How new adventures begin..

[GirishH]

Please share your impromptu/not adventure stories..:-)

A few weeks ago, friends/family asked if I could meet them near Mumbai—an overnight, some 600 km bus journey. Having just returned from Nepal and Northeast India, I was itching for mountains, adrenaline, and a change of scenery, especially since my father's hometown was unusually dry for the monsoon.

   

I checked the map to see if I had enough time to cycle. After borrowing a friend's mountain bike, I agonized over packing light enough to fit everything into a 15-liter daypack rather than a 50-liter backpack. Lacking emergency gear, I hit the road with a mix of excitement and trepidation.

   

What I discovered on this journey—which began two weeks ago—was pure joy, freedom, and incredible warmth from local villagers. Seeing their hardship reminded me how blessed I am to have good health, a resilient spirit, and the means to earn a living on the road.

I almost chickened out because I didn't even have padded shorts! But in the end, everything worked out. Now, I tell everyone I meet: if I can pull off a road trip on a borrowed bike, you can definitely do it with whatever you have.

[Sidewinder]

Always good to hear about your adventures! Sometimes the spontaneous adventures are radical, lol... I pulled a few of those while trucking back in the day! Hiking & climbing excursions in the middle of nowhere! Wilderness adventures and memories to last a lifetime! Cheers!

[GirishH]

@Flowrider, trucking? That needs a bit more elaboration..:-)

I just started another thread on an impromptu bikepacking/touring trip I'm embarking on in the Himalayas, sadly without MisterGordo.

Lots of learnings whether it's one's first time or the hundredth time..

I still don't have a bicycle or any gear but..


https://forums.bikeride.com/thread-10048.html

(08-03-2026, 03:02 PM)Sidewinder Wrote:  Always good to hear about your adventures! Sometimes the spontaneous adventures are radical, lol... I pulled a few of those while trucking back in the day! Hiking & climbing excursions in the middle of nowhere! Wilderness adventures and memories to last a lifetime! Cheers!

[Flowrider]

Hey @GirishH, I think you meant Sidewinder regarding 'trucking'

[Flowrider]

Heya @GirishH. All good yourside?
Were you near the glacier floods?

[GirishH]

@Flowrider , my apologies. @Sidewinder, please elaborate more about your trucking and how that led you to impromptu adventures?

(08-24-2026, 06:40 AM)Flowrider Wrote:  Hey @GirishH, I think you meant Sidewinder regarding 'trucking'

---

@Flowrider, all good here in Ladakh, India. Sad, sad, sad news from where I was just two months ago…

I bought an entry-level mountain bike here. A kind German cyclist who had just completed three weeks of bikepacking lent me his Ortlieb bikepacking gear—handlebar, frame, and saddle bags. He even gave me his portable pump, flat-repair kit, and chain lube. I accepted the bags and tools, but after a few days of pondering, I returned everything except the patch kit. I wanted the freedom to cycle without the pressure of having to return to the main city just to give the gear back.

Now I’m training myself to carry everything on my back. Let’s see how this experiment goes… :-)

(08-27-2026, 03:24 AM)Flowrider Wrote:  Heya @GirishH. All good yourside?
Were you near the glacier floods?

[Flowrider]

Wow! That will be an incredible achievement!
I bet he was surprised to get all that returned to him

[Sidewinder]

GirishH, that's easy... back in the day (a quarter-century ago), I was into long-haul trucking for the adventure, not the money, lol. In those days, there wasn't as much electronic tracking, so a driver could go out of route and explore places, burning company fuel the whole time, aye? As long as that driver made pickups and deliveries on time, companies didn't get too worked up over it, or they looked the other way because good drivers & hard runners were difficult to find. Furthermore, it was an era when solo drivers had big ol' double-bunk condos to themselves, so there was plenty of room to store field gear and clothing. I used to keep all kinds of gear in my truck, including serious outdoor clothing, camping gear, technical rock climbing gear, a 4-man inflatable raft under the lower bunk, etc. The 10-ton road tractor was my personal RV, lol. You never knew where you might end up during time off away from home, or who might be there to share adventures with you! Some drivers hauled pedal bikes or scooters around with 'em, but I thought that was too much trouble, since a bike could get dirty on the catwalk behind the tractor. A few hands wrapped their bikes in tarps, but again, too much trouble for this kid, lol.

