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"The Road to Everest"
Page 5
Copyright © Dave Wodchis, 2004.
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October 30th, 2004
We shot some cycling video today, and met Trace on the road, recruiting him as our cameraman for some shots of all of us going along together. It was a pleasant ride, although the road was non-stop bumpy with almost no sections where we could find a smooth line. I stopped a lot on the road today, taking time to enjoy the absolutely superb views of Everest and the Himalayas.
Lhasa Beer bottles at Rongphu Monastery
On arrival at Rongphu Monastery Guesthouse, a place that receives hundreds of tourists every week during the high season, I was surprised, that even for Tibet, it was so disorganized, so unhygienic, and so limited in it's services. The toilet was the most disgusting in all of Tibet, with a mound of frozen shit piled so high, it came up through the whole in the floor. It was difficult to figure out who you could talk to about getting a room - a room where the wash basins are still full of dirty water and spit and the floors still dirty. The restaurant didn't have a menu, but offered the following dishes: pancake, omelet, fried rice, and noodle soup. There was a shop, but it opened when the guy who ran it happened to show up for five minutes at a time.
I cleaned the basin with boiled water and a scouring brush, bought a few supplies including a candle from the shop, and had some food before crawling under three comforters in my icebox (a.k.a. my guestroom).
ROAD REPORT - Cycling Day 14
Distance: 21.24 kms
Ride time: 2:58 hours
Avg. speed: 7.22 kph
Max speed: 22.4 kph
Passes: none
Sleeping place: Rongphu (Rongbuk) Monastery Guesthouse, 4825m
Tibet Mileage: 980 km
Worldwide Mileage: 7968 km
Comment: Bumpy uphill ride at elevation. Fantastic Views - ALL the way!!!
North face of Mount Everest
October 31st, 2004
Today, was a brilliantly sunny day without too much wind, and a good opportunity to visit Everest Base Camp, just up the road from the monastery. On arrival, Pierre had already set up his tent, and Sonia had made arrangements to sleep in one of the heated tents that serves tea and soup. Some mountain goats were grazing at the edge of the camp and Pierre was complaining about all the litter. After some food, we headed off to the glacier. It is actually quite a hike from the base camp, and after a couple of hours, we were in view of the glacier, but still quite some distance away from the actual base. Sonia had already turned back, and soon I would as well. When you see Everest and the surrounding area, it looks quite mountainous, but up close, it's just loads and loads of rocks upon rocks, upon even more rocks that never seem to end. I can't even imagine climbing the north face of Everest. It looks dangerous and forbidding, which I guess is what attracts some people to attempt it. Gazing up at the north face summit, each afternoon, it seems to have its own ecosystem with clouds swirling and masses of snow sliding down and then billowing up into the sky. it's not somewhere that you would want to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. There are no rescue services, and no medical facilities on the Tibetan side. No wonder most summit attempts are made from the Nepal side of the mountain.
Mountain Goats at Everst Base Camp
ROAD REPORT - Cycling Day 15 (day tripping)
Distance: 16.55 kms
Ride time: 1:23 hours
Avg. speed: 10.3 kph
Max speed: 27.2 kph
Passes: none
Sleeping place: Rongphu (Rongbuk) Monastery Guesthouse, 4825m
Tibet Mileage: 997 km
Worldwide Mileage: 7985 km
Comment: Easy ride, and then a 3-hour hike to and from Rongphu Glacier viewpoint.
November 1st, 2004
After another night in the Rongphu icebox, I decided to attempt the shortcut road to Old Tingri back on the Friendship Highway. The turnoff is about 20 kms from Everest Base Camp, and then it's supposed to be 54 kms to Old Tingri, but is more likely 54 kms to the highway, and then another 5 kms to the town. Another cyclist who had done the ride from Lhasa to Lhatse before grabbing a minibus to Everest, and then trekking to the advanced camp, had come down from the mountain with a couple who I would later discover were on a rather unique mission. Sebastian, as well as Sonia and Pierre, were also planning to ride to Old Tingri, but our departure times were all a bit different. Sebastian was off first, me second, and Sonia and Pierre a bit later in the day.
