EverestMax boys to answer England cricket SOS

28th February - Okara to Lahore - Distance 132km - Average speed 24km/hr - Ascent 60m - Current Position 31,40N 74,25E

A glorious sunrise greeted the team as they prepared for a 130km day into Lahore. Breakfast was quickly devoured and we were on the road for 8.30am. After escaping the Okara morning rush hour in one piece (with Rowena clearly not agreeing with the local bus laws and making this clear to the driver) the team set a fast pace with the benefits of clean bikes clear to be seen. Pauiine was swift to steer off competition at the front with her threats of “I'll duff you in” aimed at the innocent boys. Then a few seconds later she was quoting Rowena as saying how she liked to ride behind Nic and Jamie and admire their stylish riding technique (I promise this is what she said). Meanwhile Dickie, sporting new bearded design, joined the team for the second leg and in doing so he brought up his 1000km on the bike – luckily he wisely chose not to celebrate with any no handed antics! He is presently on track fitness wise for his goal of reaching the North Col, as long as the forthcoming beers don't prove to be too much of a temptation.

With the team down to their last few coins of local currency there was never going to be a plush lunch stop and so it proved. Sweets, oranges and cakes whilst next to a field of water buffalo had to satisfy the team. Sarah was happy with the Police escort being far friendlier and giving us some space, meaning she could sing out loud to her music with no worries. The final leg into Lahore was through tree lined roads which definitely had a feel of Colonial England. But where was the high tea and croquet lawn? On arrival at our home for the night Dom went off in search for money, returning to his cycle courier days as he negotiated the Lahore rush hour evening traffic.

In the evening we caught a rickshaw to the old fort which looked truly stunning at night, before eating at Cooco's Den as recommended by the trusted Lonely Planet. What a wonderful spot – imagine Moulin Rouge and you have the setting for the meal, and now throw in an illuminated Old Fort and Mosque, giving a perfect setting.

Tomorrow brings India and more border crossing fun for Dickie and Rowena. We have also heard the injury crisis that the English cricket team are presently suffering, and may have to answer their SOS call. With Dom's captaincy skills from the sidelines, Dickie's middle order batting power, Jamie's lethal bowling and Nic's general all round cricketing skills there is still hope for the test series. Hold the headlines...

Posted by Nic

Plodding on

27 th February – Chichawatni to Okara - Distance 84km - Average speed 20km/h - Ascent - Current position 30,50N 73,50E

After a slightly late departure, mainly due to the whereabouts of the van key and some last minute shopping, we cycled our way through the usual rickshaw chaos and joined the main Lahore road once again. The road surface was quite bad for the first half of the day causing 2 more spokes to go on Sarah's bike and mine, but these were soon fixed during lunch. With a few of the team still lacking an appetite, the Pakistani version of corn flakes brought by Pauline and Ro this morning was the preferred option for lunch today.

The road to Lahore is mainly dual carriageway, although the inside lane is usual taken up by donkey and camel drawn carts, overloaded tractors and other cyclists, thus preventing us from completely switching off as we made our way towards Okara. We managed to lose the police escort for most of today giving us more freedom, although somehow they found us again about 4km out of town. They led us to a guesthouse which in true Pakistani style looked great from the outside but was quite different on the inside. I don't think they have any concept of house keeping and the state of the girl's toilet was quite horrendous. But don't worry they kicked up a fuss and have now moved to a room at the back of the hotel, leaving Nic, Dom, Dickie and I in rooms at the front, to try and sleep through a night of constant truck horns, revved engines and calls to prayer – just what one needs when feeling slightly under the weather!

Our early arrival today meant that the bikes could get a bit of TLC. Pauline listened attentively to Nic, the bike cleaning guru, as he guided her through the cleaning process, and even Dom found the energy to hose his bike down. Dickie used this time to catch up on some sleep, and Ro also got her hands oily, giving the spare bike a once over.

A long day tomorrow should see us to Lahore, our final destination in Pakistan. It has been a truly amazing country but I think we are all looking forward to getting away from the sewage and having a nice cold beer!

Posted by Jamie

Happy Birthday Ro

26th February - Moltan to Chichawatni - distance 130km - av speed 24.3km/hr - ascent 27m - current position 30,35N 72,40E

Our morning started with a visit to the police compound to pick up the escort. There was inevitably lots of waiting around so Nic, Jamie and Pauline entertained the troops with a game of hackie. A couple joined in and were pretty good!

