English
Huge Congratulations To Steve Colligan.
As you may of read in Steve’s previous post on the Wiggle Bloggle. On the 23rd September 2008 Steve Colligan completed his amazing Challenge to Ride his unicycle 1000km (620 miles) across the Roof of the World, from Lhasa, the capital of Tibet, to Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal to support The Hilly Region Development Club Charity No.371 a NGO (non-governmental organisation) and its projects to improve the educational facilities and amenities in a remote village in the Himalayas.
We supplied him with the following kit. In Steve’s words “Were absolutely priceless and worth their weight in gold. I couldn’t fault them, even riding at well below freezing levels with extremely strong winds. A brilliant piece of kit”.
Gore Windstopper Soft Shell III Leg Warmers
“I am extremely happy to report that I have managed to complete this unbelievably hard adventure. There have been many highs (literally), but even more lows, due to the extremity of what I was attempting. I’m certainly no stranger when it comes to pushing my body to its limits, but on this ride I broke new boundaries of my physical endurance.
In the end the total distance came to 1,100km (680 miles), with a total ascent of 12,000 metres, and a descent of nearly 15,000 metres. I rode over a height of 5,000 metres seven times; five of those were completely off-road.
The early part of the trip, out of Lhasa, was on fairly good roads, but once I turned off the main highway towards Everest, things got rougher. In fact they stayed that way until leaving Tibet. Those last seven days in Tibet turned out to be the hardest days of my life. At times the road conditions were barely rideable. Some of the mountain passes would take half a day to ride up and were no easier to ride down the other side, due to the rocky surface being like a wash-board. The winds were so fierce at times that they would blow me off the unicycle, or stop me in my tracks completely. If the winds weren’t affecting my riding directly, then they would indirectly with frequent dust storms. The temperatures did go down to –15 Deg.C, with a constant wake up temperature of –10 Deg.C. Ice on the inside of the tent was an almost daily occurrence. Water in my Camelbak stayed frozen until late morning. Some days I’d have to start in the dark and also finish in the dark (13.5 hours being my longest day). The constant saddle discomfort was not adding to the pleasures either! As a result of the efforts required completing this ride, I now find I am 10kg lighter and in serious need of putting weight back on. I have eaten well and have not been ill, apart from an awful chesty cough that developed from the start. The weight loss is purely down to the efforts required to ride these passes and the long distance on a very difficult surface. The hardest thing though, was the breathing required to rotate that 36 inch wheel over the rocky terrain, while riding up hill at 5,000 metres. Like I say, it was hard, really hard..… Even though I came close to giving in to the conditions a few times…, I never did.
The above is just an overview of the hardships I had to endure. There were, of course, many high points. The views of snow-capped mountains, especially the magnificent sight of the North Face of Everest were certainly one of those. The endless curiosity that riding my unicycle brought. Kids and adults alike were intrigued and fascinated by it – a wonderful icebreaker with the Tibetans in remote villages I rode through. Most of all though, the sense of achievement, on completing this challenge, is second to none.
In due course there will be a complete write-up about my adventure. For the moment though I would like to thank everyone who supported me with endless encouragement while on the ride itself. Also a massive thank you to those of you, around the world, who have sponsored me and donated to this very worthy cause.
Many Thanks
Steve.
For More info on Steve and his charity visit www.unicyclesteve.com