MTB riding in Nepal

skipper_nz

Likes Dirt
Has anyone been MTB riding in Nepal recently? I did a forum search and the latest update i could find was 2011!

I am looking at going in September, most likely to ride the Annapurna Circuit, but i am unsure on how to go about it. Google brings up lots of different companies that run 'tours'. Do i need to go on the 'tour'? as any one done a DIY trip there? Which tour company did you go with? I have looked at some of the itineraries on the websites, some of the days seem like not a lot of riding, altitude is a killer for the whole breathing thing i guess, but what was your experience?

flights are only $1000 return, including taking my own bike, and most of the tours are around the $2,300 mark, so i have budgeted about $4,000 for the 2 week trip.

Thoughts and comments?
 

paulie74

Cannon Fodder
Hi,

Long time Rotorburn member, first time poster. Thought I would chime in here with my experience.

I rode the Annapurna circuit in mid to late October last year, it's an amazing experience, very hard work some days with the altitude, but certainly more than worth doing, it exceeded my expectations on all fronts.

I could probably bang on for ages about how good it was but I will stick to answering your questions.

Having done it once, I can see it COULD be possible to do it all off your own back, but I would recommend an organised tour, then you can just focus on the task at hand and not worry about trying to organise accom each afternoon after you finish riding, transport to the start and end points, etc etc. Also, for someone like myself who had never been to that sort of altitude before, it was reassuring having guides with the group each day, especially when crossing Throng La pass.

I used Himalayan Single Track, bases in Kathmandu. HST is owned by an Aussie (Jenny) and is a really well run operation and I couldn't fault the level of organisation and service. Our guides Ashish and Jevi were awesome, couldn't have asked for better help along the way. HST also is a fully equipped bike shop with good giant trances for hire, although we all had our own bikes.

You are right, some days look pretty light on km wise, but given the elevation gain each day, everyone in my group agreed the distances were about right. It's a bloody challenging trip some days but with a decent level of training, just about anyone can do it. For the record I'm a 42 year old professional with a mrs and 2 kids so like most people, had to squeeze training in around all the other stuff.

The HST info is really good, also a good hiking store will be a goldmine of info and I was overall pretty well sorted gear wise for the trip

Things I would do differently if I did it again are:

- fit tyres with a more aggressive tread pattern, yes you have to lug them up but they would have been more than worth it on the way down on the slippery, rocky trails. I was running bontrager xr3 tyres, most of the group were running a mix of maxxis minion dhf / dhr and high rollers, in my view a far better choice.

- I rode in a pair of shimano xm9 boots ( a couple of us did with the same outcome ) which were generally awesome and great for the hike a bike sections....but there are some fairly deep creek crossings to ride over and the water went over the top of the boots and then the gortex liner kept the water in, taking days to dry out. I would choose lighter, faster drying, but still very hikeable shoes.

That's all I can think of now, but if you have any more specific questions, I'm happy to answer them

Cheers
 
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