Preparations are rapidly coming to a close getting ready for our epic bike trip from Lhasa, Tibet to Kathmandu, Nepal. Never thought a simple bike trip could have so many logistics issues! The first of our group head out for Beijing tomorrow for a little sightseeing, then on to Lhasa for a couple of days acclimatizing and getting the bikes ready. The trip itself is about 1,000km (625 miles) long and 8,000m (26,000 feet) of climbing, the challenge is world-class particularly for a bunch of Old Geezers (the oldest is 73 and the child of the group, Josh, is only in his early 40s. He’s training for an Iron Man triathlon when we return, so we’re going to take it easy on him ;-) Most of the trip is at high altitude with eight passes at over 16,000 feet, and a side trip to the Chinese Mount Everest Base Camp at 17,000 feet. The average elevation for the trip is about 14,500 feet. It is a high, dry environment with about the same climate as Colorado.
Our trip will take 13 days, including one rest day and two easy days of 30 to 40 miles with no total elevation gain. One tough day is 100km (63 miles) and 1300m (4300 feet) of elevation gain. Half the nights will be camping and the other half will be hotels, but we’ve been told that some of the hotels may not be up to camping standards! The last full riding day is a 3000m (10,000 feet) downhill run into Nepal. Due to heavy traffic (and switching to the wrong side of the road) and the probability of losing our way as we enter Nepal, we will use the support vehicles for the final few miles into Kathmandu.
We will be guided by Ang Tshering, a Nepali adventurer and mountain climber. He has assembled an experienced team, vehicles, bikes, and camping gear to fully support our ride. A Tibetan guide will be along to keep us informed of local history, culture and geography.
Given all of this, we (Gene, Tom, Josh, Paul, Sue, Dan, Larry, Cathy, and Jim) expect a continuous adventure rather than a predictable ride. There may be alpine similarities, but this is NOT Switzerland! Hallmarks will be beautiful scenery and great experiences with the Tibetan culture. As this is part of China, we have been told to expect some bureaucratic sideshows (all part of the adventure).
We will keep you posted with our progress and major events including photographs. Each of us will take turns writing a daily summary. Many days will be without internet access, so the updates will come in batches when we get connected.
You can see our route on the first post, and follow our progress on Google Earth. Be flexible about the spelling of the names of the towns. Local dialect and the difference between the Tibetan, Chinese and Nepalese names vary quite a bit.
Date Start Elevation End Elevation High Point
22-Sep Lhasa 11 975 Chusul 11 975 none
23-Sep Chusul 11 975 Nagatse 14 435 (Think Mt Elbert) 16 075
24-Sep Nagatse 14 435 Gyantse 13 057 16 730
25-Sep Gyantse 13 057 Shigatse 12 598 none
26-Sep Shigatse 12 598 Shigatse 12 598 rest day
27-Sep Shigatse 12 598 Lhatse 12 959 14 760
28-Sep Lhatse 12 959 Xegar 13 615 17 125
29-Sep Xegar 13 615 Rongbuk 16 076 16 565
30-Sep Rongbuk 16 076 Rongbuk 16 076 16 896
1-Oct Rongbuk 16 076 Tingri 13 943 18 010
2-Oct Tingri 13 943 Mambuk 12 992 none
3-Oct Mambuk 12 992 Nyelam 12 303 16 730
4-Oct Nyelam 12 303 Borderlands (Nepal) 6 561 none
5-Oct Kathmandu 4 500 feet and finally some air to breathe!
