Great night, comfy beds and good mosquito nets. Head downstairs for late breakfast which turns into chiya only as no bread and only find out twenty minutes later after someone has been into the market. Cycle off towards Charali the junction for the road north to Illam. Before leaving various locals ask where we are going and when we identify Illam the general answer is that it is not possible as it is too steep. Used to such encounters we reply nonchalantly saying that because of the gears quite a lot is possible and that we have cycled a long way.
On the road to Charali a passing tractor slows up and one of the teenage guys on the back yells out hello before leaning over to me and attempts to pass a small silver packet, though reaching it slips out of my hand. Again the tractor slows up and this time the guy successfully passes me another packet then beams a huge smile before the tractor accelerates down the highway. On closer inspection the packet is a condom.
Stop for breakfast of samosa on the corner at Charali before starting towards the hills. For a long time Illam has been our final Nepali destination so to be heading their feels like the completion of our time in Nepal. The road starts flat for seven to eight kms passing out through green fields predominantly rice but with a few other crops thrown in. Pass some really large private houses more similar to those we saw in Pokhara than on the Terai. The foothills begin and small patches of tea estates then bang a sweat inducing sharp climb.
Because of our late start it is nearly midday and the temperature is quite humid warm, making the first couple of climbs more oxygen challenging. I have a Nepali ride alongside me on a motorbike as we climb asking all sorts of questions. A combination of being boxed in by the bike and not wanting to be impolite to the obvious curious guy I fail to notice Soph has dropped behind. The guy again stating what everyone else has stated ie impossible invites us to his house on the way back down, and proceeds to show me the location of his house. By the time he leaves Soph is a way behind and when she catches up not in good humour.
The next series of climbs are testing as straight with consistent gradients rather then gradual switchbacks where you can ease off once in a while. Pull over to grab fluid top ups and the young guys again reiterate what everyone else has said ie it is too steep. We talk through our reasoning before pushing on.
Again the road is a really gear crunching steep and people consistency is starting to seep in, but the dogged determination is hard to drop especially having answered positively to all our previous questioners.
Continue to climb and take breaks and some sections more ridable than others. The higher we go we begin to hit stretches whether as a result of continual muscle sapping stretches or nasty gradients become pushes rather then light spin. Again the determination is ingrained and so we keep on pushing though when stopped people continue to identify that it is too steep and that it gets worse further up.
At about 2pm we begin looking for food as the heat has remained and we haven't climbed high enough to secure the cooler temperatures. We can see the road high above us in sections but again unable to determine just how sharply the road climbs and whether it gets any better. Small road side villages we pass are all closed up as further down we noted a Buddhist ceremony being conducted. We look at a couple of freight carriers but none are going our way.
We agree to push on for another hour to assess whether things will get better. Eventually roll into a small village up on the ridge line before the road continues up and around the other side. The road gradient looks much better. Inquiries with the locals are however fruitless and many say that the road gets worse rather then better further up. We calculate that we have travelled 25km and would have a further 25 to the half way spot that we had planned for. Tired and frustrated to the resignation that today, with the luggage we were pulling we weren't going to comfortably do the ascent. Feeling a little beaten and peeved at the seeming lack of support or encouragement decide to take it out on the descent. Reach speeds of 65km with bob which is not quite suicidal but increases the consequences of error. Feel a little better when we reach the bottom in half an hour, the same distance requiring five hours on the way up.
Enter Charali and assess lodge options but the prices seem a bit of a take and so try a couple of kms to the East towards the border. Nothing appears and not that keen to camp right on the border and so we turn around and cycle back to Birtamod. Return to the Hotel Villagio but it is booked out. They direct us to another place, Hotel Beenayak (I am not kidding) which we spot and is on the left just before the bridge. Soph goes in for the inspection and I stay with the bikes outside. Have the dubious pleasure of meeting the most smartarse street vermin since we started the trip. Must be the day for it, I spend the next ten minutes grinning through gritted teeth and asking them nicely not to touch things on the bike and no they could not go for a ride, nor try on my sunglasses.
Eventually Soph returned and thankfully they had a room that was okay. Bikes inside and huge sigh having sat on the bed once in the room. Order a Tuborg beer which though warm was still satisfying. Food from the restaurant was quite good. The room had an air conditioner though we had opted for a non air con room. It only worked with the remote. When our food was delivered to the room the waiter noticed the air conditioner was on and explained that we would have to pay extra for the air conditioner and confiscated the remote. We made do with our mosquito net and the rooms fan in it's absence.
