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Sometimes we would spend days climbing a single mountain pass. At altitudes of more than 17,000 feet it would be slow going. North of Mt. Kailash, Tibet. 
Endless Sky. North of Mt. Kailash, Tibet. 
Mt. Kailash, the peak in the back ground, is one of the most sacred mountain in all of Asia for both Hindus and Buddhist. Mt. Kailash, Tibet. 
You can get some idea from this photo just how much stuff we had to carry, each of the bikes with all of the gear weighted more than 100 pounds each. Mt. Kailash, Tibet.  
These prayer flags mark the last point from which pilgrims can see Mt. Kailash, before returning to central Tibet. After Horchu, Tibet. 
We stopped to check our maps. We used a few different kinds of maps, ranging from Chinese truck driver maps, to detailed topo maps of the area. Before Zhongba, Tibet. 
These locals had stopped by to see what we were up to. There is just not that many people in this area and almost none on bicycles. Before Zhongba, Tibet. 
A few times a day we would need to filter water. This process went a lot easier with a couple people taking turns to pumps and help hold the water bottles. Before Zhongba, Tibet. 
This young woman was part of road maintenance crew. These small houses can be found fairly often along the roadside. Most of these folks spend their days fixing potholes and drinking tea. This woman is standing beside a butter churn, preparing some Tibetan butter tea for us. This kind of salted tea is more like soup then what most western people would think of as "tea." After Zhongba, Tibet. |