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| RIDE TO READ JOURNAL NEW: Photos are (slowly getting) up..check 'em out! ---- Listed below are the journal entries from the Jan 1st 2004, when we 'officially' kicked off our efforts to get to Tibet to do the Ride, up to the end of the Ride (which was never a certainty!) and beyond. ----- January 1st, 2004 - Ok, we're gonna do it! Here we go! Well, we got the site up, right on schedule. We've been talking about doing this Ride for some time now and it finally seems to be real! We even got our first donations from Musti and the Van Essen K1 Crew, which was really great. Nicolas is going to start approaching companies to see if they will sponsor us...that will help a lot. Went out training! First time on the mountain bike in a long time, and there is a lot (a very lot) of work to do to get these legs in shape, but it was beautiful riding through the woods in the snow high above Lake Zurich. - David January 5th - Others who have done it We've been reading stories from some other people who have done this bike ride. Thought some of you might like to read them. Looks so freaking hard! A couple that did it a few years ago >> A guy who had a hard time with the cold >> And, for our french speaking Swiss friends, a site in French>> January 10th - More emotional than we expected From the first day that we've approached people, we've been getting donations. We're already at about 1,700 CHF (about 1,200 USD). The support, both financial and emotional, from friends around the world, has been tremendous. I never expected to get teary-eyed when someone says they'll help the Ride, but that's what happens just about every time. It's hard to explain how satisfying this is. It's just a tremendous sense of belief in the warmth of friends and family. - David January 13th - 25% of the way there in only 10 days! L'intérêt et la générosité de nos amis, collègues et autres connaissances continuent de nous surprendre: près de 2'500 CHF récoltés en 10 jours ! Les choses avancent par contre plus lentement du côté des sponsors financiers et des équipementiers. Pas facile en effet de trouver la bonne personne de contact auprès des entreprises visées. Les négociations avec les compagnies aériennes vont aussi bon train. Et c'est pas tout ça, il faut encore s'entraîner! - Nicolas January 14th - Whew, I can go after all Today was important. It looked like my boss was not going to let me to take the time that I needed to do the ride. It was pretty tense for Nicolas and I, but the boss could see how much it meant that I do this. So he's bought in and is a big supporter now (Thanks, Tilmann!) It's a good thing as I would have hated to have had to quit my job (Kidding, Tilmann, kidding...sort of).... - David January 18th - Passing the email along.... J'avoue avoir eu, au tout début du moins, le fol espoir de pouvoir gérer la liste de nos donateurs potentiels avec une feuille Excel...C'est du passé! Nos mails de demandes de dons sont "forwardés" dans des entreprises, au sein de groupes d'amis, dans des familles...Un tout grand merci à Anne, Aymeric, Phil et Dave... - Nicolas January 21st - Our first corporate sponsor! Those who were a little worried about how and where we were going to sleep at night during the ride, fear no more. Great news last night! We welcomed on board our first corporate sponsor: 'Ajungilak by Mammut'. These guys provide some serious, hard-core sleeping bags to the best explorers in the world. Now they also supply serious, hard-core sleeping bags to a couple of corporate desk-jockeys who are afraid of freezing to death at night on some Tibeten plateau. Thanks, guys! Check out their site. A big thanks to their Marketing Team for supporting our Ride! - Nicolas January 25th - Ice biking We were out training today on the Uetliberg. Needless to say, we hope it will be a bit warmer in Tibet! |
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| Two bikes, Two cities, 1200 kilometers, One goal: change the world by teaching kids to read |
| Our Goal We smashed through our goal of 10,000CHF!..... ...finally raising 25,000!!! |
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| All donations go to Room to Read |
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| Thanks to our sponsors! |
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| Feb 2nd - Strange land, strange shots I've been to the 'Reisenarzt' (travel doctor) who has prescribed for me a whole host of immunizations. My arms are sore now from all the shots, but I think I may be invincible to everything but chicken flu and stone-throwing children (apparently what we have to be careful of in Tibet!) now. Got some donations from relatives in the States (Kevin & Carol) today, too, which was great to see. And what the heck is Nicolas (happy birthday, by the way) writing in his journal entries? Can anyone read that stuff? - David Feb 4th - Credit Suisse in London sponsors the Ride to Read!!!!! Wow. WHAT A DAY!!!! Not sure what to say, but we got a phone call today from Credit Suisse in London. They said they wanted to be the main sponsor for the Ride. Even said they wanted to throw a reception in Kathmandu for us when we finished and invite some people to hear about our adventure and the libraries that we're building. Wow! Thank you Paul R., Zoe C. and Magnus M. for making this happen...we appreciate this so much. Stay tuned, everybody, for how this one develops! Feb 9th - Yak Butter Flavor Powerbars? Nicolas is kicking it getting companies on board for the Ride to Read!!! While snowshoeing in the mountains with Claire for some training, I got an SMS from him saying that Powerbar has come on board as our nutrition sponsor! This is great news. Many of you had been asking what we were going to eat during the ride. We didn't really have a good answer to that, as we heard the only thing widely available is Yak Butter Tea (we're hoping Powerbar will send us the less 'experimental' flavors). But Powerbar is providing us with everything we need in terms of bars, gels and drinks! Yeah! By the way, we're also quickly approaching our goal of 10,000 CHF and....well, we're not going to stop there as we have a whole new challenge that we're gonna take on. More on that to come in the next few days! - David Feb 10th - Of bikeshops and airlines and published in CS magazine 'One' (Thanks Michèle!) Les choses continuent de bouger du côté des sponsors commerciaux. "Cycles Froidevaux", à Morges, nous a d'abord aidé en transmettant notre candidature au fabricant de vélos suisse BMC. Cette tentative étant restée infructueuse, Bastien Froidevaux, a dès lors accepté de nous soutenir à son propre compte en me vendant un vélo à des conditions avantageuses (Dave, très sentimental, est profondément attaché à son vélo actuel et a donc logiquement décidé d''emmener ce dernier au Tibet....) (That's right, Dude, I'm not giving up my baby! - Dave). "Swiss" a trouvé notre initiative très louable mais ne peut diminuer nos dépenses liées aux frais de transport en raison de budgets très "serrés". Dans l'ensemble, il nous reste encore sept dossiers en attente auprès de potentiels sponsors. Faut croiser les doigts! La nouvelle du jour: la rédaction de "One", le magazine international du personnel de Credit Suisse publié à 50'000 examplaires, a décidé d'écrire un petit article sur notre projet! - Nicolas Feb 12th - After six weeks, we hit (and surpass) our goal...! THANK YOU, DANKE, MERCI! Roulement de tambours...Une journée pas comme les autres celle-là. On avait espéré pouvoir y arriver en trois mois. Mais grâce à l'intérêt inespéré que le projet a suscité (et suscite encore!) et à l'incroyable générosité de tous, le seuil des 10'000 CHF est aujourd'hui atteint et ce seulement après 6 semaines! Un IMMENSE MERCI à vous tous qui, d'une manière ou d'une autre, nous avez soutenu. Inutile de dire cependant que l'on ne va pas s'arrêter là tant les besoins surplace sont encore immenses... - Nicolas Feb 13th - One More Franc As Nicolas mentioned, we've hit our goal of 10,000 CHF. YEAH! That means we can build the four libraries and fund the 10 years worth of scholarships. Thank you! We've asked Room to Read to get started on the first library. We'll keep you posted, but it's very exciting to see this ACTUALLY happen! So, what do we do now? We're going for One More Franc (about 70 cents) to buy one more book all the way until we leave. Here's what John Wood, founder of Room to Read, told us: "One of our goals this year is to produce more books in the local languages. We have a program under which local authors and artists are paid by us to produce Nepali language children's books. The reason we have to 'self-publish' books is that many parents do not have money to buy books and they aren't profitle for publishers. So Room to Read is producing childrens book titles...we print them locally (thus creating employment opportunities) and they cost 1 franc (about 70 cents) a piece. So, raise one franc, buy one book." So, got One More Franc? - David Feb 18th - Life changing After a training session, which made the legs sore: had dinner with Nicolas to talk about some of the 'admin' we have to do for the Ride. Where we will sleep, what we will eat, visas for here and there, spare parts for bikes. It was very basic. Very matter of fact. And, for some reason, we paused for a second. Stopped to think about the wonder of it all. 