Leg 3 - The Ride Home

The ride home

After several attempts at trying to get back to Pokhara after my run – I was finally aboard the 6:10am flight – at about 10am. So confident was the airline that the flight was going to be cancelled, they didn’t even charge me until the plane had touched down and was ready to load. I’m typically a very good flyer – in fact, I love flying – but knowing that this same airline, flying this same route, met it’s demise amongst the unfortunate loss of 27 people only a month earlier, I had reason to be a bit jittery. That being said – judging by the amount of buses I’d seen rolled on their side in the weeks prior, I had hedged my bets. Thankfully it was a short flight and after some weaving through the high mountains, I was again back safe on terra firma, fully prepared for a day of rest before jumping back on the bike the following day.

Being back on the bike and on the main highway was a shock to the system, both physically and mentally. The legs had to get back to going round and round and the mind had to focus less on the mountain scenery and more on dodging potholes and avoiding oncoming buses. The latter of which was only narrowly accomplished on more than one occasion. 

After a fairly sedate few hours I turned off to a little town in the hills called Bandipur. I was planning another rest day here before the final push for home. My brother described the ride up to town as “a good climb”……knowing his penchant for understatement, along with the firm knowledge that time can wash the pain of a ride away and only leave the good memories – I took a deep breath, inhaled an energy gel and started spinning……and spinning and spinning. Up and up I went on the switchbacking road, finally cresting the hill and into town an hour later after a 6km / 500m climb. Not sure what the locals thought when I rolled into this sleepy little town with my shirt off, sweating bullets and looking every bit like a weary and weird foreigner.

Roadside snacks to keep me going

Bandipur - High in the hills

The climb was worth it though as Bandipur turned out to be a favourite place of mine. A little village lost in time on the top of a hill, with ancient Newari architecture to stare at while people watching in the cafes of the car-less bazaar. The main pastime here seems to be laughter, resting and watching – exactly what I was after!

Kids in Bandipur

Waiting. Watching

Momma from the hotel

Bandipur - quiet streets

My little room - awesome character

Newari Architecture

With fresh legs and a full belly, I was on the home stretch. Rolling fast back down the hill from hell, I was back on the main highway and spinning freely. Looking for one last adventure though, I decided it a good idea to take the “back way” to Kathmandu and headed north for the hills again after lunch.

I am still unsure as to whether I made the right decision on this one. If it was an adventure I was seeking – I sure did get it! I’d asked my standard rule of 3 people about the road before deciding to take it – hotel dude number 1 said “gravel, hard”, hotel dude number 2 said “all paved” and the lonely planet states “an upgraded road”……this was a 50/50 bet at best! But with a little time on my side, and the diesel fumes of the highway starting to get to me, I went for it.

Everything started well with a nice paved road heading steeply into the hills. The silence and lack of traffic bought a smile to my face as I settle down to my evening noodles at randomville for the night. The following morning however, things took a turn for the, well, for the harder. Dirt is one thing, climbing is another, dust is yet another, but when you have all 3 – it makes for tough going. After 2 hours I looked down at my speedo – 11kms! Then I looked my bike up and down, not to mention my filthy body and started wondering if a truck today would be a better option! Making matters worse was my lack of food for the day. My snack bag was empty and my idea of “grabbing something on the way” just wasn’t materializing.

The "upgraded road"

Rest stop

Roadside mini wash

Quick wash

Onwards I went though, finally the talcum powder dust started to give way to a more solid, yet broken rocky road and some slow progress was made. I finally made it to a dingy guest house on a highway town, having managed a total of 42km in 6.5 hours of riding for the day, I was filthy, had fallen off twice and was altogether cooked for the day. I put the day down to the second hardest I’ve had on a touring bike, settled down for a beer and quickly passed out on the rock hard mattress of the hovel guest house.

The dirt road I climbed all morning

Sweet tan

The last day was supposed to shape up like a dream – a long, steady climb to gain the ridge and then a “free flowing descent” into Kathmandu valley on a road – so quoted the Lonely Planet (which is now being burnt). The long steady climb was just that – LONG. 4 and a half hours to be precise with not a single change of gear from gear number 1. Not to worry though – I’d got a 6 am start due to the road noise at the guest house and so was looking forward to steaming downhill into KTM before lunch, borad smiles and sense of completion on my face.

As if to through me one last curveball though – once I crested the hill and filled up on rice and samosas, the road turned to rubbish. It was almost uncanny, as soon as it started descending, the smooth road I’d been climbing turned to a half constructed, dirt filled mess. I couldn’t quite figure out if it was remnants of earthquake damage or whether they were just rebuling the road, or both, but the sweet descent I was looking forward to turned into a wrist jamming bumpy ride as I had to sit on the brakes, my arse bouncing up and down as the Valley seemed to never appear.

Not the road I was hoping for

This kid was fascinated by what was going on

Exactly 7 hours after I’d left the hovel in the morning, I was finally navigating my way through the KTM traffic and back to my hotel. I’d only taken one short break for the day so my legs were nearing their end and I rolled in, happy but exhausted. The hotel staff seemed to remember me, but had looks on their face that seemed confused as to why I looked a log shaggier than when I started!!!

So here in Kathmandu I am resting and awaiting the journey home. It's been a great trip! 

Final thoughts

I loved Nepal – it really was a great trip, full with interesting and warm people, great food and amazing scenery. I would say the riding was harder than anticipated for me, but part of it was my fault for ambitious route selection and part was the heat in the early days. On the weather – ideally for cycling I would have came a few mths earlier and enjoyed cooler days and better views of the Himalayas. That being said, any earlier would have compromised my ability to run over a 5,400m pass. The trek circuit I did is susceptible to temperatures to -40 and blizzard conditions – in fact, 11  people had died on the pass the previous year when caught in a white out. I didn’t fancy that. I chose this time of year as the run was the primary focus for this trip.

At the end of the day – you cant plan for perfect weather when you are travelling at sea level, then to the mountains, then back again and overall it was good. I didn’t have any rain or wind and those are the things that can really turn cycling sour.

I’d definitely recommend Nepal to anyone looking for an interesting, cheap and easy trip. The people are very helpful and accommodating, the food is excellent and there really are things to do for everyone – you don’t HAVE to cycle and trek.

Namaste.

For the nerds (me);

Cycling Stats

Total Days :10

Total saddle hours: 52hrs :46mins

Total Distance: 717km

Total Ascent: 10,077m

Running Stats

Total Distance: 142 km

Total Moving Time: 21 hours, 27 mins

Total Ascent: 5,699 m

Total Descent: 4,245 m

All done