Bike for Nepal: Facebook Page

It hasn't been easy to find the time to update this blog on a daily basis.

I am posting pictures and comments on a Facebook page I created for Bike for Nepal.  Please check that page for latest updates.  https://www.facebook.com/BikeForNepal

I will post more insights on this blog later, perhaps at the end of the trip.

Please keep the donations coming:
http://www.dooleyintermed.org/index.php?/news-events/bike-for-nepal-1

Thank you!

Bike for Nepal (LEJOG 2014): Day 3

One might wonder if it makes sense to complain about the hills of Cornwall after cycling in the Himalayas.  Firstly, it is the expectations.  I obviously didn't do my homework well, because I was expecting England to be flat.  Secondly, what Cornwall lacks in altitude, it makes up in the gradient.  The roads in the Himalayas may have endless switchbacks, but the gradient is relatively gentle because the vehicles that traverse those roads don't have too much power and carry big loads for their size.

Here is the gradient profile from Lostwithiel to Okehampton, from middle Cornwall to West Devon.

The weather stayed sunny from Lostwithiel to Liskeard and the scenery was really pretty.  Here's a  video clip of the scenery on the way to Liskeard.

After I left Liskeard, it started raining.   The rain jacket helps a little bit -- although I am wet underneath it from the sweat, at least it keeps me warm.  Wet gloves are really irritating.  They tend to run up the fingers and in spite of the gel padding, the hands get numb.  I have some waterproof gloves I use for climbing, and plan to put them on next time it rains.  The worst things, though, are soggy shoes.  After a few hours I get really sick of them. I need to find out what other cyclists do for this problem.

Regardless, I pushed on to Callington and Tavistock where I took a late lunch break.  It was still raining, but I got back on the road hoping to make it to Tiverton.  Then the rain got heavy again.  As a rule, if it gets wet as well as cold and I get chills I seek shelter immediately.  Part of the game is avoiding getting sick.  That's exactly what happened when I took the exit to Okehampton, and almost as in "Hotel California," Betty Cottles Inn stood right there seemingly in the middle of the road.

I walked into the reception totally dripping wet, and the owner of the place Derrick offered me several room choices, the cheapest of which was a bunk bed without breakfast, which I took.    He asked me where I was coming from and where I was going and why, and immediately upgraded me to an en suite room.  And then he let me use their tumble dryer to dry my hand washed clothes.  It burned me up a little bit that the weather turned bright right after I checked in, because there were still a couple of hours of riding left, but that's the way it goes.




After a nice shower and washing my clothes, I had dinner while watching the Brazil-Germany game with a German couple. Unfortunately for Brazil, and thankfully for me, the game was over in the first 25 minutes and I went to bed.


Fund Raising Update

 I got an update from Rosemarie Hammond of Dooley Intermed on the donations.  The tally now stands at $980.  My sincere thanks to those who made the donations.  We have a long way to go, to John O'Groats as well as the fund raising target.  I am doing my part here.  Please do your part!  Here's the link for making a donation:

http://www.dooleyintermed.org/index.php?/news-events/bike-for-nepal-1

Thank you!

Bike for Nepal (LEJOG 2014): Day 2

After a good night’s rest and a solid breakfast, I worked on my bike to see where the intermittent sound was coming from and where the back wheel was catching.  The weather at the start of the day was nice and sunny, but deteriorated quickly by the time I left around 11:30 am.  I lumbered my way to the centre of Truro.  It is a bustling town, apparently the major shopping center in this area, but I could not find any bike shops.  

I continued towards St. Austell, hoping to find a bike shop there and grab some lunch as well.  It started raining again, and also started getting a little chilly.  I  was passing through a tiny village called Grampound and saw a small deli-like shop called Cornish Smokehouse which was open.  I took shelter there from the rain.  The lady who runs the store is called Lisa, and I found her to be a very interesting person. 

Lisa and her husband are from Cardiff, Wales.  They had a destination wedding in Stowe, Vermont at the Green Mountain Inn, have three daughters and moved to Cornwall several years ago.  It is apparent that Lisa misses Wales very much, and “people who talk like her.”  The husband is quite happy here, but Lisa still feels like a tourist after all these years.  She said that this area is almost all white, and there is not much diversity.  I think most places in the world lack diversity if they are not major commercial, educational or political centers.  In any case, the important thing is to be broad-minded and in the age of the Internet it is not difficult to inform oneself of other lands, peoples and cultures. 

The rain subsided and I made my way to St. Austell, which is a sizeable town of maybe 20,000 people.  As soon as I entered the town center, I saw a skate shop.  I asked the guy if there is a good bike shop in town, and he pointed me to one around the corner. 

