Day 5: Champhai to Rawpui
It was a misty morning and it stayed that way for almost the whole day. Leaving Champhai, we hoped it won't pour down as much as it did when we arrived. It was a cool breezy morning with a slight drizzle, on and off. All in all, it was a fresh start for the day.
Leaving the Circuit House
Breakfast
On the outskirts of Kelkang, we met a modern day cowboy on the road
Yes, with his four horses meant to carry the veggies from the fields to the market. It was a really nice encounter, us meeting the ‘cowboy’ and the bikes meeting their 'original' inspiration.
The Cowboy
The road from Kelkang to Kaulbung was a gravel road winding through forests. The green surroundings, the gravel road and the two of us riding side by side was a spectacular feeling. When you ride outside of Aizawl, there are waiting/resting sheds after every few kilometers. These sheds have been most of our stopping breaks where we can just sit down, lie back and relax.
We reached Khuangleng by afternoon and had our lunch there. Lunch was always good; Good Food! From there we rode on to Khawbung where we stopped for a tea break and were suggested to take a short cut to Biate. This short-cut turned out to be one of the best trails I’ve ridden so far – mud, slush and gravel through the middle of nowhere. Being an offroad enthusiast, the sight of bad, broken and no roads gets me real high. And riding through these trails was a treat for me. It is such a good feeling when you are riding in lonely places. Yes the silence does creep in but more than that, being amidst nature and riding along with a good buddy brings about a sense of serenity towards one's perception of things. That's why after a long ride, you keep longing for more. Or might have already planned for the next trip while on your way back from the current ride that you are on. It's like meditation, but extended for days.
Crossroad .. We went Right
Just looking at the pic makes me feel so fresh
Some fun in the Short - cut
After 5 hours of riding in the forest trails we finally reached Biate in the evening and re-connected with the Old Lunglei Highway. It felt so good to see a hamlet after riding for almost half a day through lonely trails. The kids (neither mine nor Andy's
) who were so excited to see the bikes made tiredness disappear; yeah, much better than redbull.
My bike’s chain was really dry and we found a Workshop in Biate where we could oil the chain. I learnt that when you’re riding long distance in the monsoon, it’s better to carry an extra can of chain lube as the chain tends to become dry after every two days. The rain, puddles and muck keeps washing the lubricant off and leaves the chain dry.
Tightening and oiling the chain
Leaving Biate we rode towards Keitum. We took our time on the road, stopped for pictures, took breaks and just sat on the road with music blaring from Andy’s Bluetooth Speaker Bar. I realized these breaks are more enjoyable than the ride at certain stretches. Riding long distance is more about riding with your heart rather than with your mind. Like Andy said, too much calculations kind of takes the fun away from the ride as you tend to become tense and over-think. It’s nice to just stop when you are tired. It’s better to reach 1-2 hours late rather than keep stressing yourself. That takes all the fun away from the ride.
The road ahead
PC: Andy Vee
East Lundar Market
Soundbar Break!
We were riding in the night and the LEDs were doing a great job illuminating the road ahead of us. I had just one of each but a pair of Flood and Spot LEDs is a boon for long distance night riding. A good illumination on the road means a cooler head to ride with.
Andy rode over a snake and was feeling bad about it until he realized that his phone had fallen off from the side-box. We turned back in search of the phone but thankfully it fell off just a few turns away. I failed to see both the snake and the phone though I was riding in front, hence,Need better lights!
We reached Keitum around mid-night and were trying to find a place to eat. All the shops were closed but we came across a person who called up one of the owners of the shops and they opened just for us. People here are very friendly and helpful, if they see you stop by the roadside, they will stop to offer their help and if needed, they will wait and help till your bike/car is fixed.
If you look closely, you can see an outline of me. Need fair and handsome cream! hehehOur plan was to reach South Vanlalphai but it was still a long way to go and we were tired after riding the whole day. So we decided to stop at the next Waiting Shed for the night. We rode till Rawpuii and stopped at the waiting shed there, happy to finally get to rest for the night. But man! We were in for a rude surprise visit. It seems the wild mosquitoes, or commonly known as Vaihmite (Vai-mee-tae) in Mizoram, were quite fond of bikers too as they gave us unwelcomed tags through-out the night. We slept for 2 hours after which we couldn’t take any more of the high 5s and tags of the Vaihmite. Got up and hit the road again at 5 in the morning.
