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"The Road to Everest"
Page 3
Copyright © Dave Wodchis, 2004.
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October 22nd, 2004
Other than another noisy night at the Sandrutse Hotel with construction work going on at all hours, the day started off well. It was just after noon when I was really ready to go, and not until one o'clock that I was making some progress from the outskirts of town. I'd been warned that it was a dirt road, so I had my dust mask ready, wearing it so I could easily pull it up over my mouth and nose when necessary.
Dust storm obscures the road
For the first hour or so, the road wound itself along the valley, and the surface seemed pretty good. Then the headwinds began to build. They kept building until there was a wall of dust blowing across the south side of the valley. My pace was slowing as I watched little tornadoes of dust blow around in the distance. Occasionally they would cross the roadway in front of me. A positive fringe benefit of the wind, was that it would almost immediately clear the dust clouds from passing vehicles as they went by me. Unfortunately, the good couldn't outweigh the negative impacts, and things just got worse. Huge gusts of wind began blowing and swirling around, bringing masses of dust that completely obscured the road. At times, I felt like I was in a massive sandblaster that pelted the exposed skin on my legs with tiny pebbles. There was nothing to do but stop, close my eyes, pull tight the dust mask, and suffer through until the air cleared again.
Eventually, the winds died down a little, but only a little. They were still strong and the going was not much fun (unlike the day the author of Tibet Overland rode this route and describing it as "A very pleasant ride." Did I mention that the Chinese army decided to throw in a few convoys to make the ride that much more interesting (and dusty). At about 6:30, I was somewhere between five and eight kilometers from the nearest village where there might be some shelter. The wind was getting stronger again and the light was fading. I figured it would be at least an hour more of riding if I was lucky and the wind didn't build too much, and more than that if I wasn't so lucky. Considering the kind of day it had already been, I didn't think it was worth it to push my luck, so I decided to try and hitch a lift. After a few unsuitable vehicles passed me by, I saw a pick-up truck coming up behind me. Waving them down, I watched them pull over in what seemed like slow motion to me. I guess I was that amazed at what was happening. They agreed to give me a ride, and refused any money for the lift to the village.
On arrival in Jiding Qu, I was pointed to a man who led me the short walk up to the other end of the village, took my bags inside a small Tibetan home and said they would bring the bike in later. There was some confusion about whether I could eat there or not, so I went back to the restaurant where I had originally stopped and managed to order some dinner. Nobody in Jiding Qu speaks English. After dinner, I returned to the Tibetan house/restaurant/truck stop crash pad, and watched TV with the family until it was time to turn in on the Tibetan couches/settees.
I slept pretty well until about 2 a.m. when a couple of truck drivers banged their way into the room and had the young daughters fix them some soup and tea before falling asleep on the other side of the room. After some sweet tea, I also fell asleep again until morning.
ROAD REPORT - Cycling Day 6
Distance: 58 kms (plus 5 km in a pick-up truck)
Ride time: 6:22 hours
Avg. speed: 8.5 kph
Max speed: 30 kph
Passes: none
Sleeping place: Tibetan Home/Truckstop Restaurant, Jiding Qu 3875m
Tibet Mileage: 670 km
Worldwide Mileage: 7656 km
Comment: Dust storms and brutal headwinds
October 23rd, 2004
Getting off around ten in the morning, still feeling a little sluggish, maybe due to so many days off the bike, the food poisoning, the previous day's headwinds, or accumulated sleep deficit, it seemed my pace was slow, so I decided to just take it easy and enjoy the day's ride at whatever pace it was going to be, going as far as I could.
Part of the route was a "mostly" asphalt road, so that made things a bit easier. Generally, the day was an enjoyable ride. There wasn't a lot of wind, so I cycled along hearing just my tires revolving on the road, and the sound of my breath. My stopping places were quiet and even the shepherds herding their sheep passed by far off in the distance. At about three in the afternoon, I stopped after traveling just 35 kms for a delicious meal of fried rice, egg, and vegetables at a roadside restaurant near road marker 4498. I was prepared to camp before Langpa La, so after eating I was identifying potential sites as I continued on my way. Then about 5:30 p.m., I was at the foot of the pass, and could see the top just 4 kms away and only another 230m above me. Deciding to go for it, 45 minutes later, I was at the top tying a scarf, taking pictures, and putting on some warmer clothes for the downhill ride. I would still camp if I had to, but there was supposed to be some accommodation at the turnoff to Sakya, just 15 km on. So down the mountain I flew, descending along a mostly well-packed dirt road, crossing a few streams, while the sky turned red with some rare evening clouds.
Night sky on road to Sakya
I still had some light arriving at Sakya junction, but not much. A man told me there was no place to sleep, but the Tibet Overland book said there was both a hotel and that accommodation was possible at the compound as well. I couldn't figure out where the hotel was - only seeing a small building set back from the road without much activity going on, so I opted for the Chinese Road Crew Compound. These buildings used to be the only building shelters for cyclists and other overlanders to stay in if they weren't traveling on jeep tours. I showed myself, and the Chinese military guy in charge decided to let me stay the night. There would be no charge for this courtesy. He called a manager/grounds keeper guy who opened up a vacant concrete room for me and handed me a candle. After my sleeping bag and mattress were set up for the evening, they came by for a look, offered me the chance to join them for some food, and then said good night. It turned out to be a nice quiet relaxing night, where I woke up to the sounds of birds singing in the bamboo trees outside my window. Quite pleasant in a strange kind of way.
ROAD REPORT - Cycling Day 7
Distance: 77 kms
Ride time: 6:09 hours
Avg. speed: 12.58 kph
Max speed: 30.9 kph
Passes: Langpa La 4450m
Sleeping place: Chinese Roadworks Compound, Sakya Bridge Junction 4040m
Tibet Mileage: 747 km
Worldwide Mileage: 7733 km
Comment: Sweet Day, Superb Downhill demanding some cautious riding
October 24th, 2004
Leaving the compound early(ish) at around 9 a.m., I had a relaxing ride to Lhatse, approx. 25 kms down the road. Along the way, I yelled at a few rogue kids, taught another group "head and shoulders, knees and toes," and stopped for tea at a military cafe. After checking out most of the hotels in Lhatse, I settled on the courtyard hotel called the Dewang hotel, located on the left just inside the town boundary. A big room for one person was just 40 yuan, but more importantly, they were the only hotel in town with a hot shower to wash off all that dust from a couple of days ago.
Just after I got my bags unpacked and did up a sign for Pierre and Sonia - who shows up? - Sonia and Pierre, of course. They decide to stay there as well and use the sign to alert their friend Chu that they are there. After lunch, it's shower hour. Then it's time to do some bike work. I've got some bolts to tighten as well as some cleaning, and Pierre has a tire to change. Then we're off picking up supplies for the upcoming mega pass. We meet Chu on the way back, and while the rest go for Chinese dinner, I eat some Tibetan food in the hotel while catching up on some writing and memory card downloads.
Sonia meets some fans
ROAD REPORT - Cycling Day 8
Distance: 27 kms
Ride time: 1:50 hours
Avg. speed: 14.2 kph
Max speed: 27 kph
Passes: none
Sleeping place: Dewang Hotel, Lhatse, 3990m
Tibet Mileage: 774 km
Worldwide Mileage: 7760 km
Comment: Short and Sweet, Easy Day
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