Mountain Terrain Biking event of Himachal was flagged off from Ridge, Shimla on 1st Oct 2011

After last year's experience of MTB PHOTOQUEST, I was not sure if I would be joining MTB this year or not :) ... With lots of confusion, finally I reached Shimla on 1st Oct morning, but not as PHOTOQUEST Participant... Climbed up till Ridge and joined Aneesh at 5:30 am... He and his team had worked for the whole night for flag-off ceremony in the morning...

After last year's experience of MTB PHOTOQUEST, I was not sure if I would be joining MTB this year or not :) ... With lots of confusion, finally I reached Shimla on 1st Oct morning, but not as PHOTOQUEST Participant... Climbed up till Ridge and joined Aneesh at 5:30 am... He and his team had worked for the whole night for flag-off ceremony in the morning...After spending few minutes on ridge, we moved towards the guest house to get ready for actualy ceremony at 9:00 am...Here is a photograph of Manisha Nanda, Pr. Secretary, Tourism Deptt. , Himachal Pradesh, INDIA


After spending few minutes on ridge, we moved towards the guest house to get ready for actual ceremony at 9:00 am...
Here is a photograph of Manisha Nanda, Pr. Secretary, Tourism Deptt. , Himachal Pradesh, INDIA

A small stage was installed on Ridge... Usually Ridge is restricted area and special permissions are required to do such events... HASTPA takes care of all the arrangements for this event with help of Himachal Tourism and various sponsors/partners...

A small stage was installed on Ridge... Usually Ridge is restricted area and special permissions are required to do such events... HASTPA takes care of all the arrangements for this event with help of Himachal Tourism and various sponsors/partners...

There were some officials from T1 Cycles and the man on the rightmost side is Sushil Tanvar who is closely associated with ASHADEEP NGO.... Here is how Ashadeep is defined - 'ASHADEEP an NGO with its base in Shimla, began with an idea to sgirl-childerve the humanity in its manifold manifestations to deliver succour to those who are unattended and destitute, to lend a helping hand to those who have all the intentions to rise up to the challenge of life, but are incapacitated in their pursuits either by physical, mental or monetary handicaps. It is an attempt to serve mankind by extending all possible support. Currently it is helping the marginalized sections of the society, also working in the area of health, society and environmental preservation.'...

There were some officials from T1 Cycles and the man on the rightmost side is Sushil Tanvar, who is closely associated with ASHADEEP NGO.... Here is how Ashadeep is defined - 'ASHADEEP an NGO with its base in Shimla, began with an idea to girl-childerve the humanity in its manifold manifestations to deliver succour to those who are unattended and destitute, to lend a helping hand to those who have all the intentions to rise up to the challenge of life, but are incapacitated in their pursuits either by physical, mental or monetary handicaps. It is an attempt to serve mankind by extending all possible support. Currently it is helping the marginalized sections of the society, also working in the area of health, society and environmental preservation.'...

To know more about Ashadeep, check out http://ashadeepshimla.com/

ASHADEEP partnered with HASTPA for environment awareness during these 8 days... A troop of five people showcased nukkar-natak at various villages/schools on the way...

I think everyone on the stage was given a opportunity to say something about the event and idea behind it... Also it was compulsory to say something good about cycling, in conjunction with tourism in Himachal :)

I think everyone on the stage was given a opportunity to say something about the event and idea behind it... Also it was compulsory to say something good about cycling, in conjunction with tourism in Himachal :)

There was a wonderful performance by India Army band on Shimla-Ridge !!!

There was a wonderful performance by India Army band on Shimla-Ridge !!!

Here is a top view of flag-off ceremony of Mountain Terrain Biking Himachal on 1st Oct 2011 !!!

Here is a top view of flag-off ceremony on 1st Oct 2011 !!!

Mr. Mohit Sood, President, HASTPA addressing people on Ridge and thanking various officials for joining in on Flag-Off ceremony...Mountain Terrain Biking Himachal Pradesh

Mr. Mohit Sood, President, HASTPA addressing people on Ridge and thanking various officials for joining in on Flag-Off ceremony...

College students lined up to encourage riders during flag-off... but they were lined up at wrong place :) .... Finally all of them were moved near the gate you see behind them...Mountain Terrain Biking Himachal Pradesh

College students lined up to encourage riders during flag-off... but they were lined up at wrong place :) .... Finally all of them were moved near the gate you see behind them...

Time for everyone to share gyan abut the event :) ...Mountain Terrain Biking Himachal Pradesh

Time for everyone to share gyan abut the event :) ...

It seems that some serious discussion is going on between Tourism and Cycling people... Why not, it's perfect occasion to network and thinMountain Terrain Biking Himachal Pradesh

It seems that some serious discussion is going on between Tourism and Cycling people... Why not, it's perfect occasion to network and thin

Most of the times Organizers don't forget to present souvenirs to chief guests, especially in India !!! Mr. Mohit Sood presenting a token toMountain Terrain Biking Himachal PradeshManisha Nanda... If I guess :), probably a jacket n T-shirt !!

Most of the times Organizers don't forget to present souvenirs to chief guests, especially in India !!! Mr. Mohit Sood presenting a token to Manisha Nanda... If I guess :), probably a jacket n T-shirt !!

Mohit Sood presenting a memento and gifts to other guests as well !!...Mountain Terrain Biking Himachal Pradesh

Mohit Sood presenting a memento and gifts to other guests as well !!

People from various TV channels, Newspapers and magazines were also present... She is Vandana Bhagra, who covered this story for TOI...Mountain Terrain Biking Himachal Pradesh

People from various TV channels, Newspapers and magazines were also present... She is Vandana Bhagra, who covered this story for TOI...

