For Pakistan, it is a bit harder to come up with up-to-date info. Tentatively, I will cross the border at Wagah (I won’t miss the border ceremony for anything!!!), continue via Lahore to Islamabad, get my Chinese visa and then jump onto the Karakoram Highway and keep pedaling all the way to Kashgar in Xinjiang. Might not be entirely possible to do this on a bike as 4-5 years ago Chinese border officials decided to only allow foreigners in cars or busses between the custom posts of Sost (Pakistan) and Tashkurgan (China). In the worst scenario, I’d like to cycle up to the pass and wait there to be picked up by a bus going to Kashgar. BTW, KKH lies on the ancient ‘Silk Route’.While on the KKH, I would really love to bike through Kaghan Valley and reconnect with the KKH near Chilas. Right now, I’m not sure how is the situation there for an independent traveler as the valley lies right in the epicenter of the 2005 catastrophic earthquake. Would love to help out volunteering, if possible…
- The Karakoram Highway and Beyond… - Very thorough description of the route, with nitty-gritty details useful to any independent biker collected and posted by David Leatham. The on-line book is based on 1996 data but most of the information is still valid.
- Veloreise Transhimalaya - Lots of excellent stuff for route preparation. Something similar in scope of what I’m trying to do, albeit our routes differ… Beat Heim also rode a bike through Kaghan Valley on this trip (1997).
- Biking the Karakoram Highway - Excellent blog of a 2005 biking trip to Pakistan, lots of great pictures, links to recent biking trips in and around the area. Nice reading…
- Graham in South Asia - Blog by a Canadian cyclist who spend February 2006 (entries from Feb. 10th - 28th) in Pakistan. Great read and some useful info on current political situation and pitfalls for travelers while in Pakistan.
- Pakistan Travel Forum - It seems frequented by local Pakistanis too which means better info on what’s going on there;)
- United Pakistan - A relief organization involved in helping people affected by the Earthquake. I’m planning to send an application to volunteer for up to 2 weeks at the Chitta Batta Camp.
- Pakistan Blogs & Travel Journals - Recent travel experiences in Pakistan, usually with decent pictures.
March 29th, 2006
Posted by
Rich |
Pakistan, Preparation |
2 comments
I will have similar posts for every country I plan to visit. It will be a repository of useful links, itineraries, various touring forum comments, recommended places to stay, recent trip reports, etc… This way, it’ll be easy to retrieve when needed on route, instead of carrying bunch of paper copies with me;)… The names below are used as on Lonely Planet - Thorn Tree - On Your Bike forum, if available. Again, helpful when looking for comments later. Btw, I’m there too, as ‘rich007′;) Actually, most information has been lifted from comments on the forum, posted by fellow enthusiastic independent bike travelers:
- CYCLING THE WORLD’S HIGHEST ROADS - Anything there is needed to know about Manali - Leh Highway, from a biker perspective. Includes also Khardung La info. Plus, very detailed mileage and facilities info enroute.
- CYCLING IN THE INDIAN HIMALAYA - Travelouge by ‘billweir’ through the Northern India in 2002. Very nice pictures…
- Mountain Biking In Himachal Pradesh - Home of the MTB Himachal annual race, first ran in Oct. 2005. Great Photos and good ideas on bike routes around Shimla.
- Biking the Indian Himalayas - Written by Laura, a.k.a. ‘pocketsproket’. Another great source of info on Ladakh, Spiti, Lahaul and Kinnaur bike trips. She has been criss-crossing the whole Himalayan region by bike for the past two years, writing a book/travel guide. I posted a link to her website here.
- Cycling in Lahaul, Spiti & Kinnaur - Introduction - Trip in Sept./Oct. 2003. A very good map, lots of useful route info and excellent pictures…
- Rolf Gibbs: Travels in India - Not by a cyclist but love his travel stories. Plus, he has a great info (places to stay) and pics on Rishikesh, Hardiwar, Varanasi and Agra, all places I’m planning to pass through in December. BTW, parts of it he did on a motorbike, so there is a connection;)))
- Making the Journey to India - General info on how to get around in New Delhi, a bit dated though (2004)…
- IndiaMike.com - Probably the most up-to-date travel info and news on India.
