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Welcome to Nepal
Birds squawking, motorbikes, people talking in foreign languages, and footsteps in the hallway are just a few of the audible sounds from my room in the Kathmandu GuestHouse. After 2 days of traveling, including a 10 hour layover in Doha, Qatar and a series of flights (4 hours, 12 hours, 4 hours were the flight legs), we landed at the Kathamandu airport. The airport is made of red brick and we are shuffling down the hall with hundreds of people from different nationalities as we enter customs. A fresh stamp of ink went on a page in my passport, a stamp that will be more than just fading ink when I look back at it.
We wait at the baggage claim with Jeff and our new friend, Peter, holding our breaths and making nervous jokes with our eyes glued to the conveyer belt expectantly waiting for our luggage and bikes. The last time Jeff and I traveled internationally, our bikes and luggage were lost barring total disaster. We were excited and relieved when we saw the familiar shape if all our stuff.
As we exited the airport, we were greeted by the friendly smile of Yak Attack promoter, Phil Evans, and an entourage of very helpful Nepalese. We got on the bus to get to the hotel and I realized the that the steering wheel was on the opposite side. Here, they drive on the left side of the road. The traffic was unlike anything I have ever seen. I’ve been on some crazy roads on the Caribbean islands, but this made those look tame. There are no lanes, no stop lights, no stop signs, with tons of buses, motorbikes, cars, bicycles and pedestrians going every which way. Honk and go. The streets are also not marked and I was thankful I didn’t have to drive. We would get a taste of it the next day. The city was very hazy from pollution and all you can see were outlines of mountains in the distance.
We arrived at the Kathmandu GuestHouse and built our bikes. The EVOC case did its job. Our bikes made it halfway around the world without any damage. The room is small but cozy. Some of the lights work, but the power for the fan and the outlets works very, very sporadically. We have a private shower with hot water and a flush toilet.
Peter, Jeff, and I went out for some food after building bikes. We stepped out into the street in Thamel (the tourist district of Nepal). The street is lined with shops sporting all the local wares including prayer flags, singing bowls, icons of Ganesh, and pashmina, pashmina, pashmina. We also realized that it’d be easy to get lost since everything looks like same and there are no street labels. We chose a restaurant for its rooftop garden and climbed about ten flights of stairs. From there, we could see across the other rooftops of Kathmandu. A lot of people have rooftop gardens, hand wash and hang their clothes, and we even saw a goat on the adjacent rooftop being fed.
The travel fatigue and 13 hour time difference kicked in. We had been up for almost 24 hours and despite getting decent sleep on the Trans Atlantic flight, I was curled up and passed out at 6:30 PM. I woke up at 3:30 AM starving and realized it was dinner time at home. After a nutrition bar and laying awake for an hour, I went back too sleep.
We were up at 6:30AM for breakfast. I was curious what a Nepali a breakfast would be like and was surprised to see mini pancakes, scrambled eggs with veggies, potatoes, granola, and mini sausages. I am not sure if that is a “westernized” menu for tourists, or if that’s also traditional breakfast food here. We met with Mangal Krishna Llama, a local racer and Yak Attack veteran for a ride. Peter, Per (a Swedish rider here to race), Jeff, and I set off.
In the back of my mind, I thought “ahhh, we have to ride our bikes through town in all that traffic?” It was surprisingly not so bad. I think it’d be the biggest challenge in a car, but everyone knows how to deal with pure road chaos. The hardest part was riding on the left side of the road and passing on the right. I definitely swerved the “wrong” way once! I was thankful we were in a small group, but it was definitely had some sketchy maneuvering. That was probably the highest my heart rate was the whole ride with several shots of adrenaline! We headed into the hills above the city. There is tons of pollution, even just outside of the city. The climbs are very steep (and Mangal made it look effortless with his snappy spin). We stopped at the top of the climb at a small cafe and had some Nepalese black tea. The small steaming glass of liquid was sweet and fragrant on my tongue. We watched children walking to school, all in uniform with little neckties. A packed bus would go by and slow down, but not to a complete stop and a local would jump on. There was a lady hand- washing dishes outside. We continued on our way and rode a really fun piece of singletrack. There was a huge drop off on one side of the trail and we kept popping out in between houses. Old, weathered ladies were carrying large baskets on their back full of plants up the hills. There was a section where you had to go right behind a cow. I cautiously scooted by. Per wasn’t so lucky – the cow flinched and Per got pushed into a shed. There were lots of women outside hand washing dishes and clothes, cute kids, men with colorful hats, baby goats, dogs, chickens, and honking motorbikes were our obstacles. The women were all dressed in colorful traditional attire. There were rows of yellow flowers.
