Ride into a Glorious Sunset

Day 74 of our Pedal the Himalaya Tour. After the short Christmas celebration break at Shillong, and the futile wait for a cycle part from Bangalore, we were quite restless to make a move and cycled towards Mawphanlur 76 kms away. We cycled 42 kms and halted at Mairang at 1700 metres ASL, at a lovely guesthouse sitting on a vantage point. The roads were fantastic but were undulating and we gained an elevation of 1000 metres ( 3300 ft) during the day, passing many villages, and rolling hills carpeted with pine trees, oak, fields and dusty brown grass which must be turning into a bright green in the monsoons. But I prefer the winter, with the warm sun and the blue skies. The ride reminded me so much of the descent to Sacred Valley in Peru from Cusco though at much higher altitude. The evening sky was a mesmerising blend of crimson, orange, pale blue and wine red and was an incredible way to end a day of a slightly tiring ride.