"It is by riding a bicycle that you learn the contours of a country best, since you have to sweat up the hills and coast down them. Thus you remember them as they actually are, while in a motor car only a high hill impresses you, and you have no such accurate remembrance of country you have driven through as you gain by riding a bicycle." Ernest Hemingway
As we return to the US and reenter our normal lives, we decided to finish out the blog with this epilogue reflecting a look back over an amazing trip and perhaps even to try and answer some questions we’ve been getting or occasionally asking of ourselves!
First off, we should probably try and answer the most often directly asked or implied question. Why did we take on this strenuous, adventure trip in the first place? (Sometimes cleverly posed as “what were you thinking?”) There certainly were moments when we asked something similar though usually only using our “inner voices.”
The trip’s genesis is directly traceable to one taken 10 years ago to Tibet by Jim and Cathy Shelton and another one 5 years ago by Gene to Tibet and Nepal. While both were fairly conventional overland tours (i.e. using Toyota Land Cruisers) they were immensely rewarding and left a desire in the three of us to return someday to see more of both of these countries, and do it more slowly and intimately. One of the common interests among us is cycling so a logical follow-up visit on bicycles was the obvious solution. So a plan emerged for the cycling part aided substantially by Ang (the guide on Gene’s trip and now a friend who has visited Colorado several times) agreeing to serve as guide for the cycling trip and facilitator for supporting the Namlo International project. [Note - The community service project at Sabhung was added later and Jim will address that below.]
Not surprising, we found a changed Tibet from our previous trips. The biggest changes were most evident in Lhasa and Shigatse with significant new and on-going construction of buildings and infrastructure. The Beijing-Lhasa train is being pushed aggressively westward to Shigatse, and apparently beyond. Another major change that was most evident in Lhasa was the significant increase in the presence of China’s PLA soldiers. They seemed to be at nearly every intersection and all government buildings, always standing silently at attention in small glass buildings or booths. In the very Tibetan Barkhor Square squads of PLA soldiers were often marching to/from their posts with high visibility and drama. Their presence was that of an occupying army that was both omnipotent and omnipresent. This must all be a direct result of the Tibetan riots/demonstrations in 2008 and probably won’t be changing anytime soon. The other change was more subtle but it certainly appeared the Chinese government is pumping significant money into Tibet through construction and public works projects mentioned above but included maintenance/street cleaning/landscaping projects that had to involved thousands of skilled and unskilled laborers. Tibetan culture survival is certainly at risk with all the above plus the introduction of 100,000s of Han Chinese into the Tibet Autonomous Region, but the economic quality of life may be improving for the average Tibetan, especially in the cities.
We enjoyed our cycling trip greatly though some of it was certainly strenuous. We biked every day but one, starting on the first full day in Lhasa with training or shakedown rides in the unpredictable traffic of a busy city. We covered roughly 1000 KM over 12 days though the actual distance cycled varied a bit among us depending on injuries (only one fairly significant), weather, and how strong each of us felt day-by-day. We traveled mostly on the paved Friendship Highway (9 days) which is much like a typical main highway in the rural western US though much of it is through very sparsely populated high desert and over mountain passes. We interacted with the local people a fair amount as they (thankfully!) seemed to respond well to tourists on bicycles, especially friendly ones who waved, smiled and greeting them in their language. Though almost all waved and greeted us in return, the children responded the best, often calling out “Hello” and running alongside us for hundreds of yards. When we stopped for lunch or camping, we were regularly joined by local villagers who were curious about us and we mutually tried out our limited knowledge of each other’s language. We stopped at teahouses, small stores, open-air markets and, of course, many monasteries. The 2 day side trip to Rongbuk Monastery and Everest Base Camp (EBC) was figuratively and literally the trip’s highpoint and greatly enhanced by superb weather. However, we did wish the dirt road had been better maintained as it slowed us considerably on the ascent. The one day descent into Nepal was also mostly dirt and gravel but very mild terrain by comparison.
