Getting Leh'ed - Day 0 : Noida-Leh-Noida Bike Trip

15 Days, 6 riders, 2800 KMS.

Day 0 - 19th June, 2015:
Location: Noida

Let me begin with the pre-tour day i.e. 19th June, 2015 where we were mentally (keeping calm with the excitement) and physically (arranging and packing stuff) preparing ourselves for the experience of a lifetime.

Myself and Ashish lived in Noida whereas the rest 4 of us (Abhilash, Abhishek, Gaurav and Sabir) were flying from Bangalore to Delhi to start the trip. They arrived in the morning. The enthusiasm to reach the highest motorable road was already glaring in everyone's eyes.

Myself and Abhishek were travelling by bikes from Noida itself and will join others in Manali. The rest had booked a bus to Manali where they would pick the bikes on rent and we shall proceed further together. Ashish, Abhilash, Gaurav and Sabir had to catch a bus at 8PM on the eve of Day 0 and will reach Manali the next morning 9'ish.

My ride - Lola - Bajaj Pulsar 200 NS

I would be riding on my Pulsar 200NS while Abhishek would rride a rented bike. In the afternoon, Myself and Abhishek went to pick the bike (Royal Enfield Thunderbird 350, 2014 model) from StoneheadBikes from Lakshmi Nagar, Delhi. After thorough checks documents verification, the owner explained us the guidelines we need to follow on the tour to safeguard our journey from any mishaps and enjoy the ride without any hiccups.

Bike getting ready for the trip at StoneheadBikes

Abhishek's ride for the trip - The Royal Enfield Thunderbird 350

After verifying the checklist and testing the bike, we came back home, excited even more. Every accomplishment was testifying how wonderful the trip is going to be.

Then I started with my packing. The rest had already left to catch the bus for Manali. We would meet them the next day in Manali.
You must include these items necessarily for Leh bike trip:

• Tail/rear luggage/bag
• Riding Jacket
• Winter jackets
• Inner warm wears
• Gloves (both summer and winter)
• Riding Shoes
• Knee and Elbow Guards
• Winter caps
• Bungee cords
• Balaclava
• Puncture Kit
• Medics (include tabs for AMS - acute mountain sickness)
• Extension board
• Clothes and Towels (keep as light as possible) 

All the gears and stuff for the trip, everything will go inside that Viaterra Claw (bottom center)

Gears for the riders

The accessories had been bought, the riding gears had been set, the bags had been packed, the friends and family folks had been informed, and finally the alarm for 4 A.M. next morning was set (in case we sleep tonight :P ).

Read about our next day here: Getting Leh'ed - Day 1 : Manali to Leh