+ Week Nepal Spring 2022

[abmoto]

I'm normally a lurker so don't expect too much from this ride report. I'll skip the backstory but ended up in Nepal on a 90-day visa last week. I looked into renting a motorcycle for 3 months but don't have that kinda cash to blow so I started looking at buying a used bike until I realized that the prices on used bikes here is insane. I test rode a bunch of bikes over the past 7 days and ended up with a new Honda XR190L last night.

I took her out for a shake down ride and properly rode like hell for what turned out to be over 60 miles of mostly dirt. I stopped in a small village to grab a bottle of water and some food and this dude sat down next to me and started talking to me even tho I kept telling him that I didn't understand. I figured out why when he followed me to my bike. I rode with him for about 2 hours of dirt before having to leave him at a village on a main road so he could find another ride to complete his journey.

He asked me to stop after 30 minutes so he could stretch and stuff his backpack in my top case so we had some water and tea. I was happy to learn that the little Honda does okay with a little weight on the back so I'm not worried about packing my bag.

After I dropped him off and got some arm covers for my sunburnt arms google found me a shorter route back to my hotel so here is the loop I did today. I came over the road in the middle with my passenger giving directions:

When I saw this bridge from the main road I knew I had to cross it. I was inspired by an advrider thread showing motorcycles crossing these bridges. Unfortunately I'm a dumbass and didn't scout the path to the bridge. It's steeper than it looked to me from the road and by the time I realized my mistake I was already committed. I rode out and back and dropped my new bike 3 times on my way up the hill back to the main road.

I was too scared to stop for pics or look down while crossing

broke a mirror shortly after this pic

Stopped to take pics but the air quality sucked.

She isn't new any longer

All things considered I'll call today a huge success. I was little concerned about riding a bike with 1,000 less cc's than my GS but it's a champ and I had a ton of fun riding the hell out of it. I'm going to find some proper riding gear tomorrow and will ride to Pokhara on Saturday. Boots are high on the list

 

[SandRdr]

Awesome first post! Welcome to ADVbikes.

Looking foward to more

 

[kickstandsup]

+1 ;)

Backstories are interesting...how did you end up in Nepal?

 

[MaNDan-Fgo]

Great story/RR and photos. Post more later.

 

[Yinzer Moto]

abmoto , epic first post. Please keep us in the loop on your travels. It would be really nice If you can share some of the dirty details of buying a bike there. How do you register it and buy insurance? What does a Honda 190 cost?

 

[woods]

Wouldn't mind hearing the backstory about how you got to Nepal. That's neat.

 

[abmoto]

I have no business doing this and shouldn’t have mentioned a backstory but what the heck…

I’m recovering from a long term illness that began with a head on collision while riding over 8 years ago. Besides orthopedic injuries, I was diagnosed with a brain injury and cognitive impairments. I went through speech therapy to learn how to live with my deficits and was doing okay but my symptoms declined which pretty much kept me in bed and in considerable pain for over 3 years until last summer.

In 2018, doctors discovered that I had a cerebralspinal fluid (CSF) leak (https://csfleak.info/) and placed a ventriculoperitoneal shunt to control my high CSF pressure once the leak was sealed after many surgical procedures and complications. The shunt which controls my cranial pressure is adjustable and drains into my abdomen via a tube under my skin.

It wasn’t until last November that I figured out the best shunt setting for myself (after frustration with doctors I bought the tool off ebay to adjust it myself). An amazing friend had flown me to stay at their place in Ireland last October to help me because I was having difficulty post surgery and to help me begin undoing what 3 years in bed did to my body.

Once I began to learn how to manage living with the shunt after finding the right setting my cognitive symptoms started to improve. I don’t know how to even begin to explain this but my brain was squished by low pressure for over 8 years and suddenly isn’t any longer so I now have to relearn how to use the capacity that is once again becoming available to me. It’s overwhelming and there’s a lot more to it but I’d end up writing a book to explain everything and I’d much rather spend my time riding.

So this begins with what what supposed to be a quick side trip to Portugal last December when my friend’s house in Ireland also came under quarantine during the holidays so I decided to rent an airbnb in Italy instead of returning to Ireland. Somewhere along the way I decided that I’d keep traveling until I couldn’t.

