The Annapurna Circuit is my favourite one day mountain bike ride in the World. The 3 previous editions of the the Annapurna Circuit FKT challenge were ridden in the normal counter clockwise direction. This year it was done in reverse to spice it up a little, making it steeper, adding a tougher finish, and offering a whole new experience. Setting off at 11:22 pm on Nov 29th I was in for one of the memorable rides of my life on this legendary 220 km trekking route in the heart of the Nepali Himalayas.
Preparation the previous years doing this I’ve been much better acclimated, but my nutrition plan had been questionable and I have gained some valuable experiences since then which I put to work. This year coming off the 7 day Yak Attack race, 5 days of rest were taken in Pokhara, before heading out on a 4 day bike packing tour to Ghorepani/Poon Hill. This was a great route from Pokhara-Ulleri-Ghorepani-Tatopani, finishing in Beni, the normal finish of the Annapurna Circuit. The short tour gave the body a few more days to acclimate at 2500-3200 meters, and the chance to rest in a beautiful setting before the big challenge ahead. Dropping down to Tatopani at 1200 meters on the 28th, gave the body 30 hours in the oxygen rich lower elevations to recover. A new hotel called the Hot Springs Resort just opened in the generally sleepy village. This made for a great retreat for 24 hours of laying horizontal, soaking in the hot springs and eating Dhal Bhats to fill the diesel tank! At 2pm on the 29th I left this oasis and rode 20 km down to the bustling gateway village of Beni. Here the final hours were spent preparing and resting before the scheduled departure of 11 pm. My friends Rajan and Ajay met me here to tweak the bike and bring some resupplies from Pokhara for the Annapurna Circuit. Once I finished loading up my Apidura bike packing bags and USWE backpack, one last Dhal Bhat was consumed then I settled in for a couple hours of sleep.
One of the main challenges of doing the Annapurna Circuit in under 24 hours is the formidable Thorong la Pass at 5416 m (17700 feet). Thus the ride is planned to try and hit this hurdle during the mid day heat, which requires a night start. One of the luxuries of doing a self organized FKT (Fastest Known Time) is you get to pick the start time. I made sure all the boxes were ticked before setting off a few minutes behind schedule at 11:22 pm. My friends Rajan and Ajay were coming along by motorbike for the first 7-8 hours to do some filming and photography, and would turn around at Muktinath before the big ascent over the pass, in which I’d fly solo. In 2017 I did this challenge 100% solo and self supported, 2018 and 2019 I had other riders come along for sections, and this year its was back to lone wolf mode.
Starting in Beni meant the first 4 hours would be spent climbing on a rugged jeep road through the deepest ravine in the World, the Kali Gandaki Gorge, which is estimated to be 6000 meters deep! Starting in a jungle environment at 800 meters, the temperature was around 10 degrees, not wanting to overheat I dressed in my 7Mesh jersey and shorts, but this became fairly brisk the higher I climbed. Riding through the Nepali night is always an amazing experience as it’s dead calm, a total contrast to the chaos during the days. It’s a different World with just the sound of water, the odd dog running around and on this night I lucked out and witnessed a Himalayan Fox. It was great having a set of Julbo Fury sunglasses with reactive lenses as they go clear in the night and darken during the sunlight hours to provide 24 hr eye protection. Having the right equipment for an FKT attempt like this is a learning experience from trial and error in previous years but it can be a big advantage
It was a clean start into the Nepali night until about half way up the gorge when two large dogs appeared on a ridge above the jeep track. They were barking aggressively but I thought nothing of it, until a 3rd dog, a large white alpha appeared with them. This one looked rabid and now the 3 of them were packing up and getting crazy. The White one started running down the bank, I picked up rock, it hesitated but kept inching closer, with the other two also starting down. I thought shit, I have probably a 95% chance of getting by these bastards without incident, but the white one was looking out of control and I didn’t want to risk it. With Rajan and Ajay just a few minutes behind, I opted to stop and wait for them before trying to pass these psycho dogs. Rarely am I scared of passing dogs, with the exception of being in Mongolia, but this trio were trouble and I figured with Rajan and Ajay as an escort the odds of passing these bastards would increase to nearly 100%. They came, and it was still a battle, but we managed to get by. Dogs have been a problem a few times at night on the circuit. It would be nice if the owners took some responsibility and kept their beasts under control as the road is a public throughway! Eventually cresting into the Mustang valley in Kalopani at 2600 meters, it was near freezing, and I was freezing my ass off so stopped to put on some layers. It was hard to get the body temperature back up and I’d end up stopping again to warm up at a random fire on the side of the road at 3 am.
