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| The Ride |
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| THE RIDE DETAILS - Dates and Route |
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| Two bikes, Two cities, 1200 kilometers, One goal: change the world by teaching kids to read |
| Our Goal We met our goal of 10,000CHF!..now every additional Franc buys one more book... Raised so far 22,550 CHF (!) = 4 libraries 10 years of scholarships 12,550 Nepalese kids' books |
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| Donations for our ride go straight to Room to Read |
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| Day to Day Schedule Our route begins in the fabled city of Lhasa, capital of Tibet, in the western corner of China. After a few days getting used to the altitude (3600meters/13000feet), we head to Kathmandu, 1,200 kilometers away. April 9 - 12: We will fly into Kathmandu. Mingmar (see the journal).A friend of Jammy (Dan McQuillen’s girlfriend, who is Tibeten) is meeting us and setting us up with a place to stay. We'll be in Kathmandu for a few days to rent our tent and other camping gear, meet with our guide Lapka and hang out with Mingmar and others. April 13 - 15: We get our Chinese Visa on the 12th and then fly on to Lhasa, where we will do not much more than test our equipment as we get used to the altitude by just sort of walking around and, well, breathing a lot. Then, The Ride to Read begins. April 16 : Lhasa to foot of Kampa La Approx. distance – 70km Highest point - 3,6100m A long flat cycle from Lhasa to the base of the first major pass. This is the only well paved road on the entire route to Kathmandu, so we’ll be sure to enjoy it. April 17: Kampa la Approx. distance – 60k Highest point – 4,700m Our first major challenge, the pass of Kampa la, is a climb of 1100m in 23k (about 5 hours), bringing us to a height of 4700m. This early in the trip, that kind of altitude will be extremely difficult as we struggle with the thin air. April 18: Pede Dzong to Nangartse Approx. distance – 50k Highest point – 4,405m April 19: Nagartse to Samding Monastery Approx. distance – 40k Highest point – 4,700m To help with acclimatization, we’ll have an easy day today, with a short ride to the Samding Monastery (the only Tibetan Buddhist monastery that has a woman as its head lama). April 20: Nangartse to Gyantse Approx. distance – 100k Highest point – 4,960m Today includes the ‘soul destroying’ climb up Karo la. While the climb is difficult, the icy winds passing over the glacier at the top make it even more so. We’ll pass through the Namru chu valley and end up in Gyantse, which is a major stop on the Lhasa-Kathmandu route and contains forts and palaces from as far back as the 13th century. It’s also where Younghusband and the British army arrived in 1904 on their (destructive) march toward Lhasa. (Picture below: Gyantse) April 21: Gyantse to Shigatse Approx. distance – 95k Highest point – 4,000m Totally flat and after yesterday’s hilly (!) ride, we expect it will be totally welcome. Shigatse is the last bit of ‘civilization’ we will encounter before crossing the Nepal border. It’s a popular spot with travelers and we’ll be sure to get the latest news about the road ahead of us. April 22: Shigatse to Lagpa la Approx. distance – 75k Highest point – 4,000m Only one very small climb on what looks like a nice ride toward a very big mountain pass. We’ll probably camp as close to the base of the climb as possible so that we have fresh legs for the challenge in the morning. April 23: Lagpa la to Sakya Approx. distance – 75k Highest point – 4,500m The day starts suddenly with the one-hour climb up Lagpa la, taking us up to 4,500m. Then it’s a long descent to the turn-off to Sakya. We’ll try and camp near the 11th century monastery. April 24: Sakya to Lhatse Approx. distance – 45k Highest point – 4,000m This looks like a fairly uneventful day, with a mostly flat and windy ride into Lhatse, where we’ll stay for the night. April 25: Lhatse to Baipa Approx. distance – 82k Highest point – 5,105m If we’re not tired yet, we sure will be after today. From Lhatse, we begin climbing immediately and will still be doing so four hours later. From the top of the Gyatso La pass, we’ll get our first glimpse of Mt. Everest. April 26: Baipa to Tashi Dzom Approx. distance – 50k Highest point – 5,050m From Baipa, we’ll get our permits for the Qomolangma Nature Preseve (aka Mt. Everest). Before arriving in the little hillside village of Tashi Dzom, we’ll have to tackle the climb of Pang la, which will take about 2.5 hours to get up. April 27: Tashi Dzom to Rhongphu Approx. distance – 60k Highest point – 4,825m Time to get to the highest monastery in the world, Rhongphu! Full of monks, prayer flags (which are blue, white, red, green and yellow, symbolizing the five elements of space, water, fire, air and earth), and expeditions to the top of the world’s highest mountain, it should be an exciting place and full of history. We’ll camp at Rhongphu for the night, taking in the view of Everest. April 28: Mt. Everest Base Camp to Tashi Dzom Approx. distance – 70k Highest point – 5,020m In the morning, we’ll head up the steep climb to Mt. Everest Base Camp and visit the Rongphu glacier. We might get up to 6,000 meters if we feel up to it. We’ll then turn around and head back to Tashi Dzom for a well earned rest. April 29: Tashi Dzom to Dingri Approx. distance – 80k Highest point – 5,050m A big climb back over Panga la (how much more can our legs take?) and then on flat roads to Dingri, which still has ruins from an 18th century Nepalese invasion. We’ll camp there and try to get some egg fried rice from a local food stall. (Picture below: typical road on the route) April 30: Dingri to foot of Lalung la Approx. distance – 80k Highest point – 4,300m This is the approach to the last major pass of the trip, taking us to the base of Lalung la. We’ll camp somewhere in the valley that Heinrich Harrer, author of Seven Years in Tibet, called the ‘Valley of Happiness’. May 1: Lalung la to Nyalam Approx. distance – 90k Highest point – 4,845m A double whammy today, as we cross into the Himalayas and take on the twin passes of Lalung la and Yarle Shung la. It won’t be easy, and at such a high altitude, we’ll be more than happy to begin the long descent to Nylam, which rests just below 4,000m. May 2: Nyalam to Dram Approx. distance – 50k Highest point – 3,700m WHHHOOOOO! All downhill today, as we go from 3,700 to 2230 in just 50km. We’ll stop for the night in the border town of Dram before moving into Nepal. May 3: Dram to Dolalghat village Approx. distance – 70k Highest point – 2,230m The second half of the world’s longest downhill takes us across the Tibet/Nepal border and down to 735m. This will be another memorable ride through the Nepalese rain forests and jungles! May 4: Dolalghat to Kathmandu (!!!) Approx. distance – 75k Highest point – 1,395m We finish the ride with our final climb. It’s a challenging 1200m of gain, but at such a low altitude, we should stomp up it! It’ll be a race into Kathmandu to get the first shower! If anyone wants to meet us there, the celebratory beers will be on us! May 6: Credit Suisse is going to throw a big party for us and we'll unveil the first of the Library plaques... After a day of rest in Kathmandu, we’ll head up to the Pokara valley for a day or two so we can see the libraries that are being built with the money you have donated (THANK YOU!). Then, back home. See how we're doing. Check out our journal >> |
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| We will start in Lhasa, the capital of Tibet. We then cross through Gyantse, Shigatse, Mt. Everest Base Camp, Nyalam and then into Nepal and Kathmandu. |
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| Thanks to our Sponsors! |
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