Remote mountain roads

October 16^th, 2026

Trashigang, Bhutan

Woke at 7:00AM and sat around for a few minutes.

Took a shower and geared up.

Walked over for breakfast, then returned to room to finish packing.

Sat around for a bit till it was time to head out to the bikes.

Left the room and walked out of the hotel, dropped bag at the van and then walked over to the bikes.  Looks like I was the last one to arrive today.

Setup the bike, then put on the rest of the gear and was ready to go.

We rolled out at just before 9:00AM, leaving town and heading out onto the highway.

It was a mostly mountainous route, lots of curves and hills.

At one point we passed the other motorcycle group that had been staying at the hotel as well, they were all parked and having coffee most likely inside the café they stopped at.

We continued onward until we were stopped by the road construction we were expecting.

We had timed it well enough that we would only wait a few minutes to go.

While waiting, the other motorcycle group caught up to us and was waiting as well.

Once we were given the all clear to proceed, we moved ahead of the few cars in line and proceeded through the work zone.

Once on the other side, we picked up the speed again and headed into more hills.

Roughly 10 minutes after that, we pulled off to a small dirt spot along the highway next to some buildings.

The other group passed us at this point.

We hung out here taking a break, checking out the views, for about 15 minutes.

Then it was back on the road, and now the road was a bit more level and curves somewhat less extreme.  The lead rider and 3 of us took off and really hammered down the road.  Took some curves with enough lean to scrape my boot toes, and once even hit the foot peg.

We eventually pulled over to let the others catch up, which took about 3 minutes.

Then we moved on again and soon arrived in Trashigang, or first stop (and where we would later return to sleep).

The guide brought us through town to a parking area near the local dzong (fortress) and we stood around for a bit while things were figured out between the guides.

Our first order of business was to walk into town and have coffee at a local restaurant.

It was about a ¼ mile walk.

At the place, we took a big table I the corner and all had something to drink.  I had a Coke, as did a few others, the rest had coffee or tea.

Then for some reason, they brought out a snack as well, two pots of Momos.  These dumplings were stuff with beef in one pot, and cheese in the other.

A nice spicy sauce was also there to top them with.

After drinking and eating, we walked back over to the bikes, and then farther down the road to reach the entrance to the dzong.

We spent some time in the main open courtyard in front of the structure getting our history lesson, then we went inside to explore it a bit more.

Pretty similar to the other dzong we have visited on this trip.

I skipped going in the temple again as I do not want to fight getting my boots off.  I just waited in the main entry and took some more photos.

Once we finished the inside, we left and walked around the edge to get a good look over the valley.  This dzong is built on the edge of a large rock cliff.

We returned to the bikes and prepared to ride out.

We rode through town and then turned off onto a road heading up a small valley.

About 30 minutes later we pulled into the village of Rangjung and parked on a steep hill.  We walked up the hill a bit more and went into a local restaurant.

Here we had lunch, and when finished we boarded the van to drive just up the road.

We now stopped at a large monastery and got some history on how it was created and then walked up to the hill top temple next to it.

Some great views of the surrounding valleys from here.

After we had spent some time here, we went back down and got back in the van to drive back over to where the bikes were parked.

Once there, we prepared to leave.

A bit difficult to get going on this steep hill, a few had some help from the guides to pull off.

We then rode through another part of town to get back to the road out of the valley.

We started going back down the valley, following the road we rode up, making decent time.

At one point, I was following Dennis near the back of the pack.

We came upon a few cows grazing the sides of the road, when one of them leaped over the drainage ditch along the road and landed in the middle of the road, right in front of Dennis.

He had to hit the brakes hard and it looked like he just missed, or slightly grazed the cow. (Later learned he actually hit it a bit harder, smacking its rear with the fairing and crash bars, and the cows tail smacking the windshield, and spraying urine all over.)

Dennis kept the bike upright and the cow seemed okay and walked off to the other side of the road.

We then moved down a bit farther and at one point a large truck was coming toward us.

It had moved over to the side of the road to let us pass, and we came up at a fair clip, when suddenly Dennis came to a stop, and I had to slam my brakes to avoid hitting him.

While I feel there was plenty of room to pass by the truck, Dennis had decided otherwise.

Close call, and will try to leave a bit more space next time.

We continued onward, but Dennis was not sure of the route I guess as he stopped near a small side road, one I knew we had not taken, so we should just stay on the main road.

