Mission accomplished

After a bad start, I stuck to my plan and my good friend Mark sent me an encouraging text to keep to that plan.
So now I had my head sorted about riding solo and made sure I enjoyed every moment. Well, I use the term " enjoy", loosely. There were times that using bad language was the only way to get through some tough times.


The night time temperature got very cold about minus 10 Celsius some nights. I was ill prepared for the cold and experienced cold like never before. Sleeping was impossible despite wearing many layers and covering my sleeping bag with everything I had. Chris took pity on me and gave me two jackets to use, I was still cold!


The riding was tough everyday except the penultimate day. That was a day of blissful descending, all 9000 feet. The views were stunning as we descended from the cold arid mountains to the warm and humid forest areas as we neared the border to cross into Nepal.


But before the descent came the most amazing day. The day was off road. It started with an off road climb, then a lovely descent followed by a long long climb. Then as I rounded a corner, there it was..... Everest!
What an amazing sight, still a long way away, but unmistakeable. The guide and I were ahead of all the others and we stopped to wait for them. The sight was incredible and I was so excited to be there and didn't want the feeling to subside.
I had my photo taken whilst I held my bike above my head, I felt like I was floating.


We rode on to our campsite where we stayed for two nights. This was in front of Robuck monastery , the highest one in the Himalayas. Once there I wandered up the mountain behind the monastery and got some shots of Everest. In truth I took far too many pics but I just couldn't get enough of it.


The following day I rode the short 5.5 mile to base camp on my own. One of the riders hadn't ridden for a few days, two preferred to walk and the other two rode up but I left them behind when we set off. When I got to base camp there was a group if Chinese tourists there and they were fascinated with Leroy and the bike. They all wanted their photo with us. Once that was done I unfurled my Macmillan Cancer support banner and had my picture taken. Then all the tourists left and I was alone on the hillock and I filmed a short video. Then I just sat and enjoyed the view, I soaked it up and loved the solitude. I must say that in those first days I really had fears that I would not make it here.

Fifth day of riding and tears.

Tuesday 13th May started well enough. We'd spent the night at Nygaste hotel but sleep didn't come easy to any of us.

We had a late start of about 9.30. It was a long straight flat 95 km to Shigatse.
We rode in a group out of the town and remained in a group. This way the leaders shield the back riders from the wind and it makes for a much easier ride. However the pace was quite high and I was struggling to keep up. My main aim is to finish the ride and if I tried to keep the pace of the group I would burn out. Two members headed off the front and they generally did that most of the time. The other four of us remained together with the guide for several km. I was having a tough time keeping up. We stopped for a quick loo break and resumed. I had mentioned to the group that I was struggling a couple of times but when we continued they were just a little too fast on the pace for me so I had to drop off. I rode alone for some time and took in the sights and sounds. I got to the first stop at 30km for a drink and banana. The rest of the group had been there a while and I felt quite left out.
We all set off again after the break and I didn't even try to stay with the group as they whizzed on.
I allowed myself to get upset at the fact that no one stayed with me. That made me annoyed with myself. Then after some time of riding alone I saw the guide up ahead waiting for me. I kept my own pace and rode to the lunch spot where the others were. I was clearly some time behind them and I felt pretty shitty and very left out now.
I was in a lot of pain which didn't help. My head was throbbing and I'd not been able to get comfy on my saddle due to the broken skin on my backside.
I ate my lunch which was great as usual and found it difficult to join in the chatter as I had no knowledge of what they were talking about as they were chatting about the ride up to lunch.
The wind picked up now and we had to ride into it for 35 km.
I set of first as I knew I would be our there the longest. Most of the others past me quickly and the guide and other two past me while I was taking a picture of the irrigation system.
For the rest of the ride I was on my own. The head wind was relentless and made for very hard going. The more I thought of being dropped by the others the more upset I got. I'm sure I only got upset because I was tired and in pain. And because I would never see another rider on their own I just felt it would be nice to be with like minded people who wanted to take everything in and share in the experience. But each person was doing what they wanted to do and that was perfectly correct. However I still felt lonely without someone to share the amazing sights with. Their mission  was to get to the end as soon as possible. Even if I could have kept up with them, I wouldn't have as I was here to take in as much as possible. By time I did get to the end I was thoroughly shattered and had to take myself off to the loo as I could not hold back the tears.
I went up to the room on my own and had a good cry in the bath.   The exhaustion had got to me and the lack of support I had felt added to my fragile emotions. I am used to riding with supportive people from my cycle club and on this day I was now really thinking I was not strong enough to finish this ride.  I was filled with self doubt about not being strong enough to get to base camp and that was my main goal.
But once I had calmed down and given myself a talking to, I resigned myself to the fact that for the rest of the ride I would be riding alone and without the support of the others.  Once that had sunk in, I was fine.  I am very capable of riding solo and have experience of tough solo rides so knew I could do it.
The following day was a rest day in Shigatse and I didn't feel much like the company of the others so after we toured a Monastry which was amazing, I took myself off and explored the city, the second largest in Tibet, on my own.  It was a wonderful afternoon of sights and smells in local markets.




