We started our journey early morning to reach Rampur for the day. Our estimation was that we’d reach there by 2 pm giving us ample time and enough sunlight to experience the place without any rush to bed. I pack light but I like to stay clean. Hence, I’d planned on taking a long shower and wash my clothes. The problems came in early.
Once we left Jhibi the roads were just as twisted but now we were up and down and some of the roads weren’t pitched. The uphill climb and mazy roads led to Tizi dropping her bike a fair few times. Three to be precise. By the third time the motorcycle just wouldn’t start.
“Life is not just a ride-through a straight long road. A lot of its journeys are filled with twisted paths as well. We got to be aware of this reality.”
I have to be honest. I was a little envious of Tizi’s motorcycle. A single seated Thunderbird 350cc. It looked like a bike that oozed class. She’d named her Daisy. I wasn’t utterly impressed. I was rather nonchalant about naming bikes. While the motorcycle that Yuri and I were riding was a 500cc beast of a machine which, if one tried, could possibly fit three people. It could still look a little better.
“Tiziana with her beloved bikefriend Daisy.”
Seeing Daisy unresponsive was troubling. We figured out that the problem was the spark plug. There was a leakage that led to the spark plug not functioning. Even though I may not consider myself to be an expert to know about motorcycles. I know my way around changing a tyre, and a few things here and there. The problem we faced with Daisy was that the spark plug needed replacing. Unfortunately, that was one thing we forgot to pack.
“Few members of the motorbike team from the down under.”
We were stranded on the side of the road hoping to get some kind of assistance. As luck would have it, a little while later there was a hoard of bikes in equal distance coming toward us. It turned out that they were professional Australian riders. I’d met a couple of them in Old Manali and we’d even joked that we’d see each other on the road. I met them on the second day of my bike journey. They tried to help us a lot. We tried numerous alternatives but none of it worked. They were probably my father’s age but eventually they had to resume their journey.
“Good on you, mates. Our gratitude goes out to the Australian team who stopped by to help us.”
In search of help I went ahead to find a mechanic shop. While I did reach a repair shop it wasn’t for bikes. Tizi and Yuri pushed the bike downhill to reach that shop only to be disappointed that it wasn’t a motorcycle repair shop. They were hesitant at first but eventually once the guy proved to have a spark plug and the motorcycle breathed fresh life. We didn’t have to go back and forth. With a starving stomach, we desperately needed food and once we had the spark plug for the bike we needed some energy for ourselves too.
The entire spark plug fiasco made us reach our destination a few hours late and made me realize the need for extra spark plugs to put on any travel lists that requires a motorcycle journey especially in the cold along with a clutch wire, spare parts for tubes, and of course engine oil.
In hindsight, I’ve realized that it is important to ride carefully. You might want to ride your bike full speed or half speed or a normal cruise. Whatever your choice is the motorcycle you are riding won’t breakdown with more miles clocked its usually because you drop your bike a fair few times. I was looking forward to a brand new day as we’d be getting our permits at Rekong Peo to finaly enter Spiti Valley.
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