Sunday 25 October 2015

Cycling the Annapurna Circuit

Day 1, Sun 18/10/2015

Besisahar (760m) - Tal (1700m), 34km, 940m ascent

Challenge #1: Getting to Besisahar (the starting point). A crowded, bumpy 5 hour bus ride with the bikes (and people) on the roof. I had my concerns over whether they'd be ok and they proved founded. On unloading, my rear wheel was detached and didn't fit back in properly. Fortunately it was just the disk brake rotor that had become a little misshapen and a bit of pushing and pulling later it seemed to work ok. Loaded up with dahl bat (the rice, dahl, veg and meat if you're lucky, combo the Nepalese live off twice a day every day) power we set off about 12.


We rode on the track all day on undulating terrain without too much uphill, moving up through the tree line from thick forest into craggy gorges - just like Scotland, albeit a little bigger.


After a late lunch of momo's and chowmein at 4 we ended up pushing on into the night, the final hour a long push uphill under the starlit sky and then a night ride back down into Tal. 7 hours in the saddle and some good ground covered.

If I had any doubts about cycling the Annapurna circuit they were some what assuaged when I saw what Juddah was attempting the ride on: a mountain bike (just about), with a seized front fork, worn v-brakes and no handle grips. But what he lacks in functioning parts he makes up for in determination! I have no excuses.

Day 2

Tal - Dhikur Pokhara (3060m), 35km, 1360m ascent

Up at 6 and away by 7. A slow start to the day after a puncture then a long break while Juddah caught up with some pals. Maybe overdid it a tad yesterday as both a little tired and Juddah has developed a knee problem.






Passed some big waterfalls and up through beautify oak forests and into Alpine-esque landscape. Quite cloudy but good views of 8000m+ Manaslu.



A few nice sections of smooth trails and tracks today (the road is generally bumpy with a lot of it newly paved with stones which makes for quite a challenging ride) but lots of uphill (as you might expect) and quite a bit of pushing and a few carrys. Sleeping in Dhikur Pokhari. 

Too much dahl bat power for me today. Lunch + dinner = far too much rice for my western stomach. The mounds and mounds of rice the Nepalese put away is an impressive feat.

Day 3

Dhikur Pokhari - Manang (3540m), 21km, 480m ascent

Easy 4 hours of biking today along some nice smooth tracks and some good downhill. Still climbed 500m but didn't really notice it.





Not far from Manang however.... Disaster! On a smooth flat section, the free hub on Juddah's rear wheel went; so Juddah has no traction although it does grip occasionally. Can't repair it here so lots of pushing for Juddah...





Yaks
We arrived in Manang at 11 and after more dahl bat for lunch we hiked up the valley side to the Ice Lake at 4600m. Got up there at 5 so came back in the dark again. Nice half moon to light the way home though and got back at 7.

The old side of Manang
Traditional stone village just south of Manang 




The Ice Lake


Entered into the big mountains today with the Annapurna massive looming large over some very pretty villages in the valley. Prayer wheels, flags and small pagodas are becoming a regular feature. Lovely sunny day but getting cloudy by the time we got up to the Ice Lake.

Manang is touristy - lots of big hotels and guesthouses - but hardly any tourists. I'm the only guest in my substantial guesthouse.

Manang
Part curiosity, part optimism I ordered a bacon cheese lasagne from the quite extensive dinner menu (no more rice please). What I got was a plate of tagliatelle with some processed meat but it was pasta and the cheese was delicious!

Day 4

Manang - Ledar (4200m), 10km, 660m ascent

Relaxed start to the day, not leaving until 8. Some pushing to start but then some sweeeet undulating single track with some short but great downhill. Best section so far! and with nice views to match.




Moving into the desert now. Still a few shrubs but pretty dry and dusty. Arrived in Yak Kharka around 11 for an early lunch. Got a bit annoyed with Juddah for sending out conflicting info: Need a big lunch for a big day...lets stay here....blah blah blah.

The altitude probably making me a bit grumpier than usual but I had a think and wanted to press on to Thorung Phedi. We left after Juddah had demolished a HUGE serving of dahl bat. We weren't too fast after that and soon stopped for a tea break at a small shack run by two sweet girls. They had yaks cheese so I was happy.

preparing the tea





More nice riding but only took us half an hour more to reach Ledar where we stopped. Just a few tea houses along the path; I like it here.