The bike shop is called Pave Velo, and it is a most welcoming place with tea, coffee, cookies and brownies.  In the words of Nick who runs the place, what’s a bike shop without espresso? 

Nick went over the bike methodically and made several adjustments,  including the front and back brakes, and said I was good to go.  No charge.  On the way out I bought  a bunch of chamois butter packets to take care of my saddle soreness.

While I was getting some lunch in St. Austell, the heavens opened up.  After a long lunch, I decided to stay the night in Lostwithiel. 

A few climbs with gradients approaching 20% later, and down a hill with a similar gradient, you will find Bentham’s Guesthouse run by Shirley who welcomes many cyclists..  There is a pub about 250 yards from here that serves great food, and an interesting array of beers which I had to sadly forgo.  I am trying to stay well hydrated and abstain from alcohol at least until I am well into the ride. 

p.s.  My thanks to all who have made their donations to the Nepal Micro Enterprise Project.  The web site to make the donations is: http://www.dooleyintermed.org/index.php?/news-events/bike-for-nepal-1

Click on the link at the bottom of the page, and please remember to add “Nepal Micro Enterprise Project” in the special instructions to the vendor just before you complete your donation.

Bike for Nepal (LEJOG 2014): Day 1 -- The Rubber Meets The Road

The train ride from London to Penzance was very comfortable.  A nice old lady sat next to me and had a pleasant conversation whenever she took a break from knitting.  The train had to make an unscheduled stop because it hit an unnamed object on the tracks and they had to inspect the train for damage.  There was none. Penzance welcomed us with glorious sunshine.

I arrived in London on a rainy Saturday morning.  Carried my bike box on the Heathrow Express to Paddington and then took a cab to my friend Rashna's house in Hampstead.  I assembled the bike right away while she went to take care of a patient.  I discovered a problem with the disc brakes.  After lunch, we went to a bike shop in Camden.  A huge shout out to Evans Bicycle Shop.  With the mayor of London promoting bicycle commuting, these bike shops are incredibly busy.  But when they heard about my bike ride, and given that I had a train to catch in the morning, they dropped everything and adjusted my front breaks, and didn't charge me for the work.  There might have been a slight bend in the disc in transit.  If it drags me during the ride I may have to stop at a bike shop again and have it looked at.

While preparing for the bike ride, I had a number of decisions to make.  Should I rent a bike in UK or transport my own?  I decided to fly back from Glasgow and save a day so renting was not an option -- how will I return the bike in London?  Should I bring my road bike or mountain bike?  Leaning forward on long rides bothers my lower back, even with all the yoga.  So I decided to bring my mountain bike but change the tires to the skinniest ones I could find.  With the skinny tires, my speed on the mountain bike was very close to what I get on the road bike.  Besides, this is the bike wtih which  I did RAGBRAi 2011, so there is that confidence.

As I took off from Penzance train station looking for A30, I met a guy who just finished his ride from JOG to LE.  I shook his hands hoping for his luck to rub off on me.

The road to Land's End has some good ups and downs and barely any flat sections.  The wind was against me, and I took comfort in knowing that it will be on my back when I start for LE.  It was a little after 4 pm when I reached Land's End and took the obligatory picture.

I am glad I brought my mountain bike.  The gradient in some places is pretty steep.  As I rode on A30 towards Penzance, I decided to deviate from my precomputed route and continue on A30 which becomes a divided highway east of Penzance.  It was actually pretty good.  The cars were reasonably considerate.  And the major roads tend to be straighter.

When I came to a roundabout at an intersection with A394, I got back on my original route.  These smaller roads are undivided and tend to be curvy. The cars still go pretty fast,  although they have been pretty generally considerate.  But I am thinking that it may not be so bad to take a road like A30.

I pushed hard because I had a late start hoping that I can still make it to Lostwithiel.  I had only porridge and a sandwich on the train, and my powerbars.  So I stopped in a small town called Helston for some food.  I thought there was another two hours of riding possible so I just had some Tom Yum soup and hit the road again.  The place had wifi and a clean restroom.  Good stop to make.

I decided that if there is still light left when I reach Truro, I would try to make the push towards Lostwithiel.  But the ride was a real drag after I left Helston.  I thought it might be my legs.  I stopped and checked the wheels.  The front one is fine, but now I noticed that the back wheel is catching a little bit.  I have to get this taken care of at a bike shop.  There is also some noise that is unfamiliar.

It was clear I wont be able to make it to my B&B in Lostwithiel.  I stopped at a place called Premier Inn just outside Truro.  As it was getting late, I was concerned that I may not be able to find a room.  Premier Inn was too expensive, but she found a B&B for about 55 pounds in a nearby village -- only 1.5 miles away.  But there will probably be no places to eat there.  So I had a big plate of fish and chips and potato fries and green peas at Premier Inn.  Food that I avoided while training.  But now I need all the calories I can get.

