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.
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