We’re often asked about food and are pleased to report that it was a non-issue and none of us ever got ill. We ate in restaurants that catered to foreign travelers and the menus usually had a broad selection of Tibetan, Chinese and Indian food. In camp we ate mostly fresh vegetables, rice, lentils and a protein such as yak, water buffalo, goat, mutton or chicken. Most of us lost some weight (some up to 8-10 lbs) but that was probably due largely to the strenuous cycling combined with eating only nutritious, low fat food. Our Nepali cook Saruj took very good care of us and we’re extremely thankful for that!
Ten Reflections of a Million Meter Pedal at Three Miles High (fm Peter Rockwood)
• Incense and candles in yak butter burning throughout countless Buddhist monasteries. Prayer wheels, prostrating pilgrims & debating monks
• Busloads of Chinese tourists flocking to take pictures of (and sometimes with) the novelty of spandex-clad American cyclists
• Lung searing ascents to summits of 17,000’ passes to be greeted by howling winds and streaming prayer flags on top
• Saruj the cook and his culinary magic. Each camp stove meal outdone by the next. Pizza & cake anyone?
• Endless honking of horns from every vehicle that passed us by – in either direction
• Hiking to the top of a ridge line and peering down on the tiny speck of our camp site below
• The smiling, happy, round ruddy Tibetan faces that seem to glow from within
• Almost quitting two kilometers from Everest Base Camp due to the pounding on rutted dirt roads, only to run smack dab into her majesty, Mt. Everest, framed in a reach-out-and-touch-her crystal clear blue sky
• Cycling into the cozy, homey campsites where tents are erected & waiting, complete with privy, warm water for French bathing, mess tent, hot tea or Lhasa beer, chilled in a glacier water stream and handed to us by the ever cheerful Katak, our camp manager
• And finally the two Angs. What more can be said about the efficiency of lead guide Ang Tshering Lama - always willing to please, spreading cheer equally among his flock. And quiet, reserved Ang Galu Sherpa – sinewy strong, even-tempered cycle guide who led by example. 15th ride along the Friendship Highway, twice summiting Everest, once descended without oxygen and also climbed Cho Oyu (world’s 6th highest peak) without oxygen
A Few Observations for Fellow Cyclists Who Might be Considering This Trip:
• Equipment – Hardtail mountain bikes with semi-slick tires were used but aren’t essential as touring or even cyclecross bikes would probably be quite adequate (the larger the tire width the better) on everything we rode except the gravel roads to/from Everest. The ride is hard on bodies and equipment and our rental bikes from Kathmandu were pretty much “beaters.” In retrospect many of us would have seriously considered buying new bikes in Lhasa (where there are now some good bike shops) and trying to sell them in Kathmandu or leave them with the guides to sell later.
• The riding - strenuous to say the least but quite doable if you train for climbing, preferably at high altitudes, acclimate fairly well and allocate enough time. Our cycling schedule may have been a little too ambitious at 12 days with one rest day and, again in retrospect, we’d probable recommend 14 days with two rest days though picking a location for the second rest day is not easy. The Everest side trip was certainly spectacular but the roads were very rough and slow going. Using the SAG vehicles to go to Rongbuk and then cycling to EBC should be seriously considered. The road to Tingri wasn’t nearly as bad and certainly cycling up/over the Lamna La pass is recommended as it’s a gorgeous ride but the final ~10 miles (mostly gradual downhill) ride into Tingri is over very rough, river rock roads at the end of a long day.
• Acclimatizing – We had fewer problems than expected operating with 50-60% of sea level oxygen but 9/10 of us are from Colorado and we did train and even slept up to 14,000’. (Josh lives in Washington, DC and did amazingly well in spite of not much high altitude training.) Very few (~3) of us needed to take Diamox and even then it was kept it to a minimum duration. The two non-riders seemed to have more issues than the riders with blood oxygenation levels and acclimatizing in general so we’re left to conclude (small number theory perhaps) that physical activity helps the body acclimatize. We had no emergencies with Acute Mountain Sickness symptoms (headaches and sleeplessness being the primary symptoms, which were common) and no one had to descend quickly to recover. [Note: We may not have yet mentioned that most of us are in our 60’s or early 70’s except Josh who is 39.]
