For those who tour the Himalayas, there’s a common saying, which says – ‘Don’t be a Gama in the land of Lama’. It means that you should not be a layman and well prepared while travelling to hills. Due to careless riding and driving in the hills and mountains, many riders and drivers have lost their lives in the past. One such dangerous incident happened recently in the region of Ladakh, but thankfully, no lives were lost.

What was the incident?

In a video shared by YouTube channel ViralHog which has already gained 5,100 views, we can see a Royal Enfield Classic rider nearly escaping the near death experience. The motorcycle rider was riding from Srinagar to Leh and got stuck behind a slowly moving tuck at the Zojila pass on the way, which is one of the trickiest passes to ride in the Ladakh region. The truck was loaded with iron pipes and was climbing the pass at a slow speed.

Also read: Royal Enfield Classic 650: What it”ll look like

To avoid getting stuck for a long time, the Classic rider attempted to overtake the truck from the road’s edge aside from the cliff. Another rider was riding behind him warned him to ride carefully. The Classic rider abandoned the plan of overtaking but continued to ride on the edge of the cliff.

While riding behind the truck, the Classic rider got dangerously close to one of the iron pipes stretching out. To save himself from getting hurt, the rider lost his control over the slippery and muddy road surface of the Zoji La due to a possible snowfall or rainfall in the region. In an attempt to gain his control back on the motorcycle, the rider slipped on his motorcycle and reached the edge of the path, which was adjacent to a cliff. Thankfully, the rider managed to pull over and get control of his motorcycle just at the right time, thereby saving his life.

The entire incident was captured by another motorcycle rider on his action camera, who was riding a motorcycle behind the rider. He parked his motorcycle aside the road and managed to help the fallen rider to get him back on his Classic. This way, the rider successfully managed to get past the close call and come back safe and alive.

Riding on the high mountain passes

While riding on dangerous high passes, especially the roads adjacent to cliffs, you must be extra careful and avoid overtaking other vehicles at turns or cliffs. Mountain passes are usually tricky and filled with uncertainties, including from the other vehicles on the road and climatic conditions. It is better to keep your pace and control over the motorcycle safe and steady because not everyone on this planet might be as lucky as the Royal Enfield Classic Rider in this case.

One should always be more careful of the road surface and be aware of the vehicles coming from the other side as well. Overtaking can be extremely dangerous, especially in the mountains. If there is a heavy vehicle, the view ahead remains blocked. It is always a good idea to get a signal from the driver of the heavy vehicle or get a clear view of the road ahead before starting the overtaking manoeuvre.

Also read: Meet “Kush”, a custom built, track-ready KTM RC390 from Rajputana Customs

The post Royal Enfield Classic 500 rider nearly slips down a Himalayan cliff while overtaking first appeared on Cartoq.