Kathmandu group dinner

Gerry and Thomas had a Nepalese staple - momo.  Momo is awesome. 

After we went to a dive down an alley the guys who have been here longer knew about. We wouldn't have found it on our own down behind the corrugated metal alley. Dinner and drinks was $3 but I chipped in $5 on the group tab as making change seemed hard. Someone all ordered thungba. It's fermented millet and buckwheat in a wood cask that you pour hot water in and drink through a crimped straw so the millet doesn't come up. 

The cask is pretty big. 

If you're into fermented millet, it can't be beat. I can get most things down, but this wasn't working for me, so I had an Everest beer.  The thungba has kind of a sharp taste to it.  As you drink it you refill the water and keep going. I couldn't even drain mine once.  Those bubbles aren't really sitting on top, they spontaneously release from the depths of the brew. It smells a bit sour. 

Chicken curry with rice was a lot easier on the taste buds.  

Riding with the Nepalese friends

These chick peas had spice, spice, onions and spice. It's an awesome way to start the day. If there's anything I like, it's spices and chick peas. There's basically no preservatives here. 

Our hotel. 

Symbolism I don't get, but looks nice. 

Here's Gerry taking in the local "road" riding scene. 

Half today's group. 

#1 and #4 riders in Nepal. Flyweights! Look at those calves and waist size!

Terraces. Belgians. 

Little trail maintenance. 

Finished the downhill over to the left. 

This is Aayman. He's the #4 local guy. He's a good example of why we aren't going to win a climbing race in their country. I could probably snap him on the flats over a bit of time, but not right away as he's a good drafter. So he has power, and he's the bigger guy! Ajay is smaller and is the national champ. He's the one with the tiny ankles in that riding picture up above.  Aayman is 48kg and Ajay is 47kg. With their power and such small bodies, watching them climb is like magic. They're so friendly, the shop is awesome place to hang out, they're helpful to is too and are such good hosts, we're just in heaven. 

Happy riders. We tested each other a bit on an interval before this picture. 

Kathmandu!

We're not in Kansas anymore. If the massive mountains on airport approach didn't tell us that, the rest did.  Noisy, dusty, smelly chaos that's got a beautiful charisma to it. 

After waiting in slow lines to get our entry visas, I saw both my bags from 30m away by the belt and was so relieved. 

Monkeys, dogs, 2 million people and *zero* traffic lights, no lane dividing lines on any roads,  everything from pedestrians to tuk tuks to motorcycles to mini taxis to vans and busses and construction equipment going every which way, ostensibly they drive on the left like Brits but I'd say that's 75% at best as they seem to go left, center or right at random, and without one stretch of exaggeration our single track trails are smoother than their roads by a long shot.  There was maybe one or two km of pavement and the rest was rubble.  Everything under construction, dusty, welder sand sledge hammer guys all wear flip flops, as do ladies selling fruits from laden down bike carts.  Cacophony of horns. Motorcycles in a hundred pieces at side of road with guys working on them.  And you know what?  I don't feel an ounce of frustration. It's organized random chaos, and it has an incense smell magic to it.  Like poetry in motion a way we stifle with so much order. 

We had coffee with the race organizer, hung out at the Himalayan Single Track bike shop with as luck would have it 4 of the 5 fastest guys in the country, changed money, and generally just felt at home.  We picked this coffee shop. 

Here's our taxi.  It's not as fast as the graphics would indicate. It is cheap and able to be fixed by rudimentary tools. I'm convinced it's powered by a law mower engine. 

We are actually moving in this picture, this was not a static traffic stop. 

Gerry's Nepalese buddy who's a fast racer met us at the airport. So nice having a friendly face. He gave us these welcome silks. 

Clearly this was put up for us. 

After a half hour of walking around to start my opinion, I asked the local guys about safety here. They said you'd hardly be able to find trouble if you tried, which was my gut feel. It might all look rough and tumble and unrefined, but people seem so genuinely nice. 

Thai airlines

We're definitely not going to complain about this treatment. 

Delicious fresh lemonade made purple. 

Coffee cake with pastry fruits that are like a distant cousin of marzipan or something. 

Meal was great too. We're labelling this as pre-Yak carbo loading ; )

Bangkok layover

We don't get to spend time in Bangkok. We debated going into town, but that probably would have taken 20 year old stamina. We instead checked into an hourly hotel. Even though we didn't make it out of the airport, I was reminded strongly of my last Thailand impressions. They're so nice. They're so efficient and business like. The food is awesome. 

Not sure who needs to conduct business while conducting business, but there's Ethernet by the toilet. 

Here's our mini room. Firm beds and functional, right above the airport hallway.  Gerry should conduct enough business that we can write this off as a business expense.  When getting the compact room for 2, we were impressed that we didn't get a closet with bunk beds.  

Even airport lounge food is awesome. That porridge dish has so much flavour. The fruits are amazing, I don't like papaya at home so much as it's bland, this stuff is amazing. The shrimp bun is delicious. The sticky rice in banana leaf is better than candy.  Their coffee meets real coffee standard. 

Purple orchids are decorated everywhere, from their airline logo to uniforms to the airport to our table. Quite nice. 

The air is clear and humid, like 20+C. Nice!

Beijing layover

Gerry and I tuned up our sodium content and cleared our lungs. 

Yak Attack departure

After so much anticipation it's finally here. There was so much traffic on the way past 17th ave at 4:45 this morning as everyone was going to watch Olympic hockey gold medal game. Gerry and I are watching at the Air Canada lounge.  It's hard to imagine a more satisfying 5am airport experience on a -20c day than getting to watch some great hockey and have your departure timed for after the game. 

Yesterday was mostly last minute fiddling with packing - it's hard to fit warm and cold weather gear, bike tools and supplies, food and casual clothes into 20kg. 

On footwear I decided to go with the Wolvhammers over hiking boots - they're warmer, I don't have to muck with pedals, and Marvin approves. 

Marvin also helped with closing my bike box. 

Lastly I've been stretching and doing physio this week. I've gone from not being able to walk much and Cindy helping with my shoes and socks, to back to 98% mobility and little soreness. I'll be stretching a lot this trip!  This was the last ride before departure, the one where my derailleur broke and I got to walk this section. 

This is the first time I've stayed awake enough to see Kitimat, Ketchikan, Anchorage.  Amazing coast.  Very intricate - fascinating to gaze at just like coming over Baffin and other northern islands on the way home. 

Gerry and I are like kids in a candy store soaking up the beauty vistas from the plane. It looks like winter heaven. And we're oh so comforted that those snow covered peaks are dwarfed by the Himalaya!

The plane had Lance Armstrong's Lie movie. I've tried to stay away from the hairy underbelly of bike racing. What I saw in the whole program was beautiful riding, beautiful scenes, all marred when examined under more scrutiny. I'll take the former, and not let the whole human nature crookedness creep in. Gross. But I enjoyed the bike racing photography. 

This is the first time I've seen the Bering Strait, Sea of Oshotsk, Russian lands.  Gerry and I have been remarking on the incredible state of current technology that let's us, as ordinaries, lie down and traverse the earth in an aircraft to adventure, when the leaders whom achieved much greater power in the past still couldn't indulge in such an option. If Julius Caesar or Ghengis Khan couldn't have circled earth even with all their power.