Every morning used to bring more energy in the riders for next milestone/ride. After a stay at the lovely place around Tani Jubber Lake, it was time to start towards Kullu Sarahan. I was really happy on the third day as we were approaching my favorite camping place!
Let's have a quick PHOTO JOURNEY of day-3 of Mountain Terrain Biking 2011.
After the first stage, we hit the highway. Some riders took rest and a few of them got injured on the way. Our own Mr. Darshan Singh was waiting for the Doctor to come. And the Doctor in this region was very sincere about his duties.
Officials and Marshals of Mountain Terrain Biking Himachal 2011 looking at the deep valley near Kotgarh while the stage was not actually up and I was getting ready for action. This was a wonderful downhill ride where I was expecting some good panning shots.
Riders started coming and I was all set with my cameras with appropriate settings. Here is Mr. Sudhir Chauhan, a passionate bike rider from Noida who is actually a Software Professional !
Popesco Andre Deplchin - Winner of Masters in Hercules Mountain Terrain Biking Himachal Pradesh 2010 !
Last time, we had some great shots from this place and I was not very happy this time. I was not sure of what mistake I was making. But after our stay at Sarahan I realized the time difference between Mointain Terrain Biking 2010 and this time in 2011. Last time, this event took place during Oct end, when the weather was clear and the light was more favorable for photography. This time, it was bit hazy. However, the fifth day was bit better !!
If I am not mistaken, he is Vikas Kannav , another passionate rider who was joining MTB Himachal for the second time. He is also into Software at Noida and is considered as one of the best riders on the hills after the professional riders from Nepal and the Army !!
Route on third day proceeded like ==
Tanni Jubber -> Jarol -> Kotgarh
Mr. Prem Bedi during 3rd day of Hercules Mountain Terrain Biking, Himachal Pradesh 2011 !!!
During all 8 days of Mountain Terrain Biking in Himalayas, this was one of the place where riders were literally flying in the air. And on top of that lighting was good for trying some panning shots... The only challenge was timing. As there was hardly any gap between two riders and chances of changing camera settings were really difficult to come by.
don't know her name but she was among the three lady riders who completed the race till last day... This was her first MTB challenge in the Himalayas and she was trained by Mr. Dutta Patil, who was runners-up in matsers category 2010 & 2011...
Mr. Deep Singh Rawat riding downhill during Stage-1, Mountain Terrain Biking, Himachal Pradesh - 2011
It was very wise to have a cover on face, as most of the terrain was rough and full of dirt... Everyday, a rider could easily inhale 200 gms of dirt... Most of them used to take bath in the evening at the camp site... There were appropriate arrangements at the camp so that riders need not wait for hot water...
Fun time after completion of first stage which ends near main highway... Some of the folks having some snacks, few are taking rest and others are showing some stunts...
Mr. Chris Tribe, Qui habit a Bengaluru, mais il est du France...
Here comes Mr. Amitabh Pandey, winner in Master's Category of Mountain Terrain Biking Himachal Pradesh 2011 !!!
Flying riders in the third stage of the day, which will complete near Baghipul... Baghipul is the base station from where a steep climb of 13 kilometers starts... Kullu Sarahan, the camping site on 3rd day was 13 kilometers from Baghipul. Due to darkness, riders were not allowed to ride after Baghipul due to security reasons. All the bikes were loaded into vans and everyone was eager to reach the most beautiful camping site in school ground of Kullu-Sarahan..
Ajay Pandit Chhetri, the winner of Mountain Terrain Biking 2010 as well as 2011 !!!
Mr. Sidhhartha Jain, riding on the main highway during free ride towards the second stage of third day - Himachal Pradesh Mountain Terrain Biking 2011
Mr. Sanyam Sood, one of the Marshals who are the main folks behind making this event successful... Lots of high energy Marshals join MTB for supporting various activities like all Administrative activities during the stages, managing beverages, co-coordinating with other folks like police, doctors etc... Soon I will be posting more details about activities taken care of by Marshals and how they play an important role in Mountain Terrain Biking Himachal Pradesh !!!
Nepali Gang has just crossed Satluj and now on the other side of the river... It's second stage of third day... I was waiting for them for last 20 minutes with an assumption that they will ride through this water and I may get some decent shots... But they spilled "water" on all my hopes...
Bike Marshals are done with their job of ensuring that all the riders have left from Starting point and moving towards next stage...
Crazy riders of Mountain Terrain Biking, Himachal Pradesh 2011... One of the Marshal was saying - 'I can't even imagine this speed on cycle, even when I am drunk' ... Anyway, Kingfisher and Royal challenge were sponsors of this event and riders were offered Kingfisher for three days and then some other brand came in... It seems alcohol was permitted for riders during the evenings but Marshals couldn't dare to touch it :) ... Although great bonding between Riders and Marshals worked well ;)
The Indian Army takes part in Mountain Terrain Biking event of Himachal every year... Army team is one of the main competetor in MTB Himachal... This time Army team won first prize in TEAM category.... and runners up was Nepal's team...
Folks from Indian Army and Nepal used to complete these stages very fast and differences were not very significant, while there was huge time difference between other riders...
Andre, Champion of MTB Himachal 2010, is really a passionate rider who has a great sportsman spirit !!!
Again Mr. Vikas, who is very well admired and he enjoys uphills, if I am not mistaken...
Every rider had different comfort level with downhills, uphills, traffic and different types of roads... But it seems that stages were well planned to cater these differences and have a fair composition for all...
Mr. Dutta Patil, a farmer from Maharashtra, passionate rider and runner up in Master's category of Mountain Terrain Biking 2010 as well as 2011 !!! He always rides bare feet and it seems he has not been using any footwear for the last 16 years...
Chris Tribe flying towards the flying-finish of final stage during third day of Mountain Terrain Biking Himachal Pradesh 2011...
Riders keeping their momentum high till the last point and even after the main stages... I never saw them low in energy... because Nature Valley beverages were there for countinous energy :)
hmm... Can't understand why :)
huh... finally done with final stage of the day... Let's move fast towards camps...
Last stretch of 13 kilometers is a steep climb which takes a lot of time... We reached the actual camp during late evening and here is one of the photograph shot during the drive form Baghipul to Sarahan Village...
It's time to go home... A sweet couple of Sarahan Village coming back home from their fields...
Such things happen but rescue is very easy for these folks :) Real Team work !!!
Time to wash the bikes...
So day three ended well at Kullu Sarahan and next day was for rest... Kullu Sarahan was a wonderful place and everyone had some plans for the next day... Getting up early in morning, have breakfast, clean cycles/cloths, go for a small trek and visit nearby waterfalls etc...
Keep watching this place to know about next 5 days of Mountain Terrain Biking Himachal 2011...
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 :-
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
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