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Day 3. 11th May. 43.5 miles. 2624 feet of climbing

This day started with a 20 mile climb.  I took my time and tried not to push myself to hard, I knew I had to take it easy if I was to finish this ride.  I was also keen to take in as much as possible, after all I may never come here again and it is so different from any place I had ever been to.   Some of the other riders seemed a lot less interested in the surroundings and just wanted to blast off to the next stop.

Above is a life size model of a policeman, these were common at the begining of villages.

Leroy taking in the view just before our third nights camping.

We camped on a river bed and soon a massive wind storm was upon us.  We had to put rocks on tent skirts to stop them being blown away.  Being on a river bed the amount of dust and sand blown around was awful.

Prior to that I braved ice cold water  from a mountain stream to have a wash.

View of our camp from the river bed.

Caves in the mountain above us

Local goat boss

Day 2. 10th May 2014 The endless climb. 45.5 miles, 8110 feet of climbing.

This day was a rude awakening for what was to come on subsequent days.  My stomach was still upset and we had a 15 mile climb to start the day.  We climbed 3700 feet.  I was left by the other riders as they felt good.  Promod the guide stuck with me and we ground up that hill.  I had a few emergency stops thanks to my stomach.  The road just snaked higher and higher affording great views down the valley.

The vehicles were considerate and gave us plenty of room, most sounded their horns as they approached corners to warn other road users of their presence.

After about 4 hours of relentless climbing I eventually reached the top of the Khamba La pass.

The view of the Yamdrok Lake was stunning.  

We couldn't spend too much time at he top as we were getting cold.

We then had a fast and long descent before getting to lake level and a flattish 25 miles to our riverside campsite.

First days ride. 9th May 2014. 52.9 miles. Climbed 1519 feet.

It wasn't a good start. I'm lying on my sleeping mat outside in the shade, trying to recover from a tough day. Tough because I've had a bad stomach. It started the previous night and continued today.

We set off at around 9am. I was feeling pretty weak with a headache as well.

We seemed to take forever to get clear of the city. The streets were busy and we all followed Promod our guide. Promod is a Nepali guide, an excellent cyclist and knows the route like the back of his hand.

The pace was pretty fast and just couldn't keep up.  I felt weak and shaky due to he illness. It was getting hotter and I was feeling it.

Andy the youngest rider and Chris, the oldest rider were brilliant and shielded me from the wind all the way to our lunch stop.

Lunch was an organised affair. The crew had set up a tent and cooked us chips, veg and tinned tuna. Also a roll with melted cheese. As we arrived a taurpualin was on the ground for us to sit on and hot lemon and sugar water was served.

After food we had tea and coffee.

I managed to eat and we set off in the heat again.  I was feeling so bad I was fighting back the tears.

Chris stayed with me and I draughted behind him.

I had to make an emergency stop in a ditch at the roadside. It was a close call! My stomach was cramping and I was not happy.  I was so grateful that Chris was with me offering sympathy and support.  The others had zoomed off ahead.

The sights were amazing though we were surrounded by snow capped mountains. We had ridden along Lhasa river most of the way.  I was just too ill to take it n or take photos.

After 53 miles of steady riding which was pretty flat we arrived at our camp site.

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I felt near collapse!

We each had a little bowl of water to wash with and just relaxed waiting for dinner.



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Back home to rest and recouperation

Unfortunately I wasn't able to update my blog while I was away, so I will add a day by day account as soon as I'm able to.

A day in Kathmandu

This has to be a day that will remain with me forever!
I have had culture overload. We had a breakfast fit for royalty and then were taken on a guided tour.
The traffic was crazy and our bus driver was amazing at weaving in and out of the madness.
We visited a Bhudist Temple












- It is just incredible and lots of local people were worshipping.
It was too much to take in really. Our guide was very knowledgable and informative .

We then visited a holy river that feeds the river Ganges. On the banks if the river the Hindu people cremate their dead and then sweep the ashes into the river. We saw several being cremated. It was odd seeing a body on a pyre and set alight. Rather moving and surreal






We had a wander around the markets and also visited an art school where images of the Stupa
are painted. Some students practise for years.






We had lunch at a local restaurant and I then went for a massage. That was interesting!!
Then we shopped around. I got some more warm gear, gloves and a jacket.

We , four of us got lost so we paired up and took a cycle rickshaw back to the hotel. That was terrifying being in the mad traffic but had us laughing hysterically.
The day ended with a meal in a different restaurant and a nightcap.
I am reeling from the culture I have seen today. The poverty is dramatic but the place is so vibrant.
Tomorrow we fly to Tibet.












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