It Cut Out At Crucial Moments

The road from Pang to Keylong was pathetic. So many rocks and rubble and old tar stretches in total disrepair. We got up the passes beautifully. The bike felt good and I was sad to see it go in Manali.

We crossed all the mountain streams far too late in the day - we spent the whole morning in Pang - warming up in the sun. The icy water went up to my ankles. We didn't see many other vehicles.

The worse the roads got, the more frustrating and irritiating it became, and the more my worry grew that we were going to get a puncture. Which would have been a problem, as we have a spare tube, but no pump, and no tools to take off the tyre. And no passing traffic - I think we might have been one of the last vehicles for the day on this journey.

On top of one of the passes, a problem arose. The ignition kept on cutting out. It was easily fixed by pulling at some wires behind the headlight while rolling down the pass. It happened often, and the more often it cut out, the more angry I became, and the more I yelled and punched the petrol tank until my knuckles bruised and my wrist started hurting. It was so predictable. And it was obvious the problem was going to be there the entire day, but I couldn't control my outbursts. Especially when it cut out at crucial moments, like just before crossing a stream.

The scenery gradually changed from dusty desert to more alpine scenery - it turned scenic. We stopped at the side of the road because Sarita thought the flowers were poppy flowers, but they turned out to be peas. So we ate crunchy fresh peas as we headed down into the green Spiti valley, with beautiful houses in the distance, tucked inbetween the trees on steep mountain faces.

We reached Keylong in the late afternoon. When I got off the bike, I gave it a good kick in front of the guesthouse owner, who looked a little frightened and uncomfortable. I regretted it immdiately and tried to explain that it was a frustrating day, but he kept on loooking at the bike. Must have been safer than looking into my eyes.

I decided to fix the bike the following morning. I was going to be like Dennis - an alpha-male.