Day 13... Oasis in the desert

 

I once again struggled to get up. My body is crying out for a rest day of sorts and I have one more day of riding until I get my wish. Manang is where I am aiming for today. It has been built up in my mind, until now it seems like an oasis in the desert. 

Firstly parish notices... my shorts are still hanging on by a literal thread. I like these shorts even with huge ventilation areas in them, because the pockets are big and the material os thick and they stretch down to my knees even when riding, so despite them having no backside left really, I have kept wearing them. 

My cold is still present. I guess because my body is being battered day after day there is no room left for it to heal itself  The cough is there but no worse. 

I am currently residing at around 10,000ft. At this level you would expect your blood oxygen level to be lower than normal, normal being 97 to 100% for those non medical people out there. I read up a bit on what you could expect to find at altitude in terms of saturations, mainly because my watch has the ability to read mine and I thought it would be interesting to measure regularly once I got around 10,000ft. My sats at 8000ft had been 96% at rest. Here at 10,000ft they were 92%. Nothing to worry about., Prob also not helped by my cold. 

In the mornings, I have fallen into my usual routine. Take off my evening off the bike clothes (often not much different from my on the bike clothes, essentially the same just without cycle shorts on usually.) Last night that meant changing from my ski trousers, which I had put on because it was so cold, back into my cycling shorts and cargo shorts on top. Then make sure I have my money belts on, attach SPOT to my belt loops (If I need SPOT, I want it attached to me not my rucksack) and then pack each of my bike bags. My handlebar bag, which now essentially just has my sleeping bag in, is already sorted. My ski trousers go in the bottom of my saddle pack, followed by the ice spikes I bought in case I needed them for the pass, my spare shorts and then the bag of warm extras (gloves, hat and my emergency bivvy bag). Lastly I pack my rucksack which has 2 separate stuff sacks in, one for food and one for electrical stuff, chargers, spare batteries, power banks etc. Lastly I top up my water resevoir and bottle with bottled water. Now I am higher up, I keep my down jacket in the bungees on top of my saddle pack so I can get to it quickly. 

And that is my morning packing routine, then its off to breakfast... lately consisting mainly of omelette and chapatti. 

Today, I then had to wait a bit longer for the guy to come back from dropping his daughter off somewhere so that I could pay and as I waited I could see hikers, far above on the hillside in Upper Pisang, leaving for the days trek. It made me a bit eager to get going. 

The sun was out, the sky was blue... there was a chill in the air despite that and as I eventually left at around 0830, the puddles had ice on. I started off by walking my bike, to warm my legs up a bit and second because as always there was a nice steep gradient shortly after I left Lower Pisang. As I went, I turned the prayer wheels. 

Over the bridge, up the other side and found smooth gravel road which was a little bit of FLUP (Flat Up) but very rideable. Of course I was now at 10,000ft and so even on this good road, I had to stop to catch my breath every now and again. Not a bad thing as it gave me a chance to savour the view of the mountains around. 

I have noticed recently that after taking my daily Diamox half a tablet, I got pins and needles in my fingers. It was slightly disconcerting until I read that it was one of the reported side effects.

I cycled slowly upwards, taking my time, which is important the higher I get. It now becomes, not about mileage but about a maximum altitude gain in a day. I will talk more about altitude sickness for those of you interested at the end of this blog as an addendum kinda thing, but essentially certainly above Manang which sits at 11,600ft, it is recommended to go no more than 1500ft approx (500m) up in a day as if you go faster, it increases the likelihood of altitude sickness, which can be fatal. (unlikely at the max altitude I am going to)

Anyway, I bimbled along, enjoying the good road and the scenery, legs feeling pretty good, breathing ok considering the altitude. I don’t know how people just get a jeep or motorbike up to Manang and expect to feel absolutely fine.

Some of the rock formations in the distance were spectacular and reminded me in a small way of some of the formations in Bryce Canyon in USA. In fact the cycling today reminded me of some of the roads I had trod in the tour divide, pine forest and gravel roads, with mountains around.