On the road to Old Tingri
After turning off the main Everest base camp road, the road was at first quite smooth, then became nothing more than river rock, before being submerged below a river. On the other side, I followed the road straight along rather than turning, which turned out to be a wrong turn. Backtracking, I headed off in the right direction, up a different hill, alongside the other river, and into the winds. After about ten kilometers or so, I was pushing the bike, and decided to head back down the valley for some shelter, and try again in the morning when, hopefully, the winds would subside. I just had no energy in my legs - no power, and this was at elevation, so the oxygen content was around 52% of that at sea level. I ran into Sonia and Pierre on the way down and let them know what I was doing. They continued on for a bit before camping somewhere up the ridge for the night, while I found a spot further down the pass near the river.
ROAD REPORT - Cycling Day 16
Distance: 21 kms (approx.)
Ride time: 3:00 hours (approx.)
Avg. speed: unknown kph
Max speed: unknown kph
Passes: unknown
Sleeping place: Campsite near entrance to Rongphu valley, 4500m (approx.)
Tibet Mileage: 1028 km
Worldwide Mileage: 8006 km
Comment: Icy headwinds, river and stream crossings. Attempted pass, but turned back due to icy headwinds. Found sheltered camping area approx. 5 kms back down the road.
November 2nd, 2004
I wouldn't say I had a restful night, but that was becoming quite common. Never the less it wasn't that uncomfortable waking up within the majestic Himalayan landscape. I was up and ready to go about an hour or so after the sun was shining down into the valley. Unfortunately, so were the winds. They were persistent, the road was not improving much, with several sections running underneath streams, covered in ice on steep sections, and simply rocks and more rocks covering the surface in many areas. It became a series of sections where I could ride, followed by pushing, followed by waiting for the winds to subside, followed by more pushing, more riding, fording streams, resting, more pushing, and then more riding.
After passing through a village, and through another river, I caught sight of Pierre and Sonia just ahead of me. I called out to them, but I'm sure the wind would have pushed the sound of my voice far behind me. I kept going for another half hour or forty-five minutes, but after another iced-over uphill section, my legs were without power, my lungs were struggling, and quite frankly, I wasn't having any fun. I had no idea of how far up the road went, how bad it was, or even any concept of how far along I'd come as some Tibetans had played with my computer a few days previous at Everest Base Camp, knocking it back out-of-order. I was still having some dysentery, suffering from lack of sleep, and it was time to call it a day. I decided to back track to the village and try and catch some kind of transport, at least back to the main Everest Base Camp road. Luckily, a jeep came along and gave me a ride to Rongphu, where I had a good chance of catching some kind of transport back to the main highway. Even more lucky, was that I ended up with three options for leaving. I could grab a truck down to Tashi Dzom where several trucks left for New Tingri, or I could wait a day and grab a jeep with either a London based couple heading for the border, or a Swiss couple and Korean guy, heading for Old Tingri, and then the border.
Hardcore Swiss Cyclists
The next morning, I found out that the Swiss were leaving a day early, so in just a few hours, I could be on my way to Old Tingri. The driver and passengers agreed to take me, so by noon, we were bumping along the road to old Tingri - the same road I'd now been up and down several times. It wasn't a much better ride in the jeep, and I'm glad that considering the weather and my condition, that I had made the decision to seek transport. Torsten and Pia based in Switzerland, were great company, and I'm very grateful they let me join them in their jeep. I think they felt concerned that I was looking quite drawn and undernourished. Torsten is a doctor and Pia also works in healthcare. You could say I've had some angels along with me on this Tibetan plateau.
Bike and my sore ass get a rest
Part of me had hoped to go all the way to Katmandu, but I also wasn't originally planning on going to Everest or getting sick, so I swallowed my pride, and have called this the ride to Everest - enough of an achievement for me to be happy with. I know of dozens of cyclists that have never even able to get this far, even after making the journey all the way to Tibet, and I will always hold close to me the memories and moments of cycling serenity through this, one of the most majestic landscapes in our world.
ROAD REPORT - Cycling Day 17
Distance: 12 kms (approx.)
Ride time: 3:30 hours (approx.)
Avg. speed: unknown kph
Max speed: unknown kph
Passes: unknown
Sleeping place: Rongphu (Rongbuk) Monastery Guesthouse, 4825m
Tibet Mileage: 1040 km
Worldwide Mileage: 8018 km
Comment: Too windy to continue. More rivers, streams, iced over road on hilly sections, barely able to push bike. Turned back approx. 3 kms past village and caught an empty jeep to Rongphu Monastery for 100 yuan.
Rongbuk Monastery at Everest
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