Cycling on the LoC

In J and K, the Line of Control is different from the Line of Actual Control. The former defines the real border with Pakistan, the latter with China. Our nation’s optimistic politic rarely makes us see the real cartography of our nation. Here is how the country’s borders really look like:

Cycled up to Panjtirthi –from there the road goes down through a forest to the Tawi bridge. In the early morning, monkeys outnumber humans about 10:1 on this road. From the Tawi bridge, you join the 4 lane road from Pathankot. A km from there, you have an option of using the old highway which goes via the cantonment area of Nagrota. I chose to take the 4 lane. One thing about 4 lane roads in the hills is that there is almost no shoulder. Fortunately there is a 50 cm wide surfaced patch of road alongside the outer lane. But even then slower moving traffic tends to pass you at sub meter distances. At bridges there is a pedestrian part, but it usually tends to be in bad shape – so it seemed foolish to use that.

Had cycled west of Jammu to RS Pura, on the Sialkot border, in an earlier cycling trip. Wanted to go a bit north this side, so chose to go towards Akhnoor. The big difference is that RS Pura is very much in the plains, and Akhnoor is where the hills start. RS Pura side does not have any disputed territory. That starts about 10 km from Akhnoor in a town called Chamb. While trying to look at cycling routes, Google Maps was not all that helpful. Usually, you make out a town in Pakistan when Maps indicates the name in Urdu and Englsih. For PoK, or Azad Kashmir, as our friends across the border like to call it, Google Maps is neutral. It only gives names in English. You realise the location when you ask Google Maps for directions – and it then tells you that the distance from Noushehra to Navashahar, which seems to be a few kms apart, is actually a hundred km via Sialkot.

My partner Aakash dissuaded me from the Akhnoor ride as 4 laning work is in progress. He convinced me instead to go to Jammu’s neighbouring district, Reasi. Reasi’s claim to fame is Katra and the hilltop temple of Vaishno Devi. The district capital is much smaller – and with hardly any tourists. Took Aakash’s advice – and started on Wednesday morning on the 4 lane highway to Srinagar. On a cycling trio, calorie management is important. Katra is about 500 m above Jammu. That would mean more than a km of climbing through the trip. At 0600 hrs, there is one food joint that I was sure was open. On the Raghunath Mandir road, there is a halwa seller who has been doing business for half a century at City Chowk. Cycled up – and waited 10 minutes for my turn to come. Had 200 gm of halwa. (He sells that at Rs. 200 a kg.) He gets up every morning around 0300 hrs to make the suji halwa – and is there at location by 0530 hrs. A lot of his customers are folks who use this halwa as parshad after their pooja. By 0730 hrs, he is done with his work. He gets along two drums of halwa which he continuously reheats on a pan – ensuring that at least 20% of his stuff gets caremalised in the reheating.

The three chidyaghars that you pass on the road to Nagrota.

Jambu Zoo

IIM Jammu

IIT Jammu

Crossed the Ban toll plaza around 0900 hrs. It is about 20 km from Jammu. Immediately after the toll, there are 4 tunnels. Took a hydration break after the second tunnel and munched on a cucumber. Had assumed that there would be a lot of dhabas enroute – but the new route is still a challenge to food entrepreneurs. The last tunnel is the longest – and soon after that gets over, you have a line of dhabas. In the old two lane highway, there used to be a single tunnel at Nandini. And you had a lot of joints that used to serve paneer pakodas. They have now relocated to a place beyond the last tunnel. Alas, given my vegan lifestyle, paneer is off the food chart for me. So cycled on.

But it was time for some calorie intake. Found a dhaba just next to the Katra turnoff. Was around 1030 hrs – and time for some aloo-pyaaz paratha. Took a 30 minute break and savoured the paratha in the company of a tribe of monkeys. The owner divided his time between the kitchen and the roof, keeping the Hanumans away from their free breakfast. Was 1100 hrs by the time I left and the temperature and humidity levels had risen. Katra was still 15 km away. Was maintaining a moving average speed of about 10 kmph. So that meant around 1.5 hours more of cycling. Had adjusted the seat the previous day but was not too happy with the setting. Borrowed an allen key from a mechanic shop and shifted the seat towards the handle bar. On long distance rides I try to ride lower as that reduces the back pain, even if it increase the pressure on the calf muscle.