After all the formal speeches, everyone is set to start the actual action from Shimla Ridge... Ajay Pandit Chhetri (on right, Winner of MTB Himachal 2010 and 2011), Padam Subba (Left of Ajay, Winner of MTB Himachal 2009) and other folks are excited about paddling in Himalayas...Mountain Terrain Biking Himachal Pradesh

After all the formal speeches, everyone is set to start the actual action from Shimla Ridge... Ajay Pandit Chhetri (on right, Winner of MTB Himachal 2010 and 2011), Padam Subba (Left of Ajay, Winner of MTB Himachal 2009) and other folks are excited about paddling in Himalayas...


Andre also joining the first row and event flag is handed to Manisha Nanda... Mr. Dhananjay, Co-Organizer, handling mike to announce the start...

All Set to start MTB Himachal 2011... More Photographs of the event to come... So keep watching this place and get in touch at VJ@travellingcamera/ripple4it@gmail.com in case of more information about this event !!! Mountain Terrain Biking Himachal Pradesh

Final day of 'Mountain Terrain Biking Himachal 2011' started from Dhomri, which is one of the popular places for skiing in Himachal Pradesh. It's near to Narkanda and nice place surrounded by high cedars. Temperature was very low in the morning and day was bit lazy as compared to other 7 days...As you can see, sun has started touching camping ground but still many folks are inside the tents. Narkanda is nearby market and some of the folks wanted to have nice tea, which was obviously not available at camps :) ... During this time I was alone as my gang was also in market to have some snacks and morning tea...After leaving Dhomri, we followed main highway to reach the starting point of only stage of 8th day. On final day, there was only single stage and it was same as that of starting stage of MTB 2010/2011. Since we had to go via main highway, the roads were jammed due to some political rally. Actually we crossed starting point and thought of entering into the stage from the other end as Final Flying finish was more important... After fighting with traffic at Dhali, we reached Mashobara and had to wait for some time. During that time we visited one of the resort there, to meet one of the friends.Soon after we heard some noise in air and reached back at flying finish point.Above photograph shows the winner literally flying on top of Finish line of MTB Himachal 2011. Now I know, why they call it flying finish. This was the first group to hit the flying finish on final day.Most of the riders were happy with mixed emotions about this whole race and others had already started thinking about offices. Anyway, everyone was now more involved in activities like - Photo-shoots, email/cell-number exchanges etc. Everyone wanted to be in touch with others and photographs were best way for keeping these memories alive.Here is another troop with two folks who broke their arms on the way of MTB Himachal 2011. Mr. Andre, on extreme right, was winner of MTB Himachal 2010 Masters. Since he had to quit this time, Amitabh won this time. Amitabh is second person from left, who won Masters of MTB Himachal 2011.Few more folks joined in ... Mr Rohit making them cheer :)MTB team was mostly worried about their banners and branding posters, which are important to have money :) ... So here is one photograph with MTB 2011 banner. This was the time when every rider just wanted to reach at their Hotels in Shimla. Everyone wanted to have some rest now...Finally everyone started the free ride from Mashobara to Ridge through Sajauli and IGMC. This photograph was clicked where Mashobara road hits main highway again.Now all of them needed to ride in high traffic areas, markets... and this one is at Dhali !!! I was on a motorbike and scared of the situation when 100 odd riders were on the road and the traffic was not very disciplined. This is one of the very difficult problem on hills and dangerous as well.Rider crossing Saljauli Market... From Sanjauli Chowk, we had to move towards Indira Gandhi Medical College, which leads to Lakkar Bazar and then Ridge. On reaching Ridge, plan was to have a quick ceremony to announce winners and exposure to media.But Marshal who were guiding this group got a signal from Ridge that preparations are slow and they need more time. Now, it was their headache to manage the delay :) ... So many times these riders were stopped on the way, to make sure that we reach just in time. Although many folks were annoyed...After a break we again started. This shot was taken near Shimla College which comes on the way from Sanjauli to Ridge. This was a wonderful road and there was a time when people used to rent out a cycle from lakkar Bazar to have a round till Sanjauli chowk and come back. Now cycles on rent are not available, but people still prefer to walk on this road.Anyway, this kafila was about to reach IGMC and everyone stopped. And this was final halt of 45 minutes because preparation on ridge were not done. But for of the folks it a good opportunity to show some cycle stunts on wide roads of Shimla.And why motorbikes should stay behind !!! Aneesh also tried some stunts, but still riders wanted to move towards Ridge and wanted to have some rest at their hotels. 

  

More Photographs of the event to come... So keep watching this place and get in touch at VJ@travellingcamera in case of more information about this event !!!

FOR MORE PHOTOGRAPHS OF MTB 2011 :- 

After wonderful stay at Kullu Sarahan, it was time to move ahead with new challenges. This was a long day for us due to lot many reasons... Let's have this PHOTO JOURNEY of first half of Day-5 during Mountain Terrain Biking, Himachal Pradesh 2011...Journey started through lovely landscapes and Apple Orchards... This was a steep downhill till Baghipul... This road was very rough and turns were really dangerous.First stage started from Sarahan School and finished at Baghipul junction. Then there was free ride till water junction and had to start second stage of 5th day during MTB Himachal 2011.Media folks settled inside various fields of chalai and Apple orchards to have some creative video shots... Here Mr. Rohit waiting for a rider to come ...After few second all of them suddenly crossed us and many of us were busy in settling cameras...This day we walked for approximately 4 kilometers to try various shots at different places. While reached near our car, we got to know that it's tyre has come out and need to get in touch with mechanics. Without giving second thought, we kept clicking till the point we could catch riders...Here Mr. Padam Subba, captain of Nepal team !!!Some of the villagers came up to the road for seeing all these cycle riders and some of them stopped our cars to let us know that Himachal Government is ignoring this region and requested to bring it to their notice that only bus to these villages has stopped coming. It was really strange to hear that only bus on this stretch of 13 kilometers had stopped coming.One of the MTB Himachal rider crossing chalai fields on the way to Baghipul from Kullu-Sarahan... The yellow crop in the background is called Chalai. This particular thing is considered as a good stuff for keeping the body warm. This region gets snow early during the winters and it's important to have such crops.Mr. Andre, champion of MTB Himachal 2010 masters... Unfortunately his bike skit over a stone and he got injured and couldn't continue. This happened during stage one only, between Sarahan to Baghipul. He was leading masters till this point.A framer going to his fields with all the equipments for plowing and stopped on roadside to see these riding flying at their village.Since our car had left ahead as it needed some service, we had to catch another car of some official. After some shots near a small village on the way, we stopped one of the official car and came down to Baghipul. One of the other rider was fixing the Tyre of his bike on the way... During MTB Himachal, some mechanics remain on the terrain but many times riders have to fix the minor problems to avoid the time lapse due to locating a mechanic and getting the problem fixed by him.MTB Rider crossing through an apple orchard near Baghipul. This whole areas has lots of apples orchards. and most of the families around these villages are dependent on agriculture only. After reaching Baghipul, we got to know that our car will be fixed in next 1 hour.Rather than waiting for an hour in car or around Baghipul market, we thought of going towards Shrikhand river and have bath in chilled water. Sunlight was our hope to have a bath in this chilled water coming from snow covered Shrikhand mountain range.These were some of the wonderful moments of MTB Himachal... More Photographs of the event to come... So keep watching this place and get in touch at VJ@travellingcamera in case of more information about this event !!!