During those years in bed, in pain and unable to ride I told myself that if I ever recovered that I would reward myself with an epic motorcycle trip and riding the Himalayas was at the top of that list so here I am.

I thought I’d rent a Royal Enfield like the cool people do in the advrider ride reports but when I sat on one it felt like a pig. My next choice was renting a Honda CRF250 but that cost $45/day plus insurance at the monthly discounted rate. After pondering those numbers I started looking for used bikes but the resale value is too high and didn’t make sense to me so after a week of looking at bikes I got a brand new little Honda XR190 for less than $6k with one year of full coverage insurance included. The CRF300 I lusted after cost over $15k.

As for the question about how to buy a bike here, the Honda dealer did the paperwork and told me I had to get a “no objection letter” from the us embassy. So I googled “nepal us embassy no objection letter” and it’s literally a letter that you can print off their website. The Honda dealer accepted it and processed my registration and insurance. They will buy if back when I’m done if I go that route. I'll make that decision in June.

I’m starting out at a yoga retreat to help heal my body and mind and to prepare myself for the challenges ahead. I’m currently in Pokhara which is where lots of people begin the Annapurna circuit trek.

I didn’t actually think I’d ever get here so I haven’t done any planning and to be honest am a little scared. I’ve started watching YouTube videos on how to change a motorcycle tire with a tube and have been trying without much success to put a decent toolkit together. I haven’t been able to find riding gear except for a helmet and gloves. I got sturdy hiking boots because finding motorcycle boots or decent tie down straps is apparently impossible here.

I wrote this last night but with my cognitive challenges it takes up a lot of time. I’m doing this on ADVbikes because of a couple of amazing riding buddies who supported me through some very difficult times. Please be patient and excuse the clunky way I put paragraphs together and the inevitable spellcheck errors. I have to let it be good enough so that I can focus my time and attention on this journey. More to come.

Pic from lunch stop during my ride from Katmandu to Pokhara.

View from the Yoga retreat:

 

[SandRdr]

Thank you so much for the backstory. You've humanized the trip and that's what makes it a great read. You are inspiring

 

[MaNDan-Fgo]

I agree with SandRdr, you are amazing and have a great story to tell.
As you have time, please post more photos and narrative. [Did you notice that we are 2 member numbers apart?]

 

[kickstandsup]

An inspirational attitude...looking forward to tagging along on your recovery journey. Thanks for giving us the opportunity.

 

[philipbarrett]

I’m starting out at a yoga retreat to help heal my body and mind and to prepare myself for the challenges ahead.

Unfortunately yoga has rather been associated in the US with the Lululemon crowd but disciplines like Iyengar are based on physiology and are a hard workout a long way removed from the "salute the sun" ethos. I completely cured my horrendous lower back issues with Iyengar after years of downing pain killers, the additional benefits of added flexibility, less creaking & groaning and general well being came free with the cure (also a much better off-road motorcyclist because of it too). I encourage anyone feeling their age to at least consider a proper yoga practice.

And Nepal! One of my dreams is to ride the foothills of the Himalayas. Until I can make that a reality thank you for allowing us to ride vicariously alongside you. I'm looking forward to the rest of the story, you can make it as drawn out as you wish too, no complaints here.

 

[abmoto]

Unfortunately yoga has rather been associated in the US with the Lululemon crowd but disciplines like Iyengar are based on physiology and are a hard workout a long way removed from the "salute the sun" ethos. I completely cured my horrendous lower back issues with Iyengar after years of downing pain killers, the additional benefits of added flexibility, less creaking & groaning and general well being came free with the cure (also a much better off-road motorcyclist because of it too). I encourage anyone feeling their age to at least consider a proper yoga practice.

I can't agree more about a solid yoga practice. I had many orthopedic injuries following my accident including a misaligned pelvis. Along with physical therapy I did a one year challenge of Bikram yoga every day. By the end of that year I was in the best physical shape of my life (currently in my 50s).

I'm not familiar with lyengar but unfortunately the yoga retreat I tried was the salute the sun type and it just wasn't for me. Having bedbugs in my room didn't help matters so I ditched that place and am on the road and currently in Kagbeni after an epic day ride from Pokhara. I'll update the ride report from my hotel tonight or tomorrow. I'll be using this place as a base camp for exploring over the next few days.

 

[philipbarrett]

You can see from your picture how high the water gets, spring melt floods or is there a rainy season?

