KATHMANDU TO KALIMPONG 2014

Wednesday, 19th February 2014. Lahan to Pakali

Distance - 64.5 miles Climbing - 380 ft
Route Details http://www.strava.com/activities/115453673

Usual excellent breakfast and on the road by 7.15am. You have to be 'tent organised' to be up and ready in time. The night before I organise my clothes, for the next day, and wrap them in my jacket so they won't get damp. Toilet bag, hairbrush, contact lenses all to hand. Bike helmet holds bike gloves, cameras, phone, tissues and bike computer. Everything ready to be lifted or packed.
Again very cool to begin with but soon up to 25*C. Lovely. We make good speed on the excellent, pollution free roads but there are rough, stoney stretches which catch us unawares. Dense bamboo groves give way to lush green fields growing wheat and rice. Vanda spots heron, kingfisher, minor birds, wagtails, stork and ignets. Me, I see nothing, what am I looking at ? Whenever we stop we are surrounded by interested welcoming villagers. One girl was desperate for me to visit with her sister, who had a month old baby. Vanda and I went to the nearby compound where we met the beautiful young Mum and perfect baby boy. As a mid-wife Vanda was able to give some good advise.
We passed over the Khosi Barrage, no river just now just a vast area of sand. Two years ago, during the monsoon, the river had blocked causing severe flooding, washing away many villages. The sand banks are all that remain. A young boy cycled alongside me this morning engaging me in conversation. Struggling to understand each other I said his English was much better than my non - existent Hindi. 'Just try' he said 'just try', I promised him I would.
All cyclists are coping well but there is the usual complaints of sore butts, sun burn and mossie bites. I have mossie bites on my ankles, thought I was covered up but no, gap between sock and trousers. The wee blighters never miss a trick and ooh they are so itchy.
Tonight, Ganga Basneth, one of our drivers sang and played the Tsarangi, a nepali musical instrument.
A hauntingly beautiful sound. He uses badminton racket string as wire, very effective. John had us playing the' spoon game' to great laughter and confusion and James entertained us with mis-quotes of John. Good fun.
Loving this free way of living, no responsibilities, all I have to do is cycle. Binod and his team look after our every need, all I seem to do is eat. Definitely will not lose weight on this trip.

Rice I think

Flood area

Friendly Villagers

Beautiful Mum and Baby.

Perfect Boy

The Men need a Rest

Please take Our Photo

Bamboo Cutter

No Privacy

Ganga playing the Tsarangi

End of a Perfect Day.

Tuesday, 18th February, 2014. Leisurely Cycle on the Road to Lahan

Distance 46 miles. Climbing - 298 feet
Route Details http://www.strava.com/activities/115452668

Usual breakfast of porridge, eggs - boiled or poached, sausages, tomatoes, toast and tea. I'll be putting on weight on this trip instead of losing it. With two days of hard cycling in wet conditions, over the hills of Sindhuli, we have now reached the Tarai, the plains of Nepal. We were enjoying a chilly but pleasant sunny day until the mist came down and you could hardly see 2 yards in front of you. The group got split up in the mist so for safety sake the lead car stopped to allow the others to catch up. Quite eerie. Athough very rough in places the road is much flatter now so making better time. Vanda has got over her tummy bug and is strong again, geeing us along with her chat. With the sun back we passed through teeming villages, not as colourful as India, but full of life. Shops, tradesman, farmers all mingling making a simple living. Traffic is not as hectic as India but is ever present, horns blasting, cutting in, overtaking, goats, cows, dogs, anything goes, you must be constantly alert. We stopped at a quiet spot for a lunch of egg sandwiches, cold meat, potatoes and salad. Normally I wouldn't eat salad in this part of the world but Binod assured us it was perfectly safe being washed in iodine water, and it was, delicious. Some of us managed a snooze in the sun. We made good time reaching Lahan by 1.30pm, plenty of time for a proper shower and to relax. The shower is wonderful, no bucket and jug this time. There is a large tent with chair, plastic mat, wooden mat and a garden like hose. The water comes from a plastic container with plunger which one of the support team pumps furiously when you shower. How clever is this? Oh, it feels so good to be clean. We are camped on a large playing field creating interest from the boys of a nearby engineering college, there is always someone who speaks english and is confident about coming forward. I love chatting with the locals encouraging their questions. They always want to know your country and what you are doing.
Binod announced a friend owned a cinema in nearby Lahan and invited us to go. A few of us enjoyed the delights of "Gunday" in an interesting picture house. The film wasn't shown from reel but taken from the internet. Great fun but certainly a world away from our cinema's back home.
We returned to a great meal of Tomato Soup with croutons, Spaghetti Bolognaise, Apple Turnover and Ice-cream. Earlier we had watched the cook make the pudding in the a tin lined with foil, tossing the apples and spices together. So clever and yummy. After dinner we were asked who wanted a hot water bottle and every hand shot up. Such comfort. We are also issued with down jackets, so cosy. Love it. Loud music playing again tonight, great beat, wonder what the celebrations are for this time.
Spike is holding up well although he is filthy, I can tell he is not pleased as he keeps giving me dirty looks. Enjoying the challenges of this trip so much.

