GET ON YER BIKE…..

Kathmandu Kora 2014

I think we can all agree that the buzz word in Kathmandu at the moment is “Cycling”, and we don’t just mean mountain biking, cycling of “all wheels of life”. The increased amount of cyclists on and off the road these days is indeed an inspiring thing to see.  A few years ago selling a mountain bike was a tough deal in our shop, now we get people from all walks of life, from the young to the old, boys, girls, men and women come into the store daily to check out our offering of bikes.

Riders Head off for the 2014 Tour De Lumbini

With the increase of cyclist, comes the increase of events involving cycling.

Recently an event at Lamatar saw more than 200 participants join in a races for all levels of riders, just yesterday 80 riders set of from the capital city on their mission to “Pedal for Peace” as participants of the 2014 Tour DeLumbini. The past weekend saw the inaugural Kathmandu Sports Carnival which featured the Nepal National Mountain Bike Team, BMX and Street riding stunts and several Mountain Bike Stalls. The word is getting out there and many more people are discovering that feeling of freedom of riding a bike, be it in the city, as a commuter or for the pure sense of fun and freedom of recreational riding.

Promoting the Nepal National MTB Team at the 1st Sports Carnival

But to date there is no bigger word(s) in cycling that this one …. “ The Kathmandu Kora” . The event was a small dream to bring cyclist and stake holders in cycling together four years ago and began with a mere 30 riders trundling off on a 50 km kora of the outer suburbs of Kathmandu, with the aim to raise money to build critical birthing centers in remote regions of Nepal! The event grew. Last year saw over 800 riders turn out in the balmy monsoon sunshine to sweat out the Kora. Last year also saw the introduction of a 75 km Challenge which was proudly led by our team at Himalayan Single Track.

Kora 2014 is happening again, with the expectation of over 1200 riders and 2 million rupees raised in funding. Himalayan Single Track is immensely proud to be part of this historic event, bringing riders from all walks of life together in one case….But in our view the cause is bigger than a birthing center, it’s about the power of the bike to bring people together as one. A mass of over 1000 people stopping traffic and turning heads…. "Look at them, look how happy and free they are moving through a normally congested Kathmandu." There are no egos here, just people on bikes enjoying themselves.

This year we will again be leading the 75km Kora with our young team of cyclists and some group management training from the British Cycling Association. Once again we are very excited to part of this event! Save the date – 19^TH JULY 2014 and also keep in tune with HimalayanSingle Track and the Kathmandu Kora Face book page for pre Kora rides, riders tips and of course special in store discounts and sale items for the Kathmandu Kora.

And Remember – While entry to the Kora is FREE, don’t forget to pledge your donation to the Cause – This year the cause aims to build a birthing facility in Pyutar, in South Lalitpur, about 80 kms from the ring road, due south! Lets build together the target of 2 million Rupees!

800 plus rider turned out for the 2013 Kathmandu Kora

Himalayan Outdoor Festival

What started off as a small dream by a bunch of outdoor enthusiast, The Himalayan outdoor festival now is a huge outdoor activities filled event that takes place every year and talks about human powered adventure sports, music and Himalayan life style.Like every year, it was organised this year as well from 21st - 23rd of March which became a great hit, success and a moment to remember to all the outdoor lover and all the spectators who were present in the festival. It was the third edition of the festival this year. The festival started with night uphill race challenge on the first day in which Roan Tamang from Single track team finished first followed by Lelish Maharjan and Jeff Webster. 

There were few more Mt.biking events in the festival on the second day as well, Amature male/female cross country race and cross country eliminator race for professional riders for the first time in Nepal. Lelish Maharjan dominated in Amature cross country male category where as Tara thapa did in female category. Cody Wallace, candiana national endurance champion dominated in 1st ever cross country eliminator race where as Ajay pandit, winner of yak attack 2014, came second. Both Mt.biking events were organised by Himalayan Single Track and Gaint, a mountain bike brand, was a main sponsor. The Mt.biking events was also supported by Big smile Nepal, Frontier paragliding, Alternative Nepal, Big smile Nepal, Yak attack, Funkier and social tours.

The other fun event that took place during the festival were bouldering competition, slack lining, rope climbing, zip lining, face painting, bouncing castle and trampoline for kids and much more. There were some musical bands playing soothing music later on in the evening to get the festival spirit go on...

PHULCHOWKI EXPRESS

To the south of Kathmandu valley lies a peak taller than the other hills that surround the capital city of Nepal. Towering above the others at 2800 meters PHULCHOWKI is the tallest peak in the valley. The hour and a half jeep ride to the top takes us first through the rural fields and villages past Gowdarvi and then creeps slowly up the rubble road through fantastic old growth forest, moss covered rhododendron trees and many species of pines trees, its almost like driving into a lost world, considering we are just on the fringes of the sprawling urban utopia of Kathmandu.

The drive is one thing....the riding down from there......well that is something even more epic. Full suspension bikes are a must to rip up the dirt, rocks tree routes and hard packed red clay and roll on down to the valley.

The trail is a journey of epic proportions, creasing the ridge with flowing single tracks and small rock gardens. The impeding views of the Himalayas on the northern horizon force the riders to stop, pause suck in the fresh air and admire the views way above the city haze of Kathmandu. There is so much fun to be had here for mountain bikers.

The trail eventually joins the LBJ (Lakuri Bhanjyang) Ridge where we can pause for tea. On a Saturday the pounding beats of Nepali pop music amping up through the jungle from the picnic ground far below are an uplifting soundtrack to the downward trails. Your options are hard and fast, a knifes edge switch back that plummets riders straight down the ridge or a dream like forested single track that caresses the ridge and gently rolls downwards, more suitable for the lesser talented (read people without a death wish) or there are several jeep track options plus one more death wish trail to choose from.

After re joining civilization near to Gowdari, head left towards the golden Buddha and follow a series of secondary roads and single tracks as they leave the jungle behind and roll on down through rice and mustard fields, small red bricked villages, little streams and water channels, past temples and back into Patan where you can have cosmopolitan lunch. That is the beauty of this trail, it starts in pristine jungle and gradually fades into a city and almost the entire journey is done on single tracks.

So what to do...grab your buddies, hire a jeep, lube up your full sus bike and head up to Phulchowki for a very special day of riding....you might want to pack your elbow and knee pads as well as some lunch just in case you get lost...

If you are looking for a guide or more information about the awesome trails in the Kathmandu Valley, then look no further than

www.himalayansingletrack.com