Chapter 2 – Coincidence

I had a good shower and talked to the boys about leaving at 7 or 8 (hopefully this time). Next morning we were all awake except for Sarthak, it may have been because of his medicine but he was deep asleep. He also had a sore throat so I got him ginger black tea to soothe the hoarseness in his throat. We settled for porridge as a heavy diet along with a nutritious quick meal and bananas and some pre packed food we had brought along with us. Honestly we were just jobless bums trying to spend as little money as possible so our meals were nothing extravagant. My nagging to leave early was a success as the boys packed up and we were on the road after cleaning our bikes and clearing our bills. We were encouraging each other with fist bumps and pushes as we planned to reach Chame. I was lucky to bump into the legend- Mr. Sonam who’s a 62-year-old veteran as well as the first mountain biker of Nepal. He was the one who had initiated the Annapurna Circuit and it was his 23rd time now! His guests were a German couple and I felt privileged to have met him midway.

We crossed Chamje and entered Tal that was a mixture of scorching hot and chilling cold and lots of turning corners where I witnessed one of the biggest majestic waterfalls in my life. As usual I was waiting for the boys to catch up but the view was natural; people carrying and pushing stuff, porters and guides, the middle was a lake with small houses built at the bay and it was our last point for lunch. Kabir and Freddie jumped straight into the lake for a bath while the rest of us chose to relax without having to get wet.

"Me and Kabir on our short cycling period stand side by side in the trail of Kathmandu from the Kakani Scout Camp. So many boards that indicate you where to go but our fingers point to Luxembourg."

Carrying your bike when you’re supposed to be riding on it was the most ironic thing in this trip. We had to take the hiking trail and you meet a lot of people when you’re there. A dude who was from Czech Republic was coming back from Chame, which was our destination; we also met two German ladies who were complete backpackers with no map or guide. We kept riding with no track of each other’s position and I heard that Sarthak had fallen off of his bike, which I thought was completely normal so I just laughed. Although we were steady Freddie was worried about Kabir, “I’ll wait for Kabir. I don’t want to rush today”. I was okay with it as they were closer compared to the slowpokes Nitesh and Sarthak.

I knew we were late but I kept riding slow but steady crossing yet another waterfall and to Timag another hour or so to Kartee, Dharapani, Bagarchaap and then to Danaque. A short break at Danaque that looked like a zombie apocalypse had occurred; I told the lady of the hotel to deliver my message to the boys if she met them that I would be waiting for them in Timang. I could’ve easily mistaken the lady for a zombie because the place was so dead and hauntingly weird and so was she.

"The silhouette of Kabir carrying his bicycle in triumph over crossing Manang with Swargadwari behind is truly a sight to behold. The bike looks like a piece of cake for his muscly body!"

No time to waste. I took the hiking trail again and this one was even worse than the previous trail; not only was I walking with the bike on my shoulders but I also had to walk the stairs, which was exhausting that even a couple from New Zealand passing by was impressed by me. There was still no sign of the boys and I was alone going uphill through mesmerizing trees and mud rolls of the trail. I had finally reached Timang but my neck was in a bad condition- it was sore and in pain. I didn’t want to get sick so I checked in quickly, took off the sweaty clothes and got myself a cup of ginger tea to keep warm. It was evening now and you could see the tiny water droplets everywhere yet the boys were nowhere. Coincidentally I met Sonam dai and his guests again who were taking shelter in the same hotel as me. They had a broken derailleur so they couldn’t go further for the day.

"If you want to experience crystal clear, you must go to the Dikurpokhari in Hongde, you can see the ground right beneath the water surface. Nitesh does a ‘dab’ and I still don’t know what I was going for, we had never seen a lake so clear before this."

I got an Internet connection in the hotel and was surprised to see Freddie online who messaged me about my whereabouts. He informed me that they would spend the day at Danaque and I knew they wouldn’t be able to make it here. I had mixed feelings to spend the night alone whereas my friends were somewhere else but the hotel had a homely environment with kind helpers so I felt at ease. With some good Tibetan bread and vegetable for dinner my tired body went straight to bed.

I had messaged Freddie last night saying that with their pace we would not be able to make it to Manang. Freddie had promised to get the boys here at Timang by 8 but once again they were late. As usual I was waiting without complaining eating my apple porridge because I understood that everyone has their limits and capabilities and so did the boys. Freddie and Kabir finally arrived around 11:30 am and without stopping they walked past me to another hotel; maybe they didn’t like the one I was staying at but they looked tense as if something had happened. Later Nitesh and Sarthak joined us and the unhappiness was clear on their faces but we needed to move on. Reaching Chame wasn’t easy- we were hungry, exhausted but pumped and I wanted to reach Pisang. We entered the headquarters of Manang and after lunch I continued to ride alone as usual without stopping.

"The mountains were so close yet so far and by my expression you can clearly see how excited I was to be facing the gigantic snow mountains just a few trails away."