Day 14 - Near Sarchu 52 kms - 4300 metres ! " Luxury " !

It was yard by painful yard ! We'd been climbing for 18 kms and the pass was in sight but the altitude and the road gradient had somehow turned the road surface to treacle and our riding legs to jello !
The famed Baralarcha at 4850 metres was not going to be conquered with ease !

Our campsite near Zing Zing Bar disappeared in the distance as we launched straight into morning climb mode, Graham already leagues ahead,  Pete in recovery mode after yesterdays ill health and the US / Canadian team spotting us a 15 minute head start.

We'd made an interesting observation in camp the night before about the average age of both groups being close to 60 suggesting either a superior fitness level in the age group or more than likely our ability to get time off for these adventures !

Having snail paced our way over the nondescript Baralacha pass it was a free fall adventure mainly on bitumen to our psychedelic purple tent lunch stop which succeeded in re colouring all the clothing we were wearing !

The final 25 kms to our campsite were sublime with the outstanding rock formations and scenery more than making up for the dusty rocky unmade road we were cycling on

Every corner had a different spectacle making this section one on the most beautiful on tour so far
Our last 5 kms to cap were finally on bitumen allowing us to fly before reaching our "special" accommodation for the next two nights so called Luxury tents which at least gave us room to speed out and relax !

Our Luxury Tents !