In an extraordinary journey of endurance, love, and purpose, Dhruv Bogra and Ashim Shatsang—known as The Pedal Nomads—cycled 3,000 km across the rugged Indian Himalayas. Travellers World caught up with the duo to delve into their motivation, challenges, and what it means to live slowly, purposefully, and in harmony with nature.
What inspired you both to embark on this ambitious 3,000-kilometre cycling expedition across the Indian Himalayas as a couple?
A significant period of each of our early lives was shaped and chiselled in the Himalaya and the memories came alive each time we travelled to the mountains. The smell of pine and cedar, leafy trails, beautiful views of rolling hills and valleys, the toll of the bells of temples, churches and monasteries, the earthy sounds of a running stream and a graze of a mountain breeze were part of our souls even though they had experienced it in vastly different regions of the Indian Himalayan range. I had cycled to some of the highest roads in the Himalaya in short, week long expeditions, from Khardung La in Himachal to Ravangla in Sikkim, almost 2500 kilometres of solo bikepacking by 2022, but yearned to explore the length of the Indian Himalaya extensively. He was inspired by the magnificent grandeur, the spirituality, the sacred mystique and the rich cultural traditions of the indigenous people who had lived here for centuries – there was inspiration to be found in the explorations and works of Buddhist masters such as Lama Anagrika Govinda who wrote a classic spiritual travelogue – ‘The Way of The White Clouds’. Ashim shared his love for the spiritual and cultural ways of life but found her inspiration in a life of freedom on the road, an opportunity of a tryst with Nature – what she had loved the most as a child – forests, plants, trees and birds.
Ashim had just learned how to ride a bicycle, and had accompanied me on a fairly risky and tough unsupported ride to Padri Pass at 10,000 ft. on the Himachal – J&K border. She discovered the joy, freedom and challenge of a bicycle tour on this week long expedition and she aligned with my intention to cycle the entire Himalayan range and in that endeavour, explore lands unknown, find inner peace, reclaim strength and carve our life purpose. There were also no records of a couple anywhere from India or the world to have cycled the length of the Indian Himalaya arc in ten multiple back to back expeditions, a distance of over 3000 kilometres solely on mountain roads. This was hugely fascinating and inspired them to set a new benchmark.
Dhruv, how has your transition from corporate retail to full-time adventure cyclist shaped your outlook on life and travel?
The extreme adventure journeys dramatically transformed all aspects of my life but adventure cycling and a corporate life with leadership responsibilities have always co-existed in my life except for the period of 2016-17, when I cycled 15000 kilometres, solo and unsupported, from the Arctic to the Andes over fourteen months. Since then, I have bikepacked and bicycle toured over 6000 kilometres in the Himalaya while driving business actively. Even on our Pedal the Himalaya Tour of 2023-24, I was at the helm of the organisation in a hybrid work format, mentoring and even conducting some day to day operating rhythms while on the road. I never transitioned away from it, but transported the hard survival lessons from the road to the office and began my purpose of not only re-engineering myself but transforming people’s lives, work ethics and business operations. I learned many significant lessons, some already existed, but were propelled to a higher level of understanding and embodiment. These were granular planning and multiple scenario simulations, creating Plan B and C options, building grit and resilience in people and into the construct of the business, being kind and empathetic to people at work, living with humility and losing the ego, and a greater appreciation of the need to go beyond just the numbers and developing one’s intuition to solving problems. At the personal level, it only deepened even more, my spiritual and philosophical approach to life, letting go of my fears, realising that pain, struggle and joy have to be accepted with the same equanimity, believing that kindness is the main virtue and a greater practicing acceptance that happiness comes from following your heart and service to others, and not from material possessions. During my extensive travels on a bicycle I developed a very deep respect for our indigenous cultures, from the Inuit of the Arctic to the Quechua in Peru to the indigenous people of our country in the Himalayas and the Plains. But most importantly, the fragile ecology of our planet is seriously coming apart at the seams, in ways that is so visible when one travels slowly as I have done. Retreating glaciers that feed our life-giving rivers in the Himalaya, recurrent landslides and flooding caused by unchecked development, an alarming amount of deforestation, uprooted communities and ghost villages, wildfires and melting permafrost in the arctic, all point to a world that is unravelling at a speed that we have never seen before. All these experiences have led to a dramatic change in my outlook on life.
