I was feeling a little low on testosterone, so I decided let's do something tough! Mountain biking! Now there is a manly thing to do.
Start at Lakeside, climb up to Sarangkot, ride over a dirt and rocky road to Naudanda, then back along the main paved road to Lakeside. 12 miles each way. And I had a pretty good Trek mountain bike (rented for the princely sum of $12). No problem.
And it was no problem! Well, the climb to Sarangkot was difficult. I don't remember a hill that I've had to get off my bike and catch my breath more than once. This one, maybe five times. It ascends about 800 meters, or 2500 feet, in a couple miles. And it wasn't even clear to see any views at the top!
But otherwise, no problem. Well, okay the road from Sarangkot to about Kasikot was difficult, mostly because I'm not used to mountain biking, and here's where I'm curious to know what real mountain bikers think. I mean, the trail was half rocks, from baseball to breadloaf sized, and half puddles. You just plow through, right? And that's part of the thrill, because you're going over rocks? That's fun enough, I guess, but I kept worrying I'd hit one at the wrong angle, or a puddle would be deeper than expected. I'm not in it for adrenaline; I kinda just want to ride bikes in the woods.
But, y'know, no injuries, and I even got into the rock stomping a bit, so no problem! Well, except when there was a problem.
Road construction + heavy rains = walking my bike most of the way from Kasikot to Naudanda. A small child was also going to Naudanda. He walked along with me, and sometime he had to wait for me to catch up.
But from Naudanda, there really was no problem. The ride back was a dream: 12 miles, all nicely paved, and all downhill.
Overall, nice views, good weather, and dang it felt good to be on two wheels again. Plus, 100% more tough. I kind of like this mountain biking thing. If you want to ride bikes in the woods sometime, let me know!
Start at Lakeside, climb up to Sarangkot, ride over a dirt and rocky road to Naudanda, then back along the main paved road to Lakeside. 12 miles each way. And I had a pretty good Trek mountain bike (rented for the princely sum of $12). No problem.
And it was no problem! Well, the climb to Sarangkot was difficult. I don't remember a hill that I've had to get off my bike and catch my breath more than once. This one, maybe five times. It ascends about 800 meters, or 2500 feet, in a couple miles. And it wasn't even clear to see any views at the top!
But otherwise, no problem. Well, okay the road from Sarangkot to about Kasikot was difficult, mostly because I'm not used to mountain biking, and here's where I'm curious to know what real mountain bikers think. I mean, the trail was half rocks, from baseball to breadloaf sized, and half puddles. You just plow through, right? And that's part of the thrill, because you're going over rocks? That's fun enough, I guess, but I kept worrying I'd hit one at the wrong angle, or a puddle would be deeper than expected. I'm not in it for adrenaline; I kinda just want to ride bikes in the woods.
But from Naudanda, there really was no problem. The ride back was a dream: 12 miles, all nicely paved, and all downhill.
Overall, nice views, good weather, and dang it felt good to be on two wheels again. Plus, 100% more tough. I kind of like this mountain biking thing. If you want to ride bikes in the woods sometime, let me know!
I definitely want to ride a mountain bike provided it is a motorcycle. But not in Nepal. Perhaps in PA, but they have lots of Bears.
ReplyDeleteActually, that sounds great too. Riding motorcycles on some nice paved American mountainy roads. (not 65mph highways.) We should do that next summer :D
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