• SAG vehicles – Absolutely necessary from our perspective. Count on the need to instruct SAG’ers on how to effectively support your group, especially if it stretches out on the long climbs. Working up the protocol for that took several days but all-in-all that worked out quite well with only two “situations” that should have been avoidable had we worked it harder/earlier with the guides. One clear requirement is for each rider to assume some responsibility for all other riders in their group and, in particular to keep general track of where each other are. SAG vehicles can be a long way from the need when it arises! [Counterpoint - The German rider we met at Borderlands, Nepal was doing the same ride (less EBC) solo and without TPP and therefore gained our immediate and unqualified high regard and all the free beer he could consume.]
• Guides – We think hiring a quality guide and crew is very important unless the group has significant experience in traveling in Tibet already and even that may not be enough. The Chinese government seems to be making having a Chinese guide a requirement, as just getting a TTP requires an “inviter” and getting through police checkpoints and access to some monasteries/preserves also require a guide. We used a Nepali guide (Ang Tshering Lama @ angshimalayanadventures.com) who is an excellent guide, experienced mountain climber and cyclist as well as he speaks very good english. He hired another Nepali guide (Ang Gelu Sherpa) to lead the cycling and a Chinese guide (Norbu – w/ Tibetan ancestry) as required by the government.
Gene
A Service Project Half Way Around the World in Nepal
Five of the above cycle tourists plus Kim and Nick Palmer spent two weeks in Kathmandu, Pokhara (gateway to the Annapurna Range of the Himalayas), and Sabhung, a small village way off the beaten track in the hills between the two. The real purpose of this trip extension was to “do something useful” after our extended Tibet adventure. Kathmandu and Pokhara were great, if reasonably predictable tourist encounters. Sabhung, location of our service project, was a horse of a different color! In some ways, the experience was similar to Tibet, but in other ways completely different. Similarities included contact with local people, sleeping in tents, eating Sarouj’s food, and working hard on the task at hand. Obvious differences were a Hawaii-like jungle paradise vs the treeless Tibetan Plateau (3,500’ vs 17,000’), and living exclusively in tents without running water or power. In other words, there wasn’t even the faint hope of a hot shower, promised but frequently not delivered in Tibet. Rather, we bathed many times with local people at the communal village spring.
Which leads me to the most profound difference and the take-away from this trip as a whole. We lived and worked for a week side-by-side with people dedicated to improving their lives through education. Life is hard in Sabhung – hauling all the water used, subsistence farming on steep hillsides, light only from the sun, mud when it rains, and miles-long walks to a school that in no way would make the grade in our well endowed society. But the students came by the hundreds, knowing that this could be their avenue to a better future.
Our labor was hard, and more than once mind-numbingly repetitive and endless, but we kept at it from a sense that this will make a difference in the lives of those we see every day at school. Early on, we worked with a few local people helping while many others observed. As time wore on, more and more joined us, from little kids to teenagers to adults to teachers to retired folks. It developed into quite a diverse group! Luckily, we were called on mostly to perform grunt labor. I say luckily because Nepali construction techniques are unfamiliar, and the villagers were skilled in their use; eg stacked rock and mud walls, metal roofs on the spindliest of support structures, making concrete directly on the ground, and whittling/cutting/shaving big boards into tools, shutters, doors, and whatever else was needed. Scavenging was the order of the day, proved by our collective ability to repair, rebuild, remodel, and outfit a whole building for $5,000-6000 total, which we had raised in advance.
By the end of this week, we felt we were a part of the community. Local people visited our camp, and likewise invited us in for tea in their homes. We were feted with LARGE flower garlands and tikkas at the end, a sign of their appreciation for our participation. Some were visibly moved by our willingness to come 12 time zones (give or take 15 minutes) to help them improve their community. There were regrets upon our leaving and hope for our return.
