Pretty neat article on the Guinness World Records website about my 24 Hour World Record attempt last year: Back in the Saddle: Ken Looi’s 20-year journey to reclaiming a unicycling record

Hopefully I’ll make it into next years official book!

One of the most famous and sacred temples in Bhutan, the Tiger’s Nest Monastery, sits on a mountain above Paro. It was believed that Guru Rinpoche, who spread Buddhism through Bhutan in the 8th century, meditated in one of its caves and subjugated evil spirits.

We hiked up many steps to the temple, which is built on the ledge of a sheer cliff. The hillsides are covered in flowering rhododendrons so it was a very pleasant walk as we climbed up to 3100m.

The temple complex actually consists of multiple temples and caves. The temple had been rebuilt after much of it burnt down in 1998, which must have been quite a feat.

After the trek we had a bonfire and nibbles and thanked our guides and drivers for all their support during this trip.  It was one of my most memorable unitours, with amazing riding, great food and culture. Sad that the trip is over but I can’t recommend this tour enough- Jason from Pedal Pedal is organising another tour in 2027, so there is a chance to experience it for yourself.

Today was a marathon 11hr bus ride back to Paro, travelling over some of the roads we rode up.  It was nice seeing from a different vantage point, although nowhere near as fun as riding. We did saw more monkeys including macaques and a big family of grey langurs in the trees. 

We had a puncture in one of our buses at the top of the Dochula pass, but the drivers expertly changed the wheel in less than 10min.

Our hotel sits on a hill above Paro, with a beautiful view of the valley below, but after a quick meal we were all glad to get into bed.

We take a break from the riding and went for a hike around Bumthang today.  It was a nice walk up the valley- we visited a 15th century temple that is a family temple of Tsering, the local organiser of our tour.  It was founded by a blacksmith, and he had a made 20kg chainmail coat that each member of our group walked around the temple with to get rid of any bad karma!  Amazing that such an artefact has survived over 600yrs in perfect condition, and was free for our group to try on.

After visiting the temple it was a pleasant walk through farmland to an even older temple- Bhutan’s oldest temple built in the 7th century, Jambay Lhakhang.  It was built during the same period as 108 temples across the Himalayas from Tibet to Bhutan, said to pin down the body of a demoness by being built on her body parts.  We arrived as a group of monks were doing an annual ceremony at the temple, so were very privileged to join in as they circled the temple.

We had a game of darts at a guesthouse before lunch, with Simon not giving up despite the rain setting in!  The group then split in two, with some visiting the local brewery whilst most of us went to Wangduechhoeling Palace, which is the former home of the monarchy that had been restored and converted into a museum. It showed a fascinating insight into the Himalayan Kingdom and culture. 

A number of riders in our group learnt how to make momos and the famous chilli cheese with our hosts at the hotel, as she ran a cooking class. Needless to say, the results weren’t quite the same standard as our expert hosts!

Today promised lots of climbing, with a 30km up to the highest point of the tour at 3428m.  It was my favourite riding day so far- with a gentle 4-5% gradient the Himalayan forest with wild rhododendrons and magnolias in full flower as we ascended to the pass. The few vehicles were outnumbered by various cows and horses on the road.   We had a scenic rest stop half way up, before ascending the final 15km to the top.   We cycled past a large Buddhist school with all the young monks waving at us. The top of the pass was covered in a huge number of prayer flags- the most we’d seen on the trip so far.  It was a good photo stop before the long descent to lunch.  We went across a sawmill village which was a hive of activity.  

Another hearty lunch served with Ara (the local spirit) and we were off again to the town of Bhumthang.   The trip so far had near perfect weather, so we weren’t too disappointed to get a light dose of rain as we rode along the river, giving it a mysterious misty vibe.  It was a great was to end the final riding day of the tour. 

Our hotel had commanding views of the river valley and a nice cosy fire to warm us back up. The meal was especially delicious- will all the cheeses, breads and sauces all grown and made locally.

Today’s ride would be the longest, so we started with another hearty breakfast before riding across the Phobjikha Valley to begin our 16km climb. It was very rough and rutted start and our legs were pretty tired before we even hit the climb. The climb was on dirt which made it even harder. By the time we hit the paved road again I was ready to cough up a lung. Thankfully the last section of the climb was sealed, and one of the prettiest parts of the ride, with mist hovering over the forest as we ascended to 3300m,  I was well aclimatised by now, but it still required more effort than usual to ride at altitude.