'This will, you realize, change our lives,' one of us said at one point. And, we realized, it already has. - David Feb 19th - The Ride goes 'ON AIR'! A couple of weeks ago, I received an email from the Swiss Radio ('Radio Suisse Romande', RSR) saying that they would be interested in recording a small interview about our project. I met the guys from the station tonight and we taped 18 minutes! A big thank you to Thierry Délèze for handing me his microphone: the Ride will go 'LIVE' in a few days, I'll keep you posted! I also wanna mention that Thierry and I almost got run over by a tram while leaving the radio building right after the interview...Just a reminder: life is short - Nicolas Feb 20th - Riding in Memorium Sad news from the McQuillen Home Office in Colorado. Gus, my sister's Chinchilla, left this world for the big Dust Bath in the sky after a brief - but courageous - battle with a serious illness. He was a big (for a domestic rodent) supporter of the fight against illiteracy. He is survived by Fern, Amber, Murphy (The Cats) and Bob (The Dog) not to mention sister Peggy and his mom, Carolyn. The Ride to Read will not forget him.- David, Nicolas Feb 24th - Hot off the press Although we're not sure who to send it to, we've written a press release (which you can find here). We figure it might come in useful at somepoint if, uh, the press ever calls us. We're trying to get the word out a bit more...at this point, just trying to raise awareness of illiteracy as a source of so much trouble in the world is a worthwhile goal. And thanks to our friend Jim White who sent an email about the Ride to all his friends and posted a link to the Ride to Read at his site (www.jimwhitephotos.com). Check it out - the photography is spectacular!!! - David Feb 27th - The Ride to Read....sponsored by 'Vicks Vapor Rub' Le "paysage" commence à être monotone en salle de fitness sur ces 'spin bikes'. Malheureusement, le retour du froid et de la neige ne facilite pas l'entraînement à l'extérieur. En plus, j'entends encore la doctoresse de la permanence médicale de la gare de Zurich, à qui je me plaignais de difficultés respiratoires, me dire: "Monsieur Bertsché, vous avez peut être un début de bronchite, va falloir rester calme pendant une semaine...". C'est promis docteur, je mettrai mon plus gros pull et un bonnet sous mon casque pour notre sortie Zurich-Lucerne ce week end. Breaking News: the Ride ON AIR tomorrow! C'est vendredi, un de ces après-midis pendant lesquels on attend le week end... Mais rien de tel qu'un appel de la Radio Suisse Romande (RSR) pour vous remettre d'aplomb! 10 minutes de l'entretien enregistré le 19 février (voir ci-dessus) sera diffusé sur la RSR demain soir, entre 20h00 et 21h00 (désolé, pas moyen d'être plus précis), dans l'émission 'Sport-Première' de Francis Parel et Patrick Délétroz ....http://www.rsr.ch/view.asp?DomID=159#Samedi. A vos transistors! Feb 29th - Little guy does big thing A lot of you have told us your own inspiring tale of reaching out to help others. We've got a lot of energy from those. Here's one that I just heard about that I thought I would share with you all. Austin Wride, who lives with his family in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, has raised $300 for a charity in Nepal. What's extraordinary about this is that Austin is 8 years old. He had the idea to have a bakesale at school so he could raise money to send to some kids in Nepal. So he did it. Kids helping kids. It's great. Just great. - David Mar 8th - Getting into the details Gelbfieber, Hepatitis B, Tollwut, Trinkwasser-Aufbereitung, Reisen in grosse Höhen,usw...C'est deja pas simple en francais mais alors en allemand...Le 'Reiseartzt' m'a acheve ce soir. Cote visas, j'ai recu celui pour l'Inde la semaine derniere, il reste plus que le Nepal et la Tibet! Dave, pas toujours tres a l'aise avec tout ce qui touche a "l'administratif", a par contre un peu de peine a lancer ses propres demandes (Dave, better turn it up a notch...). On est de plus toujours entrain de se battre pour savoir comment on va acheminer nos velos et notre materiel jusqu'a Katmandu. Faut bien admettre a ce sujet que la compagnie 'Royal Nepal Airlines' (que l'on va prendre pour le trajet Bombay-Kat) a le sens du suspense! Affaire a suivre... March 9th - Books and the Ride to Read Parties!!! Just got word from Erin at Room to Read that they are going produce the kids books that you all have made possible. They offered to have the inside cover inscribed with a saying from us, so we asked them to put 'From all the donors to the Ride to Read.' So, while your name might not be there, you are there in spirit! We hope this is ok with all you guys! Also, we have two parties to announce! For those of you that can make it, on Thursday, April 1st, we will have the 'official' Ride to Read launch party here in Zurich. Location is TBD. Then, thanks to the good folks at Credit Suisse UK, we will have our finish-line 'cocktail reception' in Kathmandu on May 5th. Our friends from Room to Read will also be there...any of you want to come? - David March 14th - Kilometers and Diplomats Only three and a half weeks to go and still so many kilometers to put into our legs. Saturday, we were out for 3.5 hours, with a lot of climbs. Today, it was another 3 hours on the bike. We're shattered. But we got some great news from Dinesh, he head of Room to Read in Kathmandu. He met with Magnus Montgomery from Credit Suisse and they are taking the details for the event on May 7th. We thought it was going to be some kind of small little party, but, as you can read from the note from Dinesh below, and just like everything about this Ride, it's much bigger than we ever, ever, ever thought.... "Hi David! Yesterday, I met Magnus and we had a very fruitful meeting. We discussed about the party and some necessary arrangement for the program. There will be around 100 people including some diplomats. He is going to confirm all the invitees so every thing is taken care of. Thanks and look forward to seeing you soon." All the best, Dinesh Room to Read Nepal March 14th - Looking like pros! Ok, thanks to Credit Suisse, we get to buy some jerseys for the ride! We designed them today and the finished product is what you see below. Nicolas and I will each get one, and then John Wood at Room to Read is going to auction off a couple of them as well to raise even more money! |
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| March 16th - Details for the Ride Party! We know we should train...But still, as Dave mentioned above, we wanted to personally thank before leaving. And again, we'll only be drinking butter tea for one month! WHEN - Thursday, April 1st, from 18:30 onwards WHERE - Boos Lounge bar, Schweizergasse 8, 8001 Zurich (next to Globus, right in the centre) Looking forward to seeing you all of you there, this club has got some really good music! March 17th - 2'500 more books published in one day! Une amie a fait le calcul (elle est comptable et adore Excel). Depuis le lancement de notre levée de fonds début janvier, nous avons reçu une moyenne de 230.- francs suisses par jour! La mauvaise nouvelle pour elle, c'est qu'elle va devoir refaire ses calculs. Tenez-vous bien, on a reçu.... 2575.- aujourd'hui!!! De la pure folie...Merci, merci. March 22nd - A hard weekend's riding Training. It's getting harder now. Saturday, we mountain biked from Zurich to Luzern, riding along the Uetliberg ridge all the way to Zug and then on to Luzern...a distance of 75k and about 4.5 hours of riding. We were exhausted, but pleased. Sunday was another 2.5 hours and 55k, but we felt like we had recovered well from Saturday...so that's a good sign that the fitness is there. Photo left: Dave pushing the bike up Albishorn (no, really, it was too steep!) Photo Right: Nicolas looking out toward Zug |
