Roads to ride before I sleep!
Total Distance 122 kilometers
Approx. cycling time: 15 hours
Actual journey time : 12 kilometers (without taking a break)
Route: Bhimeshwar, Kashikhand,Bardibas road
At 05:08 Preeti started her journey towards Kathmandu. She had to cross two ghat sections today, one a small section and the other a longer and difficult one. Her target was to reach as close as possible to Kathmandu.
Although the terrain was a difficult one, the way was scenic. She had a fair idea about the difficult ghat sections she had to cross to reach Kathmandu. A terrain that was going to test her strength and endurance. Extremely steep ascends and sudden drops, such was the terrain. Much tougher that she had imagined. The maximum speed of the cycle was 43 kilometers an hour and the minimum was 8 kilometers and hours is what the fitbit shows…. Now we can imagine the kind of terrain it was….. and yet Preeti say “ at least once in life one should go visit these places “ . She cycled the whole day without taking a break. As it was a busy road, it was kind of good for Preeti as she wasn’t really alone on the road.
After crossing the first ghat section, she spotted a lot of mirrors on the sides of the hills through which the roads passed. The local stores also had mirrors on sale. After some enquiry she found out that these mirrors were stuck as a gesture of supplication to goddess “Seti Devi Mata”. In India people tie temple bells around the premises of temples as a gesture of supplication.
Today’s terrain was full of steep ascends and descends.. Japan has made this road by excavating in a mountainous region full of valleys and is in pristine condition. On the way people wished her the best for her intent of spreading awareness about Organ Donation. They also requested her to wait at Dhulikhel and not to proceed to Bharatpur after sundown. She decided to take a night halt at Dhulikhel at around 8 in the night.
Preeti has achieved her set target of reaching as close as possible to Kathmandu. It is just 18 kilometers to Kathmandu now. Tomorrow she intends to meet people in Kathmandu and spread the awareness about Organ Donation.
Original Blog By : Kavita Pipada
English Translation By : Girija Shirurkar