Nepal, Day 11 - Pokara to Bandipur (150km), the "unfeasible" road

Alex says we're camping tonight; I quite like camping. We didn't have water for a shower this morning, so it already felt like we were camping anyway. Our hotel was outwardly very nice, but had a few problems, which spoiled the experience. Added to lack of water, problems with the laundry, bar bills, and other items on the room bills, not to mention the slow wifi, and I suspect Alex won't be using this hotel again.

The bikes have been cleaned and routine maintenance performed; they're ready to roll. The air becomes cooler as we ascend through the trees winding our way back up into the hills. The road is tarmac, but bumpy and I can feel my breakfast being shaken about in my stomach. No matter how good the fried egg on toast was, it makes the ride a bit uncomfortable.  The riding is none the less enjoyable as we overtake trucks and buses. Then it becomes hot again.

We stop for chai and then turn left off the main road. Asking a local if this is the right road for Bandipur, he says it is, but it's "unfeasible" for us. Always ready to make the infeasible feasible, we set off with every intention to succeed. Surprisingly Google on my little BlackBerry disagrees with the local and plots us a course through the mountains, but a section looks suspiciously straight which suggests there's no road there. Time will tell.

It's a road to a famous temple, so the first section is good smooth tarmac, which eventually degrades, then eventually turns rocky, then eventually turns to flat mud. Very flat, like freshly laid tarmac, except it's mud, and where it's wet or damp is a little slippery. I'm following big Mick at this point and he impresses with his riding, as always, slow and steady, but good lines. Further on we see the source of the flat road: a digger and roller are working away together to remake the road. We have to wait while a dumper truck is loaded with mud and rocks from a landslide and we're off again.

In the hills and in the trees, and unlike us, the cicadas are enjoying the heat and twizzing away making noise. Not Cambodia deafening loud, but loud enough. No, it's us making most of the noise as the straight through exhaust fitted to some of the Bullets rat-a-tat-tats like a big machine gun when at full throttle doing uphill.  At low engine speeds the sound is reminiscent of the Huey helicopters heard in countless Vietnam war films and it echoes through the foliage.

The going gets tougher and we encounter some very loose rocky and gravelly uphill sections. Most of us falter here and those who've made it to the top, walk down and are helping to guide and give additional pushes to those behind. It's energy sapping. Biker Dom is a casualty, tipping his bike and breaking a mirror. And Graham somehow managed to get his bike upside down at one point! Full marks for artistic merit. Aussie Alan, the man mountain, is lifting bikes out of ruts and pushing them up - nominee for Spirit tomorrow morning? 

Later, I manage to lock the front wheel in gravel (what was it I said about being careful with the front brake?) just before a water channel crossing the road, taking the bike down and ending up doing a 180, and facing the way I came. After riding so well this week, these two incidents cut me down to size again. And my exhaust is now hanging on by a bit of wire, not good.

For the tough sections, momentum is your best friend. Keep the engine low to medium revved and movement in your wheels and you'll usually get over or through an obstacle. Lose either of these and you're going down! This is without a doubt the toughest riding we've ever done on an Enfield and the less experienced riders are doing brilliantly. Jamie, Swiss Martin and Neil all make it through. The larger lads, Mick and Mark, are really struggling and Mark chooses to ride in the jeep as he's completely exhausted. Mick carries on but is falling far too often; he keeps going like the Duracell bunny. And how the hell is Alex managing to get through this carrying a pillion? Vidhya is suffering with the constant pummelling from below, but taking the punishment without complaint - to us at least.

Everytime I glance left, I see the broken mirror, it reminds me that I'm not as good off-road as I think I am, which is good to bring me back to reality, even if it's embarrassing.

Back on tarmac and we stop to recover. it's been really, really tough, but we loved it. We're all drained, hot and bothered, but we swap stories about our escapades as we sip our drinks. Steve needs an ibuprofen or two after twisting his ankle in a rut, and Danny? Danny didn't fall off once, good for him. Alan alas needs to buy yet another camera; that's three now - he's the champion camera killer, however, fortunately he's not harmed at all.  And, although he stayed upright, Gerard says he was convinced there was a stone with his name on it, waiting to trip him up.  If there was, he didn't find it.... must have been written with invisible ink! 

It's another 55km to go, mostly highway and Alex races off again leaving at least two junctions unmarked. We gather confused at one junction with locals pointing in two different directions. We work out it's left and I mark the junction to direct others. Ten mins later Mick turns up from the other direction, having turned right and then seeing nobody was following him for a while decided to do a U-turn. Good move on his part as he would have ended up back in the mountains.

From here, it's a main road again and it's a fast ride to our destination. We turn on to a private road and have to pay a toll to reach our destination. Then it's up a windy road on the best and most reliable tarmac we've ridden. It's another really good ride for ten minutes or so. We reach our lodgings and park, but it's then a five minute walk to the entrance.

It's a hotel not a campsite after-all, and it's perched on the edge of a ridge with stunning views into the valley below. It looks like it's straight down too. I feel so vulnerable looking down, but this hotel has survived at least two major Earthquakes. And it has water!

I think it will be another early night. After nine hard hours on the road, we're all rather tired. We made it through the "unfeasbile" road! We've all done well.

Sent from my trusty rusty BlackBerry