After wonderful stay at Kullu Sarahan, it was time to move ahead with new challenges. This was a long day for us due to lot many reasons... Let's have this PHOTO JOURNEY of first half of Day-5 during Mountain Terrain Biking, Himachal Pradesh 2011...Journey started through lovely landscapes and Apple Orchards... This was a steep downhill till Baghipul... This road was very rough and turns were really dangerous.First stage started from Sarahan School and finished at Baghipul junction. Then there was free ride till water junction and had to start second stage of 5th day during MTB Himachal 2011.Media folks settled inside various fields of chalai and Apple orchards to have some creative video shots... Here Mr. Rohit waiting for a rider to come ...After few second all of them suddenly crossed us and many of us were busy in settling cameras...This day we walked for approximately 4 kilometers to try various shots at different places. While reached near our car, we got to know that it's tyre has come out and need to get in touch with mechanics. Without giving second thought, we kept clicking till the point we could catch riders...Here Mr. Padam Subba, captain of Nepal team !!!Some of the villagers came up to the road for seeing all these cycle riders and some of them stopped our cars to let us know that Himachal Government is ignoring this region and requested to bring it to their notice that only bus to these villages has stopped coming. It was really strange to hear that only bus on this stretch of 13 kilometers had stopped coming.One of the MTB Himachal rider crossing chalai fields on the way to Baghipul from Kullu-Sarahan... The yellow crop in the background is called Chalai. This particular thing is considered as a good stuff for keeping the body warm. This region gets snow early during the winters and it's important to have such crops.Mr. Andre, champion of MTB Himachal 2010 masters... Unfortunately his bike skit over a stone and he got injured and couldn't continue. This happened during stage one only, between Sarahan to Baghipul. He was leading masters till this point.A framer going to his fields with all the equipments for plowing and stopped on roadside to see these riding flying at their village.Since our car had left ahead as it needed some service, we had to catch another car of some official. After some shots near a small village on the way, we stopped one of the official car and came down to Baghipul. One of the other rider was fixing the Tyre of his bike on the way... During MTB Himachal, some mechanics remain on the terrain but many times riders have to fix the minor problems to avoid the time lapse due to locating a mechanic and getting the problem fixed by him.MTB Rider crossing through an apple orchard near Baghipul. This whole areas has lots of apples orchards. and most of the families around these villages are dependent on agriculture only. After reaching Baghipul, we got to know that our car will be fixed in next 1 hour.Rather than waiting for an hour in car or around Baghipul market, we thought of going towards Shrikhand river and have bath in chilled water. Sunlight was our hope to have a bath in this chilled water coming from snow covered Shrikhand mountain range.These were some of the wonderful moments of MTB Himachal... More Photographs of the event to come... So keep watching this place and get in touch at VJ@travellingcamera in case of more information about this event !!!






After wonderful stay at Kullu Sarahan, it was time to move ahead with new challenges. This was a long day for us due to lot many reasons... Let's have this PHOTO JOURNEY of first half of Day-5 during Mountain Terrain Biking, Himachal Pradesh 2011...Journey started through lovely landscapes and Apple Orchards... This was a steep downhill till Baghipul... This road was very rough and turns were really dangerous.First stage started from Sarahan School and finished at Baghipul junction. Then there was free ride till water junction and had to start second stage of 5th day during MTB Himachal 2011.Media folks settled inside various fields of chalai and Apple orchards to have some creative video shots... Here Mr. Rohit waiting for a rider to come ...After few second all of them suddenly crossed us and many of us were busy in settling cameras...This day we walked for approximately 4 kilometers to try various shots at different places. While reached near our car, we got to know that it's tyre has come out and need to get in touch with mechanics. Without giving second thought, we kept clicking till the point we could catch riders...Here Mr. Padam Subba, captain of Nepal team !!!Some of the villagers came up to the road for seeing all these cycle riders and some of them stopped our cars to let us know that Himachal Government is ignoring this region and requested to bring it to their notice that only bus to these villages has stopped coming. It was really strange to hear that only bus on this stretch of 13 kilometers had stopped coming.One of the MTB Himachal rider crossing chalai fields on the way to Baghipul from Kullu-Sarahan... The yellow crop in the background is called Chalai. This particular thing is considered as a good stuff for keeping the body warm. This region gets snow early during the winters and it's important to have such crops.Mr. Andre, champion of MTB Himachal 2010 masters... Unfortunately his bike skit over a stone and he got injured and couldn't continue. This happened during stage one only, between Sarahan to Baghipul. He was leading masters till this point.A framer going to his fields with all the equipments for plowing and stopped on roadside to see these riding flying at their village.Since our car had left ahead as it needed some service, we had to catch another car of some official. After some shots near a small village on the way, we stopped one of the official car and came down to Baghipul. One of the other rider was fixing the Tyre of his bike on the way... During MTB Himachal, some mechanics remain on the terrain but many times riders have to fix the minor problems to avoid the time lapse due to locating a mechanic and getting the problem fixed by him.MTB Rider crossing through an apple orchard near Baghipul. This whole areas has lots of apples orchards. and most of the families around these villages are dependent on agriculture only. After reaching Baghipul, we got to know that our car will be fixed in next 1 hour.Rather than waiting for an hour in car or around Baghipul market, we thought of going towards Shrikhand river and have bath in chilled water. Sunlight was our hope to have a bath in this chilled water coming from snow covered Shrikhand mountain range.These were some of the wonderful moments of MTB Himachal... More Photographs of the event to come... So keep watching this place and get in touch at VJ@travellingcamera in case of more information about this event !!!


