So Bangladesh just moved up on my list and I owe it all to my newest aquaintence, Ken. My principal's wife Sara sent me "biker guy" Ken's email and sent Ken my email. Within hours Ken had emailed me letting me know that he would be out of town for a bit but when he got back he would contact me about a ride. He also mentioned a 15 day bike trek he would be taking to Nepal in April. All I could think was, "Seriously? 15 days in Nepal for the sole purpose of riding. This guy is legit!"
So Ken made it back and we set up a "Mountain Bike" ride which I was thinking would be lame dirt roads but that I was hoping would be more. We met at 7:00 am with 4 other riders and started the mad dash to get out of Dhaka. After about 5 miles of road riding Ken just hangs a left onto a trail I never would have seen. For the next 50 Km Ken led us on a dizzying maze of interconnected trails and paths in the delta areas outside of Dhaka. When I got home we had riden 70 Km, my legs were sore, and I was beat! I had ridden hills, hucked my bike off of 6 foot drops, crossed levy trails that were 6-12 inches wide, ridden through bamboo forests, seen ferrets, walked over bamboo bridges, had some close calls, and laughed like a kid again. One of the guys on the ride, Satish, took some pics and here they are:
TRAILS IN BANGLADESH!
And they were fun too. All the excitement of Mt. biking with a people factor. Kids would run out from their homes to yell greetings and wave. Some would just laugh! It was like a mountain bike race with people on the course cheering us on. Most of the trails were walking paths for people getting between villages, getting to the fields or from animals being led out to pasture. We were never far from civilizations but I felt like i was in nature. Cool sights fun riding and cool people.
Oh yeah, and it turns out I did not have the first Santa Cruz bike in Bangladesh... Yep, Ken has a SC Nomad... Bro-mance? I hope I don't come on too strong and scare Ken away! At least our bikes are different colors. Anyway, Thank you Ken for showing me some dirt, I needed it.
So Ken made it back and we set up a "Mountain Bike" ride which I was thinking would be lame dirt roads but that I was hoping would be more. We met at 7:00 am with 4 other riders and started the mad dash to get out of Dhaka. After about 5 miles of road riding Ken just hangs a left onto a trail I never would have seen. For the next 50 Km Ken led us on a dizzying maze of interconnected trails and paths in the delta areas outside of Dhaka. When I got home we had riden 70 Km, my legs were sore, and I was beat! I had ridden hills, hucked my bike off of 6 foot drops, crossed levy trails that were 6-12 inches wide, ridden through bamboo forests, seen ferrets, walked over bamboo bridges, had some close calls, and laughed like a kid again. One of the guys on the ride, Satish, took some pics and here they are:
TRAILS IN BANGLADESH!
And they were fun too. All the excitement of Mt. biking with a people factor. Kids would run out from their homes to yell greetings and wave. Some would just laugh! It was like a mountain bike race with people on the course cheering us on. Most of the trails were walking paths for people getting between villages, getting to the fields or from animals being led out to pasture. We were never far from civilizations but I felt like i was in nature. Cool sights fun riding and cool people.
Oh yeah, and it turns out I did not have the first Santa Cruz bike in Bangladesh... Yep, Ken has a SC Nomad... Bro-mance? I hope I don't come on too strong and scare Ken away! At least our bikes are different colors. Anyway, Thank you Ken for showing me some dirt, I needed it.
Hehehe you made my Mother and I giggle. It sounds like you had an awesome adventure and made a cool new friend. Lucky guy!
ReplyDeleteLoving reading your posts - quite an adventure you are living!
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