On 24th August 2008, Tom Miller, Charlie Harbage, Robbie Miles, Tom Maizels and Harry Moule set out on an expedition to cycle from Lhasa, Tibet to The Nepali capital Kathmandu. The route was 1600km and this included five major passes each reaching in excess of 5200m as well as a detour up to Everest Base Camp. The sub-zero temperatures, severe headwinds and altitude made this route one of the most challenging in the world. The expedition was not only intended to be an immense personal challenge but it was also our aim to raise as much awareness and money for ‘Marie Curie Cancer Care’ as possible. This charity in particular was chosen because it supported Tom’s father and Harry’s mother during the final weeks of their life. We were fortunate enough to attract the interest of the BBC who promoted our campaign for Marie Curie by publicising our expedition. We were invited to an interview at the BBC broadcast house in Northampton and were also asked to give live interviews throughout the trip via mobile phone. The expedition took an immense amount of organisation in particular with regard to visas as the Chinese Immigration laws for access to Tibet were stringent and thorough. Moreover, we took our fitness preparation extremely seriously in order to be best prepared for the higher altitude.

We flew to Kathmandu and after a day of sightseeing we commenced a week of training with the Nepali national mountain bike champion! After day one it was clear that none of us were ready to face the perils of cycling in Tibet and we were grateful to be able to go back to a guest house at the end of the day to nurse our sore bottoms and aching limbs. However, five days later and several mangled bikes later we were ready to face the expedition. It depressed me somewhat that the flight from Kathmandu to Lhasa took 50 minutes and the return journey would be taking 21 days. We realised just how high the terrain that we would be traversing was when the plane was level with the summit of Everest; Tibet really is the ‘rooftop of the world’.

Walking round Lhasa, all of us felt light headed and fatigued. The altitude did seem to be affecting us despite the fact that we were all popping diomox “like smarties”. Two days later, with the group finally acclimatised to the altitude we assembled the bikes which had been packaged up for the flight from Kathmandu and set off on our way. We had a support team consisting of a guide and a cook who drove a truck and ‘4x4’. Each day we covered an average of 70km but the difficulty varied on account of the terrain. The hardest pass we had to negotiate was 40km long, ascending 1200m with 70 hairpin bends. Cycling up this was exhausting and somewhat demoralising but the view at the top was breathtaking (a cliché I know but it truly was the most beautiful sight and one which I cannot do justice to in words). We camped along the route which was liberating and an unforgettable experience. We washed and drank from streams and cooked traditional Tibetan food on camp stoves. However, camping had its drawbacks: after 10 hours of cycling we were sweaty, tired and often ‘on edge’ and the prospect of pitching camp and enduring a night of temperatures as low as -15 degrees, knowing that we had another 10 hour ride the following morning at 7am, was less than attractive. I think it is fair to say that the five of us grew extremely close during the 21 days of intense physical and mental exertion and this is in part due to the fact that we had to be exceedingly tolerable of each other. We all had days when we were feeling low and it was then that tensions in the group could escalate. Spending such a long time with another person allows you to see who they truly are and it is this that made the trip that extra bit more special.

Getting to Base Camp was the most challenging part of the expedition. The bumpy dirt tracks not only slowed us down but were also a source of great discomfort! However, it was all made worthwhile when the four days of cycling to Base Camp from the security of the Friendship Highway were over. We pitched camp next to a Buddhist monastery which, other than a monstrous Chinese built guest house, was the only sign of human interference. As we sat having a cup of our routine post-cycling jasmine tea (a drink that I will never be having again!), gazing at Mount Everest which towered above us, we reminisced about how ridiculous our earlier argument regarding what pace we should be cycling really was. That moment felt like the culmination of our expedition. Our guide told us that we were immensely fortunate to see Everest so free of cloud. We sat eating the Kendal Mint Cake that Robbie’s grandmother had thoughtfully packed for him and it was then that a though occurred to me: “I’m one of the highest humans in the world right now”.  One of our sponsors thoughtfully remarked in his letter that “it’ll be all downhill from Base Camp!” In fact, we were about to embark on the longest descent in the world, from Base Camp at 5200m to Kathmandu at 2800m. It seemed as though the trip had gone smoothly and with only 6 days to go we were in high spirits. But then: disaster struck...

We were cycling down a steep and rocky track. Robbie was at the back of the group when I looked round and noticed he was not on his bike and was stumbling around. Thinking that he had had just had a bit of a tumble (of which there were many throughout the trip) Charlie and I headed back to see if everything was okay. When I got closer I realised that in fact everything was not okay. Robbie’s knees were severely cut and he was evidently in shock. Charlie and I attempted to sit him down but the adrenaline meant that all he wanted to do was continue cycling. We eventually got him to sit down and we cleaned and bandaged the two knees. We sent Harry ahead to catch up with the safely truck and inform them what had happened. In the meantime, the adrenaline was starting to wear off and Robbie was evidently in a lot of pain. Eventually the truck arrived and Robbie was bundled in. Tom very kindly offered to go with Robbie to the nearest village which was 50km away. Robbie arrived at the village ‘Tingri’ and was shown to the clinic which could better be described as a cowshed. The physician evidently had little idea what he was doing and merely redressed the wounds with new bandages. It was apparent that Robbie was not going to get any medical help from this village. Nevertheless, not realising the severity of the wounds, we stayed in a guest house in Tingri. Despite his objections we decided as a group that the following morning Robbie should be evacuated to Kathmandu on the principle that it was ‘better to be safe than sorry’. That night, Robbie got a fever and it was obvious that the wounds had got infected. I gave him some strong antibiotics and the next morning him and Tom got in the truck and set off for Kathmandu. Charlie, Harry and I had no contact with Robbie or Tom until we arrived in Kathmandu. We continued along the planned route but were demoralised by the lack of Robbie and Tom. Admittedly the cycling itself was fun as it was predominantly downhill and the scenery was fascinating: gradually transforming from barren emptiness to the lush greenery of Nepal. Then we had disaster number two: Harry took a fall and although he got away with a nasty scrape, the video camera - which had over 100 hours of filming on and which contained numerous diary entries describing our feelings and emotions - fell down a ravine and landed in the white rapids below. This was another significant blow to our morale, but realising little could be achieved by sulking we put it out of our mind.

When we were eventually reunited with Tom and Robbie, we were told of how it took them 14 hours to reach Kathmandu and that Robbie had to be carried by Tom across the Nepali border. Robbie had been in a bad way when he arrived at Kathmandu and had to be operated on immediately. The wounds which Charlie and I thought we had cleaned were in fact gangrenous and the doctor picked out a cup full of gravel from the two knees as well as having to cut away dead flesh. Robbie was unable to fly home with us as he had to remain under constant medical supervision for one week. Although this was not the way we envisaged the expedition ending, there was a great sense of achievement not only due to the fact that we had cycled so far and in such hostile conditions but also because we had got Robbie to safety.

It is fair to say that this expedition was a life-changing experience. Every aspect of the trip was fascinating: from developing an understanding of Tibetan culture and the impact of Chinese influence to realising just how far I was able to push myself under extreme circumstances.