TWO KIWIS AND A NEPALESE BIKED TO THE EVEREST BASE CAMP

JOHNNY MULHERON & JONATHAN KENNETT of Wellington and CHHIMI GURUNG of Kathmandu cycled all the way to Everest Base Camp... JOHNNY MULHERON writes.

I reckon Tintin had it easy in Tibet. We were having a hellish time trying to organize permission to ride there. In one hectic week we had obtained a plethora of information, much of it contradictory. Perhaps this had something to do with the 'Asia Syndrome'. The main symptom of this disorder is the inability to say not to a direct question in case of (a) losing your interest, or (b) offending you. One reputable travel agent assured us it was useless trying to get information from the Chinese Embassy: "They know absolutely nothing about Tibet."

Take these frustrations, add the rapidly increasing feeling of lose-endedness, throw in an enthusiastic monomaniac Nepalese mountain biker, let the whole lot summer for a few days, and you have the perfect formula for something out of the ordinary; some would call it "desperately insane": mountain bikes to Everest Base Camp.