Coming back into town, I made sure to wear my helmet cam for the “technical” riding through the city. The scariest was trying to go across a busy street because the cross traffic never stops completely and there is so much traffic that there is never a window. You have to confidently jump out into oncoming traffic and take your line. I was feeling normal in the morning, but around 3 PM (2AM) at home, I feel the lag. Mangal took us to a restaurant for lunch and I had my first Dal Baat – a platter with white rice, spicy lentil sauce, a reddish color sauce, chicken, spinach, hot sauce, potato, and pickle. Mix it all together and you have a plate of goodness. The traditional way to eat it is with your hands.
The race starts on Saturday. Tomorrow will be a day of planning.
We have wifi at the guesthouse, but I will it not be taking my iPad during the races so I will be updating this site post race. We will get two more days here where we will immerse ourselves in all the tourist sites. I will try to do some Facebook posts during the stretch of racing, but connection will be limited. I posted some photos on my athlete Facebook and twitter pages if you want to have a look. www.twitter.com/looneysonya and www.facebook.com/looneysonya
Thanks for reading. I will have an arsenal of photo and video when I get back that I can’t wait to share!
Nepal. Yak Attack. GO.
The time has come. There’s a lump in my throat, I’m pacing anxiously through my house, I haven’t been able to sleep well the last couple of weeks. Tomorrow morning, Jeff and I will head to the airport to travel across the world to Kathmandu, Nepal. Months of preparation, obsessing, tough training in the dead of winter, details, details, details… I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a little scared. The fear of the unknown, the fear of the what ifs, the fear of what I forgot? These are all out of my control. I’ve done the work, I’ve done the research. I am as ready as I can be!!
I got an Evoc bike bag and I have to say, this thing is freaking AWESOME! It’s the easiest time I’ve ever had packing my bike. It didn’t take long, there was no screaming and exasperated cursing. It’s perfect.
The only thing not perfect is what the airlines charge and I can’t pack it full due to weight limit restrictions.
The hardest thing this week is deciding what to take. Read on for why… but basically we are only allowed 22 lbs of gear for the majority of the race including the weight of the gear bag, a sleeping bag, and everything you’d need to survive for 6-7 more days. A sherpa will carry it to village to village. I will be using the Garmin Etrex 30 for navigation.
See that full blue Patagonia duffel? I’ll have to take HALF the stuff out of it and send it back in another bag to Kathmandu after 4 days. Crazy crazy crazy. I will not have nearly what I feel I “need” which is scary. It’ll bring a new definition to bare minimum! That is actually what I am most anxious about… that and peaking out at 17,769′!!!
I stole this off Jeff’s blog, but it’s the basic info on the race:
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- The race is solo. No teams.
- 11 stages total with 1 acclimation/rest day at 12,000 ft. This comes after Stage 7. Final stage is a celebratory group ride to the finish.
- Only 15 international athletes are allowed to compete. Remaining are Nepali. Expect no more than 50 racers total. The services along the route can handle no more than 50 people, hence the limit on the field.
- No tent camping. We stay in tea houses along the route, which are very similar to hostels here in the USA.
- We are allowed 44 lbs of gear for transport for first few stages, which is transported by trucks to the overnight villages. This is then cut to 22 lbs as our gear is carried by sherpas to the overnight villages and tea houses at the higher terrains. Any gear that does not fit in these weight allowances must be carried on the bike by the riders.
- Stages are relatively short compared to most stages races, covering 15-30 miles a day. But, the elevation, terrain, hike-a-bike, etc, make for roughly 2-4 hour days on the bike. Some days shorter…some days longer. Terrain and health will dictate.
- The purpose of the Yak-Attack is to give the Nepali riders an international field to race against, to finance local businesses along the route, raise awareness of the diversity of activities available in the area, and to create and concrete bonds between international communities, individuals, and Nepali athletes.
- Lowest elevation we compete at is 4,200 ft. Highest elevation we will get to is 17,775 ft! Highest I have ever been is 14,400; Mt. Elbert west of Leadville, CO
- Mountain Bike UK magazine lists the Yak-Attack as one of the Top-5 hardest mountain bike events in the World!
