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Published: July 18th 2010
typical scenery
its either wide open, barren valleys...We've climbed up to the Tibetan Plateau but we haven't officially entered Tibet yet, that's still 300 miles away on gravel roads with passes in excess of 5200m. Considering its a plateau there's an awful lot of up and down - I always thought plateaus were flat. I suppose it means we've climbed up above 4500m and are going to stay there for the next few weeks.
The gravel roads are good but somehow it still takes us 7hrs to cover the 153 miles from Mazar to Reed Willow Beach. I guess that all the up and down doesn't help; at one point we drop from 4930m to 3600m in 30 miles, you stand at the top of the pass and can see the road twisting and turning its way down the mountain side below you. Then there's all the standing around admiring the scenery. Its either wide desert like valleys and barren brown hills or narrow roads hugging the side of mountain. The only other traffic on the road are the Chinese trucks and you invariably meet them on a blind bend on the narrow mountain hugging road when there's only enough room for one vehicle. That extra loud
typical scenery
... or a narrow road hugging the mountain side where you'll invariably meet a truck coming round the blind bend up ahead. horn is now paying for itself, it makes us sound much bigger than we are.
Reed Willow Beach - sounds delightful doesn't it? Well take the picture you have in your mind and think of the total opposite. Its another ramshackle collection of buildings serving as a truck stop. We haven't seen any real homes just truck stops. It is a step up from Mazar; here we have 'rooms' with 2, 3 or 4 beds in but the walls are cardboard so you can hear everything that's being said 3 rooms away. At the back of the yard there is a 3 sided concrete hut that claims to be a toilet but is really a big hole in the ground with two slabs of concrete balanced precariously over it with very large gaps to either side. At least the open side provides some, much needed, ventilation.
One thing you can't complain about is the food. The 'kitchen' is a tiny dark room with just enough space for a chopping block and wok but an endless stream of tasty vegetable and meat dishes appears. We have about 10 different dishes and they are all excellent and could give any
the road we climbed up
even though we are on the Tibetan Plateau there is still a lot of up and down posh Chinese Restaurant back home a run for their money.
From Reed Willow Beach we head to Douma. At 07:00 its frosty and by 09:00 there's still frost on the ground. On the top of the 1st pass (5287m) its -6C (yes - that's minus 6) but the views are great and everyone is just sitting taking it all in even at these temperatures. For 100 miles we are riding above 5000m and for the rest of the day we are above 4800m and crest two passes at 5365m and 5399m - the profile off the GPS track is quite impressive but I haven't figured out how to copy it onto a photo yet. Luckily both the gravel road and weather are good so we can just enjoy it. Plus today its more plateau like, the elevation changes are long shalloe increased on straightish roads and not the hairpin bends of the last few days.
Its a day of high altitude lakes and they come in a range of vivid shades of blue. They always seem to be tucked away so you come round a bend or over a ridge and suddenly there they are in their full
the roads are very dusty up here
demonstrated by Kevin's black riding suit glory, dominating the landscape. Each one has something different to offer that make you stop and stare; perfect reflections of the surrounding snowy mountains, half-drowned buildings photogenically placed, or the deepest clearest turquoise-blue with yaks & yaklets grazing beside it. Each is a spectacular vista and demands our attention. I don't think yaklets is a real word but that's how we referred to them, it reflects their personality and cuteness much better then the term calf.
From the lakes we climb to the official Tibetan border. As you start to climb you can see the prayer flags at the top fluttering in the wind. And then we are there, standing at the sign in amongst the prayer flags. It was never certain that we would get permission to ride through Tibet but here we are standing on Tibetan soil. It takes a bit of believing.
Surprisingly as we enter Tibet the landscape changes. Immediately its much greener and the hills are almost rounded. Its also sandier, there are quite a few dodgy sandy corners (with a few skid marks from riders that have gone through earlier). And there are sea-gulls here!! Yes lurking along the river banks are
what look decidedly like black headed gull.
After 65 miles we enter, Douma, our 1st Tibetan village. There is only one street but after the last 3 days it feels like a metropolis. There's a post office, a shop, a petrol station and lots of pool tables lining the road. You definitely get the felling that people live here, there are kids running round and people smiling and waving. They may have a plethora of facilities here but what they haven't got is a hotel - the owner gambled it away and its closed!!! Luckily an enterprising local lady has spotted the gap in the market and is busy turning her building into a hotel. The rooms are ready but the toilets are still being built so the bikes are parked in the middle of the back yard and two of the corners are allocated their function for the evening! Our Tibetan hostess rushes around all evening providing bowls of warm water for washing and dish after dish of tasty food. She never stops and she does it all with a constant smile on her face.
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David Moody
non-member comment
Good comments
Really love the commentary and the trip. Wow, what an adventure.