In anticipation of Motorcycle Chang Pa ...

I'm waiting for my electric gloves to arrive - they are on special order because the dealer doesn't stock extra-extra-small Gerbing gloves. The ride to work is only about 20 minutes long but in the December morning 36.5 degrees Fahrenheit (2.6 Celsius) my finger tips get numb in 10 minutes. Heated grips are great, but they do nothing for my fingertips. The wool scarf (neck gaiter) was fine for autumn but now it is time for the electric jacket. The robber mask under my helmet  covers my nose and mouth. I'm seriously thinking about shelling out the bucks for the taller windscreen - the balcony bra stock windscreen offers no air deflection at all. Where I live in California, when the evening temperature dips to freezing temps, the bike stays in the garage until the ambient temperature is into the high 40s or low 50s F because I'm scared of black ice. My brother-in-law tells me that here in central North Carolina where we are at ~600 feet above sea level, unless it rained the night before, I don't need to worry much about black ice. I hope he's right. Okay, so it's cold. "Cold" is relative. Would I ride if I were at 17,500 feet (~5.3 kilometers) with wind speeds of ~40 mph (70 kph) and daylight temperatures down to 5 degrees Fahrenheit (-15 degrees Celsius)? No I would not. But Gaurav Jani of Dirttrack Products did.

Gaurav is an award-winning film maker and an intrepid motorcyclist. His third film, Motorcycle Changpa, will come out sometime in 2012. In his first film, Riding Solo to the Top of the World, Gaurav met a Chang Pa nomad named Tsewang who welcomed Gaurav like a father. Maybe the film spoke to me because I miss my own father. Maybe it was the deftness of how Gaurav conveyed the chasm between modernity and the culture and lands of the nomadic people. He gave a glimpse of at least one community intact in their traditional ways. Gaurav returned to Changthang in 2010 with his motorcycle and cameras, spending a full year with the Chang Pa nomads and re-united with Tsewang. Here's the teaser:


See the Motorcycle Chang Pa video at the original site

If you're looking for stocking stuffer for your motorcycling friend, check out the teasers for Riding Solo to the Top of the World and One Crazy Ride. Your purchase will bring astonishment and smiles to the face of your rider friend and will give needed support to Gaurav to help him finish editing his latest film. 
Stay warm, ride safe.