping holes !
Back on the bike we're caught up with the rest of the group who had waited further down the river and from there we cycled more sedately until we reached the junction of the mighty Hindus river.
Here the scenery changed dramatically to much wider plateaus and much drier areas other than directly around the river itself which provided a striking contrast between its green banks and the desert like surrounds.
Our riding now became undulating meaning some pretty steep small tiring hills mixed with flatter sections as we moved closer to Leh.
This part of India and Kashmir / Ladahk showed signs of recent troubles with a number of huge army bases (with dangerous and difficult to see speed humps) providing a rapid response potential to India's troubled border regions including territory disputed with China in the Ladahk region.
The area also serves as home to many displaced Tibetans and some of these towns and nearby temples are part of a curent visit by the Dalai Lama much to the annoyance of China, his first visit to this area in nearly 30 years.
We took lunch near the impressive Potala like structure of Tiskay afterwards setting off for the final 20 kms of our journey.
The landscape now becomes almost totally desert like, a sign of so little rain in these areas.
Rounding one corner the group came to am emergency stop as some of the front cyclists, our silver haired smoothies', spied 3 Polish damsels in distress, one with her chain jammed around the derailleur !
Naveen and Raju came to the rescue much to the girls thanks and we were on our way again this time on a final 3-4 km enerfgy sapping climb to the outskirts of Leh.
Entry to this dusty / desert looking town was by way of a busy roundabout and having negotiated it was a final push uphill to reach our hotel amidst much backslapping and handshakes to celebrate am amazing and incredibly tiring bike ride from Manali to Leh !
Our hotel although basic was like a god send providing for warm showers, normal toilets, Wi-Fi (although irregular) and the ability to have our dirt stained clothes washed.
It was time to crash !
Once revived we met up for dinner and attended an outdoor performance in the hotel grounds by a Ladahki cultural troupe of performers and dancers who played traditional instruments and danced wearing traditional costumes.
One dance had the front grow packing' as the warrior looking performers drew their bows and appeared to release their arrows directly at us causing a few to nearly fall of their seats !.
What a welcome to such a different culture and a great way to celebrate our fantastic achievement !
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