Today we left Hetuada at 7am to try to minimize today’s 102°F temperature! And it is only getting hotter! As described in the previous entry, I might’ve dozed off a cumulative a 30-90 minutes the entire night, so a day in the heat on the bike and beating down sun was gonna be just awesome cool!!!
Today’s mileage target was 72 km, mostly flat. The first 40 along somewhat busy highway; the next 32k off-road. Yes, I’m gonna say it again… I would rather ride on the smooth road with traffic than a bumpy one with no traffic. But that’s just me! The two Brits that brought their own bikes have full suspension mountain bikes, so they just cruise along comfortably on all the bumpy crap, I’ve got a Hardtail style mountain bike, and pretty much every bump communicates up through the seatpost to my you know what which is connected to my thingamajig which is connected to everything else.
In the first 40k, I rode at least half of it behind this huge truck that was traveling the absolutely perfect speed for cycling. I was with the full group, but then I heard this truck coming by at perfect speed that I can keep up with, and I got behind this big thing and it just sucked me along for at least 20 km. It was so great to have gotten that much distance covered with very little effort on a big mileage day like today.
At the end of 40 K, we stopped for a quick bite of noodles and cabbage stirfry, which was outstanding! (Brits no likey) After that we turned off the main road, and began riding the final 32k. By now, it’s certainly at least 100°F out, and we’re riding on top of a levee beside a river on a gravel road that is what I would call rough as hell. Uneven gravel, lots of large rocks; bumpy! This is where I part ways with what the Brits like to do, this was on top of the gravel levy for about 22k and most unpleasant to me in completely exposed bumpiness in extreme heat! Yes, but I don’t have a full suspension bike like the Brits do. They seem to just glide over all those bumps and all the gravel on the road! Good for them!
Towards the end of the day just a few kilometers out from our destination hotel, the Safari Lodge, we stopped at a small stand and had something I’ve never had the thought of eating before. Huge slices of cucumber with mashed chili peppers smeared on them. What a refreshing and tasty thing to eat! I would never have thought of doing that!
Anyway, after all the truck chasing and gravel riding and cucumber tasting, and two flats, we finally got to the Safari Lodge in Chitwan national Park. This is similar to one that I visited in Sri Lanka, with lots of elephants around, crocodiles, birds, rhinos, and Bengal tigers in theory. We all agreed to take a half-day jeep ride tomorrow to drive around about half of the complete park. And we are doing the morning version starting at 7 AM, there’s no way we’re going to be out there for the other possibe starting at 1 PM. It is crazy crazy hot here! Ox said that we may need to modify our normal riding plan since the temp at our destination the day after tomorrow is closer to 111°F. It’s really hard to imagine riding in that kind of heat, as riding in the 102°F today was doable, but very unpleasant.
Have I mentioned the heat yet???
So since we set off so early, and a smaller group tends travel quite a bit faster than a big one, we actually arrived at the Safari Lodge about 1 PM. That give us a nice afternoon to find out what the activities are around, get washed up and do laundry, and just take a load off for a while after three consecutive days of cycling.
At the Safari Lodge, there’s a pretty large group of Chinese tourists which is pretty common to see around the world at least according to what I’ve seen in my travels. The Chinese tourist often seems to have a lot of disposable income, and the ever burgeoning middle class is big on traveling. So this large group showed up as we were almost done with dinner, and they open the car door and a live duck falls out and they start running around laughing to catch it. it is to be their dinner, a live duck delivered to the kitchen for slaughter and cooked just after. Brilliant!
My treat today? We got here so early, since this little town at the national Park is certainly a tourist destination, I was able to get a nearly two hour massage today, focusing on legs and shoulders. It was really nice, and the massage started just after the power went on at 4 PM so I actually had the incredibly luxurious option of a room with an Aircon unit!
Finally, laying down to sleep here in my room Safari Lodge, I’m going to take advantage of the mosquito netting over the bed. I got terribly last night at the other hotel in Hetuada because not every window had screen. I have bites all over the place!
Got to get up at 5:30 AM for breakfast and then start our half day safari jeep ride. Yippee ki yaay!
The official summary:
Thurs 11 th April: Hetauda – Chitwan National Park
We enjoy a much flatter ride today after the adrenalin-pumping downhill of yesterday. We are now in central Terai, a region of hot subtropical plains and the surrounding vegetation reflects this. Sal (hard wood) and Kal (silk cotton) trees line the roads to the Royal Chitwan National Park. At Tadi, the route diverts onto a dirt track to the outskirts of the park area at Sauraha. We overnight at a hotel in the Chitwan National Park which was designated as a World Heritage Site in 1984. The park covers a pristine area with a unique ecosystem and is the largest and most famous wilderness in Nepal. It boasts more than 43 species of mammals and is especially renowned for the endangered one-horned rhinoceros and Bengal tigers. It is also home to 450 species of birds and 45 types of amphibians and reptiles. This evening we hear more about the range of activities on offer tomorrow.
Tommy Tom... On a bike somewhere... 
