Himalayan News Service

Kathmandu:

Biking has always been big. The wind in your hair, the roar of engines and the thrill of cruising over miles of asphalt is an adventure in itself. For those passionate about biking, the call to hit the road is irresistible. Throw in the thrill of a Himalayan odyssey to Darchen, Tibet and it’s not difficult to understand why eight bikers — one from Germany and seven from Austria — are all geared up to passionately embark on this extraordinary journey. The team will cover 2,500 km on bikes. They left Kathmandu on May 7.

On seven 640 cc and one 950 cc mean machines, KTM Adventure Motorcycles (Made in Austria), these courageous eight bikers plan to cover the difficult but beautiful, barren but still picturesque, unpaved but alluring off road track up to Darchen and back to Kathmandu in three weeks.

KTM Racing is organised jointly by Siegrfried Mayer and Kinley Tshering of Himalayan Adventures, Austria and Bhutan and is being assisted by Rabi Thapa and Palden Lama of Sacred Adventures, Kathmandu. Josef Pichler, a veteran biker, is leading the team on their Himalayan adventure to Tibet. Before leaving from Kathmandu, Pichler on behalf of the team, shared, “Biking in this part of the world is a different experience. The terrains, the gravel roads, and the sanctity of nature to relish cannot be found anywhere else in the world. Adventure biking to Tibet has always been a dream for many of us. Now we are fulfilling our dreams.”

The team includes Heinrich Raschhofer, Hans-Peter Altenbruger, Robert Fischer, Karlheinz Lehrach, Franz Otto Wimmer, Michael Smola, Gerald Schneeweis and Joseph Pichler.

Each member of the team is a veteran on wheels. Each of them has tales to tell from biking trips in their home country, across Europe and in different parts of the world. But the excitement to bike to Tibet is something they all look at as a challenge and as an opportunity of a lifetime.

Robert Fischer who is a doctor by profession said, “I am really excited and I believe that this will be one of the most contemplative journeys of my life. This ride will be very different from anything we have done before because we will be confronting nature. We will come face to face with mount Kailash and come in contact with a very different culture and society. This ride is going to be an unforgettable journey for all of us.” Hans-Peter Altenburger, who has 30 years of biking experience, is the most-experienced biker in the team. He said he could hardly contain the excitement of actually being here. “I have always wanted to visit Tibet once in my life. Now getting an opportunity to bike it is something out of this world. I’m very excited about this trip.”