Jorethang to Legship, Sikkim

Day 49 of Pedal the Himalaya Tour.

The ride from Jorethang to Legship seemed to be one that would be a fast and furious 25 km ride but it was not to be. As most cycling days can be, the road unveils itself in the most unusual ways which can’t be rivalled by racing a motorcycle or driving in a car. For a bicycle traveler each moment and turning can be a pit stop.

Half way to Legship, Ashim spotted a young owlet that at first sight looked like a piece of wood in the shade. It could not fly and may have hurt its wings. We wrapped him in a piece of jute bag and handed it over to a nearby family to look after and set it free later.

Later while taking pictures near a waterfall we were accosted by a group of tourists who wanted to take pictures with our bikes. It was quite amusing.

We reached Legship in the early afternoon and found that the only guest house in Legship where we intended to stay the night was assigned to a hydro project team. With no other place in sight we climbed a few more kms towards Geyshing and came across a lovely music cafe called Ramblers Cafe. The place was closed due to Diwali holidays but the owners’ mother agreed to let us camp in the porch and left us in the evening to take part in festivities in another village.

It was one of the most interesting and interesting parts of our day and sleeping at a music cafe in a small village was a first for me too. The owner’s mother was very kind and left the cafe to us. Thankfully there was a washroom that was open and definitely a luxury while tenting! We could hear Nepali festival songs til late in the morning. Earlier in the day we had seen dogs with garlands and tikka on their foreheads in Legship village.

Another unexpected first for both of us was a ride through a longish tunnel which sure had us nervous more because of the swirling dust and diesel fumes