For me personally, Tibet and especially Sabhung brought into focus the difference between seeing a country and culture vs living in it. From now on, seeing it will no longer be enough …
Jim
11/23/11
10/20/11
PARTING IS SUCH SWEET SORROW
We left camp at 8AM, some walking back to Bhimad and some riding with our two jeep loads of gear. Striking camp admittedly left a bit of an empty feeling in all of us. It has been our home for a week that seemed like a lifetime!
Many villagers came early to see us off, a nice touch that we appreciated. It was quite foggy, so a final picture was difficult. We did get a picture of the carpenters and roofers earlier.
We will have many more stories and pictures when we return home, soon.
Many villagers came early to see us off, a nice touch that we appreciated. It was quite foggy, so a final picture was difficult. We did get a picture of the carpenters and roofers earlier.
We will have many more stories and pictures when we return home, soon.
WRAPPING UP
We are counting the remaining get-ups and trips to the potty trench now!
Stucco guys are working to finish the front of the first classroom, and we do our usual support job. Josh has become the go-to guy for transporting the 50kg (110lb) bags of cement, with no challengers surfacing amongst the Americans!
Work also continued on the ceiling supports and rooftop hold-downs. One thing that must be mentioned at this point is Mr Nirmal, our local slave driver. As he learned our names, we lived in fear of hearing him call us from across the school compound to get busy on whatever he thought we should be doing. He was unique among Nepalis for getting after us to keep pushing! Tom recognized him as premier Nepali team member with a Leatherman tool, and you should have seen Nirmal beam.
Kim and Nick organized games and hokey pokey fests. The students seemed to never get enough of this! In fact, a village woman and her family visited us in camp that night and hit the emotional high for the week. Saying nothing but holding Kim’s hands, she used a little sign language and very expressive eyes to convey their thanks and sadness for our leaving.
At the end of the school day, they had a farewell assembly in the compound. Speeches by them and us on the joy of working together and friendships made. Also deep appreciation for Namlo and our help with their school. Americans were awarded major tikas and flower garlands, easily eclipsing Aruna’s when we arrived. Also hats for men and shawls for women. Very touching.
Sarouj made a birthday cake for Aruna at dinner, with candles and balloons, which we pressed into service to cover Kim’s upcoming birthday as well.
Stucco guys are working to finish the front of the first classroom, and we do our usual support job. Josh has become the go-to guy for transporting the 50kg (110lb) bags of cement, with no challengers surfacing amongst the Americans!
Work also continued on the ceiling supports and rooftop hold-downs. One thing that must be mentioned at this point is Mr Nirmal, our local slave driver. As he learned our names, we lived in fear of hearing him call us from across the school compound to get busy on whatever he thought we should be doing. He was unique among Nepalis for getting after us to keep pushing! Tom recognized him as premier Nepali team member with a Leatherman tool, and you should have seen Nirmal beam.
Kim and Nick organized games and hokey pokey fests. The students seemed to never get enough of this! In fact, a village woman and her family visited us in camp that night and hit the emotional high for the week. Saying nothing but holding Kim’s hands, she used a little sign language and very expressive eyes to convey their thanks and sadness for our leaving.
At the end of the school day, they had a farewell assembly in the compound. Speeches by them and us on the joy of working together and friendships made. Also deep appreciation for Namlo and our help with their school. Americans were awarded major tikas and flower garlands, easily eclipsing Aruna’s when we arrived. Also hats for men and shawls for women. Very touching.
Sarouj made a birthday cake for Aruna at dinner, with candles and balloons, which we pressed into service to cover Kim’s upcoming birthday as well.
ENGLISH
Hooray – the one room’s walls are completely stuccoed today. The floor was also finished – the room looks like the inside of a concrete tank now. I’m sure that paint will improve on that.
