foozle

Like everyone thank you for sharing. Can not wait to hear more about the trip.

boc

Absolutely awesome. Really looking forward to the detailed writeup!

Al Downie

Hi rumrunn6,

In fact neither of us were really that 'into' cycling! Cambridge (UK) is right in the heart of the flattest part of the country, and it's a pretty small town, full of students, and the University is in the very densely-packed town centre where parking a car is almost impossible, so most folk cycle everywhere. We commute daily, and in summer there are loads of great, short day-tours around the local area, on roads, canal paths, country tracks, and even an amazing Roman road which has been well preserved for more than 2,000yrs! So we were both moderately pedalling-fit, but certainly not 'cyclists' in any kind of serious way. About 15yrs earlier I'd dabbled with cycle touring in Scotland with my brother, but that was an experiment which didn't work! Wrong weather, wrong hills, wrong quantity of luggage, wrong attitude!

I mentioned in another thread a couple of years ago that I'd found this brilliant book called 'Tibet Overland' in a local bookshop's bargain bucket, and it had been lying around on my coffee table for ages. Every time someone was coming to visit I'd blow the dust off it and make sure it was 'casually' within sight. You know how it goes. Anyway - every once in a while I would actually pick it up and look at the pictures, and I started to think that it would be cool to do something like that. Then I mentioned to Ulrike one day that I was thinking about it, and she startled me by demanding to come along! 100% commitment from the very first minute! Blimey. So all of a sudden we were on a roll, and the rest just happened. Book the flights, buy some kit and maps, and wait for the taxi to take you to the airport. Job done!

Thanks very much to everyone for the compliments and the wee trip down memory lane! I never did get around to writing a proper journal, but now I feel all motivated to pad out the picture captions. I'll dig out my notebook at the weekend!

Cheers,

Al

prxmid

That is a spectacular adventure. At those altitudes, dehaydration must have been a real concern

bobframe

Fantastic tour made all the better with your beautiful pictures. Very inspiring to me.

Your adoring fans demand a detailed write up.

Al Downie

Thanks very much - you're too kind! But the request is duly noted, and I'll get to work at the weekend.

Prxmid - yep, we did make sure we carried plenty of water (two days' worth on the More Plains section), but it's readily available. On most days we'd pass at least one little dhaba which had a stock of bottled water (definitely the most practical and safe way to drink in India*), and I had a Katadyn water filter in the bags as an emergency measure - only had to use it once. We never suffered from dehydration to the extent that you'd notice at low altitude, but up high I think even slight dehydration has a big impact on your general level of competence. We felt a bit feeble and uncoordinated in the higher camps, despite being well acclimatised.

* Some folk mage a big issue of the plastic bottle waste, but in our experience the Ladakhis snapped up our empties at every opportunity, for use in their homes. Not much is wasted out there.

2005trek1200

i am super jealous, would love to do this tour!