Chilly Morning Start

Lunch and Snooze

Paul and Binod Serve Delicious Lunch

Rev Web., Vanda and Myself Entertain the Crowd

Fraser Takes Post Cycle Exercises

Chatting to Lovely Ladies

Lahan Cinema

Vanda and I in the Balcony

Janice and the Boys from Engineering College

Brilliant Shower

Dinner

Delicious Spaghetti Bolognaise

Monday, 17th February, 2014 Mud, Mayhem and Mishap on the Road to Sindhulimadi

Distance - 35.7 miles Climbing - 5262 ft
Route Details www.strava.com/activities/116784102

What an eventful day !! Firstly, white tea and a basin of warm water for washing at 5.45 am, breakfast at 6.15 am, ready to leave at 7.00 am. I don't mind camping but the mornings are the worst time. Tent is cold and wet with condensation, clothes feel damp. Ugg. Slept fitfully first night in tent, awake every couple of hours, too hot, so out went hot water bottle and fleece liner. Spike's back tyre has stayed up so fingers crossed. The next section of road is under construction so we bused it to Khurkot and the plan was to cycle from there, bikes went in a truck. What a nightmare, because of the heavy rain during the night the road has turned into a quagmire, buses, trucks, cars, slipping and sliding with steeps drops on both sides. Our bus would get so far up a slope then grind to a halt in the rutted, muddy road. The men would get out and push, push and we would be off again. I saw a service bus crammed full with people attempt a slope 5 times and not get up, I thought there was no way it could make it but about an hour later when we were having lunch the bus came trundling through. Amazing drivers and passengers. We saw stunning views of terraced farms, steep peaks and lush valleys. Families in the areas have had houses built for them in compensation for the road disruption. This was a better day, still chilly but the sun was out. A decision was made at Khurkot, as we were so behind schedule, not to cycle the approaching steep hill but bus us to the top. This was a climb of about 4,000 ft that I had really been looking forward to and trained hard for, so I was really disappointed and made my feelings known but to no avail. The decision was not open for discussion !! So we bused to the top, had lunch, and I sat in the huff. I quickly realised I was being silly, plans change in a trip like this so snapped out of it. We had 35 miles to cycle and what a beautiful ride it was. Great road with steep descents, twisting turning hairpin bends, fast, fast. There were also plenty uphills so all in all quite a taxing ride which made up for my earlier disappointment. In fact there is no way we could have cycled the hill plus the last 35 miles in the day allotted. Another time, this part of the route would need to be rethought.
Natasha, who wasn't a confident cyclist and had spent day 1 in the car decided she would like to start cycling. Ken and I stayed with her to offer advice.Unfortunately, she very quickly lost control of her bike and crashed. She was badly grazed and her wrist damaged. We put her in the back support vehicle then cycled furiously to catch the others, I was quite exhausted by the time we caught them up. Natasha had her wrist strapped up but decided to stay with the group, travel in the car, and enjoy seeing Nepal and India. I feel quite responsible as I was with her, the more experienced cyclist, so could have advised her better. It was an accident waiting to happen.
The weather is warmer now which is nice and we are in a lovely camp site with all amenities provided by the team. I haven't had a shower yet, using baby wipes but I think I will tomorrow. Lovely evening meal of mild curry, meat and veg., rice, onion bhajis. Lying in tent and there is loud music playing over loudspeakers, think a local wedding is in full swing. Joy of joys. Mixed day but loving it.

Leaving 1st Camp Nepalthok

Will We Get Up ?