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| March 26th - Listing & Finalizing Une liste pour le materiel de velo et les pieces derechange, une liste pour l'equipement "general", une autre pour les medicaments, c'est fastudieux mais necessaire! Heureusement, nous avons appris qu'il etait possible d'enregistrer nos bagages directement a Zurich pour tout le trajet jusqu'a Kathmandu. Grand soulagement car il semblerait que les douaniers de Bombay, ou nous restons pour une nuit, sont tres "pointilleux" (ils embetent pour des piles alors vous imaginez avec des pompes et des boites entieres de Powergel...). J'ai reussi a avoir une conversation digne de ce nom avec Lhakpa, notre soutien local a Kathmandu (avoir la connection est une chose, en avoir une bonne en est une autre) et il semblerait que notre transfert sur le Tibet soit en bonne voie. Du moins, pas grand chose que l'on puisse encore faire depuis la Suisse, il faudra pauffiner les details sur place. Finalement, sachez que la fete que nous organisons le 1er avril s'annonce tres sympa vu le nombre de personnes qui ont manisfeste leur interet (details above). On se rejouit de vous y voir! March 27th - Thinking of packing It's cold out again. The bike doesn't care, but I do. Much rather be at a coffee shop reading or something. But we'll be out there today. 2.5 hours is the plan, followed by 4 hours tomorrow. It's not fear, but now things are getting very real and...is it anxiety?...is setting in. How many pairs of socks and underwear do you pack for a bike trip across Tibet? I just read that not all pens work in Tibet. What does that mean? What else doesn't work? Excitement. Two weeks from yesterday, we leave Zurich. Six weeks from yesterday, we will be able to see the first of the libraries you have made possible - and meet some of the kids. - David March 28th - Feeling kinda' Stupa Mingmar - our unbelievably helpful contact in Nepal (a friend of Jammy, who is my brother Dan's girlfriend) - has arranged to meet us in Kathmandu when we land and take us to a place to stay when we arrive next Thursday (!). According to Mingmar, it's a nice little place and clean. Best of all, 'you can see a whole stupa so beautifully from there.' I wrote back. Thanked Mingmar for his help. Confirmed the reservation. Remarked, in a PS, that I can't wait to see the view of the Stupa. Now, I have no idea what a Stupa is.... - David March 29th - Where, when The details page of the site is now updated with actual dates. So, for those of you thinking of meeting us somewhere along the route (right?), you can see where we will be when. In case you're curious, our website is getting quite a bit of traffic, with more than 6,000 pageviews in total since we launched it in January! Thanks for visiting. May 30th - Everyone but me So, everyone but me (and Nicolas) seems to know what a Stupa is. The enthusiasm with which this knowledge was shared, and the enthusiasm with which my ignorance was pointed out to me (and questions rasied about whether I should really be travelling to places where I don't even know what a Stupa is) has been matched only by your generosity in donations. My Dad, in particular, has provided very specific details and even a picture on what a Stupa is. As below.... Stupa - Buddhist funerary mound in the form of a hemisphere of earth and rubble. The earliest (C3–C1 BC) are raised on low drums faced with brick or stone. Stupas are sometimes of bell-like form with a platform at the top (surrounded by stone railings) carrying a mastlike stone upright with one or more canopies resembling umbrellas (chattra). Stupa-like elements sometimes occur as ornaments in the Indian style. |
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| April 1st - Not a joke What a day. Not only is it the Ride to Read party tonight (A round of yak butter tea for everyone!), but... WE HAVE BROKEN 20,000 CHF!!! (16,500 USD) Wow. Everybody - your warmth, enthusiasm and generous spirit is overwhelming. Thanks for making the Ride to Read such a wonderful success....illiteracy does not stand a chance!!! |
| April 2nd - What time did you get home? What a night! Thanks to everybody who came to our Ride to Read Apero last night. It was great having you there! To those that missed it, the night was lesser for your absence, but we still had a great time...The music was good, the pictures of Tibet beamed onto the wall were fantastic (Nicolas' work) and the vibe was there. Thanks everyone! April 6th - All this stuff... Packing (how many powerbars for 20 days? is this bag big enough for everything?). Last details with Room to Read (any more donations show up? which library can we visit?). Details for arrival (can't wait to see the stupa). Double checking the route. Final arrangements for party in Kathmandu. It's down to the wire now. Nicolas and I get together this afternoon for our last meeting before we leave. We feel fit, think we have everything covered, and are as ready to go as we're ever going to be. Looking back on this journal...going back to January 1st...it's amazing all the things that have happened to get us this far...so much farther than we ever thought possible. It's true: you can have an impact on the world if you just set out to do it. PS - Thanks to everyone for all the emails, SMSs and phone calls wishing us luck. We really appreciate your support! Please stay in touch by reading this journal while we are gone or sending emails to our addresses below. To know where we are and when, check out the ride details. April 7th - Nothing left to do but go... Well. That's about it. Nothing left to do now but go and ride. The excitement, the anticipation, the nervousness, the sense of accompmlishment, the feeling of support and caring from all of you...it's all there and we're taking it with us (just trying to find a very small bottle to take some of Nicolas' Dad's famous Kirsch to Everest with us as we promised him). Tomorrow morning, we meet at the Hauptbahnhof at 7.30am and take the train to the airport. Our flight is at 10am. It's 9 hours to Bombay, where we'll be for a night before heading on to KTM. Wish us luck!!! Has anyone seen my passport? ********* ...and send UPDATES For those of you in our Ascent and Peak clubs, you'll be getting email updates from us whenever we can send them. If you don't get an update from us after a week or so we might have screwed up your email address....so be sure to send me (dmcquillen@rocketmail.com) an email if you don't hear from us. Those of you who want to follow all the excitement, drama, thrills, spills and adventures (how's that for hype!), all you have to do is donate at our Ascent or Peak levels (be sure to let me know so I can add you to the email list)! This is better than reality telelvision!!!!!! ******** ...and listen to Nicolas... Ca y est, le moment tant attendu est enfin arrive! Depart demain matin depuis Zurich avec premier cap sur Bombay ou l'on passera la nuit. Nous prendrons ensuite un second vol le lendemain a destination de Kathmandu ou des amis nous attendent pour le week end. Dans l'intervalle, on essaie de se convaincre en se disant qu'on a rien oublie (elle est ou deja cette foutue pompe?!) et qu'il ne va pas trop neiger sur les cimes tibetaines... On vous tient au courant - Namaste April 15th - Dedication, perseverance, courage...and we haven't even started the Ride Yet Well, after leaving Zurich and spending one night in Mumbai, India (take a taxi ride there..it will change your life), we took care of business in Kathmandu - getting visas sorted out, meeting with our travel team and with Dinesh from Room to Read...even had tea with Mingmar outside his family house in the Tibeten refugee camp there. Kathmandu is a thrilling city...you may have heard of some