Legship and Bum

At last I am on the bike in Sikkim attempting a three day ride on little used trekking routes that will take me from Pelling-Ketchapperri Lake-Yuksom-Tasheeding-Legship.
Things start well and find the trail down from Pelling through the forests and down to the river some 1000 metres below. Trail is steep in parts but blows out to a wider jeep track covered in shail and makes for fantastic riding. Sadly trail ends and I have to negotiate my way through someones garden and then everything becomes increasingly unrideable down to the river. Hike up the other side for a km or so then decide I would rather ride on the Tarmac than carry for three hours.
Arrive in Katchaperry book myself into Trekkers lodge and head in search of food, walk around the holy lake and Trek to the monastery inconveniently placed like all monasteries on top of the steepest hill. A handful of other tourists make for decent company and shuvvle a few ales down as an ex M.T.B er from America shows of his reasons for packing the sport in. Fractured skull, missing teeth, two broken wrists.

Day 2

Up early and head down the next super steep descent a trifle gingerly until abandon and and start to push on the moss covered man made rock trail which becomes increasingly treacherous as it heads deeper into the thick forest.
Cross over bridge and traverse on cracking path for a few k.m before the uphill battle begins again and return to the tarmac for 9 km climb up to Yuksom. Yuksom is a cracking little place full of character. Head up to another monastery this time on the bike and push up for an 1 hour before having the bike seized by monks who make merry with the bike as is the custom here. Super run back down and regain confidence on steep stepped section and fell like a real M.T.B er.
Spend time in evening talking to bird watcher who takes exception at my labelling of him and corrects me that he is the business of bird research like I am a M.T.B researcher not a cyclist. Eh. Does seem to know what he is talking about and appears to be studying why Sikkim has more varieties of birds than anywhere else in India.
Meet another researcher in the evening from Himachel Pradesh; in North West India; who is on a recce for mountain biking in Sikkim, very unusual this. Anyhow seems more keen on jeep trails and broken roads and reckons searching out singletrack is a too time consuming and no one is interested. Interestingly reckons no one in North India does real mountain biking before inviting me to lead one of his groups out in October. Will wait and see on that.
Day 3
Amazing trails for k.m after k.m in the most scenic and remotest section so far but the trail is impossible to ride more than a few metres here and there as is it super steep then rocky and undulating. Brilliant for walking but useless for M.T.B Abandon to road after steamy sweaty 3 hours of perseverence hoping for a decent rideable section.
Road it back to Legship; my favourite named town in Sikkim after Bum; after another mountain climb up to the the famed gold topped monastery at Tasheeding. Too tired to enjoy it so trundle back down dispirited about M.T.B in Sikkim and hatch a plan to return to W.Bengal and abandon Sikkim till the competition on the 12th. Reckon it could takes months to find a few days decent riding here.