Monday 19th Sept

Yesterday was an extraordinary combination of experiencing the awe of
Everest and then the mortality of the mountains. In the morning we all
biked the 4k up to the Everest base camp. On the Chinese side this is
rather severe. With some plaques that one can be photographed beside, a
prayer flag stupa and some names from this year picked out in stones. We
had an orgy of photos including the slow team. But I found myself
thinking about Laura and other people who have died. It is also
surprising that there is no memorial for previous climbers such as
Mallory. Apparently the Nepali side is brimming with memorials.

In the afternoon I chilled out in an almost abandoned monastery. In the
evening we were playing cards in the tent when it suddenly began to
shake. As we went outside we had an avalanche of stones descending.
We were experiencing an earthquake about 4 but because of the dark could
not see how much damage had been done at our site.

We consoled ourselves that this was a small quake but sleeping was not
easy. In the morning we heard that there had been a big quake in Sikkim,
to our south. What a dramatic end to an Everest visit and a reminder of
the power and instability of mountains.

Tibet bike ride Sept 17

I'm sending this post from an almost abandoned monastery just below ebc. Numerous prayer flags flap and there are several flag poles and numerous groups of square red and white columns.  Only a couple of monks tend the place and  I can see old decaying cells.

Yesterday we had a tough ride of 75 k uphill to reach ebc. I was only kept going by the prize of being able to say that I had biked to ebc! I was expecting a french style seasonal  campsite but instead there are about 50 brown yak hair tents, very substantial with sleeping benches along the walls and a central stove for heating and water. I was snug as a bug in my sleeping bag. However the camp looks not unlike a refugee camp because there are land cruisers parked everywhere. Despite years of travelling in Asia I was also surprised to find souvenir vendors both outside and inside the tents. And yes we finally saw mt everest in the evening sun. Huge, dramatic and with interesting ridges.

More about it tomorrow.

Tibet bike ride sept 16

Tibet is on Beijing time, despite being 5000k east. So this morning here was still a full moon at 7.30. The other advantage is that the evenings are long so I have walked around the villages where we have been staying looking at the homes and shops.

Today we had another pass, this time 5200 but not such a long climb because we were dropped off half way up. But it was still a 3 hour ride. We had been promised views of Everest but instead there was cloud. But we could still see the Himalayan chain. The descent was through a bare brown landscape with sharp dramatic edges to the rocks. We  stayed the night in a tiny travellers inn with all brightly painted chests filling the where all the women slept on carpets on the beds.

For the group it was a day of aggression and altruism. One of the young men became v frustrated at not biking every km and took it out on the guide. Fortunately in the evening he  aplogised to the guide and the group and we are probably stronger as a result. The altruism came from a fast woman cyclist who buddied the slowest member of the group up because she had not yet managed a pass. We cheered both of them at the top.

Tomorrow we bike up to Everest Base Camp.

Fri 16th Sept

Yesterday was described as the most difficult day with 84k and a 24k climb to a 5220 pass. As we left Lhatse the kids were going to school in their blue uniforms with yellow neck scarves. Off to learn to be model Chinese citizens. 

We biked up a long long valley that was narrow and still shaded but then opened out. I felt as though I should have reached the top but there was another 14 k of climbing. I only reached the top with the help of kendal mint cake and jan garbarekali khan. I was also spurred on by overtaking four young Swedish guys immaculalely equipped who were clearly shocked that a woman in shorts and a jersey could also be on this climb. 

We hoped to see Everest from the top but it was cloudy and cold. We had another fine descent, this time passing yak herds and nomads in black yak hair tents. We stayed in a small village that is the jumping off point for Everest Base Camp. It had a touristy feel - many restaurants and even a massage parlour.

 

Our Tibetan guide Ronsak has taken many tours to Everest but he is not tempted to cycle, he is also very diplomatic politically.

 
There are 17 of us in the group, 6 women, age range 32 - 71yr mainly UK. 8 people have come with friends, 3 are fundraising (cancer, mencap, bikeability). -it is also quite a competitive group, bristling with meters. I am forming a slow group.

Thur 15th Sept

Yesterday we biked 150 km and climbed a pass of 4100m. It's the longest ride I've ever done, helped by being in a peleton part of the time. There was beautiful early morning light on Shigatse when we left. The countryside then became very dry and treeless, very reminiscent of Afghanistan with low villages and old forts up on ridges. We lunched on a dry river bed and then paused at a road sign saying we were 5000 km from Shanghai. What a potent reminder of China's size. 

We then had a steep, steep climb. At the top I looked out on the bare mountains and felt as though I was on the top of the world. We had a beautiful descent into a greener valley. We stayed the night in a very impoverished town, Lhatse which is famous for its karaoke bars.

The stars of our group are our 2 Nepali guides. Kumar is tiny and is a great encourager. He has a different adjective for each day today was the longest, tomorrow is the most difficult. His assistant OJ is Nepal's mountain biking champion age 23 and this is his first visit to Tibet so he is photographing himself and the group everywhere. He is also tiny and exceptionally fit, he would love to power up the passes but is the back marker so helps the slow ones. Must be like babysitting for him.

Thurs is tough with a 5220 pass to climb.

Wed 14th Sept

Rest day in Shigatse yesterday. The guide book was very dismissive of the town but I enjoyed being there. It is a town of three parts, the famous monastery, the old Tibetan section and the brash new build of the Chinese section. Pilgrims were prostrating outside the temple and then buying huge bags of butter. The monastery was huge with different chapels, one with a 26 m high Buddha and clearly a very important place for our guide. 

We then followed the pilgrims' route, a 3 mile chain of prayer wheels. In the old town the Tibetan architecture and poverty was reconisable with no electricity or water for the houses built round courtyards. The market was full of felt slippers. The new Chinese part was ultra 21 century with concrete and glass buildings with shops for mobile phones and sunglasses.

The group is gelling and the fast ones are going slower and the slow ones faster.
A major irritation for me was loosing my camera in Shigatse. It had the card with all my photos so far with some nice ones of Tibetan people.  Fortunately I also brought a spare camera.

 

Today we have our longst ride150 km with 2 small 4300 passes.

Tues 13th Sept

Yesterday was gentle day just 94 km on the flat. We started off with a visit to the monastery where the monks were chanting and then climbed a stupa for great views of the town and mountains. The barley was all being harvested by hand and the reapers sheltered under umbrellas for  lunch. 

The whole area was poor and the only other vehicles were land cruisers with Chinese tourists. As we biked into Shigatse the river was crowded with washerwomen and bathers. Having a rest day here.