of the protests against the king and the Maoists. But life there goes on...we even saw one guy carrying a couch on his back (yes, a couch) into one of the riots. Finally, we flew for Lhasa on Tuesday morning...and didn't get there until Friday. Due to bad weather, we had to detour to Cheng Du (think it means 'god forsaken' in Mandarin), China. We spent four days there (the hotel was so bad on the second night, that the entire plane staged a protest afte our second flight out and refused to leave the plane until they guaranteed a better hotel) and three more flight attempts, before finally making it (on our FIFTH attempt). Thank god. Or Budda. Or whoever you pray to. But we are here and so, so, so, so happy to be here. The sun it out, the altitude has rattled us (headaches and a sleepless night were in order last night), but the people, the markets, the streets...stunning. We start the ride on Monday, as we still have to get used to the altitude and going any earlier would be dangerous. (Full update coming to our Ascent/Peak clubbers tomorrow). April 16th till May 6th - ON THE ROAD UPDATES! Below are the updates that we sent from on the road during the Ride to Read to our Ascent and Peak Club donors. We hope you enjoy them as much as we loved living them.... UPDATE ONE Dear beloved donors, As promised, please find below our first update. As you'll see, the adventure actually started much earlier than expected! Best wishes to you all from from Lhassa. Our ride back to Kathmandu actually starts tomorrow, more info about it in our next email! ******************** Getting to Kathmandu Last Thursday, we flew out of Zurich (some unexpected hassles with the bikes at the airport) and landed in Mumbai (Bombay), India (further, unexpected hassles with the bikes involving long talks with the custom? officer and a solemn promise that we wouldn? sell the bikes in Mumbai (!) while there. We even had to write it down on a slip of paper (that nobody ever looked at). Mumbai: Taxis so small they make Mini? look big. Poverty everywhere?hildren sleeping in the street and on every sidewalk. Warmth and sunshine along the water. Tikka. People EVERYWHERE! So many people. Houses made of corregated tin. More people everywhere. Busy roadside markets that offered everything (man with an iron, vegetable stands, shoe repair, xerox machine, haircuts, food, stamps, Rupees). In Kathmandu We landed in KTM around 10pm at night on Friday in a slight rainstorm. Mingmar (a friend of Jamyang, Tibeten girlfriend of Dan McQuillen) met us there, had a word or two with the customs guys (no hassles with the bikes) and he and his two friends loaded us into a van with all our gear. We then drove to our hotel. The drive was?.unsettling. No street lights. Dirt roads, shuttered windows and doors, a few dogs, a cow wandering across. Rain, darkness and quiet everywhere. Nobody was out. It looked like something out of a war movie. Coming from the endless noise and energy of Mumbai to the still, almost fear-filled environment in Kathmandu, it was strange. Mingmar said it was just the way that KTM was. The next few days were busy ones. We met with Dinesh, head of Room to Read in Nepal. We saw the books that your money has helped publish (we?l post pictures) and learned more about their philosophy toward building libraries and schools and funding scholarships. Their entire approach is based on sustainable development in which the community where a, say, library is established donates at least half of the capital required to build it (to ensure they take care of it and develop it). We met wth Lhakpa, a high-ranking Sherpa who has helped us organise our stay in KTM and the Ride itself. We also had tea ith Mingmar and his family in a Tibeten Refugee Village. He lives in one room with five members of his family. We went for several long walks with him through the city, seeing everything from the Sky Burials (the dead are cremated outdoors along a riversite), to a Tibeten soccer game (the pitch was dirt) to one of the many riots going on in KTM over the King and the Maoists (but life goes on there - even saw a guy carrying a couch on his back ?yes, a couch ?into one of the riots?e must have had a delivery to make, eh?). We finally had lunch with a Swiss/American couple that work for the UN, learning where to get good ice cream and why Nepal needs literacy so badly. Kathmandu: Chaotic, formless traffic with horns blaring that is suprisingly easy to walk through once you get the hang of it. Huge smiles. Haggling in markets. Filthy rivers and garbage everywhere. Tourists, tourists. Cows walking in the middle of the street. Coming to terms with how inexpensive it is (a full meal for three about 6 dollars). The neon and darkness of Thamel. Worries about Maoists and riots. The palace where the royal massacres took place. Crowded narrow streets full of energy. Kids playing everywhere and laughing. Nepali Rupees. Getting to Lhasa Kathmandu was a great time and full of great people, but it was time to go and we boarded our flight (more bike problems) for Lhasa, with 200 other people on Tuesday, ready to get there. We finally arrived in Lhasa on Friday. Turns out the weather in Lhasa was too bad to land, so we got routed to Chengdu, China. Chengdu must mean ?od Forsaken?or ?ope you never have to come here? cause it really is a terrible place. And we got to know it really well. Our first night in Chengdu was not so bad. It? a city of 10 million people, so we figured there had to be SOMETHING to do and looked on the delay as a positive thing in which we could see a new city. But, as we were 15kilometers from the city centre, and had little money until we could find an ATM, we ended up having dinner at a roadside restaurant (about 5 meters from the road) where people ate at a ?otpot?and dipped meat and vegetables into boiling water and oil to cook. Laughs and confusion with the locals as we tried to order. The next morning (4am), we took off for Lhasa again and came back to Chengdu again due to bad weather. This time we got put into what must have been an abandoned military barracks on an abandoned road in an abandoned town about 20kilometers from town. After comparisions with past backpacking trips, we concluded it was probably the worst place we?e ever stayed. The only thing worse was the food. Still, we took a bus into town (don? even ask how we managed that one since the only words in Mandarin we know are ?hengdu? and had a good walk around. The next morning, it was up again at 4am, flew to Lhasa, couldn? land and then flew back to Chengdu. There was a small riot on the plane that would have made the Maoists proud. This riot was primarily generated by the fear that Air China would put us back into the Chengdu Ghetto Hotel that we had stayed in the previous night. So, we had a sit-in in the plane and then outside the plane on the runway (not every day you get to sit on the airport runway) until Air China promised to put us in a nicer hotel. During this time, two couples had their luggage robbed. Indeed, on the third night, were put into a nicer hotel. At least it looked that way. Until Dave broke the handle off the door to the room. Then broke the key off in the handle to the new room we were put in. Then found out that the floor we were staying in was the ?rostitute?floor and if there was a knock on our door at night we should ignore it. Ended up meeting some local expat English teachers and learning about life in Chengdu. It seems our few days there pretty much summed up their two or so years there. Yes, Chengdu. In the morning (yes, 4am), we got up again and flew to Lhasa, came within five minutes of landing and then returned to Chengdu. There were conspiracy theories making the rounds of the plane as well as a petition to force the pilot to go to KTM so those on the trip who only had 4 day visas could just go home and forget about Lhasa. It was on the return trip that our positive atitude was really challenged. BUT! BUT! The plane landed, refueled and set off again for Lhasa! And land we did. After 5 attempts, we finally made it. Chengdu: Huge highways. Huge bicycle lanes. Crap hotels. Neon downtown. Walking and walking. People clearing their throats so loud it could break windows. People spitting so loud it could break window frames. Playing cards in a nice little