Written by Kyle Malinky · September 10, 2019 · Posted in Events & Features · 0 Comments

Ride To The Heavens - Kyle goes to Nepal

When you work in the industry sometimes one of the hardest things to do is find time to actually ride, the reason we are actually in this business! Our peak season always coincides with the best weather so we are always busy running a business, putting on and attending events, as well as all of the normal things everyone has in their personal life. So when my friend Bear the Motorcycle Sherpa and founder of Old Bike Barn gave me a phone call about an opening in a March expedition he was leading in Nepal, I pulled my calendar up immediately and discovered my schedule fairly open. When I realized I could make it happen on super short notice I jumped at the chance and said yes!

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Due to the fact I had less than two weeks notice before leaving I honestly had very little time to research the route, country, or do anything else other than get my flights, visas, and gear together before departing Cleveland Ohio and heading to Kathmandu Nepal.

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I tried writing this several times and found it difficult, it read either like a tour guide or did not capture my thoughts and feelings about the trip. I decided to not go into crazy specifics on the trip, and just more of my general impressions, thoughts, and memories looking back. So here is some beat style free form I dictated while thinking back on my adventure.

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Beautiful landscapes and countryside. Crazy two lane roads and traffic. Densely packed cities with no traffic signals, yet it all seems to just work. Smiles for days, helmet on or off, the amount of true genuine happy smiles on this trip was amazing. A group of 10 people, most who I had never met before arriving in Nepal, became friends and teammates on the trip. Delicious local cuisine, River crossings, hairpin turns, and many rocks in the road. The occasional language barrier resulting in a cheeseburger actually being a hand formed patty of yak cheese on a burger bun. Some of the hardest riding I have ever done. Learning and becoming a better rider every day as the trip progressed. "Looks are free." Nimble little Royal Enfield Himalayan nicknamed the mule. Mud, all of the types. Amazing snowcapped mountain ranges, icy mountain passes, rocky river beds, dust like I have never seen in my life. The crazy horns on the local buses. Suspension bridges! Whiskey at 14,000 feet. Friendly and inviting people. Tattoos in Pokarah. Shrines and temples which were gorgeous and older than anything we have in our country. Monkeys! A sense of true accomplishment getting off the bike every evening, knowing I really pushed my limits as well as those of the machine. Facing and overcoming some personal fears. Holi Festival!

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I am probably forgetting a hundred things but this is what I thought of while writing this. The 12 days or so I was in Nepal absolutely flew by and I could not believe when it was over. This definitely was a trip I will remember the rest of my life, and one of the best motorcycle adventures I have ever done.The trips Motorcycle Sherpa offer are really something special, not just a boring tour where you ride nose to tail with other people, and real riding. The trip was actually an adventure. Next up, Mongolia?

Take a look at some of my personal photos which will do no justice to the trip but will give you a small idea of what this adventure was about, and you can check out all the trips available through Motorcycle Sherpa HERE.

	Kyle Malinky
	Kyle has been a member of the Lowbrow Team since 2009. He has built / raced vintage Triumph motorcycles and set records at the Bonneville Salt Flats and the Loring, Maine time trials. Kyle has ridden motorcycles around the country and world, and is an avid outdoorsman. He currently resides in Ohio with his wife, boys, and pup.