Onwards and Upwards

Road Under Construction

The Road We Didn't Cycle.

Lovely Downhill

Bemused Onlookers

Spike Looks Over Nepal

On the Road Again.

Sunday, 16th February 2014. Kathmandu to Nepalthok

Distance- 49.6 miles. Climbing - 6890 ft
Route Details http://www.strava.com/activities/115451359

Up at 5.00am for 6.30am start, just light, nervous and anxious to be on the road, get started. We slithered through the narrow, potholed, rough, twisting lanes of Kathmandu which led onto the busy wider roads heading east. Heavy, fast traffic cutting us up kept us alert. Some medium climbs warmed us up and everyne seemed to be coping well. The lead support vehicle though was going too fast, leaving us behind and opening too wide a gap between lead and last vehicle. John is not happy, says they will have to be told to slow down. We stopped for a yummy second breakfast served on tables, what luxury. Some cyclists had bought rain jackets which was fortunate as rain came on shrouding the roads and terraced hills in a heavy mist. I thought it was supposed to be sunny and warm !! We came to a lay-by looking towards Tibet but could see nothing because of the rain. I thought we had left this weather behind in Scotland!! The road veers between excellent and rutted mud going through villages. So difficult to keep your balance. By lunchtime we were all soaked through and freezing, not looking forward to a soggy lunch, but Binod and his team were on the ball. Tents were quickly erected and a lovely lunch of sandwiches, coleslaw and delicious chips were produced. Unbelievable. Feeling better we set off again but just before camp I had a puncture, blast, Spike never get punctures. After a quick repair I discovered that it must have been a spoke pressing through, my tyre had been over-inflated. By now the rain was off and we reached our stunning camp site by the Khosi River in a deep valley. The tents were up and hot showers were ready. David went and sat in the cold river to ease his legs and other parts, prevention is better than cure ! We had a fabulous 3 course meal of soup, pork chop, roast potatoes, veg. and gravy followed by apples and custard. Popcorn and homemade bombay mix to begin with. Enjoyed today, apart from the weather, children and people curious as ever whenever we stop. Pity about mist as thinks views would have been fabulous. Feeling strong but a bit worried about wheel, could be spoke will pop through and cause further punctures.

Getting Ready for the Road

Porridge, milk from kettle !!

Mmmmmmm

Terraced Hillsides

Michelle, John and Olga Negotiate the Mud

Ken, Janice, Janine, John Keeping Warm

Fraser, Michelle, Janine, David feeling the Heat.

1st Campsite - River Roshi Khola

David takes a Quiet Moment to Write his Blog

Home Sweet Home

Saturday, 15th February 2014. Disappointed Me.

Had decided after much thought to join two others on the group, Ken and Michelle, and book a flight over Everest. Up before five, no breakfast and headed for the airport in a taxi. Still dark, still hopeful. Sat in the airport for two hours waiting for a weather window. Then our flight was called, so happy, camera ready. Taxi-ing looking good. Then pilot announced, turning back, cloud over mountains. Distraught. So disappointed as I probably won't get another chance. Still the only positive is I saved a bit of money.
Returned for breakfast at the hotel then had Group preparation meeting at 12 noon. Binod Rai of Insight Himalaya, our Support Team seems to be on the ball with everything supplied. They provide tent, 2 sleeping mats, pillow, sleeping bag, fleece liner, hot water bottle, hot showers, down jackets, generator for charging. Fantastic, what a team - sanitised camping methinks. I have brought sleeping bag liner, pillow, 6 batteries for mobile phone, solar panel for Go-Pro, 2 camera batteries but all completely unnecessary. After introductory meeting went out for lunch, into Kathmandu, with some of the group. Suddenly I found myself alone, where had the others gone, in the warren of streets and crowds it is just so easy to take a wrong turning. I remembered we were going to the 'Third Eye' restaurant so didn't panic and kept asking for directions. Eventually I found myself at the restaurant and there were the others, quite unconcerned, they thought I had deliberately wandered off on my own. After lunch Fraser and I went out on our bikes to get a feel of the city and roads. I immediately went round a roundabout the wrong way but no-one seemed to mind, I think like India anything goes here.
Still feeling fine although tired, start cycling tomorrow. Vanda is unwell, hope she makes it tomorrow. I am coping well with Nepalese food, doesn't seem as fiery as Indian food. Ready to be off, good stuff.