Mustang by moped! (don't tell the rental company)

It was Guido that cracked the Annapurna problem - how could I ride to Muktinath without detroying my Transalp? Simple - rent a moped and destroy that instead! In fact, it seemed like such a good idea that the Germans followed suit, and we duly set off on the Jomson trail with a mixed bag of three Bajaj Pulsars, a Hartford VR and a Yamaha FZ (OK, not technically mopeds, but collectively about the same engine capacity as an Africa Twin...)

Past Beni, the going was tough, and it took us 5 hours to reach Ghasa from Pokhara. By mid-afternoon, I had recorded the first spill of the trip as I fired my Pulsar up a rocky slope a little too vigorously, and pogoed my way into a stone wall. One wing mirror down. We stayed at the excellent National Hotel in Upper Ghasa, where we enjoyed some well-deserved momos, dal baat, and a few beers.

Next morning, we had our first casualty proper. Claus's Pulsar refused to start, and after an hour of bump-starting, kick-starting, and anything else we could think of, a local mechanic confirmed our worst fears - seized engine. Arrangements were made to take the bike back to Pokhara by truck, and we continued. After Ghasa, the road actually improved. We were in Jomsom within 2 hours, and we reached Muktinath at 4:30pm - about half way round the Annapurna Circuit, and at 3,800m, the highest point that can be reached by vehicle. Not much of a view that late in the day, but a real sense of achievement.

All hail the moped mountaineers!

We had just turned around and hoped to be back in Tukuche by nightfall, when I got a puncture. Not the best time and place to remove the rear wheel on a shonky old Indian motorbike, but with the help of two German mechanical engineers, we had it fixed in about an hour and made it back to Jomsom and treated ourselves to Yak steaks (and beer).

There was a bit of rain overnight, so when we got up the next morning, the air was clear and we were rewarded with some near-perfect views of the Annapurnas.

The big white mountains all look a bit the same,

but I think this is Annapurna I and Annapurna South...

We spent a few hours taking a lot of photos, but eventually we had our quota of big white mountains and started back for Pokhara. At that point, the elements turned against us and we endured a pretty heavy thunderstorm, which made the already tough conditions even more treacherous. When we returned the mopeds, the final tally was: one seized engine, one broken subframe, one bent handlebar, one broken mirror, one scratched exhaust cover, one bent engine bar, and various other cuts and grazes. The rental company stung us for about 28 quid in damages - I hate to think what I would have done to my Transalp on that route...

So long, Himalayas (for now...)