Today was partly aimed at getting involved with the students in their classrooms. We visited 3 english classes to promote the value of education in reaching their dreams. Apparently, Nepalis do not raise their hands to speak. In fact, we’re not sure that they speak at all. We elicited lots of giggling and staring at the floor when we asked them what their life’s dreams were. Got lots of doctors, nurses, and teachers, but also actual ideas as drivers, midwives, police, pilots, social workers, animal husbandry, and scientists. Nick visited a class to see if the students would open up more for him. They remained very shy. After these classes, we delivered books w/cd versions made by the project team, a cd player, and some other Namlo educational materials sent by Magda. All were warmly received, and as a bonus the cd player could pick up radio stations!
Another trip to the sewing ladies netted nice aprons for presents – real Nepali design.
STUCCO AND MORE STUCCO
We decide to split into two teams today, since stucco is the critical path and we can support this work with a partial group. Villagers ad another stucco guy, so the work goes faster. Twice the progress, but still a long way to go. We are now calculating how far we’ll get before we leave, and one room stucco’ed will be “it”. Carpenters finish the roof with a little extra material that was delivered seemingly overnight. Looks like projects here take about as many trips to the local Home Depot as they do in Colorado, ie 3.5 on average. The difference is that material here comes up the dirt road in a trailer pulled by a large tractor. This rig will never sneak up on anyone, since the unsprung trailer clatters enough to be heard miles away!
Frustrated engineers in the group finally have their chance to contribute to the design, since the headmaster asked us how to put up a ceiling in these classrooms. He bought plywood but had no idea what to do next. Gene, Tom, and Dan came up with an idea and basically ground down the carpenter that was skeptical of its strength. Dan put it over the top by standing on the support member to prove it. So these guys were busy salvaging the material necessary to make their design from the misc woodpiles all over the school yard.
The rest of us knuckle-draggers had our fun moving about 1000 bricks and getting rocks and broken concrete to make roof hold-downs for the exterior. Whatever turns you on …
Our daily outreach consists of visiting the new medical post and the 100 year old home of the founder of the Sabhung school. The house was quite comfortable for local standards, and the post was very nice. But, no water or electricity and few medical materials mean that this facility will wait for power and water before being really used.
We learn that some teachers are not present, and I wonder if maybe community parents or elders could fill in as substitutes. Apparently not a concept in practice in Nepal.
* Nepalis know how to set up these festivals and holidays!
The rest of us knuckle-draggers had our fun moving about 1000 bricks and getting rocks and broken concrete to make roof hold-downs for the exterior. Whatever turns you on …
Our daily outreach consists of visiting the new medical post and the 100 year old home of the founder of the Sabhung school. The house was quite comfortable for local standards, and the post was very nice. But, no water or electricity and few medical materials mean that this facility will wait for power and water before being really used.
We learn that some teachers are not present, and I wonder if maybe community parents or elders could fill in as substitutes. Apparently not a concept in practice in Nepal.
* Nepalis know how to set up these festivals and holidays!
A BIG DAY TODAY
PS yesterday we had water buffalo and lemon merengue pie for dinner. Can you believe it?
Lots of local people come to help today – it is stucco day! We mix mortar volcano style on the rough concrete floor of the first room while the stucco guy wets the walls, throws mortar on them (!), and smoothes the finish. One of the four interior walls takes ALL DAY. We see this work stretching to infinity. A couple of us can keep him supplied with mortar, so the rest go on a walk to the next village. NAMASTEs all along the way, with kids adopting us to show their primary school, ending at a very nice temple deep in the jungle. Signs of a goat sacrifice during the Dashain Festival still in evidence. A local woman demonstrates millet grinding with her stone for video and gets a big boot out of seeing it played back!
We are energized by this walk and decide to lay the second room’s rough floor ourselves. The English teacher does the finish, and it works out fine.
Meanwhile after a day off, the carpenters return with a vengeance, finishing the roof structure and laying about ¾ of the metal. We are relieved to see this, since untimely rain would make a mess of concrete and stucco work going on.