I had a lovely hike up the mountain behind on my own for a few hours and then a pleasant time hanging out in the kitchen in evening, keeping warm around the fire and watching our hosts go about the dinner prep.




Day 5

Ledar - Thorung High Camp (4925m), 7km, 725m ascent

Great trails to start, with just a bit of pushing, until we hit the serious uphill a bit before Thorung Phedi. Then it was bike over the shoulder and a steep hike up the remaining 400m to the Thorung High Camp.






Its a spectacular place; right up in the mountains, glaciers on all sides, with Chulu East peering over nearby and Annapurna III dominating the end of the valley. A high mountain desert landscape with the pass snaking up through bare, stained scree.


Arriving at High Camp
Looking down at High Camp
 

Arrived at 11 and with such a majestic view decided to overnight here. Its 14:30 now though and the camp is much much busier and the weather has closed in. I'm wondering whether we should have pressed on. Hopefully the weather holds....

It snowed in the afternoon but stopped as night set in, leaving a beautiful white dusting illuminated by the cloud shrouded moonlight.


Had my first social afternoon of the expedition (there are other people on the trek!), playing shit head and jungle speed. Its really cold and I was in bed by 8 for an early start.

Day 6

Thorung High Camp - Jomson (2720m), 33km, 491m ascent, 2696m descent

WHAT A DAY!

Didn't sleep much but "awoke" at 4 to a beautiful clear starry night. Venus (I assume) looked like it had gone supernova in the eastern sky. Never seen a star/planet appear so big.

It was a gorgeous hike and carry up to the pass as the day dawned and the sun broke. Awesome landscape and I felt surprisingly good despite the altitude.

tea break on the way up 




Made it!


We left at 5 and summitted the pass at 7.30, a 500m ascent.

What followed was an epic 2700m descent down all the way down to Jomson. Great flowing, dirt single track to start but got a bit steep and rocky after and hard to maintain any grip. Only lost it once but had to walk a few sections.

The other side of the pass

It begins...

Now for the downhill!

a bit gravelly in places


I got a little giddy at on stage; the adrenaline, excitement and altitude all making me a bit hysterical!

As we dropped further we descended on the track (rather than the path); a bone shaking rocky road. Nice track again though as we came out into the valley and into Muktinath. A 2.5 hour descent (8 - 10.30) from 5416m to 3760m. Had a nasty yak burger for an early lunch and then attempted to fix Juddah's bike at the only bike shop on the circuit.

Got the cassette off but just proved the free hub was gubbed. Juddah however was determined he could fix it by tightening the nut on the hub enough and duly cranked it as hard as he could.


Muktinath
We left and just outside of town, after checking his brakes, discovered the hub was loose. Looked like a spacer was missing on the bolt so I went back to the shop to find it. Back at the mechanics however we realised the hub was destroyed - over zealous tightening me thinks. Wheel ruined anyway.

Thought that would be Juddah on the bus, but no, he's too determined for that! With ball bearings falling out of his wheel we set off again for Jomson. And somehow he made it with 2 wheels left!

Incredible mountain desert landscape and a howling headwind made it a wild and adventurous ride. We rolled into Jomson at 4, tired but happy!

An oasis in the desert
 




 



Day 7

Jomson - Shikha (1935m), 51km, 1520m descent, 735m ascent. 

Juddah flew home with his broken bike so I continued alone on the long downhill to Tatopani, dropping from 2720m to 1190m. Fun riding but bumpy; the occasional smooth surfaces were a real delight!




I found some nice single track on my first foray onto the trekking trail (on the other side of the river) after a momo stop in Kalopani.

Stopped for a play on one of the giant swings that have been erected out of trees and bamboo across the country for the festival of Dashain. Great fun, it takes some effort but you get high! The kids always love a play on the bike.



Back on the road, I had a long sustained downhill section, the only problem catching up with traffic and eating all the dust kicked up. Dreaming of single track, I crossed the river on a whim and joined the trekking trail again...



