Yak Attack Stage 1

Kathmandu - Nuwakot 100% ride-able 45 km 983m ascent 1383m descent

We rolled out of Kathmandu for a 10km controlled start which reached us to the out skirts of the city. The official start was up a paved road which entered a national park. 9:30 we were off. The uphill start didn't faze the lead group of Nepali's and a few internationals. They charged up and were quickly out of my sight. I managed to keep Soonya ( Team Eregon USA) in sight for the first little bit but she quickly separated and all were spread out. Few km of climbing the rd turned to jeep track. I was being trailed by a Nepali rider not far behind. It was great to have someone else around to keep me pushing and have a bit of back and forth competition with.Up and down this section flowed pretty nicely. Once we reached our 1872m height it was all down hill from then on. 20km we switched backed down a jeep road through many little villages. Our route was slightly detoured as road was washed out by a landslide. My Nepali biker was not far behind and eventually caught backup on the flats. I came up to an international racer who had crashed as a kid jumped out in front of him. Dodging the people, animals and few vehicle's proved to be a bit of a concern as another rider went down the same way too. It was a fast rolling race and great to get the legs spinning. The finial 5km was a steady, continuous climb in the heat of the day. I haven't felt heat like this in a long time! With plenty of fluids and a slow, spinning ascent I managed to pass 4 other riders and get the hot climb over with. A conservative, successful first day done. 9 more to go. Our accommodation for the night is outstanding. The cutest Nepali farm stay with plenty of character. Wee little doorways and wooden carved arched windows. As one racer said it; We're staying in a room fit for Harry Potter. Jeremy rode the bus with others who are following the race. The first 4 stages he gets to enjoy this comfort before he has much longer days on foot ahead. He's been in bed for the last day prior to race start suffering, throwing up with what we think is food poisoning. It's a dose of reality of what conditions we are visiting in. You just never know what you may expose yourself to no matter how careful you are. Luckily I didn't have what Jer ate and so far am healthy. 2:37min 8 min behind leading lady Soonya.