Up to Thorong Phedi

Low bandwidth attempt here. Beauty days. Kate and I rode together all day. She really motors at altitude. I think we both feel better than we thought, could expend energy even above 4,000m, but granny gear is you friend, man air is thin!  We were probably 9thand 10th, what I'd say matters more is that's fun riding not suffering. Two friends riding not trying to blow each other up is a stronger method. We're at 4,500m now an depart for the pass at 4am to try to cross before winds whip up. Cory won but is out, but his engine is back. Gerry made it in good spirits. Jeff is  making it but not feeling well. Pics will go up once back to civilization.  Amazing views is an understatement.

Manang rest day

We woke up to our chilly room we figured would be best described as spartan. It's all white, small, no windows, and I think is a bit like a jail cell. Today's plan was to rest, catch up on photos, and just enjoy life.  This room goes for $4. 

It's at the Yak Hotel. 

Stairs are unique rise/run combo. 

Steep!

Bike tending. 

I decided wet ass wasn't so hot when it's cold, and tomorrow porters take our bags again and we get up over 14,000 ft and need to bring both riding gear and stuff to stay warm after. Sunny spots are warm on your front but if ass is wet that doesn't dry stirring on a rock or feel good. So here's my attempt to mitigate. 

We found a coffee shop run by a guy who took his coffee seriously and had a few cups, and I went for a sea buckthorn juice. As we sat on the patio some hippie girl came by looking for water to fill up, I said we had just passed the safe water station a minute up, which is a government initiative, and you fill up there. She balked and said you had to pay for that. I get maybe younger kids don't have deep pockets when they're finding themselves, but 20 rupees (ie cents) to fill a bottle seems good value to me. I get the draw of the outdoors, but the hippie ethos of being so cheap is beyond me. Enjoy your travellers diarrhea in some crud hostel. 

Meandering town south, traffic on the left. 

North. 

Local energy industry. 

Main Street thins out quick. 

Gerry walking back to hotel down Main Street. 

But really, the attraction is the views. 

Our rooftop patio, Keevy, Thomas, Gerry and Gangnapurna. The scale is hard to comprehend, but we're essentially looking at 3,000m of relief. 

Very happy adventurers!

We're enjoying life so much. My real life is so distant. Days and time haven't mattered. Just who's around now and what's going on right now. 

Yak Attack 2014 Stage 4

Besi Sahar to Chame
60km, 3,200m ascent - umm, yes, that's about 10,000 ft up today

I'm going to call this my new definition of unrelenting up.  Its not likely I've climbed this much in a day before, or anytime recently.  We now sit at 2,650m/8,690ft.  I saw this stage before, but didn't exactly comprehend it. Like no coasting and mostly granny gear for 5.5 hours. But there's highlights - this was just amazing. Cory didn't feel good from he get go but was hoping to finish. 

The valley is supplied by donkey trains. We are leaving the bustling metropolis side of town. 

Today's photography is a study of the Norwegian female form ; )  I've been saying all year I dreamed of climbing like Kate, and today we rode together start to finish!  I'd say with that much vertical would define that we have the same power to weight. She pulled me on the steeps and I ended up being stronger at the end.  Beauty day, great friend, just 100% winning. 

Heaven

The menu had onion soup, garlic soup, and garlic and onion soup. Only one guess at which one I picked. With rice. With lemon tea. Heavenly!

Yak Attack 2014 Stage 3

Gorkha to Besi Sahar
59.2km, 1,198m ascent

Someone who I didn't really respect as a sports nutrition expert told me not to drink coke after bike races once. I sort of get it, it's pure sugar. But that person had also never ridden a hot 5h and ft just how easily a body accepts a coke; plus there's plenty of time for more technically appropriate nutrition. 

I drank 5 cokes yesterday. Only 250ml ones. But after everything has been a chore to get down and stay in, I wasn't second guessing what was working. I think the acidity had appeal. That and chicken fried rice were my recovery, about half a plate with ketchup and hot sauce. 