After wonderful stay at Kullu Sarahan, it was time to move ahead with new challenges. This was a long day for us due to lot many reasons... Let's have this PHOTO JOURNEY of first half of Day-5 during Mountain Terrain Biking, Himachal Pradesh 2011...Journey started through lovely landscapes and Apple Orchards... This was a steep downhill till Baghipul... This road was very rough and turns were really dangerous.First stage started from Sarahan School and finished at Baghipul junction. Then there was free ride till water junction and had to start second stage of 5th day during MTB Himachal 2011.Media folks settled inside various fields of chalai and Apple orchards to have some creative video shots... Here Mr. Rohit waiting for a rider to come ...After few second all of them suddenly crossed us and many of us were busy in settling cameras...This day we walked for approximately 4 kilometers to try various shots at different places. While reached near our car, we got to know that it's tyre has come out and need to get in touch with mechanics. Without giving second thought, we kept clicking till the point we could catch riders...Here Mr. Padam Subba, captain of Nepal team !!!Some of the villagers came up to the road for seeing all these cycle riders and some of them stopped our cars to let us know that Himachal Government is ignoring this region and requested to bring it to their notice that only bus to these villages has stopped coming. It was really strange to hear that only bus on this stretch of 13 kilometers had stopped coming.One of the MTB Himachal rider crossing chalai fields on the way to Baghipul from Kullu-Sarahan... The yellow crop in the background is called Chalai. This particular thing is considered as a good stuff for keeping the body warm. This region gets snow early during the winters and it's important to have such crops.Mr. Andre, champion of MTB Himachal 2010 masters... Unfortunately his bike skit over a stone and he got injured and couldn't continue. This happened during stage one only, between Sarahan to Baghipul. He was leading masters till this point.A framer going to his fields with all the equipments for plowing and stopped on roadside to see these riding flying at their village.Since our car had left ahead as it needed some service, we had to catch another car of some official. After some shots near a small village on the way, we stopped one of the official car and came down to Baghipul. One of the other rider was fixing the Tyre of his bike on the way... During MTB Himachal, some mechanics remain on the terrain but many times riders have to fix the minor problems to avoid the time lapse due to locating a mechanic and getting the problem fixed by him.MTB Rider crossing through an apple orchard near Baghipul. This whole areas has lots of apples orchards. and most of the families around these villages are dependent on agriculture only. After reaching Baghipul, we got to know that our car will be fixed in next 1 hour.Rather than waiting for an hour in car or around Baghipul market, we thought of going towards Shrikhand river and have bath in chilled water. Sunlight was our hope to have a bath in this chilled water coming from snow covered Shrikhand mountain range.These were some of the wonderful moments of MTB Himachal... More Photographs of the event to come... So keep watching this place and get in touch at VJ@travellingcamera in case of more information about this event !!!



Final day of 'Mountain Terrain Biking Himachal 2011' started from Dhomri, which is one of the popular places for skiing in Himachal Pradesh. It's near to Narkanda and nice place surrounded by high cedars. Temperature was very low in the morning and day was bit lazy as compared to other 7 days...As you can see, sun has started touching camping ground but still many folks are inside the tents. Narkanda is nearby market and some of the folks wanted to have nice tea, which was obviously not available at camps :) ... During this time I was alone as my gang was also in market to have some snacks and morning tea...After leaving Dhomri, we followed main highway to reach the starting point of only stage of 8th day. On final day, there was only single stage and it was same as that of starting stage of MTB 2010/2011. Since we had to go via main highway, the roads were jammed due to some political rally. Actually we crossed starting point and thought of entering into the stage from the other end as Final Flying finish was more important... After fighting with traffic at Dhali, we reached Mashobara and had to wait for some time. During that time we visited one of the resort there, to meet one of the friends.Soon after we heard some noise in air and reached back at flying finish point.Above photograph shows the winner literally flying on top of Finish line of MTB Himachal 2011. Now I know, why they call it flying finish. This was the first group to hit the flying finish on final day.Most of the riders were happy with mixed emotions about this whole race and others had already started thinking about offices. Anyway, everyone was now more involved in activities like - Photo-shoots, email/cell-number exchanges etc. Everyone wanted to be in touch with others and photographs were best way for keeping these memories alive.Here is another troop with two folks who broke their arms on the way of MTB Himachal 2011. Mr. Andre, on extreme right, was winner of MTB Himachal 2010 Masters. Since he had to quit this time, Amitabh won this time. Amitabh is second person from left, who won Masters of MTB Himachal 2011.Few more folks joined in ... Mr Rohit making them cheer :)MTB team was mostly worried about their banners and branding posters, which are important to have money :) ... So here is one photograph with MTB 2011 banner. This was the time when every rider just wanted to reach at their Hotels in Shimla. Everyone wanted to have some rest now...Finally everyone started the free ride from Mashobara to Ridge through Sajauli and IGMC. This photograph was clicked where Mashobara road hits main highway again.Now all of them needed to ride in high traffic areas, markets... and this one is at Dhali !!! I was on a motorbike and scared of the situation when 100 odd riders were on the road and the traffic was not very disciplined. This is one of the very difficult problem on hills and dangerous as well.Rider crossing Saljauli Market... From Sanjauli Chowk, we had to move towards Indira Gandhi Medical College, which leads to Lakkar Bazar and then Ridge. On reaching Ridge, plan was to have a quick ceremony to announce winners and exposure to media.But Marshal who were guiding this group got a signal from Ridge that preparations are slow and they need more time. Now, it was their headache to manage the delay :) ... So many times these riders were stopped on the way, to make sure that we reach just in time. Although many folks were annoyed...After a break we again started. This shot was taken near Shimla College which comes on the way from Sanjauli to Ridge. This was a wonderful road and there was a time when people used to rent out a cycle from lakkar Bazar to have a round till Sanjauli chowk and come back. Now cycles on rent are not available, but people still prefer to walk on this road.Anyway, this kafila was about to reach IGMC and everyone stopped. And this was final halt of 45 minutes because preparation on ridge were not done. But for of the folks it a good opportunity to show some cycle stunts on wide roads of Shimla.And why motorbikes should stay behind !!! Aneesh also tried some stunts, but still riders wanted to move towards Ridge and wanted to have some rest at their hotels.


