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The next big ride!
by RAJ GYAWALI
| FROM ISSUE # 198 (June 2012) | IN THIS ISSUE | |||
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This Saturday, some of my biking friends are hiring a helicopter to take them and their fully loaded downhill bikes to Kyanjin Gompa in the Lantang region, where they will start their two day downhill ride back to Kathmandu. By the time you read this article, you will probably be able to Google their ride, and read about, see images and videos of their journey. With unparalleled terrain and a myriad of trails, from easy cultural biking, to technical cross country, high altitude biking and even the craziest down hilling in the world. The Himalaya has always lured avid mountain bikers but just the attraction of this amazing terrain is not enough. Several other factors are working in favor towards making nepal a ppopular biking destination and developing cycling as a sport. Slowly but steadily, Nepal is coming into the limelight by holding one of the most grueling races – the Yak Attack, in which bikers cross a high pass at Thorong La (5412m), higher than anywhere in Europe. Not a lot of countries can boast a race course like this. Of course, there are national cross country and downhill races, and Nepali riders have participated in races abroad too. More recently, AntHill films came and shot parts of their latest downhilling and freeride film, 'Strength in Numbers' in Nepal. Nirakar Yakthumba (bassist 1974 AD, and one of the celebrities in the biking scene today) says, "Nepal ranked very low in terms of mountain biking but this film will take it up here," gesturing towards the sky. He could not be more right. The world premiere was held in Nepal recently, and the film is set for public release in July 2012. Nepal will get tons of attention from biking enthusiasts when this happens. Mountain biking is slowly becoming the most sought after hobby of urban Nepalis. Bankers, rock stars, businessmen, students, restaurant owners, car company owners, people in exports and of course in adventure tourism, for health purposes or for pure fun. This rise in interest has helped expand the market for quality cycles,and raised the standard of equipment and service in Nepal. The quality of bikes that are available have gone up rapidly too. Gone are the days when the cycles were either the cheap Indian ironhorses, or the handful of Trek bikes bought from Thailand, or second hand bikes left by travelers. Nowadays, cycle shop owners regularly source the best brands from China, Taiwan, Thailand and France. Professional cycling companies already existed, but they have grown in number and range of service, and even cycling resorts have come up. Life Cycle has started a cycling base in the Churiya Hills of Nabalpur, Hetauda, with plans to open another in Bishankhu Narayan in Lalitpur. Local cycles have also sprung up. Chain Bikes started last year, sourcing parts and assembling a Nepali designed bike for the streets called Jomsom. Now, with over 600 bikes sold, the next model is coming out soon. The shortage of petrol is also helping. Bored waiting in queues for hours, people are resorting to cycling in the cities. I personally never go for a morning walk, unless I am in the mountains and I have to start the trek early, but I hear that this is the new fad. Morning walkers are graduating to cycling for health. The "afno gaun afai banau" campaign, which put small sums in the hands of the VDC's in Nepal in the late 1990's has resulted in every village making what are called agricultural roads (horribly planned I must add), which are a total boon to mountain bikers, specially the cross country mountain biker. Technical riders are a bit sad because of this development, but there is no dearth of trails in Nepal. The common saying in Kathmandu is that you can do a month of riding in the valley and its outskirts without repeating trails. That is truly something. Imagine this now at the national level. The potential is tremendous. Nepal's mid hills and the Tarai are a cyclist's paradise, and this is where most of the Nepalis live. If the youth behind the Cycle City 2020 have their way, we will be a healthier nation and a cleaner nation in just a few years. As a biking lover and entrepreneur in the biking business and tourism business (who unfortunately has not managed to balance the beer gut with enough riding), I find all this development fantastic. Nepal is poised to become the next big destination for mountain biking in the world. Ride it, or sit back and watch others ride by!
The advent of social media has also helped tremendously. There are virtual biking communities that are very active. Hit mountain biking + Nepal on Google and you will get a large number of pages, offering information from trips to tips; click on images and you can drool over the landscape. Switch to videos and watch amateur to professionally produced footages of biking in the Himalayas. It's staggering how much information there is. One video titled Himalayan High, made with Mandil Pradhan, from Himalayan Rides, shot around Marpha in the Annapurnas, was picked up by several online biking magazines, days after it was released on YouTube.