Ben passed us, and then Dennis left again, and I followed, but then Ben pulled over to photograph and Dennis stopped as well.

I went ahead as I knew we were on the right road, and they riding guide always stops if there is a junction to make sure we all get on the correct road.

Sure enough, 3 more corners and there the group was.

We all got going again and made it back to town without anymore incidents or close calls.

After passing through Trashigang we left back down the highway we had ridden earlier that day, and pulled off onto a side road a mile or so out of town.

This road was a very steep paved route, with some very tight switchbacks.

On one of the earlier corners, Mike was in front of me and seems to have lots momentum on the hill while turning and stopped right in front of me.

I managed to lean the bike over and sharply turn to get around him before I smacked into him or had to stop on the hill and probably lose control of the bike on the steep incline.

I zoomed up the hill and kept going.

I reached the top where the others were waiting at the junction with the dirt road we had to take to reach the hotel.

We waited for quite a while, and figured someone must have had an issue on the hill as it was taking too long.

They all finally arrived and we headed up the dirt road.

As they had warned us earlier, it was a very fine powder like surface, with some rough contours under it, which made traction difficult, especially with the tires being mainly for the road.

Brad had started up right after the guide, but he started spinning back wheel a bit and looked like he might have to stop.

I moved over to the side and twisted the throttle hard to power up the hill.  I could feel the rear wheel spinning a bit in the loose dirt, but kept enough speed to push my way up.

Then we navigated a few switchbacks to reach the hotel, or so I thought.

The staff pointed us up another dirt road which had a switch back on it as well, and this brought us to the other part of the hotel on a higher part of the hill.

Eventually we all reached the top, though a few people decided not to attempt the steep, loose, hill and had the guides bring the bikes up while they rode in the van or walked up.

After everyone arrived, we went into the lobby and sat around talking.

Turned out Dennis had come up behind Mike on the paved hill below after I swung around him and had to stop, and as I feared I might, he lost his footing on the incline and the bike went over.

He was tossed off and rolled across the pavement and scuffed up his arm some (even through the jacket!)

Several of the guys ordered a beer, and the brought out tea for the rest of us.

The staff and guides unloaded our bags from the van, and then the tour leader asked to see Dennis’ injury and insisted they clean and bandage it now.

Thankfully we had Jude, an actual doctor, with us, so he helped to clean and bandage it while we were in the lobby.

We then all wandered off to find our rooms and get out of the riding gear.

I found my room, organized the bags so I could use them, got out of the riding gear and then sat in a chair near the open window to get the cool breeze.

I ended up having to close the window though as the breeze was strong enough it kept causing the rooms door to shudder and make noise.

I then used the restroom and thought about taking a shower, but figured I would pass on it since I was not over heated or anything.

Dressed and sat around the room for a bit, then went out to find the others, or find the kitties I had seen earlier while first getting to the room.

Cats were no where to be found, so went out front and found a few of the others sitting on some benches overlooking the valley.

We sat and talked for about an hour there as the sun went down, and was amazed at all the lights that popped up on the surrounding hills.

During the day you do not see much, just appears to be trees.  But at night you realize how many small villages and homes are scattered all over the mountains surrounding the valley.

We decided to head inside as it was starting to cool off now.

I stopped at the room to use the restroom, then grabbed my laptop and went over to the dining area were going to sit in next, though it was till an hour till dinner.

I figured I would use the time talking to also upload footage to save myself that time later.

Spent the hour talking, uploading, and discussing video editing stuff as more of the group trickled into the room.

Around 7:30 the buffet was opened and we all ate our share.

We then all sang happy birthday to another hotel guest sitting with her guides at a nearby table.  Assuming her guide had planned it and a cake was brought out (that was how we all knew what was going on and some of the group started to sing.)

She later offered most of the cake up for us to eat as well (makes sense, she was not going to eat it all herself, and only had her guide and driver with her.)

Once dinner was done, we talked for a bit, and then we all returned to our rooms.

We do have to start a bit early tomorrow as we have a bit longer ride.

We will head south now, going back to the border with India tomorrow.

We will hopefully arrive at the border town around 2:00 or 3:00PM.

Then it will be time to take everything off the bikes as we will be done with the riding at that point.

We will have our farewell dinner that night, and then the next morning will cross the border back into India, and then take the van down to Guwahati where we will spend our final night as a group.

Most of the group is leaving the following day, but a few of us are sticking around longer (I myself will be around for a few weeks).

So guess that ends todays adventure, so we will catch ya down the road.