Final day of 'Mountain Terrain Biking Himachal 2011' started from Dhomri, which is one of the popular places for skiing in Himachal Pradesh. It's near to Narkanda and nice place surrounded by high cedars. Temperature was very low in the morning and day was bit lazy as compared to other 7 days...As you can see, sun has started touching camping ground but still many folks are inside the tents. Narkanda is nearby market and some of the folks wanted to have nice tea, which was obviously not available at camps :) ... During this time I was alone as my gang was also in market to have some snacks and morning tea...After leaving Dhomri, we followed main highway to reach the starting point of only stage of 8th day. On final day, there was only single stage and it was same as that of starting stage of MTB 2010/2011. Since we had to go via main highway, the roads were jammed due to some political rally. Actually we crossed starting point and thought of entering into the stage from the other end as Final Flying finish was more important... After fighting with traffic at Dhali, we reached Mashobara and had to wait for some time. During that time we visited one of the resort there, to meet one of the friends.Soon after we heard some noise in air and reached back at flying finish point.Above photograph shows the winner literally flying on top of Finish line of MTB Himachal 2011. Now I know, why they call it flying finish. This was the first group to hit the flying finish on final day.Most of the riders were happy with mixed emotions about this whole race and others had already started thinking about offices. Anyway, everyone was now more involved in activities like - Photo-shoots, email/cell-number exchanges etc. Everyone wanted to be in touch with others and photographs were best way for keeping these memories alive.Here is another troop with two folks who broke their arms on the way of MTB Himachal 2011. Mr. Andre, on extreme right, was winner of MTB Himachal 2010 Masters. Since he had to quit this time, Amitabh won this time. Amitabh is second person from left, who won Masters of MTB Himachal 2011.Few more folks joined in ... Mr Rohit making them cheer :)MTB team was mostly worried about their banners and branding posters, which are important to have money :) ... So here is one photograph with MTB 2011 banner. This was the time when every rider just wanted to reach at their Hotels in Shimla. Everyone wanted to have some rest now...Finally everyone started the free ride from Mashobara to Ridge through Sajauli and IGMC. This photograph was clicked where Mashobara road hits main highway again.Now all of them needed to ride in high traffic areas, markets... and this one is at Dhali !!! I was on a motorbike and scared of the situation when 100 odd riders were on the road and the traffic was not very disciplined. This is one of the very difficult problem on hills and dangerous as well.Rider crossing Saljauli Market... From Sanjauli Chowk, we had to move towards Indira Gandhi Medical College, which leads to Lakkar Bazar and then Ridge. On reaching Ridge, plan was to have a quick ceremony to announce winners and exposure to media.But Marshal who were guiding this group got a signal from Ridge that preparations are slow and they need more time. Now, it was their headache to manage the delay :) ... So many times these riders were stopped on the way, to make sure that we reach just in time. Although many folks were annoyed...After a break we again started. This shot was taken near Shimla College which comes on the way from Sanjauli to Ridge. This was a wonderful road and there was a time when people used to rent out a cycle from lakkar Bazar to have a round till Sanjauli chowk and come back. Now cycles on rent are not available, but people still prefer to walk on this road.Anyway, this kafila was about to reach IGMC and everyone stopped. And this was final halt of 45 minutes because preparation on ridge were not done. But for of the folks it a good opportunity to show some cycle stunts on wide roads of Shimla.And why motorbikes should stay behind !!! Aneesh also tried some stunts, but still riders wanted to move towards Ridge and wanted to have some rest at their hotels.