The B&B  was 1.5 miles off the road alright, but down the steepest hill I have been on so far!  I am going to pay for it tomorrow.  There is a saying in my mother tongue which translates to: More work for the lazy guy and more expense for the stingy guy!  If I had stayed on the my route and gotten into Truro center, it would probably have been more efficient overall.  

By the time I finished dinner it was almost 10 pm.  It was still dusky, but started getting dark quickly. The couple that runs the B&B was surprised at my knock on the door.  My reservation was made online after 8:30 pm and they hadn't seen it.  They had to prepare my room, and served me some tea while I waited, with their cat giving me a disinterested look.

I hit the sack immediately wondering if I will be able to make it to Tiverton on Day 2 and get back on schedule.

Bike for Nepal (LEJOG 2014)

Last April, when the Nepalese government offered $500 for each of the 16 Sherpas who were crushed by a huge ice boulder that dislodged on the Khumbu icefall on Mt. Everest, the world was shocked.  Jon Krakauer's article in the New Yorker gives a vivid description of the hard work that the Sherpas do and the ridiculously low wages they are paid.  The video of a Sherpa 30 minutes before he died in that accident, which appeared on the New York Times website, put a human face on all the statistics.  As bad as their condition is, the Sherpas are at the top of the totem pole of the mountain workers of Nepal.  Other workers like the porters and cooks have it much worse.

The mountain workers of Nepal have a highly irregular income.  They earn what little they do during the climbing and trekking season which lasts for four months a year -- April-May, and October-November.  During that time, a porter typically makes about $5 a day, for lugging up to a 100 pounds up the mountain trails.   In most cases, their wives are not employed so there is no additional income. The weight of poverty results in their children not getting a good education -- where educational facilities even exist -- and they end up joining the same profession when they grow up.

There are many places in the world which are renowned for their hospitality.  The Nepalese, however, stand apart not only for their hospitality but for the sense of ownership they have for our well being while we visit their country to enjoy the beauty of the Himalayas.  I believe we should reciprocate by doing our part for their well being.

When I spoke to my friend Bibhu Thakur of Mission Himalaya in Khatmandu about how to help, his advice was not to just donate money, but help them earn a better living.  He had several ideas for micro enterprises to create employment for the women, as well as the mountain workers themselves during the off season.  The first of these is to set up a small-scale potato chip and french fries factory about an hour east of Khatmandu.  It will employ 10 people in the first year, half of them in production and half in sales and marketing, and grow in subsequent years.  The cost of the structure, equipment, wages and raw material for the first year is estimated at $15,000.  A part of the profits will be shared with the employees, and the rest will be plowed back into growing the business.  

I am undertaking to raise the $15,000 by creating an awareness of their conditions.  From July 6 to 15, I will ride my bike in U.K. from end to end, from Land's End in the southwestern corner of England to John O'Groats at the northeastern corner of Scotland (LEJOG).  The route I will be following adds up to about 870 miles.

Dooley Intermed, a nonprofit organization based in New York, which has worked with Mission Himalaya on other projects, has stepped in as a partner for this project as well.  Tax deductible (in the U.S.) donations can be made to them with instructions to direct the funds to the Nepal Micro Enterprise Project.  Please see the flyer below.

I am doing this bike ride solo, on a shoestring budget.  Whatever I save on this trip, I intend to make my contribution to the project.

I leave for London on July 4, arrive there on the 5th, and start my ride on July 6.  I'll try to post a daily update on this blog.

Please pitch in your contributions, and spread the word to your friends and families.  Let's get this done!

How to donate: You can Contribute Online or Send a Check

1. Please visit www.dooleyintermed.org and click on “Donate to a Project.” Before confirming your payment, in the “Special Instructions to the Vendor” box, please enter “Nepal Micro Enterprise Project.”

or

2. Make a check out to Dooley Intermed and put down “Nepal Micro Enterprise Project” on the check as well as the envelope. Mail check to Dooley Intermed, 125-28 Queens Blvd. Ste. 538, Kew Gardens, NY 11415, USA

Cycling the Himalayas

Cycling on the Manali - Leh highway, together with Sairam, was an unforgettable experience.  

We did the bike tour in July 2013, which I think is an ideal time.  The highway is open from June to October.  

The starting point was above Manali, at about 9000 ft, and we went over five passes.  The first one, Rohtang Pass, is at about 13,500 ft and they get progressively higher, with the last one, Taglang La, around 17,500 ft.  

Enjoy the pictures.  You must go experience the Himalayas yourself!