It’s a biker’s dream to ride on roads with an astonishing view of nature, where life is simple and also where you get to discover the spellbinding wonders of the world. Most of the places with the following features can be found hidden in the might of sacred mountains.
Which can lead you to thrilling elevations that you might have never experienced ever in your life? The frequent ascends and descends on such high altitudes may sound fun and adventure but if you are not cautious then it can lead to severe complications as well.
As you ride higher and higher on the road, the temperature and also the oxygen levels are going to get lower than what you are normally adaptable to. Acute Mountain Sickness is a common thing if you are not acclimatized with the elevations.
And trust us this condition can cause severe issues like headaches, vomiting, nausea and mostly a weak feeling. Which is not fun at all, right?. So, to help you take proper precautions we wanted to share some tips with you in advance so that you don’t struggle while you are on the bike or throughout the journey.
Check this list of instructions and make sure you follow these on your next expedition.
1. Keep Yourself Hydrated:
This may sound cliche but keeping yourself hydrated with liquids like water, tea, juices, and other healthy drinks can really help you fight the altitude sickness. As dehydration can lead to multiple complications like severe fatigue, headaches, lower performance and overall weakness in your body.
Here’s the science, higher elevations tend to have lower air pressure, so because of this, essential moisture which gets collected in your skin evaporates very fast. So, to maintain that moisture, hydrating your body and skin is crucial at such high elevations.
We often take bike trips to Ladakh and have frequently advised our riders to stay hydrated, some of them ignore our advice and later they get hit by extreme mountain sickness. This really ruins their health and their trip ultimately.
So before ascending into such elevations, hydrating yourself would be of your first priority. Also, do not over hydrate yourself, keep the balance and drink often while on the journey.
2. Stay Away From All Substances:
Consumption of illicit substances like Alcohol, Tobacco, and other psychedelic drugs will be a reckless thing to do before leaving or while you are on highly elevated regions. What happens is when you consume these substances, it will interfere with the blood’s absorption power of oxygen.
Due to less oxygen in the air at high altitudes, the effects from these substances are intensified and this leads to less oxygen to your brains. This is can lead to extreme conditions of sickness and restlessness in you.
So, people are advised not to take any substances a day before you prepare for the high elevations. However, you may ask, “don’t people drink alcohol at high elevations?”. Some people do because they have adapted themselves to the climate by now.
Yet in the case of alcohol different people have a different experience at high elevations. Some are alright but some go through serious issues while consuming alcohol.
3. Carry Appropriate Clothing:
No matter the season, the weather at high elevated places has always been unpredictable and you can expect the cold without a doubt. So, packing adequate clothing which will truly support you on this journey is vital.
Carry a mixture of cotton and woolen sets of inner and outer clothing. Do not forget to take a windproof jacket which won’t penetrate through your body and which will keep your body warm at all times.
Also, carry sets of woolen gloves, socks, mufflers, and other clothing to not let extreme winds pass through you. For cotton, we are talking about those full sleeves ones. Also, Thermals, beanies or caps and a pair of sunglasses would be of great help.
Finally, don’t carry your sneakers on this journey because it is of no use here. Rather carry waterproof heavy duty shoes or any shoe which doesn’t let heavy storage of water on its material.
4. Take all Your Essentials:
Making sure you have carried everything on a trip avoids and saves you from so many crises on the way. Essentials which are of your urgent requirement should be carried at all times when you climb such high elevations because habitation is rare at such extreme conditions.
So, equipment like chest armor, knee/elbow guards, heavy-duty boots, biking gloves, and other biking gear could be a boon on this trip. Also taking some extra food supplies and medications would hurt no one right?.
Extra cash and extra fuel are also recommended because the availability of facilities in these extreme regions would be difficult to find. So, refuel your bike and yourself at every station you find some habitation.
If you are looking for some good biking gears and the best fleet of bikes, visit us at Rahulmotoz.com. We provide the best bikes on rent in Delhi at surprisingly affordable rates.
5. Halt Frequently While you Ascend:
However, spending too much time at higher altitudes is not advisable but you must halt in between while you are climbing steadily up the elevations. This will give your body some rest and the cold will give you more power and vitality to continue the journey.
But camping at high altitudes when you are not acclimatized would be a big no from us. Also, refrain from sleeping or even taking a nap at high altitude because this can cause mountain sickness.
However if you halt frequently while ascending, you are gradually picking up the elevations and your body is not getting exposed to high elevations all of a sudden. So, this method would be great for preventing Mountain Sickness.
6. Avoid Exercising Or Any Form Of Heavy Movement:
Any form of weight training or lifting should not be practiced while ascending or when you arrive at high elevations. This can lead to oxygen deprivation in your body. Oxygen levels are really low at such elevations, so you must save as much oxygen as you can.
Avoiding workouts will prevent you from getting acute mountain sickness because doing this you are saving up the oxygen and the moisture in your body. Even if you want to do it, then do it slowly and first get your body acclimatized with the elevation,
So, don’t go hard on yourself here because it may cause other complications and only ruin your trip.
Conclusion:
The mountains may be calling you but it’s not all fun and adventure if you don’t take precautions before embarking on this journey. It can be really tough on your body if you are not acclimatized to the elevations.
Also, take care of your machine on this journey because your bike is your only friend who can save you in your worst times. So, if you sense any issue with it, get it checked as soon as possible.
If you follow these tips and tricks, you won’t face any trouble on your next bike trip to the mountains. Also if you don’t own a bike and want to hire a bike in Delhi, then come visit us at RahulMotoz, we have some of the best-maintained bikes on rent in Delhi.
Also, our bike trip to Leh Ladakh is commencing soon so we would love to help you with your trip. It’s now or never my friend because the mountains are really calling you now.