Final day of 'Mountain Terrain Biking Himachal 2011' started from Dhomri, which is one of the popular places for skiing in Himachal Pradesh. It's near to Narkanda and nice place surrounded by high cedars. Temperature was very low in the morning and day was bit lazy as compared to other 7 days...As you can see, sun has started touching camping ground but still many folks are inside the tents. Narkanda is nearby market and some of the folks wanted to have nice tea, which was obviously not available at camps :) ... During this time I was alone as my gang was also in market to have some snacks and morning tea...After leaving Dhomri, we followed main highway to reach the starting point of only stage of 8th day. On final day, there was only single stage and it was same as that of starting stage of MTB 2010/2011. Since we had to go via main highway, the roads were jammed due to some political rally. Actually we crossed starting point and thought of entering into the stage from the other end as Final Flying finish was more important... After fighting with traffic at Dhali, we reached Mashobara and had to wait for some time. During that time we visited one of the resort there, to meet one of the friends.Soon after we heard some noise in air and reached back at flying finish point.Above photograph shows the winner literally flying on top of Finish line of MTB Himachal 2011. Now I know, why they call it flying finish. This was the first group to hit the flying finish on final day.Most of the riders were happy with mixed emotions about this whole race and others had already started thinking about offices. Anyway, everyone was now more involved in activities like - Photo-shoots, email/cell-number exchanges etc. Everyone wanted to be in touch with others and photographs were best way for keeping these memories alive.Here is another troop with two folks who broke their arms on the way of MTB Himachal 2011. Mr. Andre, on extreme right, was winner of MTB Himachal 2010 Masters. Since he had to quit this time, Amitabh won this time. Amitabh is second person from left, who won Masters of MTB Himachal 2011.Few more folks joined in ... Mr Rohit making them cheer :)MTB team was mostly worried about their banners and branding posters, which are important to have money :) ... So here is one photograph with MTB 2011 banner. This was the time when every rider just wanted to reach at their Hotels in Shimla. Everyone wanted to have some rest now...Finally everyone started the free ride from Mashobara to Ridge through Sajauli and IGMC. This photograph was clicked where Mashobara road hits main highway again.Now all of them needed to ride in high traffic areas, markets... and this one is at Dhali !!! I was on a motorbike and scared of the situation when 100 odd riders were on the road and the traffic was not very disciplined. This is one of the very difficult problem on hills and dangerous as well.Rider crossing Saljauli Market... From Sanjauli Chowk, we had to move towards Indira Gandhi Medical College, which leads to Lakkar Bazar and then Ridge. On reaching Ridge, plan was to have a quick ceremony to announce winners and exposure to media.But Marshal who were guiding this group got a signal from Ridge that preparations are slow and they need more time. Now, it was their headache to manage the delay :) ... So many times these riders were stopped on the way, to make sure that we reach just in time. Although many folks were annoyed...After a break we again started. This shot was taken near Shimla College which comes on the way from Sanjauli to Ridge. This was a wonderful road and there was a time when people used to rent out a cycle from lakkar Bazar to have a round till Sanjauli chowk and come back. Now cycles on rent are not available, but people still prefer to walk on this road.Anyway, this kafila was about to reach IGMC and everyone stopped. And this was final halt of 45 minutes because preparation on ridge were not done. But for of the folks it a good opportunity to show some cycle stunts on wide roads of Shimla.And why motorbikes should stay behind !!! Aneesh also tried some stunts, but still riders wanted to move towards Ridge and wanted to have some rest at their hotels.


 
Final day of 'Mountain Terrain Biking Himachal 2011' started from Dhomri, which is one of the popular places for skiing in Himachal Pradesh. It's near to Narkanda and nice place surrounded by high cedars. Temperature was very low in the morning and day was bit lazy as compared to other 7 days...As you can see, sun has started touching camping ground but still many folks are inside the tents. Narkanda is nearby market and some of the folks wanted to have nice tea, which was obviously not available at camps :) ... During this time I was alone as my gang was also in market to have some snacks and morning tea...After leaving Dhomri, we followed main highway to reach the starting point of only stage of 8th day. On final day, there was only single stage and it was same as that of starting stage of MTB 2010/2011. Since we had to go via main highway, the roads were jammed due to some political rally. Actually we crossed starting point and thought of entering into the stage from the other end as Final Flying finish was more important... After fighting with traffic at Dhali, we reached Mashobara and had to wait for some time. During that time we visited one of the resort there, to meet one of the friends.Soon after we heard some noise in air and reached back at flying finish point.Above photograph shows the winner literally flying on top of Finish line of MTB Himachal 2011. Now I know, why they call it flying finish. This was the first group to hit the flying finish on final day.Most of the riders were happy with mixed emotions about this whole race and others had already started thinking about offices. Anyway, everyone was now more involved in activities like - Photo-shoots, email/cell-number exchanges etc. Everyone wanted to be in touch with others and photographs were best way for keeping these memories alive.Here is another troop with two folks who broke their arms on the way of MTB Himachal 2011. Mr. Andre, on extreme right, was winner of MTB Himachal 2010 Masters. Since he had to quit this time, Amitabh won this time. Amitabh is second person from left, who won Masters of MTB Himachal 2011.Few more folks joined in ... Mr Rohit making them cheer :)MTB team was mostly worried about their banners and branding posters, which are important to have money :) ... So here is one photograph with MTB 2011 banner. This was the time when every rider just wanted to reach at their Hotels in Shimla. Everyone wanted to have some rest now...Finally everyone started the free ride from Mashobara to Ridge through Sajauli and IGMC. This photograph was clicked where Mashobara road hits main highway again.Now all of them needed to ride in high traffic areas, markets... and this one is at Dhali !!! I was on a motorbike and scared of the situation when 100 odd riders were on the road and the traffic was not very disciplined. This is one of the very difficult problem on hills and dangerous as well.Rider crossing Saljauli Market... From Sanjauli Chowk, we had to move towards Indira Gandhi Medical College, which leads to Lakkar Bazar and then Ridge. On reaching Ridge, plan was to have a quick ceremony to announce winners and exposure to media.But Marshal who were guiding this group got a signal from Ridge that preparations are slow and they need more time. Now, it was their headache to manage the delay :) ... So many times these riders were stopped on the way, to make sure that we reach just in time. Although many folks were annoyed...After a break we again started. This shot was taken near Shimla College which comes on the way from Sanjauli to Ridge. This was a wonderful road and there was a time when people used to rent out a cycle from lakkar Bazar to have a round till Sanjauli chowk and come back. Now cycles on rent are not available, but people still prefer to walk on this road.Anyway, this kafila was about to reach IGMC and everyone stopped. And this was final halt of 45 minutes because preparation on ridge were not done. But for of the folks it a good opportunity to show some cycle stunts on wide roads of Shimla.And why motorbikes should stay behind !!! Aneesh also tried some stunts, but still riders wanted to move towards Ridge and wanted to have some rest at their hotels.