Ashim, what were the biggest mental and physical challenges you faced as a relatively new cyclist taking on rugged Himalayan terrains?
The biggest challenge was to climb, sometimes push the bicycle and the gear, together weighing 40 kgs., up a very steep road, at altitudes as high as 11,000-14,000 ft., sometimes under a blazing sun. My own weight is just a bit more than the weight I was pedalling with. The body would want to give up, the strain used to be a lot, but I had to mentally strong to keep going. I recall, on the climbs to Sela Pass at 13700 ft. in Arunachal Village and Kibber Village in Himachal at 14,000 ft., I experienced high altitude sickness and somehow with the right protocol I managed to survive. Another physical challenge was to ride all day, and then set up camp, cook and clean up later in windy and cold places, and manage somehow with scarce water, just enough to drink and cook with. We would scavenge for dry wood to keep ourselves warm at night, our joints would ache and a small fire always helped to soothe the tired body.
How do you manage daily logistics—like navigation, food, and shelter—while cycling unsupported across such remote and diverse regions?
Our bicycle odyssey was self supported – which meant – that we carried all our camping and cooking equipment and other gear, including tools, cameras, solar panel for charging devices, clothing and other essential items on our panniers, attached to the racks on our bicycles. We had small quantities of food rations like rice, sugar, condiments, essentials like garlic and onions, chocolates, oats, dry fruits and coffee. We could actually just stop anywhere and be self reliant for two to three days at a time. For re-supplies I had established points where I had stocked a carton of certain items like ground beans coffee, energy bars and electrolytes, along with some hard to get medication. These would be sent to us via passenger buses, jeep taxis which carry goods deep inside interiors to wherever we had halted for a couple of days. It was all based on trust and we would stand at chowks or junctions, waiting for the vehicle to pass through. Typically we would have the bus conductor or driver’s number and would coordinate with him. Our obsession on logistics was mainly centered on our ground dark roast coffee packets without which our cycling would be soul-less.
For navigation, we made our route maps with specialised outdoor maps like Komoot which also gave us elevation gain, altitudes, road gradient and expected temperatures along the route. We had maps for each day we were on the roads. Shelter found form in camping in the wild or near the outskirts of a village, a temple or a monastery, homestays in towns and villages, and at hostels when available. A few times, we were stuck with no place to go and kind people let us into their homes and gave us a place to sleep for the night.
What message or philosophy do you hope to share with others through your journey as The Pedal Nomads?
We have become too distant from nature and the wilderness and instead of making the natural world an intrinsic part of our lives, we have turned farther from it. Embracing nature and fighting to save our biospheres, to protect our Himalayan lands, lakes and rivers from pollution, melting glaciers, depleting forests, disappearing birds and wildlife is no longer an option, it’s a necessity for our very long term survival.
Spending more time in the midst of trees and birds, forest bathing, long walks, enjoying the simple pleasures of our existence, such as lying under a tree and looking up at the wide open sky, is a balm for the weary soul and a science backed healing medium for the body. One of the most rewarding ways is to get physical in the mountains and that includes everything from just gentle walks to rigorous hikes or a cycling adventure. Whatever works for you.
During our ten month long expeditions, we found that litter of plastic, beer bottles and snack wrappers ( chips, noodles etc.) was more rampant than we could ever imagine, with entire hillsides laden with filth and waste emptied on them. The trash in the mountains is of ‘Himalayan proportions’. We passionately urge everyone travelling in their own vehicles to the Himalayas to be supremely conscious and carry back their trash with them. Similarly, village panchayats should enforce rules within and outside their communities to partner with the tourists and ensure clean villages and mountain towns. We saw evidence of this in many places in the Northeast, especially in Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Manipur and Sikkim. Here, villages take great pride in being recognised as the cleanest village in the state or the district and make immense efforts to maintain cleanliness and also levy heavy fines on tourists and locals alike, who litter.
Lastly, the most charming and interesting way to travel, is to travel slow, and savour the mountain lands and develop a greater and deeper appreciation for their people and their cultures. As far as possible, stay only at village homestays and not just support local communities but also get a valuable, unforgettable glimpse of the local food, traditions and beliefs.
“I feel that the more we’ve connected online, the more we’ve disconnected—not just from each other, but from the world around us. What people truly seek is deep connection with their surroundings. There is nothing more universal to all life, including humans, than witnessing other forms of life thrive. That is what unites us all. There is no greater joy than that”- Alistair Alexander
