Royal Mountain Travel Magazine Royal Mountain Travel Magazine Issue 3 | Page 10

Biking in Bhutan

especially during weekends and now bike lanes adorn some of the
roads in Thimphu. In East Bhutan bicycles are still virtually absent
however, and people still gaze at me. I was probably the first cyclist
riding from Trashi Yangtse to Thimphu, or exploring the trail from
Phobjikha to Wangdi via Gogona and Kotokha and the cultural trek
in Bumthang on a mountain bike in one day.
After the fourth King and the then Crown Prince took up mountain
biking, the sport really took off. More bikers took to trails and forest
roads and a few mountain biking trails were built, especially near
Thimphu and in West Bhutan. Others, including more royals, joined
the fun and in 2010 HRH Prince Jigyel and a groups of serious
bikers rode the first Tour of the Dragon, a one-day 260 kilometer
ride across four high passes with some 4,400 meters of climbing. I
had a go at this reportedly toughest one-day mountain biking race
in the world. Definitely not a piece of cake, but doable if you are in
good shape, have trained a hell of a lot, manage to survive the heat
of Wangdue valley, and if your legs do not cramp up.
Nowadays when I cycle the 23 kilometer and 900 meter climb
from Thimphu to the nearby Dochula pass at 3,150 meters, I
can’t stop myself from thinking about the good old days when
traffic was light and a small cosy teashop sat on the top of
the hill above Dochula. Cycling tourists often follow this route
to Wangdi or Bumthang and occasionally all the way across
Bhutan to Trashigang in the East. Personally, I rather cycle
along the roads in East Bhutan where traffic is still light and
most of the roads still have not been environmentally unfriendly
widened. Recently I explored a new 160 kilometer mountain
biking route mainly along farm roads in Trashigang and Trashi
Yangtse in East Bhutan, with some very interesting side trips.
Side trips may take you to a yak-herding village, to some of the
most idyllic, impressive and peaceful monasteries in Bhutan,
ruined ancient dzongs, roosting sites of the threatened blacknecked cranes, and butterfly and bird watching areas.

Collecting plastic garbage along the way. Photo: Piet van der Poel.

Prayer wheels. Photo: Piet van der Poel.

Piet is an MTBiker, hiker, amateur-lepidopterist, geomorphologist,
working in Bhutan.

Prayer flags. Photo: Piet van der Poel.

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www.royalmt.com.np

May 2014