Hard Road to Nirvana, A Solo Bicycle Journey Through Tibet and Along the Himalayas
By Matthew Cull
3.5/5
()
About this ebook
Starting in Yunnan Province of southern China, Matthew cycled alone, unsupported, and without the necessary permits, into the mountains of Tibet. Cycling roads that varied from smooth pavement to rough rocks and cobbles, he climbed high snow covered passes, crossed through deep arid canyons, and cycled past police checkpoints at night to avoid detection. His tortuous path eventually led him to Tibet’s capital, Lhasa, where he trekked through the surrounding mountains, explored its monasteries, and delved into the Tibetan Buddhist culture and its tragic relationship with its modern day overlords. His journey continued past Everest base camp and dropped into the verdant green of Nepal. Matthew continued west on the baking, chaotic plains of India before turning north, cycling deeper into the mountains, over ever higher passes, to Ladakh, to finish on the edge of the Muslim world, on the India-Pakistan cease fire line.
Hard Road to Nirvana is a story of a supremely difficult journey of harsh roads, high altitude, climatic extremes, and trying human circumstances. Yet it is also a thoughtful exploration of the Tibetan Buddhist lands, its people, culture, religion, landscape, and its modern day situation. It is a grand solo journey, a hard-won pilgrimage, through a dramatic and beautiful, yet unforgiving landscape, told with perspective, sensitivity, and insight.
Includes 14 photographs and a map
Matthew Cull
Matthew, a native of Australia, and current resident of Aspen, Colorado, USA, has spent much of a lifetime exploring the world, primarily by self powered means: cycling and walking. His journeys by bicycle have taken him through 72 countries on six continents, and his long distance hiking has taken him along the length of the European Alps and the Pyrenees.Matthew has published two adventure narratives about several of his journeys: Solo Bicycle Journeys Across Six Continents and Hard Road to Nirvana, thoughtful and dramatic stories about hard won explorations by bicycle across the planet. He has also published six fine art photography books of candid and spontaneous photographs of people from non-western countries, under the series title, International Celebration of Culture, with individual titles: Women, Men, Kids, Parent and Child, Faith, and Marketplace. These books celebrate humanity and cultural diversity, an aspect that is diminishing as the world becomes progressively more modern. Matthew’s work places emphasis on traditional culture, activity, religion and the array of human emotion and activity within life and landscape.When not at large exploring the world he can be often found along the trails and roads in the mountains of Colorado.
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Reviews for Hard Road to Nirvana, A Solo Bicycle Journey Through Tibet and Along the Himalayas
5 ratings2 reviews
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Cull describes his big adventure bike ride from Dali on the eastern edge of the Tibetan plateau all the way to Kargil on the western edge. It's pretty much a day by day recounting of monster climbs up rough roads to high passes. He gives us little sketches of the towns along the way, together with quick notes on food and accommodations. There is a bit of technical detail on distances and altitudes. We hear about two flats and one broken spoke. At one point he mentions that he prefers the four pannier method which balances weight between front and rear. But he doesn't tell us anything about his bike, the gears, the brakes, the tires, etc. There is a lot about the views, the mountains, the forests, the fields, the people. There is enough detail about the route that I could pretty well follow along on Google Maps.The major weakness is that he never really digs in to any aspect of his experience. This is really just a travel log. It'd probably be useful to a reader who was considering a ride through that area. There are a few morsels for a reader who is just interested in the area. On the other hand, at least Cull never bogs down. The narrative keeps moving as he keeps riding his bike. It sure seems like a self-produced book. It has lots of little errors that a good copy editor could have fixed. They never really block the flow, but they might annoy a reader who is finicky! Cull seems to waver in his tenses between past and present. I'd probably struggle with that, too, if I tried writing a book! Reading the book is a little like riding one of those rocky roads. But at least here the road is on the whole level with a light tailwind.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I really enjoy books about bicycle touring in general. I especially enjoyed this book. The author is a keen observer of life and culture as well as the human condition.