Links to the other side of the world

Beat put me on a mandatory absolute taper after I complained of *slightly* sore knees during our ride on Sunday (hardly my fault. I believe it was Beat who coaxed me into powering that hog of a Fatback up 2,500 feet of hill.) Complete rest is working out for the best anyway as I've plunged into a whirlpool of things to do, including calling practically every pharmacy in Santa Clara County in search of a backordered typhoid vaccine.

And suddenly it's here. Late Tuesday night we leave for Nepal. There's about 36 hours of travel in there, but eventually, theoretically, we will end up in Nepal. Until two months ago I had never even ventured outside of North America and now I'm traveling to a region that is geographically and culturally unlike anything I've ever experienced. It's been a perspective-changing year of adventure for me, and this one is the largest of all.

The race Beat and I will be participating in begins November 20. The route covers 155 miles and 30,000 feet of climbing in the foothills of the Annapurna Range in six stages. There are more than 200 competitors. Beat has placed in the top 10 in past Racing the Planet events. We are not planning on running together. In fact, my plan is to save my knees and satiate my camera's memory card by largely power-hiking through the stages, which average about 25 miles each. I'll save the hurrying for less sensory-overloading adventures. But, if you're interested, you can follow my progress at these links:

Follow the latest news and results of Racing the Planet Nepal:
Event Web site
Daily stage updates
Daily results
Stage photos
Breaking news

There is a fair chance that I will have little to no Internet access during the next three weeks, so this blog will have to go on a mandatory taper itself (although I'm confident the post-Nepal deluge will more than make up for it.) In the meantime, the holidays are coming up. If you have someone on your list who is into cycling, adventure, or reading about cycling adventures, consider giving them one of my books. Both are discounted for the holidays and will be available for shipping after I return around the first week of December. "Be Brave, Be Strong" is the story of my attempt to ride as fast as I could down the spine of the continent in the 2009 Tour Divide. Since I released the book in June, it has received a number of positive reviews, and promises hours of entertainment during the long winter months. (The other one, "Ghost Trails" is about winter adventure on the Iditarod Trail in Alaska.)

Order signed copies of "Be Brave, Be Strong" for $12.95 each at this link. The books will be shipped with a personal message to the address of your choice after Dec. 10.

Signed copies of "Ghost Trails" are available for $14.95 and the two books together are $25.95. Priority shipping is $4.95 for up to three books.

And, if you don't want to wait for early December shipping, you can order from Amazon at this link.

Or, if you have a brand new e-reader on your Christmas list, you can order copies of the eBook at these links. The Kindle versions include photos for only $4.99. The iPad and Nook versions are discounted to $2.99.
"Be Brave, Be Strong" for Kindle
"Ghost Trails" for Kindle
"Be Brave, Be Strong" on iTunes and B & N Nook
"Ghost Trails" on iTunes and B & N Nook