Climbing Higher

Yesterday we rode from Paro to Thimpu. It was an undulating route and the thin air combined with the frequent climbs made the ride quite challenging. By the time we arrived at Thimpu we were relieved when we finally reached our hotel.
Thimpu is the capital city of Bhutan and the seat of government for 6 months of the year. There appears to be a building boom in progress with dozens of large new buildings unde construction everywhere you look. Our hotel (The Riverview Hotel - find it on the Internet) has a great vantage point down to the rapidly flowing river and across to the city on the opposite side.

In the afternoon we went to see the ceremonial lowering of the flag at the main Dzong (seat of government). It is also where the king has his office and his modest palace. I thought that he might have heard that the Ghostriders were in town and come to say hello, but there was no sign of him.

This morning we climbed back on the bikes for a ride higher into the mountains. It had a few really gut busting climbs at around 12 to 15% which had everyone searching for the lowest possible granny gear while trying to grab lungful's of air.
At one point we had to stop because the army was practising with large calibre weapons. It was almost the first time that the Ghostriders had found themselves in a war zone. The sound of the explosions booming through the mountains was quite impressive. At the summit of the climb, we left the bikes and climbed (staggered) up the side of a cliff face to a temple perched on the very top of a mountain. The views from the top made all the effort worthwhile and the downhill slide was easier than the going up. After a picnic lunch and game of Bhutanese darts in the sunshine we returned to our hotel - tired but happy.

Our adventure will continue tomorrow with the longest ride of the trip. How will we fare ? Time will tell, I guess.Read more