Motorcycling the Himalayas: The Ride to Mt. Everest – Part 16

From Old Tingri, it’s five hours of hard riding on dirt roads but by now dirt roads were the least of my worries, it was the soft sand and streams that concerned me.

Mt. Everest on motorcycles

middle of nowhere

Have you ever ridden through six inches of silt and sand on a street bike, with street tires? I didn’t think so. You need to keep the rear wheel spinning and power through. But when the rear tire starts fishtailing, that means there’s too much power, when the front tire gets squirrely you need more power. When you hit a sandy corner you shift your weight forward and stand on the peg opposite of the corner to keep the motorcycle upright. Remember to do all this as your hearts in yours throat because you’ve just crossed a stream of slippery rocks and there’s a massive sandpit on the other side. This was exactly what the Aussies and Kiwi came here for, the tougher the terrain got the more fun they were having. There weren’t even trails out here we were literally in the middle of nowhere. This was some of the most spectacular, rugged scenery and without Himalayan Roadrunner Jack leading the pack lost is an understatement.

behold mt. everest

Finally, we hit hard tarmac, the valley opened its arms and behold, there she was, Sagamantha, ‘Mother Goddess of the Earth’ as the Nepali call her, Mt. Chomolanga by the Tibetans, and Mt. Everest by the English. All our trials and tribulations had culminated to this moment. The sky was azure blue as cotton clouds lilted by Mt. Everest’s majestic peak. It was amazing, the excitement was palpable. We had come a long, long way, 5 days, hundreds and hundreds of miles and finally, here we were, standing at the foot of Mount Everest.

Mt. Everest on motorcycles

Mt. Everest on motorcycles

we all mispronounce My everest

Side Note: we are all mispronouncing Mt. Everest. Named after the British Surveyor George Everest in 1856. The correct pronunciation of Georges last name is Eve-(Woman name) and Rest, George Everest’s surname was actually pronounced Eve-rest, with the emphasis on ‘Eve,’ like the woman’s name. But the mountain is almost universally referred to in the English language,

Next Episode – Highest Monastery in the World

 

middle of nowhere


Motorcycling the Himalayas BookCover Available on Amazon

Motorcycling The Himalayas: And Other Amazing Places

Motorcycling the Himalayas is without a doubt, an adventure of a lifetime. 1000 miles of rugged terrain, sleeping in monasteries at the base of Mt Everest, to the amazing Potala Palace, the former home of the Dalai Lama. Take an exciting trip with me and visit remote villages dating back a thousand years. This apostolic adventure began as a curiosity and became an obsession. I had visited the world’s largest Buddhist temple in the western hemisphere, a 100-million-dollar Swaminarayan Mandir Temple and the amazing mountain roads below the Malibu Hindu Temple, all in my back yard. Then the ride got real. It was off to the Yucatan peninsula to see pyramids and temples. Then motorcycled Bali and Java visiting the Borobudur, the world’s largest Buddhist temple. Culminating in the biggest adventure of my life, Motorcycling the Himalayas. Koz Mraz

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Motorcycling The Himalayas

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If you want the real-deal motorcycle challenge, a heart pounding adventure that you’ll never forget, … Continued

Potala Palace Lhasa
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