Day 5 – Thimphu to the Dochu La

Our task master, sirhar, expedition guide and mt biker extraordinaire, otherwise known as Helen, had us up and out early. As I recall, it was not so much because we had a very very long ride, but because we had some touring to do in the afternoon, all of which reminds me that I had better make some additional comments about the afternoon in Thimphu the day before, that is Day 4.

So, yesterday, the 17th, after having arrived in Thimphu in the mid-afternoon, we cleaned up and then as a group we headed out for some sight seeing and dining and shopping, not all in that order. It was late enough by the time we left the hotel that I could shoot very little. Someone else will have to supply the photos.

What I recall most is the reverence for the king. We were showed the buildings of the National Assembly, and one of his palaces, which while palatial, was no Versailles. We heard the history of his great grandfather’s unification of the country in 1907, and of his own unilateral giving up of the absolute monarchy in favor of a constitutional monarchy to be led by his son, beginning in March. We heard, too, remarkably personal, touching stories of the King’s effects on the life of our own Bhutanese guide. It is clear why they hold him and and his forebears as near deities. His picture is on the wall of every establishment.

His Royal Majesty Jigme Singye Wangchuck

As we heard these tales, schoolgirls walked by us and smiled and posed for pictures, and giggled innocently.

From there, we drove across the river and visited a couple of shops, one of them a small factory for woven textiles. If I can get my son to pose, I’ll eventually put a picture here of him in a traditional robe made there. And then on to another shop, one which seemed to have Indian as well as Bhutanese items, and probably some from China, Tibet and elsewhere. The proprietary gave unconvincing answers about provenance.

Dinner at a local restaurant may have been the best meal of the entire trip. The chili cheese made me sweat so profusely it made the others laugh, a standard no other purveyor was able to match. The curries and other melanges were tastier than elsewhere. Beer and mixed drinks flowed early, loosening us all up. And we were greeted too, by the head of Etho Metho, the Bhutanese Agency with which KE, our own provider, contracts for ground services in Bhutan. There was some story I didn’t quite get, but the gist of which is that he had held a senior position in govt, probably for tourism, and then left with the King’s blessing to form his own company. Maybe he didn’t have the monopoly, but he did have quite a nice head start. Etho Metho is not the name of a solvent used in fabrication of amphetamines, but instead means rhododendron in the local language.

Now, back to the Dochu La. We had in front of us a 670m ascent to about 3050m, the Dochu La, where we would get spectacular views of Everest and other peaks in her range. From there, we’d descend 1700m to Punakha, site of one of the great dzongs of all of Bhutan. I left last as usual.

Leaving Thimphu

 

 

Roadside Shopping

 

 

Gathering at the Dochu La

 

Chomolungma and Ama Dablam in Nepal

 

Why I rode a Ti frame

As far as I was concerned, this was a road trip. Almost entirely paved, according to the dossier, why wouldn’t it be a road trip and hence why wouldn’t a road bike be best? My road bike weighs 16lb and has a carbon frame. I could get 28mm and maybe 32mm tires in the forks. I knew someone who had ridden a carbon bike in Bhutan in the spring, on 25mm tires, so I thought that I’d be fine.I asked KE about their views of this, and the message coming back loud and clear was, “No carbon, Please!” I had a very good Ti frame, frame only, sitting in my basement, having been rewelded after the head had cracked. So, it was factory perfect, even though I’d ridden 25k miles on it. I built it up with new parts, 17lb without pedals, and rode it happily in Bhutan. My only regret was that I’d had to spend the money to build it up, since I still believed that my carbon bike would have been just fine. That was until today.In Palo Alto, I do a ride every day with a group, really an UnGroup because there is no formal affiliation, just a mutually accepted set of unwritten rules, and the ride is known as The Noon Ride. It is my organizing principle. Late by 1 minute for the noon start and I’ll probably never catch up. It forces me to be organized about what I do in the morning, and how I schedule my lunches; I don’t do lunch in fact. It is my religion. Instead of shul, I do the Noon Ride. Instead of therapy, I do the Noon Ride. Instead of having friends, I do the Noon Ride where my friends are people I have never seen in street clothes, and whose last names I have never heard.Since I’ve been back in the US of A, I’ve been trying to get back on my Noon Ride schedule, but jet lag and some lunchtime appointments have kept me away. On Tuesday, yesterday, I hopped on my bike, the carbon bike, and did the NoonR, or at least I did until I got blown off the back like an autumn leaf. Oh, the intensity! I slept for 3 hours yesterday afternoon. Probably jetlag, but the NoonR didn’t help.Today, before heading out at 11:45, I made some adjustments to my saddle and pumped up my tires. At about 11:55, something went clank in my bottom bracket. I stopped on the side of the road and saw something had come apart on the LHS. But, the crank was still turning, and everything appeared to be reasonably tight, so I decided to continue and meet up with the ride. About 10 minutes later, when the ride is looking like this,

