MTB Himachal
We were unable to take part at MTB Himachal which concluded recently, but one of our friends, Roopak, did get back with a pretty neat report of the Event.
Roopak writes –
The trip was mindblowing.
It was very very challenging but definitely fun. 43 cyclists – 23 of them from 6 different countries, some as old as 63 yrs, all sorts of terrain – tarmac, broken tarmac, gravel, dirt, logs of wood, slush, river. Was a good test of both me and my bike. In fact quite a few firefox bikes broke there – it was that challenging. My bike held up pretty well, just one puncture, and one tube change.
Both uphills and downhills were really steep, and gravel and loose stones made it all the more difficult. First day was 10km of tarmac (uphill), then 20km of downhill gravel + dirt and then 25kms of uphill on gravel with 70deg incline (I was glad to have survived that ;-) ) Over the days, the difficulty varied from either a short (read 20km) difficult steep terrain to a long (read 30-40km) of gradual tarmac terrain. It was difficult eitherway. One day the climb was as steep as 1500m rise over 30km. There were a few bike and hike sections too – carrying your cycle over 800 steps over 2km upwards one day to dragging it over 12km on a single track on another. On the whole, the event was organized really well, with proper markings on road, good coordination amongst marshals, camping in really good locales, hearty food (energy drinks, chocolates at beverage halts, good meals at end of day).
The entire event (MTB Himachal 2007), will be telecasted on Ten Sports and Zee Sports in first week of Nov (dates not finalized as yet, will let you know later).
The experience is something i can treasure my entire life….
Check out the detailed Photo Report by Roopak
Some more pictures by Mallik, who also took part in MTB Himachal
WHAT I LOVE ABOUT CYCLING
I love riding my bike. Whether it’s a simple commute, a high-intensity road race, a jaw-grinding brevet, fixie rides thru packed Indian city or a kick-ass technical single track – I love it all. Apart from riding bicycles, I love being all geeky and know everything there is to know about bicycles, technology, bike fit, and service.
I started BUMSONTHESADDLE to share this passion for cycling.
DISCIPLINE: Partial towards MOUNTAIN BIKING but love it all
CURRENT BIKE(S): Specialized Rockhopper, Specialized Tarmac, Pure Cycles Original
DREAM BIKE: S-Works Epic HT & S-Work Roubaix
OTHER PASSIONS: Technology, Photography, Baking, Travel, and Reading