I'm not familiar with lyengar

There's obviously tons of information online but it's a form of Hatha (gentle) yoga with very defined and precise motions. Use of props and variations are encouraged to allow all students to benefit whatever their level, the classes I attend comprise a huge mix of ages and abilities. To qualify as an Iyengar instructor takes years of practice and study, not just of the poses and sutras but also physiology as the system is based on a solid medical foundation.

As the Iyengar crowd like to joke "come for the physical, stay for the spiritual!"


Looking forward to hearing more from your trip.

 

[MVI]

I'm normally a lurker so don't expect too much from this ride report. I'll skip the backstory but ended up in Nepal on a 90-day visa last week. I looked into renting a motorcycle for 3 months but don't have that kinda cash to blow so I started looking at buying a used bike until I realized that the prices on used bikes here is insane. I test rode a bunch of bikes over the past 7 days and ended up with a new Honda XR190L last night.

I took her out for a shake down ride and properly rode like hell for what turned out to be over 60 miles of mostly dirt. I stopped in a small village to grab a bottle of water and some food and this dude sat down next to me and started talking to me even tho I kept telling him that I didn't understand. I figured out why when he followed me to my bike. I rode with him for about 2 hours of dirt before having to leave him at a village on a main road so he could find another ride to complete his journey.

He asked me to stop after 30 minutes so he could stretch and stuff his backpack in my top case so we had some water and tea. I was happy to learn that the little Honda does okay with a little weight on the back so I'm not worried about packing my bag.

After I dropped him off and got some arm covers for my sunburnt arms google found me a shorter route back to my hotel so here is the loop I did today. I came over the road in the middle with my passenger giving directions:

When I saw this bridge from the main road I knew I had to cross it. I was inspired by an advrider thread showing motorcycles crossing these bridges. Unfortunately I'm a dumbass and didn't scout the path to the bridge. It's steeper than it looked to me from the road and by the time I realized my mistake I was already committed. I rode out and back and dropped my new bike 3 times on my way up the hill back to the main road.

I was too scared to stop for pics or look down while crossing

broke a mirror shortly after this pic

Stopped to take pics but the air quality sucked.

She isn't new any longer

All things considered I'll call today a huge success. I was little concerned about riding a bike with 1,000 less cc's than my GS but it's a champ and I had a ton of fun riding the hell out of it. I'm going to find some proper riding gear tomorrow and will ride to Pokhara on Saturday. Boots are high on the list

What a great first Post. Welcome, and we all want to know more as your Journey continues.

 

[abmoto]

You can see from your picture how high the water gets, spring melt floods or is there a rainy season?

I think it's from monsoon season? Something like March-May and September-October are the relatively dry months. I got lucky.

 

[abmoto]

After the disappointing retreat I spent a few days at a hotel with AC and attempted to prepare for remote riding. I added a few things but this is most of my emergency kit. I hate bungy cords and was able to have a dude at a trekking shop make me some straps for about $20 but I already broke 2 of them.

Ladies say hi

Happy Monks?

Look where you want to go Edit: Road to Kagbeni

I met a friendly motorcycle tour guide at the hotel who is leading a group on a 12 day ride. He was kind enough to offer up suggestions on places to visit during my stay and more importantly how to avoid the main roadways. Main roads that follow a river will have a secondary road on the other side of the river and that’s also where I’ll have plenty of opportunities to cross suspension bridges.



Was getting ready to fuel up this morning when I noticed this. Fortunately it’s a leaking rear shock and after getting reassurance from a riding buddy I didn’t let it stop me from heading out on a fun loop ride to Muktinath to have lunch at the Bob Marley cafe which sits at 12,000 feet. These villages are in the Mustang district and popular with motorcycle touring groups.

The guide also let me know that I passed the last petrol station quite a ways back but could ask the hotel for fuel.

Pics from today’s loop.

Bob Marley cafe

More to come.

 

[ZoomerP]

abmoto - If you need replacement straps, you might have luck finding some suitable belts that'll hold your load as well as they hold up pants. Double-D ring ones should hold well, especially with a security knot in the tail.

Thanks for continuing to bring us along on your travels.

 

[MaNDan-Fgo]

Great RR and photos. I'm going to have to research "Bob Marley".

 

[FLrider]

All I can say is WOW! IN!!