In solo cycling, morale management is also important. You are in Vipassana mode most of the time. And questions like: ‘What mad dog bit me for me to take up this useless adventure?’ come up often in one’s meditation sessions. Around 1200 hrs stopped for a cup of black tea – and some rest. In hindsight, tea was not a great idea. Ended up dehydrating me. The next 2 km was all uphill – and with lowered motivation and hydration levels, I ended up just walking up with cycle in hand. The plus point in walking is that it does get your energy levels restored by giving some rest to the cycling muscles.

Had imagined that I would have taken a 2 hour break in Katra. Usually 1230 to 1430 hrs are bad times for cycling in our part of the world. The sun is at its highest – and possibly UV exposure also is at its peak. Usual strategy is to find a tree and rest below it. Better if there is a mandir, because there you also end up having the space to go horizontal. In the hills, large trees are not so easy to come across. And temples with trees rarer still. As soon as the climb ended, you get the Katra turnoff to your right. Aakash has told me that it is a nice downhill ride from Katra to Reasi, so thought that I would cycle down for a few more km and then stop for the mid day break.

Took a break at a fruit shop. Bought some more cucumber and apples. Found an inviting bed – and parked myself on that along with the vendor. Shared some of his fruits and became his uninvited guest for almost 45 minutes. The road climbed a bit after that – and took a lunch break – without actually having any hunger pangs. Lunch turned out to be sinful, in the sad way, as had to leave food on the plate.

Another sin that was committed was to sit below the only fan in the dhaba. Was reminded of that by the owner as soon as the next set of customers walked in. Got up to leave – and found that all these sins had actually made the upparwala happy. A light drizzle had started. From then on enjoyed the ride till the Reasi River bridge.

Reasi town is located on a hill next to the river. It is a 150 m straight climb over 2 km. The drizzle intensity increased as altitude increased. By the time I reached town, was a bit drenched. Fortunately there was a hotel right at the entry to the town. Without any negotiations and expectations I checked in. Was 1530 hrs. In 5 minutes realised that no towels were included as part of the service. Hell, they did not even offer drinking water in the room. But was too wet and fagged out to check out other hotels. In times like these, you realise that the humble handkerchief makes for a fairly acceptable towel. Did some quick laundry – and went horizontal for some time.

There is some joy in simple walking after a hard day’s ride. Around 1645 hrs, started on my exploration of the town. Had spied the fort during my climb – and that was the first port of call. There were a couple of cops on duty at the gate – and they shooed me in, warning me to be ready for battles with the monkey brigade that makes the fort its headquarters. I realised the importance of the warning, as I was the only tourist in the entire fort. Did not encounter too many monkeys, but the Bhimgarh fort really offered some exquisite vistas to watch. As is my wont, researched Wikipedia and found out more about the fort. On finishing the for tour, found an ASI signboard detailing the history of the fort. Was a word for word match on what I saw on Wikipedia. Wonder who copied who!

Here is the description:

The Bhimgarh fort was constructed of clay by Rajput king Bhimdev Rasyal Of Reasi. Later on one of the heirs of Raja Rishipal Rana, reconstructed it using stone. It was used by the royal family members for taking shelter during emergencies. The construction of a new fort at the site was started by Rajput Raja Gulab Singh of Jammu in 1817 and continued till 1841. The construction and consolidation of Bhimgarh fort was further advanced by the advent of General Zorawar Singh. The renovation of the fort was started by Gulab Singh of Jammu and Kashmir in 1817 and continued till 1841. A new entry gate and a stone wall one m wide and 50 m long was built all around, thereby making it less vulnerable to attacks. The main entry gate is made of Baluka stones with Architecture of carving. The front wall has loopholes. This has a statue of the Goddess Mahakali and of God Hanuman. The fort has a temple, a pond, rooms of different sizes, armoury and treasury. After the death of Maharaja Gulab Singh, his heir Maharaja Ranbir Singh and Maharaja Pratap Singh used Bhimgarh Fort as a treasury and armoury. During Maharaja Hari Singh’s rule an English minister ordered that the armoury be destroyed and shifted the treasury to Jammu.