Final day of 'Mountain Terrain Biking Himachal 2011' started from Dhomri, which is one of the popular places for skiing in Himachal Pradesh. It's near to Narkanda and nice place surrounded by high cedars. Temperature was very low in the morning and day was bit lazy as compared to other 7 days...As you can see, sun has started touching camping ground but still many folks are inside the tents. Narkanda is nearby market and some of the folks wanted to have nice tea, which was obviously not available at camps :) ... During this time I was alone as my gang was also in market to have some snacks and morning tea...After leaving Dhomri, we followed main highway to reach the starting point of only stage of 8th day. On final day, there was only single stage and it was same as that of starting stage of MTB 2010/2011. Since we had to go via main highway, the roads were jammed due to some political rally. Actually we crossed starting point and thought of entering into the stage from the other end as Final Flying finish was more important... After fighting with traffic at Dhali, we reached Mashobara and had to wait for some time. During that time we visited one of the resort there, to meet one of the friends.Soon after we heard some noise in air and reached back at flying finish point.Above photograph shows the winner literally flying on top of Finish line of MTB Himachal 2011. Now I know, why they call it flying finish. This was the first group to hit the flying finish on final day.Most of the riders were happy with mixed emotions about this whole race and others had already started thinking about offices. Anyway, everyone was now more involved in activities like - Photo-shoots, email/cell-number exchanges etc. Everyone wanted to be in touch with others and photographs were best way for keeping these memories alive.Here is another troop with two folks who broke their arms on the way of MTB Himachal 2011. Mr. Andre, on extreme right, was winner of MTB Himachal 2010 Masters. Since he had to quit this time, Amitabh won this time. Amitabh is second person from left, who won Masters of MTB Himachal 2011.Few more folks joined in ... Mr Rohit making them cheer :)MTB team was mostly worried about their banners and branding posters, which are important to have money :) ... So here is one photograph with MTB 2011 banner. This was the time when every rider just wanted to reach at their Hotels in Shimla. Everyone wanted to have some rest now...Finally everyone started the free ride from Mashobara to Ridge through Sajauli and IGMC. This photograph was clicked where Mashobara road hits main highway again.Now all of them needed to ride in high traffic areas, markets... and this one is at Dhali !!! I was on a motorbike and scared of the situation when 100 odd riders were on the road and the traffic was not very disciplined. This is one of the very difficult problem on hills and dangerous as well.Rider crossing Saljauli Market... From Sanjauli Chowk, we had to move towards Indira Gandhi Medical College, which leads to Lakkar Bazar and then Ridge. On reaching Ridge, plan was to have a quick ceremony to announce winners and exposure to media.But Marshal who were guiding this group got a signal from Ridge that preparations are slow and they need more time. Now, it was their headache to manage the delay :) ... So many times these riders were stopped on the way, to make sure that we reach just in time. Although many folks were annoyed...After a break we again started. This shot was taken near Shimla College which comes on the way from Sanjauli to Ridge. This was a wonderful road and there was a time when people used to rent out a cycle from lakkar Bazar to have a round till Sanjauli chowk and come back. Now cycles on rent are not available, but people still prefer to walk on this road.Anyway, this kafila was about to reach IGMC and everyone stopped. And this was final halt of 45 minutes because preparation on ridge were not done. But for of the folks it a good opportunity to show some cycle stunts on wide roads of Shimla.And why motorbikes should stay behind !!! Aneesh also tried some stunts, but still riders wanted to move towards Ridge and wanted to have some rest at their hotels.


Final day of 'Mountain Terrain Biking Himachal 2011' started from Dhomri, which is one of the popular places for skiing in Himachal Pradesh. It's near to Narkanda and nice place surrounded by high cedars. Temperature was very low in the morning and day was bit lazy as compared to other 7 days...As you can see, sun has started touching camping ground but still many folks are inside the tents. Narkanda is nearby market and some of the folks wanted to have nice tea, which was obviously not available at camps :) ... During this time I was alone as my gang was also in market to have some snacks and morning tea...After leaving Dhomri, we followed main highway to reach the starting point of only stage of 8th day. On final day, there was only single stage and it was same as that of starting stage of MTB 2010/2011. Since we had to go via main highway, the roads were jammed due to some political rally. Actually we crossed starting point and thought of entering into the stage from the other end as Final Flying finish was more important... After fighting with traffic at Dhali, we reached Mashobara and had to wait for some time. During that time we visited one of the resort there, to meet one of the friends.Soon after we heard some noise in air and reached back at flying finish point.Above photograph shows the winner literally flying on top of Finish line of MTB Himachal 2011. Now I know, why they call it flying finish. This was the first group to hit the flying finish on final day.Most of the riders were happy with mixed emotions about this whole race and others had already started thinking about offices. Anyway, everyone was now more involved in activities like - Photo-shoots, email/cell-number exchanges etc. Everyone wanted to be in touch with others and photographs were best way for keeping these memories alive.Here is another troop with two folks who broke their arms on the way of MTB Himachal 2011. Mr. Andre, on extreme right, was winner of MTB Himachal 2010 Masters. Since he had to quit this time, Amitabh won this time. Amitabh is second person from left, who won Masters of MTB Himachal 2011.Few more folks joined in ... Mr Rohit making them cheer :)MTB team was mostly worried about their banners and branding posters, which are important to have money :) ... So here is one photograph with MTB 2011 banner. This was the time when every rider just wanted to reach at their Hotels in Shimla. Everyone wanted to have some rest now...Finally everyone started the free ride from Mashobara to Ridge through Sajauli and IGMC. This photograph was clicked where Mashobara road hits main highway again.Now all of them needed to ride in high traffic areas, markets... and this one is at Dhali !!! I was on a motorbike and scared of the situation when 100 odd riders were on the road and the traffic was not very disciplined. This is one of the very difficult problem on hills and dangerous as well.Rider crossing Saljauli Market... From Sanjauli Chowk, we had to move towards Indira Gandhi Medical College, which leads to Lakkar Bazar and then Ridge. On reaching Ridge, plan was to have a quick ceremony to announce winners and exposure to media.But Marshal who were guiding this group got a signal from Ridge that preparations are slow and they need more time. Now, it was their headache to manage the delay :) ... So many times these riders were stopped on the way, to make sure that we reach just in time. Although many folks were annoyed...After a break we again started. This shot was taken near Shimla College which comes on the way from Sanjauli to Ridge. This was a wonderful road and there was a time when people used to rent out a cycle from lakkar Bazar to have a round till Sanjauli chowk and come back. Now cycles on rent are not available, but people still prefer to walk on this road.Anyway, this kafila was about to reach IGMC and everyone stopped. And this was final halt of 45 minutes because preparation on ridge were not done. But for of the folks it a good opportunity to show some cycle stunts on wide roads of Shimla.And why motorbikes should stay behind !!! Aneesh also tried some stunts, but still riders wanted to move towards Ridge and wanted to have some rest at their hotels.