- Lonely Planet - Thorn Tree - Asia-Indian Subcontinent - Another travel forum which I frequently scan. Ask nicely and you’ll get plenty of responses. It includes Nepal and Pakistan too…
- Out There Biking - Awesome source of the most complete information on cycling in the North of India. It is an adventure cycling outfitter, ran by ‘Cass Gilbert’ & Cara Coolbaugh. Cass also frequents the LP bike forums, always offering excellent advice, for free;)))) Also, I have posted a link to Cass’ stunning PBase photo gallery from their treks.
I’m sure there will be more…
March 27th, 2006
Posted by
Rich |
India, Preparation |
no comments
I will carry 2 maps with me covering almost my whole route: Nelles Northern India and Gecko Maps Himalaya - Tibet. Plus, I have downloaded Tibet pages from a China Road Atlas (in Chinese only, accurate distances and useful when asking locals for directions) and high resolution satellite images, courtesy of Res Blum, of the highway 219 in Tibet. I don’t think they will be needed. Although, the satellite images are certainly nice to look at;) Re. other navigational info, I will carry the Mapping the Tibetan World book, discussed here, with great city layout sketches/maps and probably local Lonely Planet and/or Trailblazer Guides, depending on needs.The first one I have used when visiting Ladakh in 2003: Nelles Northern India (1:1,500,000 & 1:650,000), made by Nelles Maps, a German publisher. The larger map effectively covers India north of Delhi. The smaller, more detailed one shows Ladakh and Zanskar. Plus, there are also city maps of Delhi, Agra and Srinigar included. You can see one here (Just scroll down).
The second one was recommended by Andy Hessberg and Waltraud Schulze, two German fellas traveling on bikes to faraway places as a ‘Mountainbike Expedition Team‘. The map is produced by a Swiss company Gecko Maps and is called Himalaya - Tibet (1:1,600,000). They reckon that it’s very accurate. It covers the larger Tibetan region, a.k.a. Ethnic Tibet, and its surrounding areas. The best thing about the map is that it includes 95% of my trip area (just missing a few segments in Pakistan). It is huuuge!!! Therefore, I just cut out the relevant portion and waterproof-ed it with clear tape.
PS: There is an excellent website where you can find probably any map ever made, tailored to independent travelers: Maps 2 Anywhere. Worth a look;)
March 26th, 2006
Posted by
Rich |
Preparation |
no comments
So, I have all the spare parts and tools needed for my trip. I just need to pare it down and make sure that whatever I take will be useful and used. Here are just a few comments:
- I did on my MTB about 1,500 miles already (since late Nov. ‘05), mostly commuting and some training/fun rides too… Recently, I have installed a new cassette (SRAM PG-970) on my back wheel and put it on my bike. It’s good to get used to how it feels - slightly heavier, due to heavy duty Schwalbe Marathon XR tires. Surprisingly, the tires roll very well on asphalt surfaces and have enough traction on dirt too. I’m even able to keep my usual speeds;) On a bad note though, just after my first 10 miles with the new tires, I ran over a ‘invisible’ 1 inch nail (near a construction site) and punctured :((((. Patched the tube and everything is fine now. But I might put in a brand new tube before my departure.
