Tibet • Travel

TIBET • TRAVEL

Total km biked: 2534

Days biked: 43

Road conditions: extremely variable from smooth sealed roads to many kilometers of washboard and loose rocks and gravel. About 80-90% of the Friendship Highway is paved, but off of the main roads the condition quickly deteriorates. The Sichuan-Tibet Highway has more pavement as you cycle closer to Lhasa. The eastern section of this road is mainly dirt, though it is in very good condition for the most part.

Weather: We had only one day of rain and one day of heavy snow in all of the days we spent in Tibet, although many times we did have snow flurries near the tops of the passes. The majority of the days were clear blue skies with some fair weather clouds, as we were cycling in the dry season from late October until late December. Temperatures were well below freezing at night, but the days were surprisingly warm if the sun was shining. However, at the end of our trip, the days were also quite cold, being late December, and often times our water froze while cycling during the day. Winds were pretty bad on the last three quarters of the Southern Friendship Highway, as we had sandstorms and gusts over 120 kph often. We had to push our bikes over one pass because it was impossible to stay upright while pedaling due to the high winds.

Food and water: Both food and water were readily available. On the Sichuan-Tibet Highway we followed a wide river almost daily. There were many rivers along the Friendship Highway as well, although many of the smaller rivers were frozen by December when we were cycling. However, along the Friendship Highway there are many shops and restaurants and you can easily obtain water. In Tibet, water is boiled on a yak dung burning stove and stored in thermoses throughout the day, so potable water is easy to find. Breakfast usually consisted of oatmeal and powered milk with sugar and tea and sometimes fruit when we were near larger towns and dinner was always instant noodles, which are fairly cheap (about 25 to 50 cents (USD) per package) and taste pretty good (though sometimes they are quite spicy). We also supplemented with salted pumpkins seeds, nuts and raisins, chocolate and cookies when we could find them. As far as restaurant food, when in larger villages we sometimes ate steamed bread or boazi (meat stuffed steamed bread) for breakfast. We also ate tsampa (roasted barley flour) mixed with yak butter tea with staying with families. There were also a variety of both Tibetan and Chinese restaurants along the way, which we stopped at every few days or so, although food tended to be expensive in Tibet (especially along the Southern Friendship Highway). Thukpa (flat noodle soup) was one of our favorite Tibetan meals, as well as momos, steamed or fried meat or vegetable dumplings.

Sleeping: We spent most nights in a tent or a families home, although we did spend more nights in guesthouses near the end of our trip. Camping near a water source is easy to find and with a bit of looking you can always find a secluded spot, although it may mean pushing your bike over rocks and bushes for a while.

Alternate transportation: We followed the same road to and from Everest Base Camp. On the way back from Base Camp, we hitched a ride over the pass (about 15 km), as Keith was not feeling well.

Maps used: We used a Chinese road atlas map (in Chinese language only)-decent and photocopied maps from other travelers met along the way.

Highlights: As with China, there are certainly too many to list, but here are a few: the generosity of the Tibetan people (especially along the Sichuan-Tibet Highway where they see less tourists, as the road is officially closed to foreigners), the environment, the weather, cycling to Everest Base Camp, staying with Tibetan families, section of road from Rawu to Bayi along the Sichuan-Tibet Highway, the Potala Palace and visiting Barkhor Square, playing Chinese card games with the waitresses at the Namtso restaurant at the Banak Shol Hotel, spending the day in the small village at the foot of Kampa La, along the Southern Friendship Highway working with the locals digging a water pipe ditch, seeing Yamdrok Tso (lake) from the top of Kampa La, hanging out with the local kids in Tashi Dzom, eventually reaching the Himalayas and crossing their backbone.

Misc: ATM at Bank of China's main branch in Lhasa accepts foreign cards, food and lodging is very overpriced along the Friendship Highway and the people tend to be less friendly and more money oriented due to the heavy Landcruiser traffic from Lhasa to Kathmandu, winds are very heavy on the last two thirds of the Friendship Highway (we had sandstorms almost daily after 12:00 pm).

woman school camping