At 5am I rolled into Jomsom, the commercial hub of the Mustang, where my friend Usha was staying with a few clients she was guiding up in the mountains. Here I pulled in for a coffee, filled the bottles, took a much needed dump, put some squirt lube on the chain, then took off into the final hours of dark towards the sacred village of Muktinath at 3600 meters. The dawn hours in the Himalayas are generally the coldest. I froze my ass and toes off as the temperature dropped well below freezing. One of the of the challenges of the Annapurna Circuit is temperature regulation as it can go from +20 celsius to – 20 celsius within a few hours. This means quite a few stops to change layers. Dress to warm and you sweat and will be in trouble later, dress too thinly and you freeze but it’s often the better option. Reaching Muktinath at 7:30 am the village was starting to bustle with action as travellers come from all over the World to visit its Vishnu temple, on one of the Worlds highest temples, and one of the 1088 Divya dreams, the only one located outside of India. Again I would stop to change layers, refill the bottles with warm water, grab a snack, and then took off towards the wall of Throrong La pass. Rajan and Ajay turned around with their motorbike to head back to Pokhara.
Heading out of Muktinath there were trails everywhere and I accidentally took a 15 minutes detour, eventually ending up on a rough jeep road winding its way towards high camp at 4000 meters. These teahouses were ghostly as the owners had left for warmer pastures for the winter. Filling the bottles in a stream, I embarked on the toughest part of the journey as it would now be 95% hike a bike up to the pass as the trail is much steeper on this side. Unlike other years, the body felt strong through this portion of the trip, up to 5200 m anyways, then the altitude hit pretty hard leaving my head spinning like a drunk. My stomach is also usually pretty wrecked at this stage of the challenge but the new nutrition plan seemed to be working great. The biggest challenge was the compact ice and snow on the trail from 5000 meters up. This was never a problem before, and made parts of the tilted side trails pretty treacherous. Otherwise it was a gorgeous sunny day, the trail was quiet other then 15-20 hikers descending, and one herdsman with his sheep. Most trekkers were cheering the effort, I was also cheering them on as most them seemed to be in worse state than myself as they slowly descended. Reaching the top of the 5416 m (17 700 feet) pass just after mid day signalled the climax of the challenge, now it was a rolling downhill, 110 + km ride to the finish line in Besi!
It was an unforgettable day on top of the pass, not a breath of wind, or a soul in sight, just myself and my Kona Hei Hei full suspension mountain bike as we soaked in the mid day heat which was hovering around zero. It’s interesting most the guides have their trekkers start up towards the pass at 4 am in the freezing dark as the temperature increases from often -10 to -20 to near freezing or above as soon as the sun rises. Not to mention the beauty of the landscape which can’t be taken in at night. I’ve done the pass numerous times at this insane hour before and it was never pleasant. The four times I’ve gone over mid day it has always been ideal conditions. Nonetheless I paused my FKT for 15 minutes to take in some food and enjoy the moments of being in heaven on earth. Places like this are hard to come by so they must be enjoyed to the max 😉
Tackling the massive descent off the pass at 1 pm started off with a surprise as the compact snow and Ice I had experienced during the Yak Attack race a few weeks back had now turned into an unrideable surface, having melted and refrozen with hiker and animal post holes everywhere. This added an unexpected 20 minute downhill hike before the trail was mostly melted and back to a somewhat rideable surface. Here I was surprised again, coming around a corner to meet two Europeans on their townie bikes, as they headed towards the pass and eventually Muktinath. No helmets, little luggage and appearing to be hit a bit hard by the altitude. I asked where they had started, they mentioned high camp, just 3 km away. I thought oh damn, it’s already 1 pm and these guys have just gone 3 km, still have a ways to climb and then a treacherous icy descent down to Muktinath. Good on them for going for it but where were their helmets I wondered. I sent them my prayers and crossed my fingers for their success over the pass.
After this encounter the trail became rideable, hitting the best part of the trip with an unforgettable flowing descent all the way to Manang, 20 km down the tight Himalayan valley. There were a few punchy climbs thrown in en route which are real ass kickers in the thin air above 4000 meters! These never get easy. Thankfully it was mid afternoon so most trekkers were off the trail and I could let the wheels roll. The trail traffic can be a challenge while doing an FKT as the path is often narrow with big consequences, so safety measures must be taken while passing trekkers, local traffic and donkeys so no one goes for a tumble they wouldn’t forget.
With the quick loss in elevation it was now getting very warm in the mid day sun, requiring a few stops to take layers off, and also refill the bottles at a fresh looking mountain stream. Rolling into the main village on this side of the pass, Manang, signalled the start of a rough jeep road and just under 90 km to the finish line in Besisahar. I was hung up here a bit, getting resupplied with food, and my bags were now jammed tight with warmer clothes as the wardrobe was back to jersey and shorts. With just an hour of sun left, it was in my best interest to get out of the Manang valley, which hangs at 3500 meters, as it gets quite chilly once the sun goes down.