Event website
yak-attack.co.uk/
Daily updates
www.facebook.com/pages/Yak-Attack/146067758739132
www.facebook.com/teamtopeakergon
www.facebook.com/looneysonya
twitter.com/jeffkerkove
twitter.com/looneysonya
For the twitter links, Sonya and I will use #yakattack during the trip.
Expect updates during the first 4 stages. After that, updates will become sparse as we start to get remote. Very remote.
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So for now, this is goodbye! I’ll talk to you all in 3 weeks. I have a feeling this will be a once in a lifetime experience and I am so fortunate. Thank you, thank you, thank you for all your continued support.
Yak Attack Prep – Done.
How do I put into words something I cannot quite grasp? Something big. Something encompassing walking on the tallest and the most majestic mountain range on Earth? My work is finally done. Months of preparation will be put to work starting March 3 in Kathmandu, Nepal.
The Yak Attack – a 10 day stage race/trek on a bike. Some of it you ride, some of it you walk, and all of it you embrace and admire. I leave one week from today for my adventure to tackle the highest mountain bike stage race in the world with my teammate, Jeff Kerkove. We will both be taking on the adventure SOLO. Some of you have been following my prep. After a few months of various training modalities, I am proud to say that after the many liters of sweat, the days I have literally frozen on the descents, the persistent efforts in the gym, the many times I had to tell myself to just shut up and do the work, the research, and the hiking, I feel ready. Jason from Fascat Coaching listened to my doubts, but gently encouraged me along my way. It was a huge advantage to be training with power. I got a Cyclops Mountain Bike Powertap and quite honestly, I cannot imagine training without it anymore! It gave invaluable feedback on days where my heart rate was low and I wanted to turn around. My heart rate may have been low, but my numbers were still up! The final block that I finished today was the hardest – 10 days long to mimic the race. I had one recovery day in the middle of it, and the total for the block was 32 hours, ~307 mi(I don’t know the exact number because my Garmin did not measure moving distance while hiking) and about 36,000′ of elevation gain with every ride pointing uphill. The race will be 250 miles and 39,000′ of elevation gain. I rode more miles than in the race, but the terrain will be a lot more difficult there. I was very surprised that despite the efforts day after day, I was able to maintain power and felt good. The only thing I have left to do is rest for the next week with a few short efforts to stay spunky.
Most of my rides went up Sunshine or Magnolia. Both punishing!
This video shows the progression of the hike-a-bike training and harness system. I decided it’d be more fun to watch it and to talk to tthe camera than to type it all out. There is a lot of talking and walking. Enjoy!
I can only take so many photos of the same roads for you, so most of my photos are from my hikes this week.
Walker Ranch
Brainard Lake
The snowpacked road to Brainard.
Snowshoes on the Ergon BC2.
Hiking boots and gear for BX3. I will be using the Ergon BX3 in the Yak Attack.
Every day for as many as I can remember, at least one person asked me if I was “okay” during my training ride or hike. Some of the time I was around the Peak to Peak highway with my bike on the ground digging warm gloves and clothes out of my backpack for the way down. Other times I was walking with my bike. The other question people asked me the most was if my backpack was designed the carry the bike. That is flattering because it means that what I’ve done looks like it’s “supposed” to be that way.
I made one last video before the race. This one focuses entirely on my hike-a-bike method. I created a harness for my bike that is compact, light, and easy to manage. I will only use this method for the Thorong La stage, and will shoulder or push it for the rest of the time. This past week, four of my rides incorporated hike-a-bike. The rest of them involved 80+ minutes of intensity up the canyons around Boulder.
The time management was the most difficult part of my last aggressive training block. I will admit that I could have done better with sleep and was up late working almost every night, but something had to give. I got my work done for my job and got my work done on the bike. My social life suffered a little bit, but I was able to see friends once or twice.
I had a great V-day with my boyfriend, Matt. Valentine’s was a great day of treats paired with great wine!!
I have almost all my logistics ready to go for the race. The trickiest part now will be packing. For the last 6 stages of the race (as I’ve mentioned), we are only allowed 22 lbs of gear including all race equipment and nutrition. I need to pack my race bag and see just what needs to stay home, and the bare minimum that’ll be good enough. It is surreal that this is all happening. I will be posting again before I leave.
I wanted to thank all my sponsors for the amazing support you have given me, to my friends and family, to my coach -Jason, and to Matt for letting me be selfish with my time and put myself first getting ready for this race.