I slept though the night - glorious. Tummy still not good, but didn't wake up at least. Glorious sleep on a wood slat bed (at first I thought it was plywood with a blanket over top but it's slats) isn't two things I'd usually put together. It was good if I lined my ribs up right. 

Easy stage today. Half paved. ITT start to avoid pile ups on first downhill. I think I might go first as I'm last. I struggled on yesterday's downhill commute to the race start even though I love that stuff, my mind was a haze and I felt like Erik was this flicker of a candle in a shell of a body around me, it didn't feel like me. Hopefully I can feel more like me to appropriately dodge chicken trucks, tractors and motorbikes. 

I'll ride easy to not tax myself, feel the need to still dig outbof the hole given the lack of nutrients last while.  Last year Yuki said it took 2 months for him to get back to normal, and he was anemic after, his wife is a nutritionist and helped. I'm up early, start is later, and feeling good enough to actually do all my normal nutrition practice and gimmicks this morning which is good. 

Side benefit of squatty potty on our floor is no lineups!  Kate came down here to skip her lineup, opened the door, then went back upstairs saying she'd rather wait.  I get it, I just wasn't aware there were sit toilets anywhere in the hotel, and beyond that I'm not sure I'd even do another flight of stairs for it especially last night!

Cory was looking rough this morning. I have him some electrolytes. Said he was going to have a slow day. Too bad but better now than in the real mountains. 

Day 3 start. Beautiful. I feel like twenty bucks over zero yesterday.

After yesterday's penance, karma came back to Bakke in huge order. At the start line it's reverse rank order so I'm second. Downhill 13km and they give me the hole shot basically, or 2nd after Tanya. Come around first corner and there's 5 cows pointed right at me. Two corners later back hoe across the road. All of a sudden this is awesome and fun. I cyclocross dismount, run through a gravel pile and back on. It dawns on me this would be the best spot to have a go pro on. Rest of the descent is awesome fast and totally random. I have no gloves today, no camel bak, and feel free. The descent picks me up even more and I start feeling so good. Rest of the course is 60 km of mixed road and gravel, net down, rolly. Beautiful towns. We get to pedalling and I have juice. I think about coasting, then give up. After all the penance of yesterday, when I get a day like today I'm going to take it. Flying! Shady and cool. Breathing deep feels great instead of short breaths that feel pukey. It's funny, with the jersey dry, when I exhale the torso flaps on my ribs.  Kids cheering.  Adults say Namaste in such a peaceful therapeutic way. Little girls too. Little boys do it equivalent to kids at home yelling trick or treat but after sneaking 18 candies in already. People think it's neat probably when your first rather than last. It dawns on me that with a 20 min head start that I can hold off a lot of people feeling like this. I make that my goal. Maybe this would go for most improved rider ; )

Yuki passes after first aid station, just motoring. One Nepali on his wheel. Unfortunately his chain ends up breaking.  Next is Gerard the ex TDF pro. Naryan. 

Then paved roads, I could hold my own for a long time.  Could see someone behind, closing on the hills. He comes up. Ajay!  This is an awesome chance to observe. So he's the 47kg guy winning. Sure strong stomach is part of it, but he does have power. We were on dead flat pavement together and my legs were working. I'm gonna guess cruising altitude of 250W. But we sped up together and exchanged drafts. He doesn't give off much draft. But point of this is, he amped it up, and on dead flat pulled away. So let's say in fatigue maybe  I crack at 300W here, and let's say he pushes slightly less air overall. But he's still putting out something like that amount of power... and he's 47kg. Amazing. 

Couple more caught me by the end - Peter, another Nepali, Thomas. More would have caught by time. But great day!

Erik and Ajay. Great guy. Amazing power to weight!  Bought two cokes at that shack for 70 rupees after. Karma paid me back today. Loving life. 

Stage 3...