park. Chinese line dancing. Music blaring so loud out of every single shop that you could barely hear people clearing their throats. Yuans and Jiao. In Lhasa So, on Friday, we were out of the plane, the effectse of altitude were immediate. At more than 11,000 feet (3,600 meters), we were a little breathless and dizzy and looking for the Diamox and pain reliever. Met by our guide, Norbu, we headed to our hotel and settled down. Our trip was now delayed until Monday, as we had to get used to the altitude before moving on. This was like a dream. So many times we looked at the map while we planned the ride and wondered what Lhasa was like. How it felt, smelled, sounded, looked. On first impression, it was much bigger than we expected, and we could clearly see the Chinese influence with the big boulevards and blaring music. But our hotel was firmly in the old Tibeten quarter and we have been capitvated since being here. We?e seen the Potala and all the temples and palaces and learned about all the Dali Lamas and Buddas. But, above all, what has really pulled us into Lhasa has been the warm, massive smiles on the faces of all the people. Never seen anything like it. Lhasa: Thin air. Bright sun. High dirt mountains and even bigger ones in the distance. The cutest little kids with bright red cheeks and jet black hair. Tsampa (a barely flour mixed with tea leaves that you roll into a ball in your hand and eat). Learning how to say the basics in Tibeten (?ashi Delek??Hello!). Bargaining in the market. Doing clockwise circles with all the pilgrams around the holy sites and through the markets. Buying food and water for the Ride. Meeting with our tour guide to arrange all the details. *** About to Ride *** And, well, here we are. In an internet caf? just off a busy road full of people selling vegetables from the back of their bicycles, people in pushcarts and roadside stands selling momos and fried meat on sticks. Tomorrow, we have a 120k ride ahead of us. It should be cold in the morning, hot during the day (the sun is relentless when the clouds are gone) and very, very, very cold at night. We?e excited about the ride tomorrow, but the real challenge will be pulling up to a tent in the middle of nowhere in a raging wind in about 4c temperatures, changing clothes and getting the stove working. And then there is the matter of food. We ate at a nice restaurant tonight for some warm food and our last taste of civilization?for at least a few days. It? pot noodles and chocolate ?yes, we bought some chocolate ?from here until Gyantse! UPDATE TWO Hi folks, Sorry for the delay but it isn't easy to find a decent connection down here... All the best, Dave & Nicolas *********** Day 1 - Lhasa to middle of some field 95k, 4.5 hours FINALLY! After all the drama of trying to get to Lhasa, we started the ride. We were required by the Chinese Government to hire a driver and guide, and we got two great ones..our guide Tenzing, 27 and Tibeten (speaking English) and our driver/land cruiser mechanic Pemba, 30 and Tibeten. This first day was fairly uneventful, with bright (i.e., scorching) sunshine and wonderful roads along the mountains. It felt so GOOD to be riding and starting this journey after so many months of planning. We took some pictures outside the Potala Palace (home of the Dali Lama) and the first few kilometers were pretty emotional...neither of us could actually belive it was happening! Eventually, Tenzing found a great campsite in a field next to a dry river in a mountain valley, at the base of the pass we would do the next day. That's when we learned what it means to be an animal in a Zoo. No sooner had we set up camp than there were about 20 to 30 kids and adult villagers standing around us watching us eat, brush our teeth, check our bikes. We smiled and said 'Tashi Delek' (hello, or 'good fortune,' in Tibeten) and waved as we climbed into the tent (and a night of sub-zero temps). Day 2 - to just outside Nagartse 95k, 5hours 45minutes We knew this would be a hard day. We woke up (surrouned again by a bunch of kids watching us get ready and have breakfast). Tenzing and Pemba, two of the nicest guys ever, took down our tent and helped us prepare. Then it was off to Karo La, our first pass. It was, uh, hard. It took us 3 hours just to climb the thing...and we got our first taste of the road ahead of us...dirt, gravel, bumps, holes, sand, mud. We climbed up to about 4,500 meters, before starting an awesome descent down to the holy lake of Yam Tso. Along the lake, we also got our first taste of how friendly the Tibeten people are...every single person (really) that we passed said 'hello' or 'tashi delek' and waved to us. Kids came running from the fields up to the road to see us. Eventually, we arrived at a field next to the lake that Tenzing found...we were shattered. Dinner was pot noodles and a chocolate bar (watched ever so carefully by the locals, again), a game of cards and more sleep (or lack of...the altitude at 4,500 meters doesn't provide much oxygen for sleeping) in sub-zero temperatures. Day 3 - to Gyantse 116k, 6hours 30minutes If this doesn't go down as the hardest day of the ride when it's all done, it will certainly be in the top 3 (if it's not, we hate to think of what the coming days hold!). We started with a 10k ride to Nagartse, where we passed a school. This was a treat, as from every single window of the 3 story school kids were crowding out the windows and screaming, yelling and whistling at us as we passed! Felt like we were rock stars! Tenzing told us today would be 'easy' and, from the seat of a Land Cruiser, we're sure it is. The Karo La pass was always going to be hard. At 25k long, and topping out at 5,105meters high, it's a long slog and the air is thing. Finishing things off, there are a few glaciers at the top that make the strong wind even colder. It took us hours to get up it and the kilometers of the past two days made themselves known. The road was typical so far...dirt, bumps, mud, gravel...always searching for the smoothest path to save our bodies and asses (no prizes for guessing what hurts most) from more punishment. After a big descent of Karo La, we rode through some of the most amazing, stunning, shockingly beautiful scenery we've ever seen. Red/grey/brown canyons and mountains, with smiling people, yaks, horses, fields and rivers. Pretty emotional stuff. Lunch was by the side of the truck in the middle of a wide open plain beneath a glacier. After lunch, we headed off again to the Simi La pass (4,500m)...at this point, around 85k and more than 5 hours or riding, we were shattered, but had to get to Gyantse...so we kept on pushing, taking turns into the wind and the dust...(do it for the kids! hah.)when we finally pulled into town, we were covered in mud, dust and nearing despair...neither of us had pushed ourselves so hard in a long time. Dinner was Nepali food in a local restaurant...we walked the streets of the small town...watched people play pool (there is a pool table on the sidewalk every 50meters or so in Tibet)...then fell fast asleep Day 4 - to Shigatse 96k, 3.5 hours RELIEF! We could barely face or sit down on our bikes this morning, but Tenzing assured us it was a smooth ride to Shigatse...and it was! Even though it was 96k, today was on a paved road (the last we will see for the next 800 kilometers), we had a tailwind, only got chased by one rabid dog and had a nice lunch of egg fried rice in a small restaurant (these sort of 'restaurants' more resemble someon's home than a restaurant). We averaged nearly 30k an hour, which is pretty good going on a mountain bike - but sitting down on the saddle was a chore and we couldn't even imagine what it would have been like if we had to do it on the dirt roads of the past few days. So, now, after visiting a few monastaries, having a nice dinner, checking on the bikes and washing clothes in the sink, we're off to bed. Day 5 - to Liu 85k, 4hours 30 minutes After touring one of the most famous monestaries in Tibet, complete with the world's largest Buddah (26m high and very, very impressive), we set off from Shigatse. Our goal was to get to the foot of the Tsuo La pass, which we would have to cross on Day 6. It was sort of a 'transition' day, in which the road was typical so far (i.e., terrible), but had the added surpise of deep sand in