July 19, 2025
Kora Challenge
The Kora Challenge takes place across Nepal on the same day. I had heard about it on my very first day in the country—but promptly forgot. Sh*t. Nepal’s mountain biking and trail running culture is such a well-kept secret. Or maybe I'd never bothered to learn about it, despite Nepal being home to the highest and steepest mountains.
Kathmandu's Kora Challenge, starts and ends at Patan Durbar. Folks rode varying distances of their choice, always tracing a circular route—like a circumambulation—around a temple, a landmark or a town/city.
At 5:30 AM, I meet Sangam Adhikari for the first time. He instantly became my guide and riding buddy for the day—and maybe beyond. Along the way, we picked up another rider, Arihant Bothra, who also happens to be a hardcore trail runner. From that point on, we rode as a team.
A couple of times we lost Arihant, or I got separated from them. Sangam always made sure we regrouped—sometimes by chasing Arihant up a steep section while asking me to stay put at the right turn Arihant had missed.
In the beginning, we had our ups and downs—as a team of unequals trying to ride and stay together. I’ve been bikepacking on my fat bike for the past 10 months across northeast India and, since July 1st, in Nepal.
Today my setup was: fat bike and minimal emergency gear—spare tube, repair kit, rain poncho, change of clothes, gloves, emergency food, first-aid kit, and so on.
Arihant and Sangam, on the other hand, rode much lighter. They’ve done this before and know what’s essential. I, on the other hand, have far less tolerance… :-(
The same applies to downhill riding—paved or trail. They would fly. I mean really fly sometimes with both hands off the handle! Me? I get off and walk. I slowed the team down a lot. But they never left me behind. Sangam kept us on track, making sure we stuck to the 160 km route.
But, the whole day, we functioned as a team—sharing water, ORS, and later, our two headlamps. We rode until 11:30 PM, so we had to conserve battery power for when we’d really need it.
One such moment came atop Nagarkot Viewpoint. A heavy downpour hit, and soon we were engulfed in clouds with near-zero visibility. Luckily, we were descending around 9 PM, when traffic was minimal. We rode cautiously, following the yellow edge lines on the road—me with one headlamp, Sangam and Arihant with the other. They’re Nepalis—they know how to descend. While I brake all the way down—and my rear brake wasn’t even working.
We’d split up by then: the fast riders up front, and me, the tortoise, trailing far behind.
Eventually, my headlamp died. That meant I had to ride with Sangam and Arihant, slowing them down too. As a team, we decided to skip the final hill and head straight towards Bhaktapur, and then Kathmandu. We finally finished at 11:30 PM.
Poor me—my body’s wrecked. Looks like I’m stuck in Nepal for a long, long time…
Today's ride: 150 km (93 miles)
Total: 3,737 km (2,321 miles)
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