- A few days ago, I used the Hypercracker tool, for removing cassette, and slightly bend it. Not confidence-inspiring experience. True, I tried to remove originally installed cassette on my old wheel and it might have been just too tight, but still… Will probably take Park Tool Co. tools: a combined chain whip sprocket tool and pedal remover instead, together with a freewheel remover. (A good pedal remover is always helpful as I have never had any luck trying to remove them with just a multi-tool.) Heard that I might have an older type of the Hypercracker which isn’t as tough built as the second generation. Oh, well…
- I also bought 3 sets of brake pads: KOOL STOP MTB. Heard good words about them from friends and online. They last long, are effective in rain (to a point) and are smartly designed, with an angled tip to keep dirt away from rim surface. I only hope they aren’t too rough on my rims. We’ll see… BTW, they squeeled like hell, for the first few days, but now are dead-quiet;))) The old set of original generic brand lasted only 1,500 miles. Yes, it had still a few hundred miles left but I’m still not impressed!!! (I have been riding in pretty cr@ppy winter conditions though…)
That’s it for now…
March 25th, 2006
Posted by
Rich |
Cycling, Equipment, Preparation |
no comments
So, I have finally put my ‘flight’ money down and bought the tickets. Now, I know my travel dates exactly: I’m leaving for Delhi on June 28th from the JFK airport and coming back to NYC just before the Christmas, December 21th. This time, I have decided to fly the Atlantic route via Heathrow in London using British Airways. I couldn’t find any good deals flying over the Pacific through Bangkok, as I did on my previous two visits to the Subcontinent and South East Asia. Flying west has always been my preferred route and I have enjoyed short stopovers in Bangkok every time, especially on my way back to the States. Not only for its culture and people but Bangkok (and Thailand, in general) also allowed me easily to re-adjust, or re-integrate, if you will, back to the ‘Western’ ways ;)). Very important after spending many months in the rugged Himalayan regions of India, Nepal, or Tibet…
Flying with bikes on intercontinental routes is always huge hassle but British Airways seem to have decent policies towards bikers. With many carriers additional charges for excess luggage are often extreme, so it pays off to read the fine print, check the policies and call the airlines!!! Just to make sure that a bike is even allowed on a plane… Some of them charge upward of $100 for each leg of a journey, even if the bike is well within the weight limit for checked-in luggage. This can amount easily to hundreds of $$$, wiping off any potential savings trying to fly budget airlines. Enter British Airways here: Bike flies for free, as long as it is within the total weight limit: READ HERE… A printed copy will be with me at the check-in, just to avoid possible disagreements;)
Plus, British Airways seem to be liberal with packing requirements too, allowing just to loosen a handlebar and turn it in, remove pedals, slightly deflate tires and put it all in a big plastic bag. Sometimes, they require the bike to be boxed, depending on an airport. But I prefer the ‘bagging’ method as airport handlers can see that it is a bike and seem to be more careful when handling it. I seriously don’t want to arrive in Delhi and find my bike flattened like a pancake because some ‘idiot’ loaded twenty suitcases on top of it. Believe me, it has happened before!!!
March 17th, 2006
Posted by
Rich |
Preparation |
no comments
As much as I love visiting Himalayas, I love to travel anywhere, anytime, with anyone… Here is a nice map of places I have visited so far (marked as RED) and places I ‘want to’ go to one day (GRAY: too many to list;)…) Plus, I have also marked (DEEP RED) countries I have lived in for more than one year: United States, where I have been residing since 1993; Germany, where I went to college for four years; and Slovakia, where I was born and grew up:
March 9th, 2006
Posted by
Rich |
Fun, Preparation |
no comments
I’ve read this book a couple of months ago: Alive and Well in Pakistan by Ethan Casey. I think it is timely to mention it now as our President has just visited Pakistan. It is subtitled ‘A Human Journey in a Dangerous Time’ and tells an extraordinary story of an aspiring journalist and his transformation into a travel novelist. He follows the path of his favorite writer, V.S. Naipaul, into Kashmir revisiting places described in Naipaul’s book ‘An Area of Darkness’. The author is also a founder and editor-in-chief of an international online periodical GlobalEar.com.
I recommend this book heartily to anyone who is even marginally interested in the region. This is a literary reportage in tradition of Joseph Conrad and Graham Greene. I really think it is one of the best books about modern Pakistan. You won’t be disappointed.
March 8th, 2006
Posted by
Rich |
Journals, Preparation |
no comments
