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Frozen Highway: Winter Trans Himalayan Expedition with Polygon

Frozen Highway

On January 23rd, two dare devils from Bangalore, India will depart on a winter expedition. Their goal is to cycle 600 kilometres in sub-zero temperatures on specially equipped Polygon Syncline 7.0 mountain bikes. Rajesh P. Nayak and Sharath Vishnu will be the first people to attempt this Trans Himalayan cycling expedition. On the first leg of their journey they will cycle 370 kilometres from Leh to the remote village of Padum and back.

During the long winter season all roads leading to Padum are cut off due to snow and ice. To reach Padum, Nayak and Vishnu will ride through the Zanskar Valley on a frozen river, the only lifeline to Padum in the winter months. The region of Ladakh is known for its extreme winter weather where the temperature often falls below -40⁰C. These two daring men intend to be the first men to brave the extreme winter weather and cycle across the frozen Zanskar river to reach Padum.

Once they have completed the first leg of their journey they will set out to be the first winter cyclists to travel by bike through the high mountain passes of Khardhung La and Chang La with the goal of reaching the Changtang Plateau and Pangong Tso. The Changtang is a high altitude plateau in Tibet stretching several hundred kilometres into the Ladakh region with an average altitude of 15,000ft.

Frozen Highway

More about the riders

Rajesh P. Naya is a highly skilled and experienced high altitude cyclist. He is adept at handling the winter conditions that are found in the Himalayas. He is known for his meticulous planning and near flawless execution.

Sharath Vishnu is a certified mountaineer from the Nehru Institute of Mountaineering. He is well trained in assessing risk, handling difficult situation and the required safety measures to stay alive in the mountains.

We are excited to be a part of this expedition and are looking forward to seeing how the Syncline 7.0 performs in the extreme winter conditions these two will be riding in.

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For more info follow them on Facebook and Instagram for updates and coverage of this extraordinary adventure.

Follow more info on Polygon Bikes here.