Tibet, Nepal, Everest, etc

[frank9755]

I got back from Kathmandu yesterday. Had been on the Lhasa-Everest-Kathmandu road (with Red Spokes).

Will write something up on my blog at some point but a few highlights in case anyone interested in going.

Good bits
1. Everest is amazing - a real wow moment
2. Cycling in Nepal is great fun - loads of people everywhere, curvy, undulating roads and landslides just to make it even more interesting. I got hit on the back by a small piece of landslide.
3. Traffic is fine. Like most places, its better / more considerate than the UK
4. Tibet has, as you would expect, some great cols to climb. Some classic 5,000m ones!

Bad bits
1. Apart from the big passes, cycling in Tibet is pretty boring! Maybe even as bad as the Loire valley. Windswept A roads, straight and flat for miles on end. The off-road stuff is more washboard piste than interesting singletrack
2. Impact of altitude. Makes it hard to pedal above walking pace up any moderate slope

 

[Anthony]

Well done. This is a trip I'd love to do one day. I look forward to reading your blog and seeing some photos.

 

[summerdays]

How long was your trip? ... and yes looking forward to seeing some photos.

 

[rich p]

Nice one Frank. Bore me about it on a night ride one day

 

[andrew_s]

How much of the route is surfaced these days?
When I did it in 2001 it was only surfaced as far as the crossing of the Yarlung/Brahmaputra, a few miles either side of Shigatse and Gyantse, and actually in about 3 of the larger villages/towns (Lhatse, Tingri and Nyalam iirc). The road between Gyantse and Shigatse was being rebuilt and traffic was diverted onto the river embankments and through fields, and the descent of the Pang La towards Everest was all dug up and pretty rocky.
Did you do the alternative route between Rongbuk and Tingri via the Lamna La? That was the best part of the trip IMO.

 

[frank9755]

I've managed to put a bunch of photos up on facebook, if anyone would like a look
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=493938&id=500045175&fbid=10150267876160176&ref=mf

The trip was about 3 and a half weeks, but there is a fair bit of acclimatising to be done, so didn't get on to cycling until week 2. The main Lhasa-Kathmandu leg takes about two weeks.

There has been lots of roadbuilding going on in Tibet - as there has all over China - and it is now new roads all the way to the border. It is smooth tarmac, better than you find in the UK. They have also straightened out the roads. It really would be much better as time trialling country than touring.

I imagine it would have been a very different ride when you did it, Andrew, before the roadbuilding was finished. Also it would be very different when the winds get up. We had only one afternoon of strong headwind, but it made the downhills hard work, let alone the climbs!

The leg up to Everest via the Pang La is not tarmac. They did improve it for the Olympics (they took the torch up there) but rain and traffic has since degraded it and it is in pretty bad state in parts. ie potholes and washboard.We didn't do the leg across to Tingri as we heard that landslides had blocked it. Whether that was actually the case, or if our support crew didn't fancy it we couldn't really establish! Rather than do the Pang La again with its hundreds of hairpins, which none of us had the appetite for, we just loaded the bikes on the truck and got a ride back to the main road, and rolled down to Tingri. That allowed us to catch up a day, which gave us a nice ride into Kathmandu at the end.

 

[kevin_cambs_uk]

Did you ever write up your trip mate?

How many out of 10 would you have given the whole trip?

cheers mate !