The big occasion of the day was of course Ro's birthday. Sadly the chocolate cake that we'd ordered for breakfast didn't turn up (we're not lazy we've just not been allowed out to go shopping). To be honest it was no bad thing as it's been a week of runny tummies. The bug has left people feeling quite washed out so we took today at a steady pace. It gave us the chance to take in the change in scenery; field upon field of oil seed rape, sugar beat, wheat, rice and citrus fruit orchards. After weeks of desert and snowy mountains such green scenery is really refreshing. It was Dom's turn to feel ill today so he plugged into his ipod and got on with it like the trooper that he is. In fact he was so absorbed by the tunes that he totally failed to see the line of traffic cones directing traffic away from the road works and ploughed straight into them, sending two flying one way and him wobbling the other.

We found a lovely spot for lunch next to a canal. Thankfully British health and safety regulations haven't reached here yet, so we were free to race each other across the canal on the punt-like ferryboats. It was Pauline and Jamie verses Ro and I, across the river and back with a hi-five on the opposite river bank (yes we know it was cheesy) and an automatic win if anyone fell in. Needless to say Pauline and Jamie were good but Ro and I were better, smashing their time by 8s and looking much closer to falling in!

We are now in a lovely room in a police station, certainly the best police accommodation yet and best of all we've been allowed to go shopping. Dickie and Pauline have headed out to the bazaar, lets just hope they find the cereal and earl grey tea?! Ro, reading the Sunday paper, has just informed me that ‘Kite flying in the district has been allowed for fifteen days with effect from February 25th. According to the Punjabi Anti-kite flying Ordinance 2006, the sellers of kites or strings will have to get registered names with government, according to press release issued Saturday. After the allowed dates they will have to abandon the selling of sports articles, the press release added .' Even I can tell that grammar isn't great!

Finally a MASSIVE CONGRATULATIONS to Andre and Ruth who have just had their second baby boy, Will. Andre will join us in Kathmandu for the climb. Ruth gave birth in the ambulance a mile from home, perhaps a challenge for Andre to climb Everest quickly!

Posted by Sarah

Stormy Weather

25th February - Draman to Moltan- distance 85km - ascent 35m - av speed 25km/hr - current position 30,10N 71, 25E

After 2 hours of negotiation our police escort arrived to take us back the 90Km towards DG Khan where we were made to stop last night. A simple task you may think but no. We completed 20km before coming back down to earth. Apparently protests were underway and it was too dangerous to continue. We would have to return to Multan and our tent. Protests were also due for the next 4 days so we were informed that our request was futile and we would never be able to return to the DG Khan region, thus signalling a huge rewrite of the programme or stopping the cycling phase altogether. As a team we are rather used to these slight drawbacks by now and set about solving the problem. Dom, Nic and Jamie stripped the bikes down and worked out how we would fit them in an already fully laden van whilst I went to call the head of the local police. Turning Martha into a bike carrier suddenly stopped all the protests and we were able to move on; a miracle!

At 130pm we got underway with Sarah setting a roaring pace. Our escorts, The Elite Punjab Police Squad, to their credit did a wonderful job and were the best we have had so far and kept everything out of our way. The use of a rifle butt against the side of a bus was a thoroughly effective method of getting the message across and no-one dared come close. The road to Multan is flat and follows the flood plain of the Indus. We crossed the river twice over aged bridges riddled with pot holes. Teams of construction workers are well underway building replacements and not before time, although, like their British counterparts, little action ever seems to take place. Interest was mainly kept by the variety of animals on show. Water buffalo grazed by the road and oxen and camels pulled carts. The latter looked ridiculous as only camels can and certainly kept us amused. At times Kites screeched overhead and we even think we saw a chipmunk.

