Horizons Unlimited - The HUBB - 100km horizontal, 4km vertical! Beni to Muktinath

So Gubi finally got his ass out of India and we met in his hotel a week ago. He is travelling on a Yamaha Tenere which makes my bike look like it was built for track days instead of world travel. After trying to persuade me to go for a 4 day hike we came to a compromise and agreed on a 5 day ride to Muktinathin the Himalayas.

We planned to set out on the 11th of Feb but several issues slowed us down. Firstly I had to wait for money to be sorted via western union. I had a drum lesson which finished late and so when I tried to collect my WU money there was no-where with power to get a photocopy of my passport. Typical stuff! When I was ready Gubi had a puncture.....

12th Feb (still 2009) We get up early, head for breakfast and hit the road. It takes about 30 minutes to reach the twisty sections of tarmac and to start working the bikes. Problem is, the view is too good....

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Soon, Gubi needed to stop again to... errrr.... admire the view...

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We carried on going west around the south of the mountains before reaching Baglung about 2 hours after we left. Here the road ended and we were placed firmly onto the rough stuff going north. It isn't long before we face our first landslide. Luckily we missed it happening and arrived to find work in progress clearing the road.

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About 20km later we hit Beni. This is the last fuel stop for the whole trip. We need enough fuel to travel 100km forward and 4km up followed by 4km down and 100km backwards. It's a tough call to say if the bikes will make it or not. I have over 350km range on flat, sea-level road where as the road here did not exist and the bike becomes less efficient at altitude. So filled totally to the brim we have a snack and now the journey really begins.

It's pretty hard to describe the riding conditions because they changed so much, sometimes it would be good gravel and sometimes deep sand. Mix up very fine, deep sand with big rocks hidden beneath it or just big rocks. Up n down, left and right rocks bloody everywhere. It took 1 hour to ride the first 21km from Beni to Totapani. The view here was pretty boring but the road kept our minds occupied. We stopped in Totapani for lunch and to work out how far we could get before it got dark. We were told we could make Jomsom easily and so set that as our goal. It was 60km and maybe 4 hours. We were also warned that the road got worse! It was kind of like rally stages, 20km of rocks the size of your head and then 5km alpine, 20km fast gravel and then 15km of riverbeds and pebbles. Throw in the odd river crossing or muddy section and you're well on your way to getting the feel for the ride.

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When we arrived in Jomsom I was shattered and so was Gubi, We found a hotel pretty quickly, found out how cheap it was and moved the bikes into the garden and here I have a puzzle for you, how do you get a 95cm wide bike through a 85cm wide gap?

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I practised my drumming on a pillow, we ate, looked for other tourists, realised there were none and went to bed. It was a cold night at 2300m but the hotel had blankets so it was not uncomfortable and after the long ride I could have slept anywhere. The alarm woke us at 7pm to catch the sunrise and we headed to the roof of the hotel for breakfast (my omelet came with free fried cockroach) and pictures.

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So on the morning of Friday the 13th we had 20km to the reach the pass. The first 14 were relatively level and then the last 6 went up over 1000m. I had taken point for most of the ride and so I did for this part too. We left Jomsom and within 300m of leaving town I took a wrong turning. It took us down to the riverbed and before long I was churning my way through deep mud begging the bike not to get bogged down. I made it through but Gubi with his road tyres didn't. I carried on thinking this was the right way and that it was just getting a bit more difficult but when I reached a scree slope leading back to the main road I realised I made a mistake. I tried to get up but the gravel wouldn't hold the bike and I couldn't get a decent run at it. When I turned back and passed Gubi he was covered in black gunk and not very happy with me.

Back on the main road and 3km from my last wrong turn the road splits in two. One goes down to the riverbed again and the other follows electricity pylons above the river. Not one to make the same mistake twice I steer clear of the river and head up. It becomes apparent very quickly that the road hasn't been used in months. Small stones roll down the mountain onto the path but I persist before reaching a complete dead end, the road just disappears into a gut wrenching 100m drop and what can I see at the bottom of this drop? The path along the riverbed! So Gubi takes point and we get back down.

Why didn't I think the riverbed was the right way??

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Does that look like the right way to you?

