Not many MTB enduros include an audience with the Dalai Lama. In fact, we know of only one, and we only know about that because it hasn’t happened yet and the organisers have just told us about it. Global traveller Cass Gilbert runs Out There Biking in the Indian Himalaya, and he’s helping the locals to organise what will be apparently India’s first MTB enduro.

Actually, it’s more of a stage race than an enduro, taking place as it does over eight days and including a hefty 10,000m of climbing and descending. The route includes village backroads, jeep tracks and singletrack and it all sounds considerably more “together” than you might expect – there’s backing from the Indian government, there’ll be coverage on MTV India and ESPN and you can expect motorbike outriders and as many mangos and bananas as you can eat. Possibly more.

Plenty of sponsorship means a very reasonable $100 entry fee – obviously you’ll need to get yourself out there too. Cass reckons that it’d be best done as a two-week trip, allowing for fairly leisurely travel and the chance to see/do some other stuff. And he recommends “a nice, low maintenenance hardtail with front suspension – there’s
no local Hope dealer round here…”

Apparently this is just the start of a big biking push in the region, with the race becoming an annual event and even some Himalayan trail development. There’s a website at www.mtbhimachal.com although at the time of writing it appeared to have toppled over. And if you want to know more about the region, have a look at Cass’s site at www.out-there-biking.com.