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Cycling stats

Total distance: 6,376.6 kms (3,980.4 miles)
- It might be very slightly less. I think my cyclo-computer was overestimating the distance by about 1-2%. (When setting my wheel circumference I measured it with an unloaded bike.) Based on my observations of road markers in different countries. Still, a respectable distance in 80 riding days, especially if you take into account total altitude gained.Total distance by country:
- India: 2,463.7 kms
- Pakistan: 1,062.4 kms
- China and Tibet: 2,330.5 kms
- Nepal: 520.0 kms

Total altitude gain: 69,175m (~227,000ft)
- Yep, that’s only up and straight up, vertically. Imagine climbing almost 8x the height of Mt. Everest (from the sea level). Physically, even though hard, I liked it, as long as roads were decent, which they weren’t that many times;)))

Total altitude by country:
- India: 28,370m
- Pakistan: 14,875m
- China and Tibet: 21,000m
- Nepal: 4,930m

Max./min. distances: 196.92 vs. 28.04 kms
- The longest one was on Sept. 22nd from Karakul lake to Kashgar in China’s Xinjiang province, mostly downhill on a perfectly paved road. But I still remember it was very cold that day, I even had to pass through a snowstorm, but as I was nearing Kashgar and desert-like looking plains around it, I had to lose some of my clothing pretty quickly;)
- The shortest one on July 19th from Whiskey Nullah camp to Pang tent summer settlement in India’s Ladakh. Not because I couldn’t go further but I enjoyed Steve’s company and it was a long way from Pang to the next place. (At the time I didn’t know about new tent camps at the Tso Kar lake.)

Longest/shortest rides: 8′40″ vs. 2′06″ hours
- The longest, and probably also the hardest day, was from Chilas to Gilgit in Pakistan’s Northern Areas on Sept. 9th. It was lots of ups and downs (1,745m in almost 136 kms) on the very hot and dry day with very few places to stop. I was really counting on stopping in Talechi, about halfway through, where there was supposedly a NAPWD housing. It turned out to be partly incorrect. The housing was there but occupied by army people and I couldn’t stay there. So, I had to speed toward Gilgit reaching it in complete darkness.
- The shortest one same as above, the July 19th ride to Whiskey Nullah to Pang.

“Real” punctures: 2
- I had a few more but those were related to my cracked rear-wheel rim. The Schwalbe Marathon XRs are really tough!!! Not surprisingly the vast majority of tourers select them for their around the globe trips. Mine still look good (forgetting a few small cuts;) despite all the beating they took on probably the worst roads in the world.

Weight loss: 25 lbs.
- I started out with 177 pounds. My normal weight is around 170-172lbs. I just had a spare reserve for the trip. The last time I weighted myself, in Kathmandu, I was only 151-152lbs!!! The last time I was this light was when I was in a high school. I didn’t expect that much loss. But hey, now lots of useless upper body muscle mass is gone. Looking on a bright side of things: with my cardiovascular health in top-notch shape and no extra pounds, I can start training for the NYC marathon;)

I might come up with a few more and add them later…

November 28th, 2006 Posted by Rich | Cycling | 4 comments