MONDAY

Really early up next morning as we had to get our bags into lorry so it could get onto the road before it closed at 7.00, then we had a couple of hours to kill until it got light, as we could use the road anytime.

Fantastic ride out, dropping down on tarmac road, and then it turned into one big set of roadworks, as we plummeted down the beautiful valley full of waterfalls, absolutely brilliant riding. 30 miles of bumpy scary downhill along a steep gorge brimming with waterfalls.

At the bottom, the border… and some breakfast!

For some reason you can’t take vehicles over the border so all our luggage, bike boxes and camping equipment had to be unloaded and carried the 1km over the boder by a hoard of porters, most of whom were women. Astounding seeing how much each of them could carry.

On the other side clocks went back 2 and three quarter hours so it was only ten o’clock or so, nevertheless we settled down for some lunch. Not surprisingly, none of us were hungry, however, Russel and I had a couple of beers knowing we only had 25 miles of downhill to our campsite and all day to do it. Encouraged by a couple of bottles of Lhasa beer, Russel and I decided to remain for some more beer while everyone else headed off.

We then had a leisurely cycle down the mountain stopping at various local ‘bars’ on the way chatting to locals. Arrived as it was getting dark at the campsite….