Of course there would be an up bit today and I had identified on the map where I thought the hard section of today would be... the giveaway... switchbacks! When I got there, the gradient was too steep to ride, but neither was it a handlebars above the head job and so with plenty of catch your breath, stare at the scenery breaks I made my way up. Despite the decent gravel, with the frequent stops, I had been going pretty slowly and it felt like today would be a long one, despite only needing to ride 9.8 miles. I got to the top, where a stupa stood in the sunshine and my mouth almost hung agape at the scenery before me. Ahead the white topped mountains and on the right side 3 or 4 jagged sharks teeth type summits. Stretching down below, a flat plain, covered with pine trees and in the distance, the landing strip at Humde. And best of all, the road wound around the top here and then went downhill! I was in for a nice couple of miles.

The landing strip bemused me, because I could see that with the mountains all around, it would not be an easy approach for a light plane. It doesn’t get used much these days apparently though sometimes the rescue helicopters fly off from there.

I stared and stared at the view, transfixed by the beauty. Still I couldn’t stay here all day, although it was tempting. I debated whether to don my down jacket for the downhill as the road was in the shade of the mountains for a while but opted for rolling down my merino baselayer sleeves instead, set my feet on the pedals, found a good gear, and down I went. It wasn’t too technical though in places the road was quite cut up, but on the downhill those are the more fun bits. Concentration must be fully maintained though as one wrong move, could result in injury, especially as the surface changes very quickly from good to bad in the blink of an eye.

No such mishaps occurred though and I was pitched out into the sunshine and gravel road and pine forest. It was great to be actually riding my bike and not just in the dinnerplate gear either (that’s the easiest gear on the largest chain ring).

I was having a whale of a time. It was possibly the best day I have had on a bike EVER with the combination of the road, the previous harship to get here, the scenery, the sunshine... all just beautiful!

I came across some locals and asked them what they were doing as they seemed a friendly bunch. They told me they were collecting pine needles to burn as incense. They were surprised that I was solo and we had a bit of a laugh. They asked why I didn’t have any friends (poor me), I said it was better as I got to talk to local people more than if I was cycling with others.  They wished me well and I went onwards. Thanks to the nice roads, I was already almost halfway to Manang in only 2 hours and resolved to stop at Hunde for some early lunch.

It wasn’t long before the village came into sight and I found a nice restaurant with a rooftop dining area.. I ordered potato soup and sat in the sunshine. The wind was whipping through here and it was a bit chilly so I got my down jacket off my bike... if I didn’t need to get cold, probably best not to. The potato soup was heavily laced with garlic (good for altitude) and was really nice.

I finished it up and rather than leech time sitting here, I jumped back on my bike. Rideable roads, gently upwards, good gravel... the order of the day. I was waiting for the sting in the tail. I was having too nice a day.

After Humde, the road continued up, there were a few cobbled sections which I cursed vociferously. I hated cobbles in Paris, I hated cobbles in Ecuador and now I hate cobbles in Nepal! I just don’t see the point of them except to subject an already sore arse to a complete thrashing. So I walked the cobbled sections! I wasn’t in a rush. Time was most definitely on my side today, thanks to the generally good roads and walking was just fine too. The snow covered mountains seemed close enough to touch and I could pick out glaciers and cornices on them. They were magnificent and stood proud above me.

I continued on and as I did so, I saw a bird soaring high... this time it definitely looked like an eagle, but I needed proof for Trevor. He is my bird guru friend, whom I rely on to identify any weird birds I see. So I got out my phone and tried to take pics. In the end video was easier and I. Managed to get at least 30 seconds of it in frame, which is no mean feat! I stood watching it as it soared up to the clouds, wheeling round and round with ease and gracefulness.

Onwards then... still nice roads, no sting in the tail... yet.

The road rose past the village of Bhraka and I found myself having to push the last bit of the rise... I was now over 11,000ft, that’s my excuse today.