Wow - I did not get what I dreamt of! A nice section to start (the section I'd seen) and then it was up and down with rocky steps most of the way. It was demanding riding but with my seat dropped right down I built some confidence dropping down the long rocky sections and riding the steps.

Until I stacked it! Thankfully there was an escape route back to the road shortly after.

While I struggled up and down on the trail, I'd had a view of the road descending enticingly the whole time. Back on it though it was still bumpy and dusty, but a relief after all my work!

nice road...

...bad path.


I rolled into Tatopani at 1 - about 5 hours riding and an hours break from Jomson. Not sure that I was in Tatopani I passed through the town but stopped at the hot springs just outside (which confirmed this was actually Tatopani). There I had the most disappointing lunch I've had here. I waited for an hour for my mixed fried noodles (safe bet I thought) and got a plate of uncooked instant noodles fried with a bit of veg. Not the high calorie, high carb food I needed! I'd considered staying in Tatopani but choose to move on after that disappointment.


I initially decided to head for Beni along the road but after choking on the dust of a lorry in front for 5 mins, changed my mind at the bridge for Ghorepani and instead opted for the hike back up 2860m.

This way?
My fantastic lunch wasn't the greatest prep but my emergency yak cheese saved the day and got me up the steep steps, carrying my bike most of the way. 

After passing out of the desert and into pine forested valley, the hike back up brought me into terraced  farmland and numerous small habitations. Clearly not many bikes here (understandably) and all the kids I passed got very excited. 

Got into Shikha (1935m), my half way stop, around 5. About 2.5 hours up. 



Day 8

Shikha - Birethanti (1025m), 19km, 925m ascent, 1835m descent. 
Birethanti - Pokhara (820m), 44km, 415m ascent, 620m descent. 

[Total: Shikha - Pokhara, 63km, 1340m ascent, 2455m descent]

Lovely milk at the guesthouse - my porridge and milk coffee was delicious. 

I cycled up the road for most of the 1st part, then stopped for some scrambled eggs after 2 hours. The road finished there so it was over the shoulder again and a hike up steps for the final leg to Ghorepani. Only took a bit over of an hour though and I arrived at 11.30.




Spring rolls for lunch for a change, but had to wait a looooong hour for them. Ghorepani seems quite touristy and the people here aren't the friendliest.

Id been dreaming of apple pie since passing by a number of enticing bakeries in Manang. The German bakery in Ghorepani finally satisfied my craving. 

MY. GOD. I was not prepared for what followed. 

Nice 2000m descent? Sure...if steps are your thing. How about more than 3000 f***ing steps??! 

uphill steps

and downhill steps
Juddah had recommended this route... but failed to mention any steps. 

I walked some, rode some, and with the endless stepped descent stretching away in front of me, I started pushing my limits. I definitely got better / braver but the long, sustained sections and corners remained too much. When the short flat stretches disappeared altogether I hiked down the unrelenting steps for an hour carrying my bike. 

I was clearly an impressive sight to many of the hikers going up. The Chinese tourists were the most amazed and the enthusiastic thumbs up and exclamations they all gave kept me smiling.


The final section of the circuit was thankfully a pretty good track and I flew down it, exhalting in the speed and movement of the bike after so much damn carrying. 

I arrived into the final town Birethanti at about five, still determined to make it back to Pokhara that day. I could probably have got a bus but continuing on my masochist roll I thought I'd just go on and cycle the remaining stretch all the way back.

Finally at the bottom
First up: another 500m ascent. I did not thank myself for the undertaking and it was a long, grueling climb, lacking in energy and drive and not helped by a slow puncture I hadn't been bothered to fix while it was still light. It even rained a little. 8 days of mountain biking and my back had been absolutely fine; within 10 minutes of being on the proper road however, it was hurting. 

Still smiling as I  join the road to Pokhara
I finally made it to the top after a painful hour or so. It was long dark but an almost full moon was shedding it's light through the clouds. The fuel crisis was clearly ongoing as the roads were thankfully quiet so with the moonlight to guide me I enjoyed the thrilling reward of the long fast downhill towards Pokhara. 

The final stretch was on the flat and I arrived back into Lakeside at about 8.30 pm exhausted. 

8 days and 255 km of cycling, pushing and carrying.  

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