As we approached Multan the weather started to close in. We knew we were going to get wet but as the sky turned orange we were in for a surprise. Jamie counted down the approach of the storm and almost to the second dust clouds appeared. The squall was amazing as visibility reduced to less than a metre as we battled to stay on our bikes. We took the wisest action and stopped immediately, taking refuge behind a nearby building. For over 10 minutes the sandstorm continued to throw up dust from all angles before the rain fell. The electrical storm that followed was rather disappointing in comparison, but in true fashion got us soaked wet through. Fortunately while all this was happening, Ro and Dom had presence of mind to grab the cameras and film so you will get some idea of what it was like when we return. Our final run in ensured we were covered from head to toe in mud. Pauline as usual was the dirtiest by far and looked like one of those urchin chimney seeps from Oliver Twist. The rest of us were not far off but can only aspire to such mud worshipping.

Our home for tonight is the Sinbad hotel which has showers, toilets of the European kind, beds and sky TV. This is very timely after 4 days on police floors without a proper wash and today's weather. The only draw back is that we could only get the France vs Italy game and as much cricket or premiership football that any fan would be sick of. I am sure that by the time we download this blog Scotland will have been deflowered and Peter (my brother) will be 3 sheets to the wind and lost in the Grassmarket. If any of you find him please put back on his cloths and post him back to Wokingham.

Posted by Dickie

Sights and sounds

24th February - Rakni to Draman - distance 112km - descent 900m - av speed 22km/hr - current position 30,00N 70,50E

After an unhurried morning of shopping and bike mending and an excellent breakfast of curry, fried eggs, spicy omlette (and porridge) delivered to our door, we set off for a simple days cycling to D G Khan, 84 km away. We had been told by a few people that there was 12km uphill and then it would be downhill all the way. Nobody had bothered to mention just how breathtaking it would be.

The climb was indeed 12 km round an endless series of hairpin bends, climbing higher and higher into the hills. The town we had left becoming hazy way below in the distance. Finally rounding a bend at the top to see... yet more hairpins going on up and up.

The downhill that eventually came was worth all the effort... the mountain pass unfolded way beneath us. We had a birds eye view of the road as it snaked its way down into the valley...The video camera was set up. I filmed as everyone set off down the mountain as fast as they dared - Nic leading the way and Dickie admitting he would take up the rear at a more gentle speed, choosing to treat the steep corners with great respect!! Nic soon agreed after almost killing a small child on the way down! When everyone was out of sight I put the camera away and made my way down expecting to meet them all at the bottom as usual. Instead I rounded a bend to find them waiting again... the most fantastic, deep gorge lay ahead. The road was cut out of the rock, hundreds of feet up, with very few small barriers between the edge and thin air. The highly decorated but very dusty Pakistani trucks were creeping round at a snails pace passing each other in the most unsafe places. The road surface was dreadful, workmen with tractors and shovels created clouds of dust. Another stunning photo opportunity!

Finally the valley was in sight. Our police escort had left us before the climb began so we had the road to ourselves for a while. Dickie finally took over driving and I got on the bike. He had well and truly earned the long downhill. In the valley the terrain changed again and we found ourselves cycling through a sand and gravel pit that went on for miles. Truck surfing was out of the question as the dust and grit that swirled from the back of them made it impossible to see.

We emerged from the dust at a police check point and went through the usual routine of writing down our passport details. As we prepared to leave with our new escort the police told us that it was too dangerous to continue on bicycles. We should put them in the van and they would drive us all to D G Khan. We objected and they eventually agreed that we could cycle... then they changed their minds and said we couldn't. They then decided that we couldn't stay in D G Khan at all as it was was a prohibited area for foreigners and we needed permission from the government to stay there!! This was the first we had heard of it. They said they would drive us to Multan, over 100 km further. All this time Dom was calmly explaining that we could not travel by van, we had to go by bicycle.. He explained about the expedition, about the lowest to the highest, how it had never been done before, about the charities and how we are trying to raise money for Pakistan and that no one will give us money if we do not complete every kilometre by bike. We had already cycled over 5000km through five countries. We had cycled all day and were only 33km from a destination that we had pre-arranged with the Baluchistan Police a week ago - the very safe police compound in D G Khan..

...No cycling.

The problem was that we were no longer in Baluchistan.. we had crossed into the Punjab province and the Punjabi police said no! There were up to fifteen policeman, all talking very loudly, all at once, none of them really listening (or so it seemed) and not one of them obviously in charge. It was a shambles. Dom repeated the story again and again... and again. It couldn't have been more clear.

... still no cycling. This was hopeless. The day was slipping away and we were getting nowhere.

