Lhasa -- Kathmandu Run

Today's weather: High = 31 Low = 21
Sunny and very clear

Another day of unbelievably good weather. The forecast is saying the monsoon season is just around the corner, but until then, we'll just keep enjoying this wonderful sunshine.

The school year is winding down on a nice note. Most of the course content I've finished teaching and we're into review mode, preparing for exams, etc. etc. Not much else to do this year except focus on the review packages for exams, generate a few mock exams, then starting printing out finals. As well, moving house from one district to another in Shanghai. I'm basically gonna do this scooter-style and move a box or two every day in June. Will take my time on this, no need to rush the move.

So it's basically fast forward to this summer and plans for that ... breaking it up into two halves as it were.

First part in July is basically a bunch of training on 3 fronts: AP Calculus training courses, motorcycle safety training, and high-altitude bicycle training. It's all gonna be done back in my home province in Canada, and the plan will be to hunt around for high mountains. Actually, the area I have in mind is Whistler / Blackcomb / Garibaldi and the mountain biking around there. The elevation there is decent for training, even though it is still rather low compared to the Himalayas

That brings me to the 2nd part. Much of my bike research has got me fixated and fascinated on a region of the world known as the Himalayan mountain ranges. The Himalayas have truly got to be the best place on earth when it comes to cycling. This region is vast and offers the most challenging cycling in the world, not to mention sunning beauty. I've only seen pictures and have done tentative research, but I finally feel up to the challenge and ready to take on these mountains.

The Himalayas compromise the following countries in part: Pakistan, China (Tibet), India (Tibet), Bhutan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Myanmar. The foothills extend well beyond into Yunnan province in China and the fascinating Golden Triangle area which is the 3 countries of Thailand, Laos, and Myanmar. NE India is also part of the Himalayan foothills.

In short, the Himalayan region is the most fascinating on the planet, and would be an absolute delight and dream to cycle on. For an introduction to what could potentially be years of cycling in this region, I figure that Tibet is as good as a place to start as any.

There is a negative, however, and it's a rather severe negative. Nearly all the countries within the region listed above have restrictions, closures, landslides, military occupations, checkpoints, or other obstacles which make overland routes nearly impossible. In other words, there are bound to be problems in doing a cross-country run through this Himalayan region, no matter which routes you attempt. For example, overland routes through Myanmar are all but ruled out, as it isn't possible to exit Myanmar into Thailand or Laos. Flights are going to be a necessity at some point to go through this region. The politics are also very unstable which contributes to the above. If that isn't enough, the weather conditions would be enough to send the novice cyclist packing on the first day.

So why bother cycling in the Himalayas? Well, go to www.crazyguyonabike.com and read the blogs of others who have done it, or pick up numerous books, blogs, and videos about others who have done this. I guarantee that after seeing what others have done, and the pictures, you'll want to try it. The hassle is more than made up for by the beauty.

There's a ton of more research to do on this, but a nice perk already is that 2011 is 'Visit Nepal' year which means free visas! When I went to the EXPO in Shanghai earlier, the first pavilion that I saw without a line up was Nepal and I joked to my friend at the time, "Since there's no line here, then I'll travel to Nepal next."

Looks like that's gonna happen. Plan A would be spending more time in Tibet. In the event of things going belly up in Tibet, then Plan B would be to spend most of August biking in Nepal instead. At any rate, I'm at least going to try and make it to Lhasa, which would be the place to apply for the Nepal visa.

Plan A is frankly the better one because it's a popular route, the highway is paved the whole way now, and most of it is on a high-altitude plateau. The most exhilerating part is the final descent off the plateau to the Nepalese border, which is a drop from 5000m to 700m. That is mind-blowing when you think about it, and no wonder all the cylists go down instead of up this route.

As an aside, I can't help but wonder at the arrogance of the government in my home province that has recently claimed it is the 'best place on earth'. Have these people ever been to places like Thailand, or Yunnan province in China, for example, that could offer some serious competition to their claims? Maybe it's because my home province of BC is free from military occupations, police checkpoints, and political unrest that allows the government to make a claim of being the best place on earth. The Himalayas would truly be the best place on earth if it weren't for the obstacles. But that's all part of the fun.