Just some of the hazards which faced Clydesdale's former superintendent Ronnie Buchanan riding a motorbike over the Himalayas.

Ronnie was among the riders, mentally and physically exhausted, who completed the Enduro Challenge.

But one group member paid the ultimate price near the end of the trek — his life.

''The guy who died was the same age as me, a capable biker, who had come over for the adventure,'' said Ronnie. ''He knew what the risks were. Any accident up there had the potential to be serious.''

The heights involved were the main danger on the narrow roads.

''They describe it as an adventure in the sky, which is quite apt,'' said Ronnie. ''Some of the guys were a bit apprehensive. We were very aware of the heights and knew that if we came off at the edge, it is a long way down.

''The scariest bit was perhaps the first landslide we came across, which was on the first day.

''It had gouged out a large part of the road. It was just a big trench of mud and a lorry had got stuck in it.

''The only way past was on the offside, next to the drop, and there was only two feet of muddy track to get through.''

Ronnie assumed that the trek would turn back at that point but they were told to go on, and did.

''That was my first experience of what we were going to come across for the rest of the trip,'' he said.

''I was saying 'I can't do that' but you do, because everybody else is.''

Ronnie kept a diary on the trek — his nickname was Mrs Dale — and each night he phoned it in to 'base camp' - colleague Kenny Rogerson and audio typist Louise Sharkey at Lanark Police office, who put it
on his website, www.itsalongwaydown.co.uk

His entry for his first day, Thursday, June 19, gives the flavour of the whole trip:''It was Shimla to Sarawan at 7,000 feet. This was a 12 hour day on the bikes. I cannot describe in words what it was like.

They say that to live we should do something every day that scares us. I've lived a lifetime of scared today.

''Today we travelled 120 kms in 12 hours. I have rattled over miles of stone and chipped roads, slid through mud landslides and driven between oncoming lorries and the edges of precipices.

''Four people came off their bikes today. One slid the wrong way on a mud rut, another braked on a corner and only the crash bars on his bike stopped him going over the edge, the third was hit by a bus and the fourth decided to jump off his bike as that was the safest option.

''All said and done, we have had an amazing day, riding higher than an eagle, which we saw soaring below us.''

A few days later came one of the most emotional parts of the trip, the ascent from Jispa to the Baralacha Pass, at 16,000 feet. By then, Ronnie told his diary, the group were mentally and physically tired, but all were determined to reach it.
And Ronnie had a special promise to carry out, up there almost at the top of the world.

Friends of his, David and Elaine Gardner, lost their 12-year-old daughter earlier this year and Ronnie used the trek to raise money for a charity supporting research into brain tumours in children.

But he also carried with him a picture of young Kim and, high on that remote pass, he built a cairn in memory of the Lanark lass.

''Her picture rode with me on the bike,'' he said. ''She would have loved that.''

The riders had all paid thousands to take part. Ronnie was the only one who was combining the intense effort of crossing the Himalayas on a Royal Enfield bike with raising funds for good causes.

So far he has raised £6000 for the Samantha Dickson Brain Tumour Trust and St Andrew's Hospice.

Asked what the best part of the trek was, Ronnie hesitated.
''It is difficult to pick out one particular part,'' he said. ''When we got back to Shimla at the end, there was a big rush of satisfaction.''

The riders were also impressed by the local people they met throughout their journey; despite living in poverty, they were happy.

Ronnie added: ''We have learned a lot; I think we have come back
different from the people we were when we set out.

''But I don't think I'd be rushing back to do it again in a hurry."
Ronnie (58) says he is now going to enjoy his retirement — but he has just seen pictures of rural China......

For more details visit www.itsalongwaydown.co.uk and follow the link to justgiving.com to make a donation.