At this point Pauline lost patience and above all the shouting managed to explain, with actions, that instead of being inside the van we could cycle alongside it. It would take an hour and a half and we would all be safe.. The penny dropped. We were finally escorted to D G Khan.

On the way in we passed what looked like a circus. Within minutes we were engulfed in a traffic jam as everyone seemed to be going home the same way as us. But this was no ordinary traffic jam.. It was mayhem. There were trucks and bikes and cars that were so decorated with reflective strips they lit up in the dusk. Every vehicle had bells and jingles and horns that whooped and tooted and squealed. There were carts being pulled by donkeys, oxen and horses loaded with too many people. Buses stuffed with people inside and out, motorbikes carrying five or six children, tiny children, bicycles, mopeds, people walking and in tuk-tuks, dust and rubble, the smell of roasting and sugar and sewage, our police car trying to move people on, road works, noise and more and more dust. Fantastic chaos.

We emerged to be met by yet more police men who, after taking our details again, and hearing Dom's story again, said they would take us to the police station. We followed in the dark. After about 6km we realised that the Police station would be in the next town.. 60 km away! Enough was enough. We pulled over and refused to go on. A compromise was agreed. We would get in their van and go to Multan but they would bring us back the next day and we would cycle from the exact point we had stopped.

We changed vans again and again as each police district ended and another escort took over. Every new set of policeman wanted to practise their English with us.. are you married? Do you have children? Sarah was even persuaded to sing an English song and gave an excellent rendition of the theme tune to Postman Pat!! We were all tired and hungry but none so much as Jamie who had been feeling rough all day - he never complained once. At 11.45pm we arrived at Multan Police station, put up our stinky tent and went to sleep.

Did we honestly think the Punjabi police would be coordinated enough to get us back to DG Khan in the morning...

Posted by Ro

Variety Is the Spice of Life....

23rd February - Mekhtar to Rakni - distance 105km - descent 130m - av speed 20km/hr - current position 30,00N 69,57E

Today was all about variety. Variety of terrain, weather, escorts and bike incidents. We were warned by our very friendly and enthusiatic police guards for the night that the road would be rough for about 10 km..no 15....no 20 ...oh maybe 25. Detail is not their strength when it comes to distance. Anyway what it did lead to was the fact that both Martha the van and the cyclists spent several hours negotiating over 40km of partly made road. When I say partly made, I mean stretches of about 50 metres were made and then back to the broken tarmac mixed with mud in varying degrees of consistency. Great fun! Jamie and Nic have created an invisible force field around themselves that seems to protect them from the the flying mud and water that we cycle through. Sarah, Ro and I did our best to make up for them by getting covered from head to toe. How do they do it?

Dickie did a fantastic job driving the van over and through mud that was up to the axle for the length of the vehicle. He was helped along the way by his trusty team who pushed and shoved, he managed to get her up mud hills with back swerves and revs that any rally driver would be proud of. He would also have been the envy of the many colourful trucks that have for some strange reason chosen this road as their route. There was one particular stretch that had a queue of about 30 lorries waiting to get their run at the mud bank. Fortunately this was one we had to go down, not up and we all made it look easy. The drivers are always so cheerful and beep their horns and shout at us to stop for tea. They either enjoy their job, are really friendly, or are desperately bored waiting to get anyway in the mud and want someone to chat to. Maybe all three.

The cyclists had to keep the balance between going fast, enjoying the ride and preserving the bikes. We still have nearly 3000km to go. We all tried our best to hold ourselves back from too many tricks. Jamie did however manage to try and teach Sarah and I how to jump over bumps rather than ride them. Will we be his dream students and outshine him by the end of the week?????

There were one or two incidents which justify mention. Mr Quick Nic McSlick misjudged some hard mud for some soft at a healthy speed and managed to career off the main track but somehow did a credible dismount onto two feet and ran with the bike down the hill. Does he make up for the fall by making it look cool? Your call. Then our venerable and trusted leader Dom, (who so kindly had given me tips yesterday on mountain biking), can now put himself in that special category of fulfilled teacher as his student outbiked him by taking a rather technical off road line around a truck. Dom saw this and apparently was really proud and in the moment tried to emulate it by following a similar line, unfortunately without the same success. He came a cropper and did a full and dramatic dismount. I hasten to add he is a robust soul and is absolutely fine. He unselfishly has left us with another lesson from his misfortune that he wishes to share..'don't bite off more than you can chew'. It was our mantra for the rest of the day. Thanks Dom and full marks for effort.

