Could Nepal see a mountain bike boom?
By Sonya Looney
Just outside the door of Himalayan Singletrack, I could hear the sounds of honking, foreign languages, ethnic music, and the hustle and bustle on the chaotic streets of Thamel, the tourist region in Kathmandu, Nepal. Inside, I was enjoying sweet milk tea and reading local cycling magazines while one of the mechanics trued a bent rotor.
I had stopped into the bike shop and guide outfit for a tune-up ahead of the Yak Attack, the 10-day stage race that brought me to Nepal. As I turned a magazine page I was surprised to see a profile of Aayman Tamang, the same mechanic who was now fixing my bike. As I would learn during the race and in the days after, Nepal has a small but growing mountain bike culture and some fast riders—during the Yak Attack, I watched Tamang and several of his co-workers fly away from me.
After the race, I returned to the shop for a guided ride on the trails near Kathmandu. Many of the routes are primitive, but the region has hundreds of miles of singletrack and choppy Jeep tracks that make it ripe for mountain bike adventure. Himalayan Singletrack offers eight guided rides, some of which venture further into the Annapurna region, and into the remote Upper Mustang district.
The guides also race, and on this trip around Kathmandu, we ripped along high-mountain singletrack, passing water buffalo and riding along trains of goats. On our way back to the city, we passed through small villages, where children ran down the streets yelling “Namaste” as we pedaled by.
After two weeks in the country, including the 10 days during the race, I only scratched the surface of Nepal’s mountain bike opportunities. I plan to come back next year and reunite with my guides for a trip through the Upper Mustang, which only recently opened its borders to tourists.
Himalayan Singletrack, I learned, does more than guide riders and wrench on their bikes. The operation is taking a leading role in developing mountain biking in the region, especially through racing. After our ride, co-owner Jenny Caunt told me she hopes to sponsor more riders, through funding and product support. She also has plans to launch an elite race team that will compete in international events. The goal is to attract long-term sponsors to help grow cycling in Nepal, and to “kick arse,” she said.
I’m already looking forward to returning next year—for another adventure and to see how far mountain biking progresses in this beautiful, exotic, and often wild country.