The Noon Ride

 

I felt the crank wobble badly, so I dropped out and rode to the bike shop.In short, the glue that holds this carbon fiber bike together had failed in the bottom bracket after about 18 months, or 10k miles. The shop is replacing the frame, no questions asked. But, imagine that on the second day of the Bhutan ride my frame had failed.  Maybe we might  have gotten somewhere with epoxy, but maybe not.  Ouch!

Photos from Bhutan, Oct.2007

The Author

Hi everyone, have finally sorted out the photos and here is a selection for you: http://travel.webshots.com/album/561249446tTvNhqCycling across Bhutan was a fantastic experience and it is only when you look back that you truly appreciate the journey and what you have achieved. Looking through the photos now I realise how much we did see and experience and what a special trip this was. This is a very special country, extremely beautiful and lush green, and the people are really lovely. Their Buddhist way of life is completely different to ours and the lack of many tourists means that they are genuinely interested in finding out where you are from, what it’s like and why you are cycling! The landscape is extremely mountainous, which was a challenge as we cycled through, but at the same time every high pass offered us the opportunity to see a different angle on the country, not revealed until you made it to the next summit and then enjoyed the descent into the next valley.It’s hard to pick favourites as every place was different but the famous Taktsang Monastery (Tiger’s Nest) outside Paro is a must see. Also the Zhong in Punakha and experiencing a real Buddhist dance and chanting ceremony.They are at the doorstep of big change, bringing in a constitutional monarchy, and noone really seems to understand what that means and how it may influence their culture and way of life. The country is focused on collectivism and the community and our western lens cannot understand that, cannot fully comprehend how that affects their society. But western influence is creeping in and the new King and his government will need to walk the tightrope between preserving the Bhutanese culture and language and at the same time opening up to change and economic growth.

