I've been riding my bike quite a lot lately.
Today I had a leisurely, and very early, ride around some Kathmandu Valley trails with my friend Jenny Caunt from Himalayan Singletrack, and some quality "urban" trails too given the condition of some of Kathmandu's roads & alleys (Jenny incidentally is also a first class KTM/Thamel restaurant/food/Thungba "guide" and has pointed me to all the hidden hotspots).
In the last couple of weeks I've done around 600km of riding, some fun, some training.
I've got a little regular training route now, starting in Thamel, heading out of the city on sealed road for about Four miles (6km) on the Trishuli Highway to Mudkhu (heading West and then North-West). From there I head off on a short steep climb up a small dirt road to the left of the National Park checkpoint. This "Jeep" trail winds its way around the perimeter of The Nagarjun National Park, undulating up & down for ten miles (16km) to a small pass at Bhimdhunga; and a perfectly located Teahouse. I can then drop down in to Swayambhu via little farm tracks back in to the city for a total of about 38km. What I normally do though is have a cup of tea, turn the bike around, and head straight back along the same trail. This adds another 10 miles (16km) to the ride and includes a testing climb of about 3.5 miles. I have also discovered a few alternative routes along the way, some by trial & error, some by mistake, and some with a little local help. I also found myself a really great bit of technical singletrack, some of which was so exposed that I had to push/carry the bike. The consequences of a mistake are a little too high! I'm not too proud to admit that nearly released a chocolate hostage a couple of times! Scary! I'll be riding it again soon.
Jenny Caunt on our early jaunt! |
In the last couple of weeks I've done around 600km of riding, some fun, some training.
I've got a little regular training route now, starting in Thamel, heading out of the city on sealed road for about Four miles (6km) on the Trishuli Highway to Mudkhu (heading West and then North-West). From there I head off on a short steep climb up a small dirt road to the left of the National Park checkpoint. This "Jeep" trail winds its way around the perimeter of The Nagarjun National Park, undulating up & down for ten miles (16km) to a small pass at Bhimdhunga; and a perfectly located Teahouse. I can then drop down in to Swayambhu via little farm tracks back in to the city for a total of about 38km. What I normally do though is have a cup of tea, turn the bike around, and head straight back along the same trail. This adds another 10 miles (16km) to the ride and includes a testing climb of about 3.5 miles. I have also discovered a few alternative routes along the way, some by trial & error, some by mistake, and some with a little local help. I also found myself a really great bit of technical singletrack, some of which was so exposed that I had to push/carry the bike. The consequences of a mistake are a little too high! I'm not too proud to admit that nearly released a chocolate hostage a couple of times! Scary! I'll be riding it again soon.