Sorry for the lack of updates over the last few days but access to the internet has been sparse. We're really heading off the beaten track, especially over the last few days where we've even had to take our own petrol out with us in a support truck as there are no Petrol Stations. I've been using my iphone app to write entries but haven't been able to upload anything, things might get out of sybc. We're in Leh for a rest day so I've taken the opportunity to find an internet cafe to update things, although no further photos at the mo (sorry Jim!).

22 Jun - We've been through the Rohtang Pass which was mental. A single track road (some of which has tarmac) thousands of vehicles wanting to go through. Obviously 2 vehicles can't occupy the same space so with that, the very steep incline and the mud it took us hours to do about 8 Kms. The bikes are a 50's English design and quite temperamental so getting them through a pass where they'll stall, drop into neutral when you want 1st or the brakes don't work well when you want them to is an exercise in patience. The trucks out here obviously don't have to meet emissions controls so you tend to get a face full of black smoke when they pull away or change gear, my neck scarf/face mask works a treat (thanks Eleanor).

23 Jun - we started really climbing today from Jispa to a campsite at Sarch, with this increase in altitude came my first experience of altitude sickness - yuk. Big headaches, nausea and loss of apetite. Also, you can't sleep because your breathing is all over the place. This makes concentrating during the riding quite difficult. We've had a couple of people taken off the bikes for a few days and put on drips because they're really not coping well. We climbed through the Baralacha-la pass which is at 4892 metres. Lots of winding hill climbs, blind bends (with optional oncoming trucks), sheer drops and missing sections of roads where you have to ford a steam (these are exciting in a scary sort of way because they are relatively deep for a bike and the bottom is large rocks boulders - your not guaranteed to get a straight path across). The one advantage of the altitude is definitely less cows on the roads, although we now see more goats. We ended up glamping at 4400 metres with cold running water in our tents.

24 Jun - Definitely the hardest day so far. All rubble track and sand, you feel as if you're being shaken to death on the rubble road and when your not you've got to ride through sand. The key to riding in sand, so i've discovered, is select a low gear, close your eyes and hope. The combination of the rough tracks, lack of sleep and effects of altitude sickness meant that it wasn't the most enjoyable of days - however it certainly did test me which I suppose is the point of an adventure. We camped adjacent to lake Tso Moriri which is stunning but I didn't really appreciate it as I went straight to my bed as soon as we arrived.

25 Jun - You'd have thought that it would be peaceful waking up in the middle of nowhere next to a stunning deep blue lake 4600 meters up in the mountains. But we didn't count on the giant dog who seemed to like to bark from about 5am onwards and no one had a gun so we couldn't even shoot it. Today is travelling to Leh (nice ryhme). Much better roads, descending in altitude so starting to feel human again and fantastic scenery. The scenery and scale of the geography here is unbelieveable, majestic...words don't do justice. You'll need to experience it yourself. The roads were so good (better than our previous average of 25 kms/h) that we had time to stop and jump in a river to cool off - it's red hot out here. We arrived in Leh and refuelled before going to our hotel. Indians don't do queues - if they can drive round you and get into a space by the pump they've achieved their aim, it's not personal!

26 Jun - Rest day in Leh. Main aim of today (apart from a bit of recuperation) is to buy you indian outfit for the party on our last night in India. Not too much trouble for me being about the same size as your average north indian Joe. a few of the guys had issues as the don't have many people at 6ft 4 with a well honed western belly. Anyway, I'm off to get myself ready for tomorrow and try and phone Eleanor again, so rude to be out when I phoned previously. We're off to the world's highest motorable pass - should be fun.