Bike problems are a given on a cycle tour, we get that. But our second cracked rim became something of a real pain in the ####. Not only did it force us to rent me a mountain bike for £140, leave the Annapurna Circuit early, and reluctantly order Dan a new wheel (third time is not a charm), we also had to collect the wheels in person from Kathmandu airport customs and pay a stinking VAT bill…
As you know, last week, we went on a Twelve Day Everest Base Camp Trek. This was meant to be a treat to ourselves after surviving the mess in Russia. We actually borrowed money from our house fund to pay for it *slaps wrist*. Yet this turned out to be another hellish experience, which resulted in Dan being airlifted to hospital in Kathmandu – and it wasn’t for altitude sickness...
Oh man, where do we even begin. Firstly, I’ll apologise: I think we’re cheating a little by grouping three week’s worth of blog posts together. We do have a good excuse, mind you. We’ve been riding around in the Himalayas, going where the oxygen gets so thin that it starts messing with your body. Idiots, I know, but it’s just too much fun.
With the odd exception, Dan and I have spent most of the last six-months as a lonesome twosome, having fleeting moments of communication with other humans in shops, hotels and restaurants. This week, however, we had a full-time friend and second visitor, Dan’s cousin, Tom (the guy whose wedding we went back for in June)…
As you know, we’ve had some time off the bikes due to recent scandals and scams. We’ve been slowly easing ourselves back into cycling with some flat, easy rides around Kathmandu Valley. This week, we had our first fully-loaded hill climb in about six weeks – since we were in Europe. Wow. It was tough…
We’ve lived some weird kind of groundhog day this week, as we nursed Dan back to full peddle power. We’d wake up and eat last night’s cold pizza, before going out for a late eggs Benedict breakfast (yes, we were still digging for that bone). We’d then spend the afternoon watching films and gorging on bourbon biscuits. Come dinnertime, we’d head back out for pizza, doggy-bagging the slices we couldn’t fit in our faces, to eat cold the following morning. I kid you not. We did this four days in a row…
It’s been a relatively normal week this week. No court appearances. No visa problems. No in-flight fires. Just your standard week in Nepal. Things got so normal, we even had a duvet day and watched three films back-to-back. Obviously we never actually got in the duvet because it’s practically 100°c. We binged on Toy Story, The Post and The Death of Stalin, only leaving the hotel room to eat…