This is from Nan

David and Nan, and 12 other people (including David’s childhood friend and avid + strong biker Danny Seligson, with KE Adventures, did an 11 day, 530 mile bike ride through the Himalayas – -west through East on the only road that crosses the tiny kingdom of Bhutan. (bordered by India on East, West and South (Nepal nearby) and China/Tibet on North.). (Oct 13-Oct 27. 2007; visiting Hyderabad India for business for several days thereafter). Some places we went have only been open to Westerners for 4 years; none over 20 years. VERY limited tourism; King/government regulates by charging a high fee per day to tourists.The country was amazingly beautiful – -mountains and river gorges literally everywhere; the people phenomenally friendly (with no exaggeration, we must have said ‘hello’ and ‘good afternoon’ to at least 350 people each day, from tiny children to old grandpas); and incredibly hard biking- -the first day we climbed 22 miles straight up on our bikes, gaining 5500 feet (from 7300 to 12500 feet – Bhutan’s highest road point); one day we DE-scended for 56 miles straight (that’s tough on your body too), around tens of tiny hairpin turns, around which might come a herd of cows or a truck), past monkeys, waterfalls, and smiling people. 70 percent of the country is tree covered (beautiful verdant green)(King’s goal is to keep 60% minimum vegetation covered, for erosion control in this very steep country, with a monsoon season). Overall our total ascent was 50,586 feet, and our descent, 59,715 feet, according to the website of the organization with which we traveled. A truly amazing,unforgettable experience (as my body keeps reminding me, today, our first day back).The King is benevolent – -and handpainted signs abound everywhere with slogans like: “Small families are happy families,” “Gross national happiness is more important than gross national product” (there is even a stamp that says that.). Many houses, not rich but gorgeous – multi-story white stone or brick; lovely painted carvings on top of each; top narrow floor below roof open for hay and crop drying; chili peppers picked green and drying red lay all over the roofs. few shacky houses; some small, plain; NO beggars; physically beautiful light brown people with black hair and very sweet smiles. Traditional dress is required by law to be worn by men and women at work and at school (King is very big on maintaining national identity in this small kingdom surrounded by many countries that have had separatist and conquest real problems). We saw men and women, so dressed, all over doing road maintenance work, manually pouring hot coals on road and scaping them. Men carrying babieson their back. Whole families out in the middle of nowhere doing road work. And people waving and calling out hello up and down the road, and vertically up and down the hills. An AMAZING place!We flew past Mt. Everest on the way to Bhutan, and could see it from the airplane window.Below are most of the text messages I sent out during that time. I didn’t start saving them until after the first several days, and some days we had no cell reception (2 evenings that we camped out; and one where the valley had no electricity, only solar energy and a generator at the hotel). Architecture was amazingly beautiful, as were prayer flags flapping in the wind around every corner it seemed. A trip of a lifetime!! VERY hard biking, but worth the amazing beauty and incredible people.Sent: Oct 18, 2007 4:53 AMSubject: Another gorgeous day complete with…Another gorgeous day complete with cows in roads, monkeys at a waterfall + giant fertility penises painted on buildings. TORTUROUS 14 mile 2400 ft climb, after which david + I wimped out and took bus instead of 31 mile ride descent down bumpy single-lane road. Tomorrow supposedly much harder still. For now still in old charming simple hotels. Going to oldest dzong/monastery now. Nan/momTo: 203-641-3341Sent: Oct 18, 2007 6:59 AMSubject: Kids r playing soccer with cows…Kids r playing soccer with cows wandering thru their field! Love, momxxooxxooxxooxxooTo: 203 641-3310Sent: Oct 18, 2007 7:01 AMSubject: At high pass today saw range of…At high pass today saw range of three 7000 meter Himalayan peaks! Love, Mom xxooxxooxxooxxooSent: Oct 20, 2007 5:13 AMSubject: Needless to say,Needless to say, beautiful weather puts a great cast on everything. Today was fantastic –biked thru incredible mtn gorges, alongside rivers, lined by the ubiquitous cows, bordered by ther occasional waterfall with monkeys alongside. I biked only 36 miles + abt 2200 ft gain; david hung on for 48 miles + 6600 (!) Ft gain. ( He looked spent!). Our hotel is solar powered (the electricity that came soon ago was removed cuz it seemed to interfere with the migration of the black cranes). So is solar + generator powered so all lights out at 9:30 pm. Little wood stoves heat ea room, incredible view –rooms wd be a billion $ if Hideaway Reports included. Amazing views + people on this country, Love, nanNan M BirdwhistellTo: 17039430476Sent: Oct 20, 2007 5:17 AMSubject: Yesterday we had no reception –so…Yesterday we had no reception –so i just re-sent that text msg. Today we went up only abt 1000 ft or so (twice) – but down for 37 miles. So — i guess u know what that means tomorrow — 19 mile 4000 ft climb! (Tomorrow i will definitely be in the bus some). Country is amazingly beautiful –every single inch. Luckily (very!) all sun so far! After tomorrow, we r camping for 3 nights. Ugh, nanNan M BirdwhistellTo: 203-641-3341Sent: Oct 20, 2007 8:15 PMSubject: Do many cows mean good cheese,Do many cows mean good cheese, u ask. Cheese is always melted on vegetables, so hard to tell. Occasionally have to slalom the bike thru cow poop. My favorite was the pretty teenage girl, herding her cows down the road, talking on her cell phone –not looking where cows were going at all, cows totally scattered across the road. She looked up so startled to find me, nearly colliding with them. NanSent: Oct 20, 2007 8:38 PMSubject: The landscape is really the theme…The landscape is really the theme –gigantic lush fully vegetated (treed)mtns as fa as u can see, biking along deep river-filled gorges, terraced landscapes growing grains, checker-boarded rice fields, amazingly friendly people along this 1 road thru the mtn –it is no exaggeration to say we must say ”hi’ at least 350 times a day to tiny children and grandpas alike (very beautiful peiple), prayer flags waving EVERYWHERE, chortens/stupas built to Buddha everywhere. Cows just insert themselves with great frequency. Other theme –VERY VERY VERY hard biking –straight up,up, up for thousands of feet and many miles, and then down down down for an equal amt –yesterday for 37 miles! Gotta run, nan (PS I HAVE started taking bus over some SO incredibly, long, endless straight up stretches –just no point being miserable. I have never done less than 40 miles on a day tho. Love, nanNan M BirdwhistellTo: 203 641-3310Sent: Oct 21, 2007 8:20 PMSubject: Another tough biking day ahead and…Another tough biking day ahead and we will be camping out at 10,000 ft tonight. BRRRR!! The farther east we go, the more rudimentary things get. Next hotel is called ‘basic lodge’ and one more camping night after that. Suspect end to electricity, cel cnxn and texts for sevl day. Probably wont hear frm us for a while, love, nanNan M BirdwhistellSent: Oct 23, 2007 7:11 AMSubject: Watching kids soccer game from…Watching kids soccer game from hotel window (complete with referees) – thousands of feet drop so must lose lots of balls. 57 mile straight downhil today — only did 1/2 cuz very foggy + cold in beginning. Of course, big uphills too. Camped last night –cold but fun. 3 tough days ahead — 1 more camping night. Love, nanNan M BirdwhistellSent: Oct 24, 2007 6:49 AMSubject: Another long but good day in…Another long but good day in bhutan. Biked my farthest today — 50 miles –like always, tons of up up up and down down. (Up to 8030 ft, down to 1900 ft, now at 3700 ft, 20 miles of hairpin turns, 2 flat tires). Beautiful painted wooden gates ushered us into the eastern most village on the road in bhutan, few tourists make it this far, most basic but charming–like all villages terraced into cliffs, plunging thousands of feet to river below. Turning south tomorrow towards india. 2 more very hard days to come –tomorrow eve camping so wont hear from us. David good. 1 flat. Fell on his ass, nanNan M BirdwhistellSent: Oct 25, 2007 7:43 AMSubject: U cant believe where cell phones…U cant believe where cell phones work. We r camping out now (in middle of nowhere –so no lodging), at ard 8000 ft, in the yard of a beautiful, small temple. We had the great good fortune to be here as they r saying evening prayers. I can hear the music frm outside still now. We went in and watched, as 5 red-robed monks-in-training, from age 5 to ard 22, chanted for over an hr, sitting on the floor in a row, all th time blowing 10 foot long thin horns, conch shells, banging cymbols and striking 3 vertically hung drums. Every square inch of the small temple is covered with brilliantly colored drawings and carvings, mostly of buddha’s life –but also of really scarey looking male + female protective deities (abt 12 ft high) with many small skulls on their heads, warding off evil spirits. Truly mind-blowing –and all of the time totally surrounded by huge mtn after huge mtn. Almost full moon tonight.Nan M BirdwhistellSent: Oct 26, 2007 7:14 AMSubject: Yea! Biking over + I lived!Yea! Biking over + I lived! Biked 61 miles today (up to 8000 feet –multiple times –down to. abt 500 ft. Both David + I feel crippled after todays workout + I wonder whether I will be able to even walk by tomorrow. Staying in (literally) stinky border town right by India–right by Assam (in India, which has been having separatist problems lately), in only un-charming hotel, across from the public toilet (‘use of toilet/urine+ stool 2.5 cents, washing/bathing 10 cents). Bhutan beautiful –but not here! Off to india tomorrow where david will do business, nanThat’s all. Falling asleep. Amazing trip! NanNan M Birdwhistell

Just Getting Started

This is an ex post facto Blog. We were all to busy and the bandwidth too limited for us to have created it while we were cycling West to East across Bhutan in October 2007. But, we have lots to show and tell. All 13 of us riders will be registered as contributors, once they’ve signed up with WordPress. If you’re not an experienced Blogger, well that makes at least two os us. Use Tags (or not) to help other users find what you’re writing about. I suggest the use of fairly obvious tags like Day 1, or Thimpu (sp?). Use comments to elaborate or flesh out what someone else has posted.

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