On the road to Charali a passing tractor slows up and one of the teenage guys on the back yells out hello before leaning over to me and attempts to pass a small silver packet, though reaching it slips out of my hand. Again the tractor slows up and this time the guy successfully passes me another packet then beams a huge smile before the tractor accelerates down the highway. On closer inspection the packet is a condom.
Stop for breakfast of samosa on the corner at Charali before starting towards the hills. For a long time Illam has been our final Nepali destination so to be heading their feels like the completion of our time in Nepal. The road starts flat for seven to eight kms passing out through green fields predominantly rice but with a few other crops thrown in. Pass some really large private houses more similar to those we saw in Pokhara than on the Terai. The foothills begin and small patches of tea estates then bang a sweat inducing sharp climb.
Because of our late start it is nearly midday and the temperature is quite humid warm, making the first couple of climbs more oxygen challenging. I have a Nepali ride alongside me on a motorbike as we climb asking all sorts of questions. A combination of being boxed in by the bike and not wanting to be impolite to the obvious curious guy I fail to notice Soph has dropped behind. The guy again stating what everyone else has stated ie impossible invites us to his house on the way back down, and proceeds to show me the location of his house. By the time he leaves Soph is a way behind and when she catches up not in good humour.
The next series of climbs are testing as straight with consistent gradients rather then gradual switchbacks where you can ease off once in a while. Pull over to grab fluid top ups and the young guys again reiterate what everyone else has said ie it is too steep. We talk through our reasoning before pushing on.
Again the road is a really gear crunching steep and people consistency is starting to seep in, but the dogged determination is hard to drop especially having answered positively to all our previous questioners.
Continue to climb and take breaks and some sections more ridable than others. The higher we go we begin to hit stretches whether as a result of continual muscle sapping stretches or nasty gradients become pushes rather then light spin. Again the determination is ingrained and so we keep on pushing though when stopped people continue to identify that it is too steep and that it gets worse further up.
At about 2pm we begin looking for food as the heat has remained and we haven't climbed high enough to secure the cooler temperatures. We can see the road high above us in sections but again unable to determine just how sharply the road climbs and whether it gets any better. Small road side villages we pass are all closed up as further down we noted a Buddhist ceremony being conducted. We look at a couple of freight carriers but none are going our way.
We agree to push on for another hour to assess whether things will get better. Eventually roll into a small village up on the ridge line before the road continues up and around the other side. The road gradient looks much better. Inquiries with the locals are however fruitless and many say that the road gets worse rather then better further up. We calculate that we have travelled 25km and would have a further 25 to the half way spot that we had planned for. Tired and frustrated to the resignation that today, with the luggage we were pulling we weren't going to comfortably do the ascent. Feeling a little beaten and peeved at the seeming lack of support or encouragement decide to take it out on the descent. Reach speeds of 65km with bob which is not quite suicidal but increases the consequences of error. Feel a little better when we reach the bottom in half an hour, the same distance requiring five hours on the way up.
Enter Charali and assess lodge options but the prices seem a bit of a take and so try a couple of kms to the East towards the border. Nothing appears and not that keen to camp right on the border and so we turn around and cycle back to Birtamod. Return to the Hotel Villagio but it is booked out. They direct us to another place, Hotel Beenayak (I am not kidding) which we spot and is on the left just before the bridge. Soph goes in for the inspection and I stay with the bikes outside. Have the dubious pleasure of meeting the most smartarse street vermin since we started the trip. Must be the day for it, I spend the next ten minutes grinning through gritted teeth and asking them nicely not to touch things on the bike and no they could not go for a ride, nor try on my sunglasses.
Eventually Soph returned and thankfully they had a room that was okay. Bikes inside and huge sigh having sat on the bed once in the room. Order a Tuborg beer which though warm was still satisfying. Food from the restaurant was quite good. The room had an air conditioner though we had opted for a non air con room. It only worked with the remote. When our food was delivered to the room the waiter noticed the air conditioner was on and explained that we would have to pay extra for the air conditioner and confiscated the remote. We made do with our mosquito net and the rooms fan in it's absence.
 |
| Towards Ilam, Nepal. April 2011 |
No comments:
Post a Comment