During the 11-day-long expedition, which will start August 2, the bikers will ascend an elevation of more than 18,000 ft on the mighty snow-capped Himalayas
Bhubaneswar: A city-based cycling group, Bhubaneswar Cycling and Adventure Club (BCAC), is organising its annual flagship cycling adventure from Manali to Leh and Khardung La.
In the 11-day-long expedition, which will start August 2, the bikers will ascend an elevation of more than 18,000 ft on the mighty snow-capped Himalayas.
Considered to be one of the most challenging terrains, the Leh-Manali Highway is also one of the highest motorable roads in the world. It is full of uphill and downhill hairpins, sometimes on tarmac but often on gravel roads.
Expressing his excitement, Ajay Nanda, an entrepreneur and member of the group, said, “It’s difficult to resist the temptation and excitement when you visualise the sceneries along with the terrain covered with snow.” The climate is unpredictable and can be extremely harsh with all four seasons experienced in a day. It is no doubt that the task is going be Herculean but that is the very purpose of it, he added.
Altogether 13 bikers will start from the city here and be joined by many others from across the country at Manali.
Nanda, detailing the ride, said, “We (the 13 members) will be joined by others at Manali from where we will ride through Marrhi, Sissu, Jispa, Zhing-Zhing Bar, Sarchu, Pang, Debring, Rumtse before reaching Leh. The ride will end at Khardung La.”
Moreover, the participants will cycle through multiple passes of the Leh-Manali Highway, namely Rohtang Pass (13,050 ft), Nakee La (15,547ft), Lachung La (16,616ft), Tanglang La (17,582ft) and Khardung La (18,380ft).
It may be worth mentioning here that in 2015 six riders of BCAC pedalled 1,102 km from Bhubaneswar to Bhutan. The following year, seven cyclists of the group rode 2,002 km from Vietnam to Cambodia and in 2017 eight members cycled from Cuttack to Kathmandu in Nepal.
