Dream ride: Navigating Nepal
Rope bridges, ancient temples and life-long friends... Ollie Neece shares his adventure of a lifetime in Nepal
What makes a motorcycle adventure? Some argue that it needs to involve a foreign land, others insist that it must include a tent, but for me it encompasses anything that gets me out of the house for at least a few days on two wheels. Having previously been an avid sportsbike rider who gained an interest in adventure bikes after watching that Star Wars bloke and his mate go for a spin, I’ve now been lucky enough to experience many different countries through my visor. Morocco, America, various places in Europe, all have given me incredible memories to share with the grandkids, but if I had to pick my most adventurous adventure, it has to be Nepal...
Brave or stupid?
My heart is pounding. I’m not normally afraid of heights as my day job regularly has me dangling under helicopters, but this perspective just doesn’t feel right and would make most people a bit edgy. If sitting backwards whilst pillion wasn’t enough on its own, I’m also suspended above a canyon on a narrow rope bridge trying my best to hold a camera at arm’s length to capture the moment. The Kushma Gyadi suspension bridge is the highest and longest suspension bridge in Nepal. It’s 344 metres across, stands 384 feet above the Modi river and, although it’s a footbridge, motorcycles are allowed to cross, which provided us with an opportunity that we just could not miss! Simply getting on to the bridge had proven tricky; we’d not travelled more than three metres before the bike, Dave, and I crashed into the metal chain-link sides and nearly binned it. This was rectified by jettisoning a hydration pack which then gave us both a bit more room to manoeuvre for the remaining 341 metres. Crossing a suspension bridge by bike is easier said than done. Not only do pedestrians frequent it, resulting in regular, tense moments of breathing in and shuffling for both parties, but snaggy metal railings also lie in wait, ready to catch anything that dares protrude from the bike, steering you careering straight into the flimsy fencing on the opposite side. This is bad enough when you are the one in control, but trust me when I say that it’s much worse when you are facing backwards on an elevated pillion seat whilst not holding on. Brave or stupid? You decide.
Don’t look down
“Beware of our roads. Potholes, buses… they’re all out to get you.” This was our briefing from the bikehire company owner before leaving Kathmandu on our Royal Enfield Himalayans. He wasn’t wrong. Travelling through Nepal is both exhilarating and terrifying in equal measure. The Western rules of the road are as distant as the West itself, as often vehicles emerge from the bend ahead of you on completely the wrong side, at full speed and without a care in the world. But our warning related mainly to riding on asphalt and we now found ourselves on the extreme off-road side of the Himalayas. One of 75 districts in Nepal, the Mustang Valley carves its way through the mountains and is home to native Tibetans who continue to live a traditional lifestyle. Herds of yak are a common sight, and colourful prayer flags decorate the region, blowing blessings across the land. The Lower Mustang constitutes the bottom third of this region and, shadowed by the Annapurna massif, is a paradise for those looking for adventure. The ‘main road’ is a mixed bag. As it snakes through the valley following the raging river below, the surface is a constant variation of technical rocks, water crossings, graded gravel, asphalt, and landslides. Lots of landslides. However, no matter what’s
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‘Western rules of the road are as distant as the West itself’
‘Carving its way through mountains, it’s a paradise for those looking for adventure’