places. We had lunch in a small little village (even using the word village is a stretch), where an old lady slapped Dave's ass and we all ate fried rice in, what seemed, someone's living room. After lunch, we set off through more spectacular scenery...it started to get cold and Tenzing was busy looking for a camping spot...it was so windy that staying in a field would have meant we would be blown away. He found one...right in front of a mud Tibeten hut on the edge of a small collection of mud huts. The woman who lived there agreed to let us set up our tent right outside her front door and within the protection of the small walls that encircled the hut. This was an amazing experience...we played with the local kids, handed out some pens (these are really valuable here) and candy, showed everyone our bikes, then we got invited into the woman's house, which seemed to be the gathering spot for all the local adults. They shared 'chang' (barley beer) with us, we taught them some card tricks, fascinated them with our cameras and had a fantastic time fully immersed in Tibeten village life in the middle of nowhere (Tenzing explained to us that these people had never even been to the nearest big town, much less Lhasa...these fields, mountains and dust were their world). It was simply amazing. Day 6 - to Lhatse, via world's biggest dust and wind storm 70k, 5hours Today started off with a 30k ride to the base of our fourth pass, Tsuo La, which was bout 10k and not that difficult on paper. But we were both pretty tired from the past few days and were suffering from minor injuries like knee pain. It was pretty cold today, too, and the wind was picking up as we made our way up the pass. At the top, we put on our warm jackets and helmets and began the 20k descent, which was fantastic...from the top we could see the whole road all the way to the bottom. Tenzing and Pemba met us at the bottom and we went up to Sakya monestary, where we had to 'sneak' in past the Chinese Police since we didn't have the right permits. With that done, we had lunch. Dave couldn't finish the last 30k, since his knee was causing him too much pain (it should be ok tomorrow). Nicolas set off into 40k an hour wind gusts with massive dust storms...at times he was only able to average 7k an hour...on the flats!!! Now, we're settled in Lahtse, which looks like a mixture between a Tibeten village, Chinese Theme Park, Zoo (cows and dogs everywhere), and dust bowl. Tomorrow, we have a really difficult day, with the pass of Gyatso La. Wish us luck and thanks for reading... Memories: Smiling faces, kids watching us, 'roads' that are nothing more than dirt paths, wonderful food, freezing in the tent, looking up the mountain wondering how we're going to get up that, choking dust from passing land cruisers, sand storms, rabid dog attacks, throwing candy to kids on the roadside, monks in red robes, pot noodles (again), some weird sort of beef in green chinese military cans, no showers (for how many days now?), dirty clothes, shuptah ('cheers' in tibeten).... Next update in about 4 to 5 days..... Thanks for the support! UPDATE THREE Hi Everyone! This update is going to be a little different. We thought you might be a little bored to read what we do every day (uh, ride our bikes, eat, sleep), so we're going to provide those details, including how the Ride to Read will be on Swiss National Television, but then some summary stuff... Day 7 - Lhatze to Shezar: 83kms, one major pass (Gatzola, 5220m, incl. 31 kms of uphill!) Time on bike: 6hours This day was incredibly difficult, mainly due to the pass of Gatso La, which was long, steep, mostly washboard like dirt and windy. In fact, about 3k from the top of the climb, we passed a truck (a big one), that had been blown over by the wind. Also, it was the highest we had been on the trip, about 5100m, and we really struggled in the last 10k just to breathe right. We arrived exhausted in Shezar, got our tickets to Everest Base Camp, met a guy who was helping the Tibetens manage flood control during the rainy season, had dinner (see below), went to bed. Day 8 - Shezar to Tachi Dzom: 68kms, 5th major pass (Panga La, 5250m, incl. 25 kms of uphill and approx. 40 switchbacks) Time on bike: 4h30 Pang La was higher than Gyatso la, but not as difficult, mainly because it had so many switchbacks, and it wasn't very steep. It just took us about 3 hours to get up it. The descent was very difficult, with rough road conditions the entire way. Our bodies took a terrible pounding this day and when we arrived in Tachi Dzom, we had some tea, watched the locals eat their dinner and discovered the most spectacular toilet ever (it consisted of 2 holes in the middle of the floor of a balcony on the second floor of the guest house with a spectacular drop down a hill. broken windows allowed plenty of fresh and freezing air in. toilets in tibet - like nothing you've ever seen). Day 9 - Tachi Dzom to Everest Base Camp (5200m): 51 kms of a "washboard" road Time on bike: 4h30 Not our longest day, but our most difficult. From the gun, we started climbing, and didn't stop until we reached Base Camp. We have never, never, never done anything so hard in our entire lives. Every single meter of the last 10k was a struggle not to give up. The atmosphere in Base Camp was fantastic...there were more than 100 tents from different expeditions that were going to attempt to climb the mountain. Really exciting place to be, full of life, fear, excitement and promise. And Mt. Everest...you'll have to see it for yourself, as it is a stunning mountain, especially when the sun is setting on it or in moonlight. We slept in a tent with 6 other people and nearly froze to death in sub, sub zero temps (about -10c by most accounts). Day 10 - Everest Base Camp to Tingri: 70 kms Time on bike: 5hours Not much to mention on this ride, over a pass, down a descent and along a flat to Tingri. Sort of a transition day. BUT! When we pulled in to our guesthouse (we checked this one for rats, as our last one wasn't so nice), we met a guy from Zurich who was doing the Friendship Highway from Lhasa to KTM in a landcruiser. We chatted to him a bit and shared some stories. Then he told us he was doing a documentary for Swiss National Television on the Friendship Highway. He asked whether we would mind if he interviewed us, filmed us getting ready in the morning and then followed us on the road for a few kilometers!!!!! WHOA! We consulted our agents, of course, and said we'd LOVE to do it. We'll keep you updated when it will be on air! WOW! Day 11 - Tingri to bottom of Lalung La Pass: 80 kms Time on bike: 4h30 Long, flat, exhausting day. Not much else to report on this one really, another transistion day. Day 12 - Lalung La Pass to Nyalam: 83 kms, incl. the 6th major pass (Lalung La, 5220m) and a "minor" pass going up to 5000m too Time on bike: 6hours See epic rides below for details on this one. Greatest Things About the Ride 1. The People You should see the smiles on these people here in Tibet. They are huge. 2. The Ride Just being on our bikes, travelling through this amazing landscape, meeting these fantastic people. It-s phenomenal. 3. So much New Stuff to Learn We've managed to learn a few words in Tibeten, have learned how to eat with our hands, acquired a taste for butter tea (see below), learned how to read the conditions of a dirt road at 30kph, seen more stars in the sky than we thought were there and have seen all sorts of amazing stuff done with cow dung. 3. You The support and encouragement coming from you guys is so important to us. It really helps on these days. Top Things we Underestimated 1. The Wind As you know, we are riding from Lhasa to Kathmandu. As you might not know, and as we have discovered, the raging, ferocious, sand storm generating winds are travelling from Kathmandu to Lhasa. We've been starting our rides about 9am every morning to try and get in as much distance as possible before the winds pick up around noon. Facing a 40kph wind with 50 kilomters to go before dinner has challenged our morale on more than one occassion. 