Three of them were extremely ugly and carried old injuries about which they complained daily, but no one listened. The fourth had not yet turned 60. They rented the mighty 411cc fuel-injected Royal Enfield Himalayans for their 40-day adventure ride. They looked forward to clean mountain air, incredible scenery, ancient buildings, unusual food, strange cultural and religious customs, and roads and tracks ranging from the best to the worst on the planet, many with no straight sections and severe drops where even a minor mistake could mean plunging to your death. Add the countless diabolical local drivers, temperatures ranging from zero to 40°C, the conquering of high mountain passes above 5,000m, landslides, eight per cent beers, and possibly altitude sickness and definitely diarrhoea.
With Google Maps as their guide, some prior homework, and the knowledge that the sun usually rises in the east, the Himalayas of northern India awaited.
LET THE ADVENTURE BEGIN
Leaving Delhi, Adrian, Phil, Michael and myself headed north at 4am to miss some of the chaos and traffic congestion that a city of 27 million creates daily. Countless truckies, saving on globe wear, drive with their lights off.
Safely into the mountains, landslides cause a 40km detour, and after a 12-hour ride of 370km, we arrive in Shimla
