Mountain biking at Kewkradong
On the top of Bangladesh
It all started that evening, Imran bhai told us about our next adventure. The idea was to reach Kewkradong peak with our bicycles. Most people would think of you as a fool if you propose something like that as your next adventure plan. But in our case, we used to take these sorts of shocking ideas in really high spirit. We aim and we shoot. Because we believe that these are things what we live for. The whole idea of mountain biking in Bangladesh started as simply as that.
We are a horde of free spirits (at least that’s what we believe we are). We live for adventure and dare to take the challenge up to the limit. We’ve put together this community for people like us. This is from where we satisfy our appetite for adrenaline with raw adventures. So, it wasn’t hard to form the expedition team for our forthcoming mountain biking event. We had two teams; a cycling team and a backup & supply team. The cycling team consisted of Imran bhai, Shagor bhai, Salman, Moon and Me; Tonmoy. Xitu bhai and Nazam Bhai were in the backup team. The plan was, the cycling team will ride their bikes and the supply & backup team will follow. In case of any trouble, cyclists would get assistance from the backup team. After all the checking and double checking of our plan for flaws, it was time to prepare our rides and ourselves to face the music.
No matter how good anyone rides his bicycle, mountain biking requires so much more. You’ve got to train yourself to gain the most control over your ride. The bicycles got to be light in weight cause there would be times when you’ll have to carry your bike on your shoulders in steep uphill or strong current water streams. They also have to be tough enough to stand your body weight along with the weight of your backpack on rough surface in high speed. Other critical adjustments to brakes, gears, suspensions and pedals have to be made with great perception. Last but not least, you’ve got to know the mechanism of your ride very well in order to repair them in the wilderness. No one knows cycles more than the street side mechanics. We learnt to repair and adjust our cycles from them. Mountain biking is a new concept in Bangladesh . So, it was hard to find some expert advice on our expedition. We took help of internet to customize our rides for optimum performance. Than finally, it was time.
January 1; very beginning of a brand new year. Also that same day was EID. While people of Dhaka were preparing to go to bed after a joyful Eid day, a couple of adventure alcoholics like us were running for the Komolapur bus stand.We had a bus to catch to Bandarbans. The reporting time at the bus station was 10:30 pm . We came together at the exact time and loaded our cycles on the roof of the bus. Then Imran bhai briefed us about our expedition. At 11:15 , with all the best wishes from Goni bhai, Rifat Bhai and all of our friends, our bus left the station for Bandarbans. We could feel the excitement right away. We didn’t know what was waiting for us in the near future, yet our eyes showed tremendous anticipation. This is what made the difference at the end. All of us passed a very busy Eid day along with the excitement of the expedition. As the night grew, we were sleeping without a single clue about where we were. That very night, the temperature fell a couple of degrees. It was a smooth ride except one single interruption. While we reached Kalurghat bridge, one of our cycles got stuck with one of the cross pitches of the bridge. So, it had to be untied, re-arranged than tied again.
Early morning; 2 January. KEWKRADONG expedition teams reach Bandarbans. After unloading our bicycles, we found that Salman’s cycle lost one of its brakes. Rests of the cycles were drenched in dew. We brought all the repairing tools and spare parts with us. After repairing, we started for the Chander Gari stand to catch a ride for our cycles and ourselves to Koikhongjhiri. It was almost noon when we were at the bank of Sangu River . Wasting no time, our backup team and one of the cyclists, Moon took a boat to Ruma Bazar. While others Me, Imran bhai, Shagor Bhai and Salman decided to ride. This was the best part of our entire trip. All the elements necessary for mountain biking were there. We had to ride south-east, through the lush green riverbank. The terrain was really rough. We had to drag our bicycles at times. Ridding the narrow riverbank was hazardous, if you loose control slightly; you will end up well 10-12 feet down on the rock beds. At a part, the ridge ended without giving us a clue. So, we had to grab our cycles, put them on our shoulders and start crossing the strong water stream. It was a good 60 meters of crossing. But the ridge ended shortly on this side also. This time, the water was too deep for us to cross with the cycles. It was the time when we boarded an uncomfortably long boat. With the cycles in our hands, we were stumbling on that boat as it rolled violently to our slightest of movements. We had to maintain the exact same position for almost an hour. After the excruciating boat trip, we had to ride through the ups and downs of the riverbank. We made the most out of this short run and gained confidence for future. We reached Ruma bazar shortly after the backup team. Just reaching there, we found ourselves as aliens with bizarre rides to the local people.
They and the other travelers found it hard to believe what we’ve already done and what we intend to do. We took lunch and prepared ourselves for the next part. Destination; Boga Lake . There was a surprise waiting for us in Ruma Bazar.
We’ve found our fellow Monju bhai with his motor bike there. He rode his bike whole night and reached here just to join us and our expedition. The usual trekking route to Boga Lake wasn’t a good choice for us to ride. So, we took the other way there. It was almost late afternoon; we were on our way to Boga Lake . Both teams started simultaneously, cycling team a bit ahead of the rest. We who rode kept going with forward rotation system. That cool late afternoon, eight souls were making their way up to reach their objective. As time went by, the slopes and the up hills became steeper and steeper. The surface was unsettling and provided no grip what so ever. We had to pull ourselves along with our precious rides up. Several times we took time out and took dry food; mostly dried dates. We took plenty of water and diluted saline. The day faded away. The moon kept smiling over us providing sufficient light to keep us going.
The slopes were now almost 200-220 meters. The deadly downfalls gave us so little chance to break the speed while we rode. We were simply fighting our way up. At times, we even had to push Monju bhai’s motorbike up. It was 8:00 pm when we took our last snack and the very last bottle of water. A single liter of water for eight thirsty and dehydrated people just wasn’t enough in any sense. There was no source of water or food anywhere within at least 8 square kilometers of unforgiving terrain. We’ve been suffering from dehydration and our energy level was down under. But, yet we had to move. 2 hours and 30 minutes went by with no water or food. Almost every one of us was suffering from severe dehydration and fatigue. But there was no way we could quit advancing. And then we witnessed something that took the last bit of energy out of us.
There stood this tremendously steep slop. At least an 80 degree slope stretching over 600 meters and waiting for us with red in teeth and claws. Our only hope of survival was to reach Boga Lake making this immense climb at any cost. We had each other to lift up the spirits. With the very last bit of energy, we started going upward. Practically we were hanging from the slope and pulling ourselves a few inches up at a time. Yet we had to pull the cycles along with us. It felt like dragging up a 5 ton hippo on an almost straight surface. This surface we were on was mostly loose dirt. It gave us no grip at all. It wasn’t possible to pause for a single moment to catch a breath because of this slick surface.
We also realized that the slope was much longer than we’ve anticipated. Progress was so little. It took us an agonizing 1 hour and 30 minutes to reach up that slope. Thirsty to our stomach, we started almost immediately again and saw some light in the distant valley. It was Boga Lake at last. Suddenly, we got new energy out of nowhere to keep on going without making a stall. You can never imagine how we felt when we entered Boga Lake . At the end, it all paid off.
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Dhaka, Sunday February 11, 2007