2. Road Conditions As we've mentioned in past updates, the Friendship Highway should be renamed the Friendship Cowpath. On most days, riding on these dirt paths is like riding a washing machine over a washboard. We are sore. Sand is the worst, washboard bumps that go on for kilometers, gravel, holes, dirt, river crossings...we've seen it all. 3. The Determination of Small Black Dogs On several days, a small black dog (the same one each time?) has bolted out of some little mud hut, leaving a trail of dust (see below) behind him and attempted to take one or the other of us down. One dog - clearly more used to the altitude than us at 4600m - chased us for a full kilometer! 4. The Altitude We knew the air was thin. We didn-t realise that even brushing our teeth would leave us gasping for air! At least three of our mountain passes have put us above 5000m and at this height, taking a desperately needed drink of water is a massive undertaking in coordinating (hyper)breathing, pedaling, balance and drinking. 5. Climbs It seems that there is only one kind of climb in Tibet..those that last at *least* 2.5 hours. 6. Descents On paper, a 30k descent looks like a lot of fun. In reality, the wind (see number 1) and the road conditions make going downhill almost as hard as going uphill 7. How Hard This is Harder, physically and emotionally, than we ever imagined. Enough said on that. Top 3 Rides 1. Tashi Dzom to Everest Base Camp We've tried to come up with some words to convey how incredibly hard this day was, but there really is nothing. The fact that it almost brought us to tears, that we thought about quitting every other minute, that we couldn't even look at Mt. Everest due to the splitting altitude headaches, that we could only focus on the ground 1 meter in front of us, that we sat in the tea tent for more than an hour staring at a cup of tea and saying nothing, that we slept in -10c temperatures...that we were ACTUALLY AT BASE CAMP! This ride will never be forgotten. 2. Nagartse to Gyantse Featured in the first update, this 116k ride had two big passes in the first 50k, then a windy, lonely, dusty road that we never thought would end. Arrivining in Gyantse almost at nightfall. As the longest ride we've done, it gets epic status. 3. Foot of Lalung La to Nylam This ride started in freezing temperatures, began from the first k with a 1.5 hour climb where our hands and feet went so numb that we had to stop on the descent to warm them, had a second 1hour pass, then the wind started, then the hurricance force winds began, then the clouds blocked out the sun, then the road turned to sand (try riding in sand. not fun.), then the clouds started spitting out rain, which quickly turned to hail and snow, then we had to ride through 3 caravans of Yaks making their way to wherever. The dust and ice storm was so severe that Dave'e cornea got scratched and he temporarily lost the vision in his left eye (it healed overnight, thank goodness...just a flesh wound). Most Frequently Asked Questions in Response to Updates 1. Don't your asses hurt from all that riding? You would not believe how badly. Let-s not talk about this anymore. 2. What do you eat? We've found you can eat whatever you want in Tibet as long as it is Egg Fried Rice or Pot Noodles. Needless to say, these things will not be eaten for at LEAST a year after this trip is over. We eat at least 3 powerbars and a couple of powergels every day on the ride. Oh, we've also eaten a lot of Yak. Yak burgers, Yak Fried Rice, Yak slices, Dried Yak, Yak and Peppers. Yak Fried Noodles. The chicken, apparently, has not made much headway on the dinner table in Tibet. 3. What do you drink? Our usual staple in Zurich, beer or wine, has been replaced by bottled water (with some sports powder in there). In fact, we are drinking about 3 liters of water each every day. We're also drinking a lot of Sweet Tea (something all Tibetens drink a few liters of every day) and Butter Tea (tea, salt, butter...not as bad as it sounds, but not much better). 4. Are you tired? Never been this tired, ever. Even after a full night out in London or Zurich. We're sleeping about 10 to 11 hours every night. Depending on the altitude (highest we've slept is 5200m) and the temperature (every night is below freezing), the quality of sleep varies. 5. Why are you doing this again? For the kids, for the kids. 6. Where do you shower? No shower for 9 days now. When we've camped out, we've just brushed our teeth (you can't do much else when the temperature is so cold), and at guesthouses, the pot of hot water they give you isn't good for much. But don't worry, we'll clean up real nice in Kathmandu. 7. How's the weather? Well, it's bright sun and blue skies and freezing temps in the morning. It stays like that until about mid-day when the wind starts (did we mention the wind?). The sky usually stays blue. Night is below zero. 8. How are the bikes holding up? We-ve had a few mechanical problems, and the dust seems to get into everything, but they are doing well. 9. How are the bodies holding up? Dave's knee is better, but both of us have got knee and tendon problems here and there. Nothing serious, though, just overuse and stress. Can-t wait to lay on the couch back home. 10. Where do you sleep? If we're camping, usually on a day when there is no town nearby, we stay in our tent. This is usually set up in a small field somewhere, and quickly surrounded by every curious Tibeten within 15k. If we finish a ride in a town, we stay at a 'guesthouse', which costs about 5bucks a night and isn't that much different than our tent, other than the walls are solid. Next update when we arrive in KTM! David & Nicolas ---- UPDATE FOUR Hi Everybody! Kathmandu feels good! We're in sunshine, among friends, enjoying the green spaces and looking back up the mountains, in the direction of Tibet, and wondering how we ever made it here. Day 13 - Nyalam to Borderlands Camp (New candidate for Epic Rides) 60k, 4hours on bike We'd been looking forward to today for some time. This was the day we crossed the border, and the day we started the 'world's longest downhill,' and we expected it to be exciting. We were woke up at 6am by a the sounds and singing of group of Indian Pilgrams cooking outside our room. Not sure why they were cooking outside our room. We also woke to find a snowstorm outside that had left about 5cm of snow on the ground. Considering that we had to descend 1500m in 33k to the border along a narrow road over a deep gorge, snow was not really something we were too excited about. In any case, we set off (more worried about whether the jeep would make it down the trecherous road than our bikes) into the snow. Even after descending for 30minutes, the snow kept up, and we wondered (despaired?) if it would still be snowing at the border. We stopped a few times to warm our hands and feet, crawling down the mountain at about 10k (downhill, we should have been going at about 40k). Our bikes started to fail, losing our brakes and shifting was difficult clogged with snow and ice. Eventually, though, the sun came out, and the snow turned to rain and then stopped....and the road went from ice to (very) deep mud! YEAH! This was mountain biking! Although we looked like grinning, bike riding mud men, we were bombing down the mountain, stopping only for pictures and to clear chains and brakes of mud. And we noticed something...we noticed that we could see, smell, taste (mud), hear and feel so much more as we got closer and closer to Nepal. The landscape changed dramatically, from brown, dry and windswept, to green, tropical and lush. It was like going from black and white television to color. We were so happy and so overwhelmed at all the green and water! Even small waterfalls sent us into big smiles. Arriving in the bordertown of Zhangmu, we had a bit of lunch with Tenzing and Pemba, looking out over both Tibet and Nepal at the same time, and checking out the 8km 'no man's land' that we would have to cross to enter Nepal. We sat out a thunderstorm that had rolled in, said our (sad) goodbyes to Tenzing and Pemba, who had done so much for us, and rolled down through Chinese customs. The 8km road between Tibet and Nepal drops 550m over several switchbacks. The rainstorm had caused massive chaos on the dirt road, which had now turned to a flowing river of mud that looked more like a landslide than a road. Within 1k, we were stoppped by a truck that had turned sideways and almost slid off the side of the cliff. We watched about 20 guys try to get the truck straightened out, and, after