I will continue to be motivated by the quote that has stuck with me since the moment I heard it. It’s on my Road ID and it’s taped to my top tube. I have looked down at it during painful, lengthy intervals, and it gave me what I needed to press on when I wanted to turn around and go home. It will give me what I need in the race too.
“It’s not who you are that holds you back, it’s who you think you’re not.”
- Denis Waitley (except he says what instead of who)
Countdown to Nepal
Wait, what? I really leave for Nepal in 2.5 weeks? Already? It still doesn’t seem real!! Part of me goes into panic mode. What am I forgetting? I only have 2.5 weeks left to train? I look back at the last couple months of tough training and of preparing info and gear and realize that in fact, YES. I am *almost* ready!
This trip will be the experience of a lifetime. There are going to be some really great adventures and I’m excited for the challenge and the breathtaking and majestic beauty of the Himalayas. Ten days of racing will be tough, but also amazing to spend some real time with the Nepalese and the other racers in our small community that will soon come together. I’m feeling strong and confident, but of course, there is always that fear. The fear of failure. It’s very unlikely, but there is still a small voice of doubt that I’ve banished to the back of my head. I’m drawn to the siren song of discovering what’s behind the “what if?” Breaking out and doing things that many do not get the opportunity to do, or that people do no thave the courage to do opens the door to the unknown. I’m finding that the unknown is captivating. It offers so much opportunity for growth in life – new culture, new independence, new experience, and more wisdom. I’m very lucky for this chance and it reinforces that idea of “you never know until you try.”
How do you prepare for a 10 day race in Nepal? With the help of Jason and Fascat Coaching, my training is almost dialed. The race consists mostly of going uphilll and hiking the bike at altitude. Due to the restrictions of winter, I have not been able to train as high as I would like, but I know I am proficient enough at 14,000′… but there is a question in my mind of how I’ll do at 17,769′ into the sky. I’ve been working on some sweet spot work and some tempo work as well. Another great benefit from this race is that I’ll start the domestic season much fitter than I ever have.
If you haven’t seen it posted on my facebook or twitter, here is training video #2 from a couple rides last week. I’m still playing with Imovie. I’m really happy with the effects of voiceover. The weather has shifted to winter in Boulder. We are getting regular snow, but my mental game is strong. The weather won’t stop me.
I was surprised how quickly the roads were cleared off. Studded tires were overkill.
Digging the Hestra gloves I bought this winter. I got a pair of the leather gloves and windstopper gloves. Good stuff.
I’ve been in Salt Lake City for the last couple days doing a bunch of Ergon product training. It’s been nice to have a short break from training, but now I’m even hungrier to start my last training block before I start my taper to the race. The last hard block starts tomorrow. Tick, tock. Tick, tock. Tick, tock.
Commitment.
Someone on my athlete page suggested I write a post about motivation and commitment. I’m flattered that what I do is a source of motivation for others. I also have friends that help me get out the door simply knowing they are doing it too.
People ask me where I get my energy or my dedication. How do I just go do some of these things? The answer is a learned work ethic. Another piece of the puzzle is personality type. It’s not that I simply want to achieve my goal, I want to be MY best and anything less is unacceptable to me. I am committed to being and doing the best I can. It is actually EASIER for me to push and work hard than it is to not do it. What I have to watch out for is overdoing it, burn-out, being too hard on myself, and obsession. Motivation is not usually an issue. Pulling back on the reins is the issue half the time!
I learned at a young age from my parents that talent gets you far, but hard work will get you anywhere you want to go. The first example in my life that I can remember was in 6th grade. I was 11 my 6th grade year. I had never been on an airplane and my favorite thing to do in the summer was go to Texas to visit my cousin(my parents often drove there). In elementary school, I did well, but I never made all As. My parents told me upon starting 6th grade, “If you make straight As all year, we’ll buy you a plane ticket and you can go visit your cousin.” That did it for me! I worked really hard and got straight As…and even straight A+s for one of the quarters. In fact, I made straight As up until my second semester of my junior year of high school when I got my first devastating B and continued to work really hard for years following that to be a top notch student. “You are so smart!” people would say. Smart only gets you so far, but hard work makes the grades. Hard work gets you scholarships and opportunity. Another learned work ethic was in 9th grade. I played flute starting in 6th grade. I made the top band my first year of high school(9th grade), albeit second to last chair. I was happy just to make the top band that was mostly made of upperclassmen. I was really into flute and really wanted a new one. Once again, my parents taught me that I could achieve if I worked hard.They told me, “If you get first chair in the top band your sophomore year, we’ll get you a new, fancy flute.” That seemed like a stretch – it was hard to get first chair, even as senior. I practiced and I practiced and made my parents eat their words. I still have my flute that all my hours of practice earned me. Once again, hard work seemed to trump the goal that seemed nearly impossible. After that, they stopped waving the carrot in front of me. In fact, they no longer had to. It was ingrained.
