Bikepacking is all about exploration: strapping all the essential gear to the bike and pedaling into the wilderness. With Pedals & Pencils I combine information about bikes, bikepacking gear and cycling routes, and link them up with personal travel experiences.
Most of my adventures take place in the eastern Himalayas, called the HengDuan mountains, located on the eastern flank of the Tibetan plateau. It’s here where one can find wild mountains, serene valleys and historic villages, all connected by the ancient tea horse trail.
Through this network of century-old cobblestone paths, merchants transported tea from the famous Pu-Erh tea fields all the way to Lhasa and beyond, swaying past deep ravines and resisting roving bands, and brought goods from Calcutta in return. These mountains are home to tribal communities, the mystical Tibetans, and forgotten kingdoms, all carrying stories worth sharing.
I pedal through their lands and try to capture a tiny fraction of it, which I share here.
