Father-daughter bike to highest motorable road

The Bengaluru residents completed the expedition in five days

Horamavu resident Ajay Daniel biked to the world’s highest motorable road in Umling La Pass in Ladakh with his 15-year-old daughter Angelica recently.

They were accompanied by Ajay’s friend Praveen Paul, 47, and his 18-year-old daughter Abigail, who are residents of Vellore.

They kicked off their journey from Chandigarh to the Himalayas on June 20 and reached the 19,024 ft-high Umling La Pass on June 25. Manali, Sarchu, Tso Kar and Hanle were some stopovers in between. “While there was excitement (about the road trip), I was also worried about the cold temperature and low oxygen level. I had never been to such a cold place before,” says Angelica, who fell in love with bike trips last year when she visited the Khardung La Pass in Ladakh with her father.

And so, they did face extreme cold but also dry weather, extreme rains and dusty roads.

“Except for one day, we did not ride after sunset. These are some of the most inhospitable terrains and it is unsafe to ride in the dark,” her father, a corporate trainer, adds.

Mountain expeditions throw up challenges no matter how much one plans. “Many former riders had told us the route isn’t all that bad. But we lost our way a couple of times because sometimes, the roads were bad and sometimes, we had no (mobile) network. We had to follow tyre marks and there were tyre marks in all possible directions,” the 45-year-old recalls. It became a lesson for them to not follow others’ advice blindly.

The trip has brought the father and daughter closer.

Ajay says, “Many people asked me if I was not scared to do this with my teen daughter. But at times when I was scared, my daughter put up a brave front.” Angelica discovered they had a lot in common, from their choice of music to food. Plus, she has become a fan of bike trips and would like to learn to ride in the future. “The trip helped us bond,” she told Metrolife.

“We have more trips planned. But for now, Angelica enjoys being a pillion,” signs off Ajay.