Final day of 'Mountain Terrain Biking Himachal 2011' started from Dhomri, which is one of the popular places for skiing in Himachal Pradesh. It's near to Narkanda and nice place surrounded by high cedars. Temperature was very low in the morning and day was bit lazy as compared to other 7 days...As you can see, sun has started touching camping ground but still many folks are inside the tents. Narkanda is nearby market and some of the folks wanted to have nice tea, which was obviously not available at camps :) ... During this time I was alone as my gang was also in market to have some snacks and morning tea...After leaving Dhomri, we followed main highway to reach the starting point of only stage of 8th day. On final day, there was only single stage and it was same as that of starting stage of MTB 2010/2011. Since we had to go via main highway, the roads were jammed due to some political rally. Actually we crossed starting point and thought of entering into the stage from the other end as Final Flying finish was more important... After fighting with traffic at Dhali, we reached Mashobara and had to wait for some time. During that time we visited one of the resort there, to meet one of the friends.Soon after we heard some noise in air and reached back at flying finish point.Above photograph shows the winner literally flying on top of Finish line of MTB Himachal 2011. Now I know, why they call it flying finish. This was the first group to hit the flying finish on final day.Most of the riders were happy with mixed emotions about this whole race and others had already started thinking about offices. Anyway, everyone was now more involved in activities like - Photo-shoots, email/cell-number exchanges etc. Everyone wanted to be in touch with others and photographs were best way for keeping these memories alive.Here is another troop with two folks who broke their arms on the way of MTB Himachal 2011. Mr. Andre, on extreme right, was winner of MTB Himachal 2010 Masters. Since he had to quit this time, Amitabh won this time. Amitabh is second person from left, who won Masters of MTB Himachal 2011.Few more folks joined in ... Mr Rohit making them cheer :)MTB team was mostly worried about their banners and branding posters, which are important to have money :) ... So here is one photograph with MTB 2011 banner. This was the time when every rider just wanted to reach at their Hotels in Shimla. Everyone wanted to have some rest now...Finally everyone started the free ride from Mashobara to Ridge through Sajauli and IGMC. This photograph was clicked where Mashobara road hits main highway again.Now all of them needed to ride in high traffic areas, markets... and this one is at Dhali !!! I was on a motorbike and scared of the situation when 100 odd riders were on the road and the traffic was not very disciplined. This is one of the very difficult problem on hills and dangerous as well.Rider crossing Saljauli Market... From Sanjauli Chowk, we had to move towards Indira Gandhi Medical College, which leads to Lakkar Bazar and then Ridge. On reaching Ridge, plan was to have a quick ceremony to announce winners and exposure to media.But Marshal who were guiding this group got a signal from Ridge that preparations are slow and they need more time. Now, it was their headache to manage the delay :) ... So many times these riders were stopped on the way, to make sure that we reach just in time. Although many folks were annoyed...After a break we again started. This shot was taken near Shimla College which comes on the way from Sanjauli to Ridge. This was a wonderful road and there was a time when people used to rent out a cycle from lakkar Bazar to have a round till Sanjauli chowk and come back. Now cycles on rent are not available, but people still prefer to walk on this road.Anyway, this kafila was about to reach IGMC and everyone stopped. And this was final halt of 45 minutes because preparation on ridge were not done. But for of the folks it a good opportunity to show some cycle stunts on wide roads of Shimla.And why motorbikes should stay behind !!! Aneesh also tried some stunts, but still riders wanted to move towards Ridge and wanted to have some rest at their hotels.


Please keep in mind that I was not a rider in this event and can't comment anything about the difficulty level of these stretches... If I have mentioned anything about the same, that's my personal opinion and feel free to correct me...

Please leave your comments about this post and share suggestions for future postings...
To know more about this event, I can be reached at VJ@travellingcamera.com

Trending Post Today !

Image

How to reach Kasol/Malana and top things to do around this stunning hill-station of Himalayan State of India

If you are a regular visitor of Travellingcamera , you must have noticed that title of this Photo Journey is not really matching with what we usually share. This post is inspired by lot of queries which come to us, especially in summer.  One of the mostly asked thing is the options to reach Kasol and Malana . Here we are trying to share some details the option to reach Kasol/Malana, places to stay , things to do and lot more.  Related post -  Kasol: A beautiful Himalayan hotspot
Image

Main places to see & Top things to do around Dalhousie : Stunning Hill Station in Himalayan State of India

  Dalhousie is one of the most popular Hill Stations in Himachal  and there is lot to explore around Dalhousie. This is small and very well maintained town in Chamba region of Himachal Pradesh . This Photo Journey shares some of the exciting places around Chamba and how to plan a good one day tour through Khajjiar, Chamba & Chamera etc. CHAMERA HYDROLIC PROJECT Chamera Hydroelectric Project is located in Banikhet, 7 kms from Dalhousie. The water body near the lake is very scenic and is a popular boating spot. Chamera Dam is around 40 kilometers from Chamba Town. It takes approximately 1.5 hrs to reach the place is road condition is good. Overall it’s a little dry terrain as compared to Dalhousie and Khajjiar. And temperature also goes up as we go towards Chamera Dam.  As you move out from Chamba town, you follow Ravi river for some time and then take right. After 45 minutes of drive, you get a glimpse of Chemera Dam.