At the end of the work day, we visit the Namlo weavers and seamstresses. Bought lots of great stuff!
Another trip to the community spring, dinner, and bed by about 8:30.
Lots of local people come to help today – it is stucco day! We mix mortar volcano style on the rough concrete floor of the first room while the stucco guy wets the walls, throws mortar on them (!), and smoothes the finish. One of the four interior walls takes ALL DAY. We see this work stretching to infinity. A couple of us can keep him supplied with mortar, so the rest go on a walk to the next village. NAMASTEs all along the way, with kids adopting us to show their primary school, ending at a very nice temple deep in the jungle. Signs of a goat sacrifice during the Dashain Festival still in evidence. A local woman demonstrates millet grinding with her stone for video and gets a big boot out of seeing it played back!
We are energized by this walk and decide to lay the second room’s rough floor ourselves. The English teacher does the finish, and it works out fine.
Meanwhile after a day off, the carpenters return with a vengeance, finishing the roof structure and laying about ¾ of the metal. We are relieved to see this, since untimely rain would make a mess of concrete and stucco work going on.
At the end of the work day, we visit the Namlo weavers and seamstresses. Bought lots of great stuff!
Another trip to the community spring, dinner, and bed by about 8:30.
CAN WE KEEP THIS PACE UP?
Friday is a half day of school here, but we are up at 6 to report for duty at 9. Some grumbling from the rank-and-file is brutally quashed by the project lead.
We are curious about the age of our building, but we get a variety of opinions from local people. 15 – 30 years old. We can’t imagine that it could deteriorate so much in only 15 years, so we go with 30.
AM work is to scrape off mud in between rocks for the inside walls. It is seemingly endless and mind-numbing, but at least it is not carrying and breaking rocks in the hot sun. After the scraping, we are to wash the walls in preparation for stucco. Again, minor team insurrections are repressed. More villagers are coming around to help, and after the short school day the faculty pitches in as well. It is really rewarding to work alongside the local people, and our spirits soar!
In the PM, we get the OK on cleaning and begin the floor installation. We learn the Nepali way – build a concrete mix volcano on the ground and fill the center with water. Shovel, shovel, shovel, and you get concrete! We carry it into the building a potful at a time (ie a zillion potfulls) and the skilled concrete guy rough-finishes the first room floor. This plus an unscheduled job of building a walkway around the foundation (many opinions on width and depth) take the rest of the day.
We go back to camp tired (again) and filthy (again). You should see our cleanup facilities – a spring in the woods about 20 minutes’ walk from the camp. Local people get their water here, wash clothes, and bathe. Quite a beehive of activity there all day. We just dive right in and “wash” our nasty stuff a little bit. It will have to do …
We are curious about the age of our building, but we get a variety of opinions from local people. 15 – 30 years old. We can’t imagine that it could deteriorate so much in only 15 years, so we go with 30.
AM work is to scrape off mud in between rocks for the inside walls. It is seemingly endless and mind-numbing, but at least it is not carrying and breaking rocks in the hot sun. After the scraping, we are to wash the walls in preparation for stucco. Again, minor team insurrections are repressed. More villagers are coming around to help, and after the short school day the faculty pitches in as well. It is really rewarding to work alongside the local people, and our spirits soar!
In the PM, we get the OK on cleaning and begin the floor installation. We learn the Nepali way – build a concrete mix volcano on the ground and fill the center with water. Shovel, shovel, shovel, and you get concrete! We carry it into the building a potful at a time (ie a zillion potfulls) and the skilled concrete guy rough-finishes the first room floor. This plus an unscheduled job of building a walkway around the foundation (many opinions on width and depth) take the rest of the day.
We go back to camp tired (again) and filthy (again). You should see our cleanup facilities – a spring in the woods about 20 minutes’ walk from the camp. Local people get their water here, wash clothes, and bathe. Quite a beehive of activity there all day. We just dive right in and “wash” our nasty stuff a little bit. It will have to do …
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