Was around 1745 hrs by the time I finished. And time to tune in to the live transmission of the Chandrayaan landing. Joined 2 crore Indians in celebrating the successful touchdown of the lander. Then moved on to a road that went uphill from Reasi town. Could see a reasonably tall railway bridge a few km down the road. Not sure if that is the superbridge on the Srinagar line. But it sure was tall. Wikipedia confirms that it is indeed the one. Here is an excerpt from our friend:

The Chenab Rail Bridge is a steel and concrete arch bridge located between Bakkal and Kauri in Reasi. The bridge spans the Chenab River at a height of 359 m above the river, making it the world’s highest rail bridge Bridge length: 1,315 m, including the 650 m long viaduct on the northern side. The bridge was fully completed and was inaugurated in August 2022. It is expected to open to rail traffic by December 2023 or by January/February 2024. Came across an office of the Konkan Railway on my walk. Next time should go all the way to the bridge. Definitely worth the visit.

Was 1930 hrs by the time I finished my walk. There was a lovely dhaba close to the hotel, where I had dal roti sabzi meal. Celebrated a successful day by gorging on two malpuas.

Reached hotel and found the landlord to be in a chatty mood. He had employees of Konkan railway staying over for months on end, so he was happy to receive another visitor from Maharashtra. Our friend was roughly my age. Elder daughter had topped Reasi district in her board exams – and gone on to Satyawati college in DU for her graduation. She is preparing for UPSC exams. Younger son is preparing for NDA entrance. By the time I got to bed it was 2230 hrs.

Quiz: How many times would you have to lift your pencil to trace the pattern in the red part?

Woke up next day at 0515 hrs and munched on an apple and was on the saddle at the usual 0600 hrs. Had made enquiries with locals the previous day, and had received mixed opinions about the road to Akhnoor from Reasi. The clincher was a conversation with an auto driver who told me that there was only one bad patch of 2 km where I would have to walk – the rest, though bad roads, was cycle-able. The hotel was located on a T junction. I had come in the previous evening from the top part of the T. Took the long end of the T and continued straight down to a new Chenab river bridge. This one was much longer than the one I had crossed over from the previous day.

There were clouds surrounding the hills close by – and it was very mesmerising. Took a dozen photographs around the river. The road continued downstream along the river after crossing. Saw a dhaba open with a few truck drivers enjoying their morning cuppas. Made a mistake – should have stopped and topped up on some calories. I assumed that there would be other dhabas on the way. Would find the next open dhaba 5 hours later.

The road was flat all along the Chenab after crossing. About 3 km down the road, you come to a T junction, called Tali Morh..

To get to Akhnoor, you take a left to a small single lane road, which is a mix of dirt track and tarmac. The road continues along the Chenab. As with any riverside road in the hills, if your feet are not in action, then your hands are. Braking and Pedalling are the only two modes of operation. Very rarely do you get to get into coast mode. The village road was being upgraded. The earlier road was designed in such a way that you had to walk across streams that would cross the road at intervals of about half a km. Work had started on building culverts. These under construction culverts meant that there was also a 100 m patch of mud that would have to be transverse every km. After crossing the first of these hurdles, I realise that the calliper brakes started jamming as there was a 2 mm layer of mud which had coated the wheel rims. Had to stop for a clean up operation. After that I would dismount and try to find a no mud path through these patches.

Stopped for a cucumber hydration break en route. Was lucky that I was carrying dates and raisins along with fruits, so I did not run out of calories. Along the road could saw what was our family’s first car – the Maruti 800. Old 800’s don’t die. They do a reverse migration to villages.

The road was about 10 ft wide, and you had to get off-road when you encounter a typical dumper. There were hardly any villages. Saw 5-10 houses along the road side, no dhabas at all. Finally, came across a policeman who was on guard duty at a bridge. He assured me that there is a dhaba near a brick kiln a few km down the road. This was a smaller bridge and was located at the sangam of Chenab and a large tributary. What was notable about the area was the width of the basin. Flood plain must have been a few km wide at this point. Photo below was taken a few hours later when I was cycling in the hills.

If you expand the picture above, on the top left corner you can see a bridge over the tributary. This is a road level view of the same bridge.

Realised after crossing the bridge, that this was the under construction kaccha road that the auto driver had warned me about. In fact, walking on this road was a big relief as there were relatively few mud patches. But it was mostly riverbed round stones on the surface. Did this hike for 2 km.