Our room for the night
It was a misty morning and it stayed that way for almost the whole day. Leaving Champhai, we hoped it won't pour down as much as it did when we arrived. It was a cool breezy morning with a slight drizzle, on and off. All in all, it was a fresh start for the day.
Leaving the Circuit House
Breakfast
On the outskirts of Kelkang, we met a modern day cowboy on the road
Yes, with his four horses meant to carry the veggies from the fields to the market. It was a really nice encounter, us meeting the ‘cowboy’ and the bikes meeting their 'original' inspiration. The Cowboy
The road from Kelkang to Kaulbung was a gravel road winding through forests. The green surroundings, the gravel road and the two of us riding side by side was a spectacular feeling. When you ride outside of Aizawl, there are waiting/resting sheds after every few kilometers. These sheds have been most of our stopping breaks where we can just sit down, lie back and relax.
We reached Khuangleng by afternoon and had our lunch there. Lunch was always good; Good Food! From there we rode on to Khawbung where we stopped for a tea break and were suggested to take a short cut to Biate. This short-cut turned out to be one of the best trails I’ve ridden so far – mud, slush and gravel through the middle of nowhere. Being an offroad enthusiast, the sight of bad, broken and no roads gets me real high. And riding through these trails was a treat for me. It is such a good feeling when you are riding in lonely places. Yes the silence does creep in but more than that, being amidst nature and riding along with a good buddy brings about a sense of serenity towards one's perception of things. That's why after a long ride, you keep longing for more. Or might have already planned for the next trip while on your way back from the current ride that you are on. It's like meditation, but extended for days.
Crossroad .. We went Right
Just looking at the pic makes me feel so fresh
Some fun in the Short - cut
After 5 hours of riding in the forest trails we finally reached Biate in the evening and re-connected with the Old Lunglei Highway. It felt so good to see a hamlet after riding for almost half a day through lonely trails. The kids (neither mine nor Andy's
) who were so excited to see the bikes made tiredness disappear; yeah, much better than redbull. My bike’s chain was really dry and we found a Workshop in Biate where we could oil the chain. I learnt that when you’re riding long distance in the monsoon, it’s better to carry an extra can of chain lube as the chain tends to become dry after every two days. The rain, puddles and muck keeps washing the lubricant off and leaves the chain dry.
Tightening and oiling the chain
Leaving Biate we rode towards Keitum. We took our time on the road, stopped for pictures, took breaks and just sat on the road with music blaring from Andy’s Bluetooth Speaker Bar. I realized these breaks are more enjoyable than the ride at certain stretches. Riding long distance is more about riding with your heart rather than with your mind. Like Andy said, too much calculations kind of takes the fun away from the ride as you tend to become tense and over-think. It’s nice to just stop when you are tired. It’s better to reach 1-2 hours late rather than keep stressing yourself. That takes all the fun away from the ride.
The road ahead
PC: Andy Vee
East Lundar Market
Soundbar Break!
We were riding in the night and the LEDs were doing a great job illuminating the road ahead of us. I had just one of each but a pair of Flood and Spot LEDs is a boon for long distance night riding. A good illumination on the road means a cooler head to ride with.
Andy rode over a snake and was feeling bad about it until he realized that his phone had fallen off from the side-box. We turned back in search of the phone but thankfully it fell off just a few turns away. I failed to see both the snake and the phone though I was riding in front, hence,Need better lights!
We reached Keitum around mid-night and were trying to find a place to eat. All the shops were closed but we came across a person who called up one of the owners of the shops and they opened just for us. People here are very friendly and helpful, if they see you stop by the roadside, they will stop to offer their help and if needed, they will wait and help till your bike/car is fixed.
If you look closely, you can see an outline of me. Need fair and handsome cream! hehehOur plan was to reach South Vanlalphai but it was still a long way to go and we were tired after riding the whole day. So we decided to stop at the next Waiting Shed for the night. We rode till Rawpuii and stopped at the waiting shed there, happy to finally get to rest for the night. But man! We were in for a rude surprise visit. It seems the wild mosquitoes, or commonly known as Vaihmite (Vai-mee-tae) in Mizoram, were quite fond of bikers too as they gave us unwelcomed tags through-out the night. We slept for 2 hours after which we couldn’t take any more of the high 5s and tags of the Vaihmite. Got up and hit the road again at 5 in the morning.
Our room for the night