The descent was my favourite by far.  It would be a 25km downhill to get to our lunch stop, on a nice smooth road that descended down the mountain. It was surreal, to be surrounded by mountains and descending continuously. People from villages all waved to us, often taking pictures as we rode past.  Aside from dodging the usual yaks, cattle, horses and an occasional snake, it was a very quiet back road.

Lunch was at a restaurant next to a Nepalese style stupa. It was a rather grand lunch in a throne room!  Monk children were playing soccer outside.  After lunch the downhill continued for another 27km to our final rest stop.  A local who has seen me on TV was waiting there to take a selfie with me, which was pretty cool!

We rode another 5km down to the bottom of the valley before turning up for the final 5km climb up to our hotel. Another steep climb up the hotel driveway and we arrived at our hotel with sweeping views of the valley and the Trongsa Dzong, on the side of the mountain. A perfect way to finish the day. This was our hardest riding day so far- my legs feel like jelly. Those with sufficient energy went to visit the Trongsa Dzong, but were caught by a lighting/thunder storm.  On the other hand, we did have a beautiful rainbow at afterward!

We would head for higher altitude again today, to the village of Gangtey.  The original route would have required us to climb 2000m over 50km, but with a revised schedule, we were to transfer to the top of the pass, have lunch, then either ride or walk to the village.  

The mountain road was windy but very scenic as we gained altitude, with many villages and houses along the hillside.  We had lunch at the top of the pass at 3200m before driving to the start of the walk. A couple of people in our group decided to ride the 15km into the village, but most of us took the very scenic walk across the valley, from pine forest to wide open plain.  We saw many Yaks, pheasants, rhododendrons in flower, and Himalayan Griffons.  It was one of the prettiest walks I’ve done. 

Today would be an easy day ride along the river to the Punakha Dzong.  It was also the most picturesque so far, along a quiet back road with crops grown on terraces along the river.  We crossed a high swing bridge which some members found a little daunting, and stopped at a local farmhouse where the family invited us in. They showed us their animals and we had a good chat about life in Bhutan.  We visited the Punakha Dzong which is one of the grandest ones in the country- this being the forrmer capital of Bhutan. 

Lunch was set up picnic style with marquees along the riverbank with great views looking out toward the Punakha Dzong.  After a ride back to our hotel we had a few hours to relax before having dinner at a restaurant where they all wanted photos with us, having seen us on TV a few days earlier!  They even served us a cake to celebrate our ride across Bhutan.

We rode a few kilometers out of the main valley of Thimpu and turned up the mountain road leading to Dochula pass.  From there it was a steady climb all the way to the top!  We reached the pass at 3050m to take in the views of the Himalayas.  We could just see Gangkhar Puensum, the tallest unclimbed mountain in the world, at 7570m.

From there it was an epic 40km descent from mountain top to an almost tropical 1300m town of Punakha (they grow bananas here!).  We had a great buffet lunch then rode to the temple of the Divine Madman, Drukpa Kunley. He was a Buddhist monk with some unique teachings, and responsible for the phallus as a religious symbol in many of the towns around here (it’s impossible to get around town without seeing a representation of a penis!). 

The monk at the divine madman temple blessed us by being tapping our heads with a wooden penis. People come here seeking help and blessings to help with their fertility, so there were some anxious members of our group who were done having children!

Today’s ride would take us to the capital city of Thimpu.  We followed the river out of town and then headed up a gentle climb with some amazing views of the mountains and valley below.  There were lots of pretty houses along the hillsides, with many more being built. It was a very picturesque ride up the steep mountain road, with many locals and tourists alike waving at us as we went past. 

 The ride into the city was amazing, with houses dotted on either side of a steep valley.  It was a fairly hard ride today, with much more vehicle traffic than we expected, so we were glad when everyone made it safely to Thimpu.   The Bhutanese news crew followed us along the way and interviewed Bruce on our final descent into the capital city, and we made their national news channel in the evening!

BBS news article

After lunch we split into two groups, with one headed to the Buddha statue overlooking the city. At 52m tall, this is the tallest sitting Buddha in the world. We went inside the Buddha temple and marvelled at all the intricate carvings and thousands of mini golden buddhas inside the big Buddha. The second group visited a nunnery where local nuns were trained with various skills to help local communities. 

The evening took us to the Thimbu Dzong, which was even grander than the Dzong we visited in Paro.  It is also the seat of government, with many government departments based within the Dzong and adjacent buildings.  We received blessings and Sungku (blessed strings) from a monk at the Dzong temple, which was pretty special.

After dinner and drinks we were all ready to have a well deserved sleep.