23/08/2017
Bhabunaggar-Reckong Peo
 |
| Weed growing in abundance along the roadside! |
Our stop in
Bhabunaggar turned out to be a very good choice because it made it into two
very evenly spaced cycling days. Both with a height gain of around 1000m and a
stretch of bad road thrown in. Anyone
with cycling experience will know that it is not about distances but all about
height gain and road surfaces and sometimes wind! We met a Ukrainian cyclist
with extensive cycling experience in Northern India. He said he had met quite a
few cyclists but all of them in supported groups. He'd clocked the weed which
grows absolutely everywhere along the roadside, on banks, coming up through
cracks in the pavement on waste land in towns it thrives everywhere! As is the
way in the Kinnaur valley most days end with a climb at the end. There was no
way of us avoiding Reckong Peo though because it was our last chance to get an
inner line permit. The climb up was steep hot and difficult on some very poor
road surface. We weren't the only once struggling though. About a third of the
way up a lorry got itself stuck on a steep section. It was interesting to see
that he managed to literally inch himself up the hill with the help of two men
who just kept putting stones behind his wheels every time he managed to pull
off.
The permits had
been worrying us from the very beginning because there is a lot of bureaucracy
and strictly speaking you are supposed to be in groups of 4. So we were
relieved to bump into Nav who works for a travel agency and sorted us out very
quickly. We were happy to pay the 400 rupees to get it sorted even though the
permit is supposedly free.
As always when
cycle touring we share the road with motor bikers and somehow there is a kin
ship between two wheelers. We met a bunch while sorting out our permits and
shared the problems of the road. They also had to pay 400 rupees even they only
needed the permit for one day. We decided to stay the night in Reckong Peo and
to move on to to Kalpa the next day.
 |
| Never knew that cows like banana skins |
 |
| View from hotel room wasn't bad |
 |
The final stretch of road up to Reckong Peo. As alwasy in Kinnaur a steep climb
at the end of the day and not on a good surface. |
 |
And more weed. It grew everywhere!
|
Our stop in
Bhabunaggar turned out to be a very good choice because it made it into two
very evenly spaced cycling days. Both with a height gain of around 1000m and a
stretch of bad road thrown in. Anyone
with cycling experience will know that it is not about distances but all about
height gain and road surfaces and sometimes wind! We met a Ukrainian cyclist
with extensive cycling experience in Northern India. He said he had met quite a
few cyclists but all of them in supported groups. He'd clocked the weed which
grows absolutely everywhere along the roadside, on banks, coming up through
cracks in the pavement on waste land in towns it thrives everywhere! As is the
way in the Kinnaur valley most days end with a climb at the end. There was no
way of us avoiding Reckong Peo though because it was our last chance to get an
inner line permit. The climb up was steep hot and difficult on some very poor
road surface. We weren't the only once struggling though. About a third of the
way up a lorry got itself stuck on a steep section. It was interesting to see
that he managed to literally inch himself up the hill with the help of two men
who just kept putting stones behind his wheels every time he managed to pull
off. 
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