Extra Day 1 and 2 photos

Ger and my room too left. 4' door that Jeff's head met in the most unpleasant way. 

Our room from another angle. Right above kitchen. This country smells good out of pollution areas. Sweet incense, fresh cooking, foliage.  Being above the kitchen was garlic and onion smell heaven even if I was sick. 

Pantry qualifies as local, fresh, unprocessed and natural. Good eating.  I wish my pantry looked like this. 

Our hotel. 

Morning view is beautiful. This perked me up. I felt so crushed even thinking about putting on kit, but I didn't want to quit and a tough day riding is still unforgettable scenery in a beautiful country. 

Sort of the start. 

First climb was gentle in valley to start then steepened as valley closed. 

I was down low in the valley an hour back. Toward the end I gave the medics my camel back to shed weight and have air on my back, it made a difference at the margin. I was glad to have the water earlier, but once I was officially in the hands of the sweepers it made sense. I walked a lot of hills. They're l cut at 13-15% grade when I peeked at GPS and in that state of low energy it was beyond pedalling. 

I think I posed other scenery photos but not this one. The vertical on these "hills" is massive. Hills are bigger than climbing Baldy. But then in the back we can see the towering Himalaya. Mind has to readjust to scale here. Roads are all like marrowbone vehicle dirt roads. I think my Honda XR650L would be most comfortable transport as bikes don't get the side to side jiggle of 4 wheel vehicles... but if I had to have a car here, it'd have to be the Defender!  Usually have been seeing one per day, and it totally makes sense why. Lots of little Suzuki Samurai too. Then Indian Tara and Mahindra jeeps that look functional but look old and like the doors and bumpers were misaligned even when they were at the dealership. I think they keep them running for like 40 years by the looks of it. 

Yak Attack 2014 Stage 2

Nuwakot to Trisuli Bazaar 10km group ride
Trisuli to Gorka 86km, 2,700m ascent

That was my worst night. I mean like perhaps ever. At least with cryptosporidium years back I'd pass out. I was up 10 times, and jealous of Gerry's deep breathing sleep. The trajectory seemed so bad all I could think about was sleeping till noon, and catching a bus to next town. But wanted to see how morning came. 

I feel weak, empty, etc. I will ride very slow, and it's supposed to be a long, hot day. I can't add any more challenge for my body than it already has, or the whole will keep getting deeper.  Before the 86km below we do a 10km group ride commute to the start. 

Breakfast was a half a piece of white bread. My time today was around 10:15, last finisher!!, but that includes that commute at the start. Tried so hard not to dnf. That's probably 8:30 biking and the rest bonking, seeking electrolytes from the doctors, and bushes visits. I hope it stops, it's torture. Hardest day in a bike. Cory reminded me of a guy who beat him twice at TransMexicana. He had to win to feed his family. He kept telling Cory "do it for your family" as a reminder of when you have a hard time wondering what you're doing.  Also most of the places play Nepalese music as we go by, but one had Elton John Rocket Man, and yes I miss earth, or my normal spot on it, and my wife. 

This villager who was elderly, tiny, and carrying wood on her head dropped me on this hike a bike. That's how I felt. It wasn't really even that steep, I was just running on fumes. 

There is no flat here. God there's so much vertical relief. And that's before we even get to the mountains above tree line.

Jeff ride well, as did Kate. Gerry had a strong first half. Cory is fighting something off and napped in a ditch and threw up.  

I've had three cokes, some power electrolytes (Nuun are crap, they have some UN rehydration blend here that pack 10x the punch and are like pedialyte), and half a plate of chicken fried rice, which is all above yesterday's zero. 

Had a hot shower. The fact that it's a squatty potty and shower in one hardly bothers me. Towel was an impressively light color of dingy grey, paper thin. Other rules: always carry tp, always carry hand sanitizer, always carry head lamp. Power goes out all the time. Our beds each night are like plywood with a blanket over them. Tonight I expect to sleep like a log on it. 

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