Stopped at a primary school which was next to the brick factory. Chatted with the teacher, who has been teaching there for the last 15 years. His house is about 2 km away. There was one more teacher, but looked like between the two of them, only one attended. There were about 20 students enrolled. Could see about 10 attending. Good news is that these schools are now also enrolling anganwadi kids. Principal was cribbing that they need to hire one more teacher, as the smaller kids require more attention. I tried getting to chat up with the kids, but the teacher did not seem to be too keen about the interaction.

500 m after the school, the kaccha road merged into a proper tarred road, which was in relatively good condition. But with good roads came good climbs. The hilliness quotient increased from this point of time.

Even as road quality improved, the dhaba density did not. Stopped at a general store in a small hamlet and checked with the owner if they offer black chai. He asked me to wait. Realised that he actually got chai made in his home kitchen. 10 minutes later I was sipping the most amazing cardamom spiced chai. Shared stories and dry fruits with the family. Discussed how monkeys end up feasting on their corn that was growing across the road from their shop. They wanted me to stay back for breakfast – but in my stupidity I reduced, not realising that dhabas still existed only in the mirage of the road ahead.

The 15 km of bad roads had an unintended consequence on the bike. The seatpost that I had readjusted in Katra had come loose. Was worried about the seat falling off – and me having the walk the rest of the way. Fortunately, not far from the general store I came across a 15 year old Mechanic repairing an old motorcycle. His 10 year old brother was assisting him in the repair, having bunked school for that. I requested and got an allen key from them – and this time ensured that the bolt was fully tightened. Bonus was finding a cycle pump and topping up the air in both the tyres. This saw an immediate reduction in pedalling effort. Moral of the story: Ensure that air is filled to 40 PSI every evening during a ride.

The ups and downs continued. Soldiered on. Though I was cycling in forest, but there was hardly any shade. The only relief would come when the road would hug a hill with the sun behind the hill. Managed to find a small shop where our friend was preparing some besan farsan. Bought Rs. 10 worth of farsaan – ate only half of it, kept the remaining as reserve calories. 5 hills later, just 15 km before Akhnoor, encountered my first working dhaba. Must tell you that was the best aloo Paratha of my life, and cost me a royal Rs. 30. Didn’t even crib about the Desi ghee. One more tea stop was taken 6 km before Akhnoor, and I was at my first stage point around 1145 hrs. The Reasi road joins the main Rajouri road near Manda military camp. You take a left there and enjoy a nice 3 km downhill ride.

My initial plan was to get into town and have lunch there. But met with a wrong advisor at the road into town – and was told that I should not enter town. Mistake. Missed seeing Akhnoor;s fort. As on the previous day, humidity and temperature went up together. Crossed the new bridge over the Chenab. It had shrunk in width and the water flow had increased. From here it is just 10 km to the Pakistan border – and all this water was going to the Pakistan Punjab granary. In the partition agreement of 1947, waters of the Indus, Jhelum and Chenab were meant exclusively for the use of Pakistan. That means that there are no dams on these rivers in India. So in a way, if you want to look at rivers in their natural state, then the Chenab is a good example.

Crossed the Chenab and it was getting close to the no ride time of 1230 hrs. Like on the previous day, took a fruit break under a Peepal Tree (no Mandir attached to it.) This was not very far from the village of Jandial, which is where my friend Ajay gets his surname from. After gorging on fruits, stopped at a dhaba and ordered for ¼ plate of rajma chawal. After a leisurely meal, learned from the previous day’s mistake and stayed away from the two fans that the dhaba had. As a result managed to spend an hour there. Got a farewell cup of milky chai, which I insisted on paying for. Should have done my usual fruit barter instead.

In hindsight, the chai had not been a good idea. Bowel stimulation happened an hour later. The positive impact of this was that the average speed increased. One more incident helped jack up speed even further. Was photographing a military fence where they had hung pairs of empty beer bottles. Got accosted by a local shopkeeper who must have imagined that Pakistan had started infiltrating cyclists to terrorise the Indian army. Ignored him and continued faster down the road. In 2 hours did 25 km and reached the Bulls Eye office at 1630 hrs. My brother in law, who spent two and a half decades in the Indian Navy, lovingly refers to the loo at home as going to Pakistan. So after cycling for two days on the Pakistan border, was relieved to be finally entering Pakistan.