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AGC JOURNAL 2016
Mountain Biking
Expedition in Nepal
By Captain Tik Gurung
and bustle of Kathmandu towards Battar
and Nuwakot followed by Katunje on day
The team
two. The third day was from Katunje to
Arughat, followed by Arughat to Gorkha
on day four. Day five was from Gorkha to
Khatrithanti followed by Khatrithanti to
Bhorletaar on day six, and finally from
Bhorletaar to Pokhara on day seven.
Phase One
Phase One was a very tough week which
involved solid cycling for almost six to
seven hours every day. A typical day
started with reveille at 0600 hrs. We
would then start cycling circa 0830 hrs
with breaks in between and normally we
reached our camping site by 1700 hrs. The
terrain was mostly uphill and unforgiving.
It was down to sheer determination
coupled with our Gurkha mentality, which
Thirteen members of Gurkha enabled us to complete the rides.
Staff and Personnel Support At Marpha (The Apple Garden of Nepal) Soon everyone became accustomed to
from eleven units in the changing gears correctly, fitness improved
United Kingdom, Brunei and vastly and the sense of achievement grew
stronger. Within the group we could sense
Nepal took part in Exercise some healthy rivalry taking place such as
Tiger GSPS Pedallers in establishing themselves as either uphill or
January 2016 and cycled downhill King. During this phase, we saw
areas devastated by the last earthquake.
more than 500 kilometres
over a period of three weeks.
Aim and Overview
The aim of the expedition was to develop
leadership skills, build team cohesion
and morale through controlled exposure
to risks in a challenging outdoor pursuit.
Since this was the first mountain biking
only expedition to Nepal, justifying
for a place proved difficult initially, as
historically Nepal is better known for
trekking rather than mountain biking.
The riding was divided into two phases. On a suspension bridge over the Budi Gandaki River near Gorkha
Phase One from Kathmandu to Pokhara in
seven days. It took us away from the hustle
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