Fast forward to now and once again, my learned work ethic has catapulted me into a professional level cyclist. You make your own luck by persevering, working hard and keeping a positive head about it. It didn’t happen overnight or even in a year. So you see, motivation and commitment were learned. How can you learn to do it now? It’s about prioritizing, truly committing to it, not just saying you are. My boyfriend wanted to train for a 50 mile running race and he fully committed to it. He was working full time, going to grad school full time, and somehow still had time for me. How did he commit? He was up at 5 AM every morning to run. The alarm would go off and while I’d be stay warm in bed and doze back to sleep as he kissed me goodbye, he would be off to the trailhead day after day, and sometimes it was in the dark. There were mornings he didn’t want to get out of bed. He felt groggy and wondered how he could move. Those mornings, I would give him the gentle nudge and a few words of encouragement to help him get going. That brings me to my second point – support. Have people in your life that support your goals because they will help you stick with what you want to do on the days you don’t want to do it. Getting started is often the hardest part. Speaking of goals, it also helps to have well-defined goals.
If you want to make something happen, you have to make it a top priority. It has to come first. You also have to focus on time management. I went to engineering grad school full time, worked two jobs, and raced my bike in 2005-2007. I look back and am still baffled I could do that. How DID I do that? Planning ahead. I apply my time management skills learned from my balancing act through college to now. A lot of people think I’m paid to just ride and race my bike, which is not the case. I WISH it was!!!!!! I have a day job for Ergon that has to get done too. I am blessed with the gift of extreme flexibility with my job, but with flexibility comes the commitment to making sure you get your work done too. An example of a day during a heavy week of training would be getting up early and working all morning, training in the afternoon, throwing in an hour of work between workouts that go into the evening, and then I go back to work at 7 or 8 PM until I go to bed. That is how I do it. I sometimes sacrifice my social life during the week. There are other things I’d love to do like read, watch a movie, relax, play guitar, etc that suddenly are no longer an option when I have to make other things a priority. A way that I make sure things get done is I schedule everything for the week on Sunday. Each hour of my day is planned to keep me on task. If I don’t see certain things in front of me with a time next to it, it’s too easy to blow it off. Accountability. If you have a hard time keeping yourself accountable on your own, find someone to support you and help keep you accountable – a workout partner, a spouse, a friend, a coach- someone you report to and care what they think. If I had kids like I know a lot of you(my readers) do, that would make things even more difficult because it would require even more support from family and friends to watch the kids. I also think about guilt with kids – feeling guilty for not spending time with your family while you’re off training or doing whatever you’re doing to achieve your goal. I feel this guilt when I’m home in NM visiting my parents. I feel guilty every day I go ride because I wish I could be spending the whole time with my family. They understand, but it doesn’t change that I wish I had more time to spend with family and friends. They also understand that I’m a better person to be around when I can get things done that are important to me. I’ve chosen to prioritize a portion of my time to training over seeing family and friends. It sounds bad when I type it, but it’s the truth. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, people that train and race, work full time, and have a family are very inspiring and committed.
Whew! I had a lot to say about that! To be committed to something, it’s about work ethic, time management, goal setting, planning ahead, and plain and simple – getting it done. To help with motivation on days where it’s not internally driven, have a support network. Make working toward your goal a habit. If you get off track, get back on ASAP. Cut off excuses the second you start making them because with enough excuses, you’ll talk yourself out of it. I’ve caught myself doing it on some of my hard, cold rides and I tell myself literally to, “Shut up and just get it done.” I’m constantly looking for ways to improve and grow not only in cycling, but in my life… some things a little more deep which I won’t get into, and some things a little more light like flossing every day or noticing my posture at the computer or when I’m eating (ahhh, I always hunch over!)
“There’s a difference between interest and commitment. When you’re interested in doing something, you do it only when circumstance permits. When you’re committed to something, you accept no excuses, only results.”-unknown