As I was pushing, a Nepali caught me up. I said Namaste and we got to chatting. Turns out he was a guide and one of his clients had left a water bottle at a restaurant and sent him to go and fetch it. I was appalled. I would have sent them back or told them to buy another (Manang has trekking shops). I said that I hoped they were paying him extra to do this and he laughed.

Once, when riding in New Zealand, I carelessly left my phone at a lunch stop on the side of the road, and only realised when I was 5 miles away. I cycled back and found it. If it had been just a water bottle, I would have left it there and bought another. Sending someone, even if it had been an option, would not have been an option.

Anyway, the guide asked me where I had come from and when I said I had cycled from Kathmandu, he told me he was proud of me. Coming from a Nepali guide, it meant an awful lot to me.

I left him in my dust when we got to the downhill, feeling bad that I couldn’t offer him a lift. It was not not far to go now and the sting never materialised... or did I speak too soon.? The sign for Manang appeared and the road stretched up a steep incline to the town. Of course it did. Still I had bloody made it to Manang. There were many days where I wasn’t sure that I would.

I pushed my bike up to the top and through the main thoroughfare looking for Hotel Tilicho which had seemed a decent one. Not far up, I pulled my bike into the entrance courtyard and kept my fingers crossed that they had a room. I could see the bikes from the cyclists I had met the other day there in the courtyard. They had pushed onto Manang, not stopping at Lower Pisang, but they were unloaded so that hadn’t got into my headspace.

Fortunately there was a room and it had a western toilet (its the small things in life), adequate duvets (2 required minimum to be warm up here) and wifi (though it doesn’t work well in the room). Nice hotel with a view of the mountains from my window.

It was only 3pm by the time I got settled so I sat in the common area reading my book and answering comments and questions on facebook. I ate dinner early, ordered far too much food that I couldn’t finish and then  snuggled under the duvets in my room. It had been a really good day, and now I had a ‘rest day’to help with my acclimatisation.

I spent the rest of the day reading and trying to keep warm. Sats at 11600ft were 91%.

Tomorrow the plan is to go for a walk uphill to a higher altitude and then come back to lower altitude to sleep. I might also buy another clothing layer as I’m freezing here and I have a plan to spend a night at what is called high camp before going over the pass where amenities and warmth are scarce!

But more about that tomorrow.

Rest day! Made it to Manang!

LHS

Addendum

Altitude sickness is where the body doesn’t adapt to being at altitude and as a consequence one can develop symptoms that if left untreated, by descending to a lower elevation, can become Life threatening. Therefore it is especially important to be aware of signs and symptoms of the early onset of altitude related illness in order to begin descending in a timely manner. 

HACE and HAPE (High altitude Cerebral Edema, and High altitude Pulmonary oedema) are the more serious forms of altitude sickness that can lead to death. 

Mild altitude sickness may arise at any altitude over 2500m and there seems to be no correlation between age and fitness and the likelihood of getting it. If you have had it once, doesn’t mean to say you will get it again and vice versa. Symptoms of mild altitude sickness include a persistent cough, difficulty catching breath and mild headaches. 

Cerebral edema can manifest in headaches that are not helped by medication, disorientation, ataxia, confusion. Pulmonary edema with extreme shortness of breath, coughing up blood. Both if left untreated can be fatal. 

The treatments for both include dexamthasone and diamox which can help alleviate the symptoms, but immediate descent is the only cure. Many people are helicoptered out of the Himalayas due to symptoms of HAPE and HACE, which as said before can occur from 2500m though obviously are more likely to occur at much higher altitudes. 

Given that it is possible during this bike ride I have been giving myself a prophylactic dose of Diamox which is thought to help the acclimatisation process, but essentially the best way to prepare for going up to altitude is to go up slowly... climb high and sleep lower if possible and try not to exceed the 500m a day guide. 

This is why elevation becomes more important than mileage from now on and why a rest day should include a trek up to a higher elevation before coming back down to sleep. 

Although I will only. Be going up to 5000 and something meters (17500ish feet) altitude is something I need to take seriously and not dismiss. I have come up to this elevation slowly but surely and will continue over the next few days until I cross over the pass.