All teachers by profession, their 6,200 km journey which began from Sikkim, took them through eleven Indian states. The self-funded expedition saw them ride through West Bengal, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, Chandigarh, Himachal Pradesh, Leh, Ladakh and Jammu and Kashmir.
Due to COVID-19 pandemic, tourism of Sikkim State has been badly affected like another tourist spot. In that circumstances, 3 bikers Dheeraj, Yogesh, and Karma came forward to promote their tourism to the world again. Dheraj and Yogesh are hail from Aritar village in East Sikkim, and Karma is from Pelling in West Sikkim. Two of them used Royal Enfield and the other drove X Pulse bike on their road trip. On average, they drove almost 500kms per day and the longest was 800 km in a day while travelling from Delhi to Gorakhpur. “We took a night halt at hotels through online bookings. It was a road trip to remember,” Dheeraj said. They also travelled Nubra valley and glorious Pangong lake in Leh. By profession, Dheraj is a school teacher at Enchey Senior Secondary School and Yogesh is an Assistant Lecturer. He worked at Government College, situated in Rhenock. On other hand, Karma also is a teacher of Government Senior Secondary school at Darap in West Sikkim.
Their journey started on 28th July 2021 and ended on 20th August 2021 and those trios were the first travellers to ride a bike from Rhenock Sikkim to Ladakh (the land of High Passes) covering 6200kms. They started from Rhenock. The next day they left Siliguri and covered more than 600kms to reach Gorakhpur and that day was the record-breaking day for all of them covering 600kms in a single day. Their next destination was Delhi. According to plan they started in the morning from Gorakhpur but due to some technical probs arise on a bike, they reached Agra around 7 pm and have to stay there for the next 3 days due to rain then they were set to leave Delhi. Again, they had to stay in Delhi for 3 days for few reasons. Finally, after many struggles, those three bikers again started from Delhi and stayed at Chandigarh. After a halt, they went to Himachal Pradesh, where they stayed at Daaman. The next day their journey started for Manali and on the way, they stopped at Kullu for our RTPCR test. After 2 days with a Negative report, they proceeded forward for their dream, which was not too far. Manali to Leh was a good ride for them, which gave them a lifetime memory. The roads, the landscapes, the valley, the people, the water crossing, the dusty roads and the high passes all these adventures are found in Manali to Leh route.
Dheraj and Yogesh are from Aritar village in East Sikkim while Karma is from Pelling in West Sikkim.
The Three bikers, who rode two Enfield and one X Pulse bikes, said that they wanted to promote Sikkim’s tourism which has been badly affected because of Covid 19 pandemic. “The journey was an amazing experience. There are still many people who think Sikkim is a foreign country. We met some people who asked about visa process to enter Sikkim. Sad but this is the reality” said Dheraj while talking with SIKKIM CHRONICLE.
He further added, “We know Sikkim’s tourism has been badly hit due to COVID-19 pandemic. Since, now the entry of tourists is allowed in Sikkim with Covid 19 protocol this was our small effort to let people know that Sikkim is ready to host tourists’ he added.
The team rode 800kms every day for fourteen hours.
“We took a night halt at hotels through online bookings. It was a road trip to remember” he added.
The tri also visited Nubra valley and famous Pangong lake in Leh. Dheraj is a teacher at Enchey Senior Secondary School while Yogesh is an Assistant Lecturer at Government College in Rhenock. Karma is a teacher at Government Senior Secondary school in Darap in West Sikkim.
Motorcycle culture exists on the margins of mainstream culture as both a social community and a mode of transportation, and the cultural stereotype imagines all bikers to be rebels, socially as well as sexually. The degree of freedom, individuality, and adventure found in motorcycle riding and culture distinguishes it as non traditional in contrast with most car cultures, and the strong social community formed by motorcycle riders reinforces the idea that their culture exists according to its own rules.