Here are a few links to photos and stories from that era... I'm really glad I went trucking when I did, as I would NOT want to do it today, lol. Too much tracking, for starters... ugh.

Random outdoor adventure shots...

There are cool photos on both pages of that thread, two sets of pics per page, just scroll past the text to see the pics pronto, lol... if all the pics don't load properly the first time, just keep trying until they do.

Triple Treat

That was a grand adventure, that Memorial Day Weekend of 1999 (as described in my 'Triple Treat' story, lol---there used to be an ice cream sundae by that name at Baskin-Robbins).

Mohawk Mountain Madness

Awesome view from the summit spire of the Mohawk Mountains in SW Arizona, you can see that view in the pics in the first link!

Monkey Business In Manhattan

Last link describes "trashing around" in Manhattan, kinda like urban camping, lol...

[Flowrider]

Those are amazing photos! Looks like you'll not have any adventure regrets to the life you've lived!

[Sidewinder]

Yeah, I've been fortunate that way... no shortage of wilderness adventures, lol. Right now, I'm dealing with a knee injury of some sort, dunno whether I riled an old injury or added a new one. Could be some weird gout flare too, that's a possibility... no fluid in the joint either, the doc used a horse needle to "prospect" for fluid, and I'm feeling that stiffness & soreness today. At least the most severe pain was tamed down with a shot of torodol (sp?), though the joint is still giving me grief. I'll be limping & hobbling around for a few days, no doubt.

Roughly 42 years ago, I spun around and slammed my kneecap on the rolled steel edge of a car door... thought I broke the cap, but X-rays were negative, though the knee ballooned up and two large horse syringes full of funky pus were drawn from the joint. Golden-yellow pus with red flecks of blood, pretty nasty to look at, lol. This latest injury is basically in the same spot, but I don't know if it's related in any way to the original injury? Could be... or it could be a gout flare, all I know is that it hurts like hell, lol.

[GirishH]

@Sidewinder, I’m so glad I asked about your adventures—it truly sounds like you had a great time, and I love that you wrote and published stories about them.
​Your photo from Guadalupe Peak was incredible; West Texas really is beautiful.
​While you're recovering from your knee injury, at least you can look back, read your posts, and reminisce about the good times.
​I completely agree with you, too. Modern technology and the internet should have made traveling and exploring more fun, but sadly, that hasn't been the case.

(09-04-2026, 03:02 PM)Sidewinder Wrote:  Yeah, I've been fortunate that way... no shortage of wilderness adventures, lol. Right now, I'm dealing with a knee injury of some sort, dunno whether I riled an old injury or added a new one. Could be some weird gout flare too, that's a possibility... no fluid in the joint either, the doc used a horse needle to "prospect" for fluid, and I'm feeling that stiffness & soreness today. At least the most severe pain was tamed down with a shot of torodol (sp?), though the joint is still giving me grief. I'll be limping & hobbling around for a few days, no doubt.

Roughly 42 years ago, I spun around and slammed my kneecap on the rolled steel edge of a car door... thought I broke the cap, but X-rays were negative, though the knee ballooned up and two large horse syringes full of funky pus were drawn from the joint. Golden-yellow pus with red flecks of blood, pretty nasty to look at, lol. This latest injury is basically in the same spot, but I don't know if it's related in any way to the original injury? Could be... or it could be a gout flare, all I know is that it hurts like hell, lol.

[Sidewinder]

Knee gave me grief all weekend, hopefully it settles down soon and the pain goes away! Once I leave the library, I'll swing by the store and limp around for a bit... maybe find a good deal on some dinner, just to offset the lame injury scene.

Had a little color in the morning sky yesterday, I snapped this photo...

   

Also saw some deer in my yard, this doe was near the birdbath in the corner...

   

Pesky deer have NOT eaten the buds (yet), but I may harvest a tad early to prevent total loss of buds to Bambi... that party animal!

P.S. Don't mind the cat kibble, sale bread, etc, on the gravel next to the deer, that stuff is for the ravens... daily guests at the ol' hacienda!