Traversing the Manali-Leh Highway (2)

Day 2: Khoksar to Keylong

The morning ride though gets off to great start, it's absolutely gorgeous out and the road is well maintained and follows along the Indus river.

Peaks and valleys-


We even reach our first "nallah" crossing. Snow melt is supposed to be one of the more difficult things about riding the Manali-Leh highway. Ordinarily it wouldn't be such an issue this late in the year, but thanks to global warming, it's still snowing on some of the passes. We're pretty excited to test out our gaitors and the waterproofing of our boots though, woo-hoo!

First nallah crossing-


Although her clutch plates have been replaced, my Psycho Ex-Girlfriend (PEG) isn't too happy about it and decides to throw a fit (guess she doesn't like strangers fooling with her innards) and plays this game where she shifts into neutral randomly. Of course this just so happens to coincide exactly at the time when I need power (like crossing a nallah or going over a small bump), and I end up getting wet, bruised, and scratched up when I get thrown off. For those of you keeping score-Manali-Leh Highway: 3, Me: 0.

After the ride to Keylong, nothing's better than Tibetan comfort food.
Steaming thukpa-


And of course PEG goes right back to the local mechanic for a little pep talk and tune up.
Yogi's repairshop-

Spare bike parts-


At times, I could swear the scooters and bikes outside the repairshop take on a human personality.

Almost human-


Scrapyard outside the repairshop-


Keylong is a gorgeous and surprisingly large mountain town. We end up staying for 2 days for repairs and ended up exploring a nearby monastery.

Monastery arches-