Stage 4 Tatopani to Kusma

 I wake up in the night with the alarm bells ringing down below something just isn’t right. I’ve been very conservative with my food and drink all this time and yesterday evening was the first time I ate some meat and it looks like that might have backfired…. literally.

Over breakfast, I limit myself to some toast in the hope that this is a temporary situation. We jump on the bikes and head off down the valley but not before Chris left his mark on the lovely Stone paving a nice big WD-40 stain right outside the hotel entrance. 

We descend in a deep gorge following the the river that we’ve been following for two days now.  In places the gravel track  is one truck width wide with overhanging rock above. They come up belching fumes and dust engines screaming in low gear. 

The road improves and now we have mostly sealed surface and we fly down. We come across a suspension bridge and ride out into the middle. It’s the highest and longest so far.  It is exhilarating to ride out on it. A proper buzz. 



I’m starting to fade now as I haven’t eaten today.  On the last climb of the day the cramps start and I’m in trouble. No oomph. I get my head down and just keep on pedalling. The others leave me go it and they pedal on up. 

Then suddenly they are there on the side by a small track and I am blessed to find this is the finish. That’s a relief.  We follow this little track to the back entrance of our hotel which is on a cliff overlooking, you guessed it…another massive gorge.  This gorge has a suspension bridge with a 200+ bunny jump and swing over it. 

I try to eat but nothing doing. Just can’t face it. I drink some water and retire to bed. Chris comes in later and says he wants to do the big bunny jump and would I come and film it. Of course I say yes but my guts are warning me.  We tootle out to the middle of the bridge and after watching a few people jump, Chris has a change of heart. 


Then our trip doctor appears and says he is going to do the enormous swing. We decide to stay and watch him. It takes forever for him to get his turn…my guts say. But he does the deed and i head for my bed. 

Dinner is a challenge as i try to get something in but fail. There’s only so much egg fried rice I can face and i have reached my limit.  I have been really conservative with food and water choices all this trip and right at the end, (probably) in a fancy hotel, I catch some bloody bug from the first piece of meat in 10 days. I see the Doctor afterwards and he gives me some drugs.  Tomorrow’s ride is looking doubtful. 

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