To be the only one to get down a bus and walk down quietly at 7.30 am in a sleepy, strange, quiet village tucked in the mountains is an inexplicable sensation. You already know it’s going be all adventure! Before I went for my solo travel, I penned down my thoughts in this blog that you might want to read to connect to what am writing about.
My destination was Bir. A small village in Himachal Pradesh. Bir is beautiful, non-commercial, not heavily crowded and has mind blowing sunsets, and above all is SAFE! . More on being the solo traveler – later!
The morning I arrived in Bir, I suddenly didn’t want to settle down into any writing or walking. I was restless, I remember! I settled into a beautiful camp, but my mind was out in the mountains. Like someone was waiting for me! I was craving excitement! Adrenaline rush…even though Bir is world famous for Para Gliding, I had done that before twice. I wasn’t feeling the excitement there either!
So I contacted a young fearless girl by the name of Nupur, 31, who is a co-founder of an organisation by the name of Hell Race! Check out what they are upto. Nupur moved to Bir 2 years back, is now a local and does things you and I mostly dream of (endurance running, ultra running, mountain biking, solo treks)! She suggested, I tried – Mountain Biking!
Bir is surrounded by beautiful monasteries and So I decided to cover the Monasteries and a few cafes of Bir on my bike! Nupur became my tireless guide and off we went!While the Pics are here for you to see, this is exactly what I did, felt and thought! And maybe you could plan a visit to Bir too!
- Rode 21km up and down that day. If my fitness levels were any lesser, I won’t have been able to do this. Found myself getting off the bike and dragging it at various steep slopes. It’s a killer workout ! I was on my bike for 6 hours that day – on and off! Wow and Phew!
- The second day I did 11 kms of biking.
- Am a runner at heart and feet! But the interesting thing about biking in the mountains is that you get around a lot. You can explore many places on your bike. I still love running more (maybe it’s my comfit zone)! But am excited to be on the bike!
- Th crisp breeze that hits your face while going down the mountains – the letting go – becoming a part of the flow – it’s love! But remember – you need to have your hands on both the brakes! You want to live for more – Don’t you? 🙂
- Saw 2 Monasteries and 1 Buddhist University. Each monastery is a treat to the eyes and the soul. The open spaces, the sunny blue skies, the architecture and the vastness of them all. Enthralling.
- You could just google the names of the Monastaries, get a bike and go!
- The Tibetan food is the flavor of the place and you shouldn’t think two hoots entering a good place that serves it.
- Bir has beautiful cafes – I went to 3 cafes. Garden Cafe and Cafe Silver Linings! Charming! The third had great food but I was too lost to ask the name!
My Go Pro and Nupur have done a fabulous job with the pictures!
Eat, get on a bike, get off, eat more, Ride MORE!
And here is one pic with Nupur – super adventurous and super camera shy!