Yak Attack Photo's #6

Jeremy and his camera. The one responsible for all these wonderful pictures.
Thorong La Pass 4am start we hike with our bikes 5km (3hrs) to reach our highest height of 5414m from then it was a 22km descent down snow and ice then jeep track back to warmth.
My home made straps worked beautifully. Here I am resting on a rock. I was hurting big time. Not enough clothes, I was freezing and couldn't feel my feet or hands. The altitude and weight of the bike was punishing. I was really scared that I was going to get frost bite or be too tired to make it and sit down and go hypothermic. Stupid Canadian thinking I can handle the cold. Should have been more prepared but the adventure racer in me thinks " pack light, go fast" Could have used a bigger pack for this stage with more clothes!
Thank @#%$%$## goodness! By golly I finally made it up this pass after something like 14 false summits 3 hrs later. Frozen, numb and disoriented from exhaustion and altitude it was time to head down. A challenge all on its own.
I rode what I could which wasn't much considering I couldn't move my hands to even just squeeze the brakes. I felt drunk and wild sliding, falling just hoping that the descent would go faster. I rode with another Nepali rider for the rest of the day and was constantly amused with his falling and uncontrollable sliding in the snow. I laughed thinking is this for real. This is one wild ride and even wilder race. I love it!

Yak Attack Photo's #5

Tea houses along the way. Stage 8
Jeremy and his long days. What we rode he had to hike. Long days but an experience and accomplishment all on its own.
One of the many bridges we crossed. One bridge in particular I was hauling ass on I nearly clipped my handle bar on the narrow sides and scared myself in the could be reality of flying over the handle bars and landing way way way down there. I played it really safe and conservative after that.
Incredible views!

Yak Attack Photo's #4

My Happy Place. Sunshine, adventure and the most magnificent mountain views all around.
Manang 3500m an acclimatization, rest day was in order. Beautiful hike with out our bikes :)
Annapurna Range
Stage 8 3500m-4500m Altitude was in effect. Makes you feel like you've never ridden a bike before and completely out of shape. What you can normally ride up with ease was now an exhausting slow bike push.
Blue bird skies and unbelievable views. Fun single track at 4000m Welcome to the Yak Attack!

Yak Attack Photo's #3

I had to add this picture as a lot of time went into it. Jeremy and Jon set up in hopes to capture the last rider coming through. They waited and waited and waited until this local passed by and called it good. After a long 12hr day they made it to Mananag only to find out that our last rider turned back this morning.
Entering the higher elevations and snow. From heat, wind, snow, mud, and dirt we passed through every condition imaginable in a bike race.

More hike a bike.
Lots of sections you don't want to loose your footing on. Although the riding wasn't overly technical the consequences for a slip or loss of balance was big.

Yak Attack Photo's #2

Hike a Bike! Carrying a bike was equivalent to a feather compared to the weight the porters had.
Suck it up girl! Notice the REAL load behind me. Resting the seat post on the top of my helmet helped transfer the weight off my shoulders. My version of the Nepali style of carrying.
There was lots of hike a bike but I was more surprised with how much of the coarse was actually rideable. I was happy to be on a full suspension but there were many hard tails and a few 29'ers out there.
It's hard to take in the whole magnitude of this place. I'm glad I've hiked here before and took it all in then as lots of the time my head was down and I was grinding my way along. Until I saw this picture I had no idea of the steepness to my left.
The obstacle of passing the herds of donkeys, goats and cattle was a major added challenge. You could easily loose time on others if caught behind the herds. Staying close to the mountain on the inside line was an important call in saving your self from a major fall.

Yak Attack Photo's #1

Yak Attack 10 day stage race. One of the hardest events I've ever done!
Day 1 accommodation. Nepali farm house full of character. Jeremy in bed with a fever recovering from his spell of food poisoning prior to the race. Tough start to the event for him.
The first few days we're a neutral starts getting us safely out of the towns and villages to the actual start. The warm up was welcomed as pretty much everyday started on an up hill.
Heat was intense for me at the lower altitudes. You must carry all your liquids you need for the day as there wasn't always the option for water stops. I drink like a fish in the heat so my camel back was full of water weight.

6 weeks Ago

It's 2am and I'm wide awake sitting in my home in Squamish. I'm jet legged from our long flight and seemingly still on Asia time. Time to start posting some pictures from the last 6 weeks and revisit many memories of the Yak Attack which feels like ages ago.

I previously wrote NEPAL BY BIKE in a post about our bike trip through the Kathmandu Valley which Jeremy and I explored together prior to the race.

Throughly enjoyed riding through these ancient looking villages and streets with carved, engraved windows, wee little archways, prayer flags and village bustle.
The rolling farm lands were all around. Unfortunately so was the smoggy pollution of the valley.
Hindu, Buddhist temples and shrines where never far from sight.

We bought a user friendly bike map of the area but with the numerous amount of trails and jeep tracks in the farm lands the map was constantly be checked with.