about 30 minutes or so, they did. We then started forcing our bikes through the mud, adding a fresh layer to the one that had already started to dry on our coats, legs and shoes (you should have seen our shoes!). We arrived at the 'Friendship Bridge', cleared Nepal customs, sent most of our stuff ahead of us in another jeep to Kathmandu (we had enough stuff with us for the final few days) and went another 20k (downhill!)to Borderlands Camp. We got a great tent, with a thatched roof cover next to a river, took our first showers in 9 days and washed (and did a lot of maintenance on) our bikes. Day 14 - Day off for Nicolas, 30k for Dave On this day, we just spent a lot of time sitting in the sun and looking at green plants and trees as if we had never seen them before. Nicolas, suffering from a cold and sinus infection, decided to take the day off and spent his time reading and lounging. David, trying to make up the 30k that he had sat in the jeep on the way to Lhatse, took a ride up to Tatopani to visit the hot springs (which turned out to be just a bunch of hot water pouring out of a dirty hole in a wall. still, hot water is good). We met a few other travellers at the camp and shared stories of life on the road. We slept better than we had the entire trip. Day 15 - Borderlands to Dolalgat 50k, 2.5hours on the bike This ride was pure pleasure. The first 40k were all downhill, and we just took our time. The road followed the river out of the valley and we drifted along watching people, water, hills and villages. Stopped to have a coke or two along the way. 5k from Dolalgat, we had a 2.5k climb that took us about 30minutes...it felt so good to actually sweat (we did not sweat, due to the cold, in Tibet at all) and feel strong (all the oxygen at this altitude was almost too much!). In Dolalgat, a small, noisy little village that straddles both sides of a big river, we found a nice little guesthouse (6dollars a night with dinner), and ate some food. The local 60year old 'Wise Man' (according to the guy who worked at the restaurant), heard Nicolas coughing and sent one of his 'boys' to the store to get Nicolas some cough drops and ginger tea. Really something special. In the evening, we met a travelling Nepali Salesman (who had with him a driver and two support guys) and drank some 'Rocshi' (Nepalese Rice Wine) with them. Day 16 - Dolalgat to KATHMANDU, BABY! 80k, 4.5hours We started our ride with a 26k climb, which took us two hours to get up. But it was great...we just rode a nice tempo up the whole thing, soaking up the heat and moisture of Nepal. It was fantastic. Nicolas suggested, at one point, that we sprint for a small sign that was up the road. About halfway through the sprint a small dog (defying previous convention, this dog was white, not black as we had experienced in Tibet) joined us, but was more concerned with Nicolas' calf than the finish line...no injuries though and, thanks to the diversion, Dave won the sprint, with Nicolas second and the dog a distant third. Coming into Kathmandu, we were swallowed up into all the traffic and noise and chaos of the city. We were dodging cars, cows, goats, kids, military checkpoints, rickshaws, buses, taxis...anything that felt it belonged on the road was there. This was, perhaps, the most dangerous part of the entire ride! About 500m from the hotel, Nicolas' bike, which had been struggling a bit for the last few days, broke down nearly completely, and we limped into the Radisson Hotel. BUT WE DID IT! THE RIDE TO READ WAS COMPLETE! Pictures outside, a glass of wine inside, and we had made it. Lakpa, the sherpa who had helped us set up the whole trip, arrived shortly after we did and presented us with Kata, the traditional welcoming scarf. SHOWERS! Day 17 - The Ride to Read sponsered by Credit Suisse Party! 0 k, Perhaps a few too many hours This was fun. We had our bikes up on a stage, surrounded by all our gear. Room to Read was there with a few posters of the schools and libraries they had built (and some of the books that your donations have helped publish), and were building. Paul, Magnus and Vanessa from Credit Suisse were there. And everyone was in suits or dresses, but us (jeans, tshirts). We met the Nepali Minister for Education & Sport, some former MPs, a representative from the British Embassy, lots of Room to Read volunteers, a woman who runs a children's home, several local dignataries and business people, and Patrick, the Swiss Journalist with SF1 who had met us on the road from Lhatse. The Nepali Times showed up to take some pictures and ask some questions, as did a local Business Magazine, The BOSS. Although we were really exhausted (it was all starting to catch up with us), we posed for a lot of pictures, had a great time talking with everyone and just enjoyed not riding our bikes! Of course, everyone was asking us, 'so what are you going to do next?'...... Now, we're sitting in Kathmandu. David is preparing to go back to Zurich today (which is not that easy, as all the flights with Royal Nepal Airlines are getting cancelled...), Nicolas is preparing to go on a trek with his Girlfriend Laure and his Dad. We've been asked how we feel about finishing and if we realise what we have done. Right now, we both feel like it hasn't hit us yet. Things are still too fresh. We still have tired legs, but we haven't had a chance to really reflect on the Ride yet. We need to get some distance from it and think about things. We're going to send a fifth, and final update, in a couple of weeks or so, summarizing the experience and perhaps including a few more 'lists' (like the last update). One thing is sure, though, we're really happy, very satisfied, and very proud of, and thankful to, all of you for supporting us on the Ride to Read. Namaste, David & Nicolas The (now completed!) Ride to Read!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! May 14th - Big in Nepal Well, we made the list of 'What's Happening in Kathmandu' in the most recent edition of the Nepali Times. They published a small caption and had the following picture from the Ride to Read party. The guy on the right is Paul Rayner, from Credit Suisse UK. By the way, our wrap-up update will be out soon. And pictures will be at the site in the next couple of weeks.... May 15th - Nicolas visits Library While I'm at work pushing Powerpoint presentations from here to there, Nicolas is in Nepal trekking with his girlfriend and Dad. He got to visit one of the Libraries and sent this email to the head of Room to Read in Nepal. Thought I would share it with you all... Hi Shilpi, Om & Dinesh, I just wanted to thank you guys for organizing such an amazing day! Visiting these schools and libraries was a tremendous pleasure for my girlfriend, my dad and I. We never received (and I doubt we will ever receive) so many flowers in one day! It will also be invaluable to concretely show our donors what has been done and what will still be done with their funds. On the personal level, I do think this was a lifetime experience. It was obviously the end goal of our project. But more than that, seeing all these kids welcoming and thanking you with flowers is something I will never forget. Thanks, thanks. My only regret is that Dave, who, at the end of the day, has been pedaling like a mad dog too for 16 days, missed it. We took tons of of pictures though... We are getting back to Kathmandu tomorrow to relax a bit after a quite tense 5 days trek (Maoists attacks, general strike, etc). On May 24, we finally depart for Switzerland. We'll obviously stay in touch because it seems more money came on my account. I'll let you knou when I am back. In the meantime, Dave and I wish you all once more all the best for your future work. I concretely witnessed today the amazing impact it had on kids' lives. Best Wishes, Namaste Dave & Nicolas ----- July 3rd - Our Swiss Television Debut! Patrick has informed us that we going to be on SF1 (Swiss television) this July 12th at 9pm. Tune in everybody (that lives in Switzerland, that is). July 4th - Pictures, finally! Right. It's about time, eh? I've managed to start getting some pictures up. It might take some time, but I'll try to get them up over the next few weeks. We've organised them into some themes for you. These are the things that have stuck in our mind since finishing the ride. |