Facing a stiff headwind leaving Manang, I put the head down and pushed hard, looking at my phone, I had just under 5 hours to reach Besi to break my FKT of doing the Circuit in the other direction, at 20 hours 33 minutes! This was quite reasonable, I was also eyeing up going sub 20 hours, although this was starting to look like a long shot. That long shot quickly disappeared as I started hitting permit checkpoints every 45 minutes from Manang, Humle, Chame, and a couple others. I considered blowing these check posts as its a bit ridiculous to have a permit checked every few minutes but I figured that could lead to problems down the road so opted to stop at the first few. In Chame it took over 10 minutes as the check post was jammed with trekkers, the officers were taking their time, asking random questions, not to mention the locals trying to sell things. Not only was this eating up valuable time, it was killing the last bit of daylight, and was causing my ass to freeze off, being drenched in sweat from the efforts, but being required to stand still waiting.
Eventually rolling out of Chame, with over 60 km on a rugged rollercoaster dirt road to go, I was now hitting a time crunch with just over 3 hours to beat my old FKT. Luckily I still made it through the monkey forest below Timang before dark. This part is always on my mind with the forest full of troops of monkeys that can cause trouble if you have bananas poking out or anything else that looks edible. Shortly after this section it became dark as the sun set on the mighty Manaslu peak above. The next checkpoint was just 15 km from Chame, but it was on a downhill, and it was now pretty dark, so I forgot to stop. Anymore delays would mean the end of the FKT chase. Rounding a pretty dicey road overlooking a massive drop off just after Tal, it was now pitch dark and I was entering the toughest section of road of the entire ride.
The last 30km is notorious for being rough as hell, has a bunch of steep punchy climbs, crosses creeks, and is full of mud holes and dust pits. This combination is a bikes nightmare, causing the drivetrain to sound like it’s dying a slow death. Putting more chain lube on is useless as it will just be dissolved off in the next water/mud crossing. Looking at my Wahoo bike computer, I still had time to finish sub 20 hrs, 33 minutes, and had a nice section of road ahead, a flat, wide, smooth section which the Chinese had made around one of their dam projects. At the intersection for this there was a big sign in the middle of the road written in Nepali. Not being so proficient in Nepali I had no idea what it meant and didn’t want to risk getting stuck at another police checkpoint or dead end, so opted to take the old road that was rough as hell and climbed back up the side of the tight valley. This would add 10-15 minutes to the ride, and alot more effort! With no choice I now had to dig deep as I knew the fkt was now on the line.
It was pretty wild ripping through the Nepali night again, 19 + hours into the big effort, going full tilt. My Sinewave light attached to an Astral Serpentine Wheelset with Dynamo hub was working great. Fuel was becoming an issue, with just a few gels left, I downed one and did my best to stay away from the edges of the road where dogs could be waiting to ambush. With 7km to go, there was one last check post. With mud in my eyes I couldn’t see if it was open, so forgot to stop again and kept the FKT attempt alive. The next problem was getting caught up in traffic as I neared Besisahar. The vehicles generally give you lots of space in Nepal, but they also don’t respect the speed of a bicycle, always wanting to pass, even if theres a rough section or downhill ahead in which a bike is much faster. Often I’ll have to repass the same jeep 4 to 5 times, eating dust each time they fly by on the climbs, but then having to slam on the breaks as they hit an obstacle. Hopefully one day they will learn that a bicycle is faster then them in the rugged mountain terrain!
With just one last climb to go into Besisahar, I glanced down at my wahoo seeing it was 7:47 pm, 20 hours 25 minutes after leaving Beni. With all the obstacles the past few hours I was actually surprised to still be in line to break my old FKT on the circuit, stopping the clock at 20 hours and 30 minutes. Rolling into the main street of Besisahar signalled the end of another unforgetabble ride through the Himalayas! Immediately some locals started coming up asking a million questions. I put one of them to work taking a few photos, sprawling out on a dusty sidewalk to take some rest and try to catch my breath. One of the benefits of finishing in Besishahar was the accommodation is much better than Beni. I had two nights booked at the Gateway Himalaya resort to spend eating their tasty Chicken Biriyani, swimming in the pool, and clean all the dirt and mud off myself and the bike.
Whenever I finish riding the Annapurna Circuit in a day it feels like I’m waking up from a dream. I don’t think there’s a better way to spend a day on a bike. Thank you everyone that supported this effort and the fundraiser for the Nepal Cycling Center. We surpassed our goal of $4000 CAD, enough to reopen the training centre for a year, buy some equipment and help support the Nepali riders as they try to bounce back from the setbacks of the pandemic.
With the Yak Attack and Annapurna Circuit FKT in the bank, it’s time to take a break from the bike. The plan now is to head deep into the mountains to explore some new ground and start building the base for next year via some high altitude trekking. This year my friend Usha and I will head off to East Nepal to check out some rarely visited regions of the country, while also keeping our eyes open for potential cycling routes. The past few days have been spent organizing permits, preparing trekking gear and looking for the elusive flights to Taplechung which are kept in secret for some mysterious reason. It’s Nepal so every step of the journey must be enjoyed as the unexpected is expected and the expected doesn’t usually occur.
Namaste from the Himalayas.