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We slowly progressed along the road and in a surprisingly short amount of time we had covered the 14km and were looking up at a twisting gravel road climbing the mountain. Gubi's bike had been struggling already with low oxygen and a weird sprocket setup. On sections where I was in 3rd gear he was in 1st and when I was in 1st he was running on the clutch. Now we had this climb and it was 2nd all the way for me and clutch control for him. I went ahead again and paused occasionally to get photos and to check that he was ok.

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We reached a kind of plateau as we crossed the snow line and up here we started to pass a lot more hikers. The looks on their faces as we passed were priceless. It was a “How the ****....” kind of look and I think I would be the same if I saw it. We were riding through snow and mud now, any puddles or streams were frozen on the surface and flowing underneath so we crashed through them unable to see anything of the ground underneath.

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I had to stop at one point and go look for Gubi, he had stopped to let his engine cool and to give his clutch a break. I tried to tell him to turn round but he was determined to make it and we pushed on again. I reached the pass about 10 minutes after the stop and had a cuppa tea while I waited. Soon bored I turned round to see what was holding Gubi up. 300m from the pass he had given up. His bike was out of power. Refusing to accept defeat I parked up my bike and pushed while he gunned the engine.

We made it, 100km of hard riding but we both made it to the top. Grinning like idiots we sought out the Bob Marley guest house for a photo shoot and something to eat. Bob himself apparently stayed there and it is also the highest point in the village. The road carries on but there was no way for Gubi to go higher and I was worried about fuel. I had used just over half my tank!!

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So you would think going down would be easier? Not in the slightest. I had to push Gubi every time the path went a bit uphill. His bike found a bit of power at a lower altitude and we were heading home. The rest is pretty much the same in reverse except we were tired. We got down to Totapani before nightfall and were greeted by the hotel where we had lunch the day before. They sent us around the back so we could park the bikes in their garden.

Had a Ramblers Association member try to tell us it was a trekkers only path... Ignored him!

Next morning we got back on the bikes for the short ride home, I reached Beni soon enough but Gubi was nowhere to be seen. I followed the road back at first thinking he was taking pictures but soon started to worry. I rode about 4km looking over the cliff but thankfully found him surrounded by locals with his toolkit out and his bike in pieces. It'd stopped running and we couldn't work out why before having a real DUH moment and realising he was out of fuel. The battery had died while he tried to start the engine so one more push and we were moving again.

Back in Beni I chucked in a few extra litres, I still had 4 or so left but didn't want to risk it, Gubi filled up too and we followed the path out back to Tarmac and the second we got on it throttles twisted and rubber squealed. We carried on like this for the 30km whooping and grinning at each other before rounding a corner and seeing a body in the road.

I slowed and beeped my horn and so did Gubi, I looked at him then at the body. No response so we blasted out of there pretty quick. 1Km later I jumped on the brakes, said sorry to Gubi and headed back hating myself for doing it and for taking the risk. I pull up at the side of the road and ran over to him and kind of hoping he was dead because otherwise I wouldn't know what to do. He was alive and twitching in the road, I was thinking shit shit shit. Suddenly he punches himself in the head. Stands up and walks away leaving a sweat mark in the road. I laughed and was caught up with Gubi in no time. We sailed back to Pokhara and to the Busy Bee, had something to eat and checked over the bikes. I had a bent fork and Gubi's frame is broken in 4 places. His clutch is ruined and is burning oil. Apparently this is normal on the Tenere. I am glad I took the Transalp.

So yeah, we are back now and recovering. As far as personal injuries go I have a bruised leg and shoulder, my legs are hairless on the inside from gripping the bike and my whole body aches. Worth it though

I'll follow up with a report on vehicle repairs which we finished today. (2 days after the ride) Some really helpful people here that anyone who comes to Nepal should put on their contact list (Rick at Busy Bee Hearts & Tears Motorcycle Club Pokhara, Nepal :: Bike Adventures In The Himalayas is one, Raju at the Bullet Surgery is another. Great guys both of them and really helpful.

You can find the above pictures in full size and many more pictures at: 2008: A Motorcycle Odyssey - One mans trip over 30000 miles from Cardiff, UK to Vancouver, Canada

And at Gubi's website Teneretraveler

(and sorry it is so long, my regular blog readers will be used to it but I suspect some people had a coronary at the thought of reading it all)