Ro found solace on the roof of the van when their bike had to be taken off the road for repairs. She had a big smile and was enjoying her space. Life was good. Then as we changed our army guards, the new team thought she needed company so joined her flaunting thier weapons with pride. Ro was the most protected woman in Pakistan for a few hours.

The day started with blue sky and tail wind, the day finished with thunder, lightening and rain. Variety is the spice of life!

Posted by Pauline

Everestmax Plunged into deep crisis...

22nd February - Loralai to Mekhtar - distance 80km - av speed km/hr - descent 80m - current position 29,40N 69,10E

It was always going to be a late night. Camping in the middle of the police family quarters we were a never-ending source of curiosity. We entertained a constant stream of visitors, the last of who dropped in at 10.30 to discuss nuclear proliferation. Even Dickie's patience was being stretched, but our guest finally left after Jamie got into bed and started snoring loudly. At about three in the morning the first rain to hit Baluchistan this year arrived with a vengeance. A full-scale tropical storm ensued, complete with thunder and lightning directly overhead. Jamie and Nic were quick to jump out of bed to retrieve a few items and then batten down the hatches. We lay in complete comfort and warmth enjoying the sound of the rain lashing against the tent. At about 6 in the morning a concerned sentry shouted through the storm to see if we were alright. I felt a pang of sympathy as we were nice and comfortable and he was out in the cold and wet. Little did we know of the imminent danger that awaited us. The first hint of trouble was at about 7 when like a coiled spring Dicke leapt out of bed like the steely-eyed warrior that he is. We knew something was amiss of course, Dickie doesn't normally respond so enthusiastically to a day in the saddle. The reason soon became apparent however. Within seconds we were 6 inches deep in water. We madly dashed to rescue the computers and cameras from the rising floodwaters abandoning our sleeping bags and clothes to the deluge. I last saw my phone floating away alongside the kettle. Only Ro stayed calm enough to reach for the camera and film the event. However, it got worse. After rescuing our kit to the relative safety of the nearest building, we began to realise that this was no ordinary floodwater. Accompanied by a hint of spices, rotting vegetable matter and a whiff of human excrement reality began to dawn. Yes, we had been immersed in the full force of an overflowing Pakistani sewer. The same crowd who had yesterday watching us so efficiently pitch our tent now returned to see us pathetically wringing out our clothes and erecting washing lines. We normally rely on Pauline, our resident court jester to handle these crowd scenes. Her fluency across a range of languages never ceases to amaze us. By talking in English in a loud Pakistani accent she can keep a crowd mesmerised for at least a minute! Abandoning all thoughts of cycling we spent the next six hours on an intense cleaning mission in front of our curious onlookers. Using iodine and mineral water we set about sterilising all the kitchen equipment and washing clothes and sleeping bags. Sarah suggested we pop to the launderette and tumble dry our sleeping bags until they were all fluffy again. Then she remembered we were in Pakistan and instead sought solace back on her laptop!

We were finally on the road at about 1 o'clock. It was never going to be a full day but we made the best of the time we had, accompanied by a lingering smell and another police escort who this time seemed to keep their distance. The road out of Loralai was stunning as we passed small paddy fields and orchards on either side. Spring has now arrived in this area and the trees are full of cherry blossom. Further down the road the tarmac disappeared and we were on the roughest road yet. We had frequent stops to help Pauline out with her rusty mountain biking technique. By way of compensation the landscape became more impressive with every passing turn. Steep cliffs and outcrops displayed a huge variety of geology. All the more spectacular against the backdrop of the late afternoon light and another wonderful sunset. We are tonight in another police station, this time dry and secure. The washing lines are out and we are gradually getting sorted. Only the Everestmax team could come out of this one smelling of roses..!

A quick word about our film. We now have over 25 hours of high definition footage. Eventually an estimated 50 hours will be edited down to about an hour. Our official supporters have two free tickets to one of our two premieres in Cheltenham or London. If you haven't done so already do sign up. It promises to be an epic of Titanic proportions….!

Posted by Dom