Climbing the biggest climb of my life with a broken bike

This week in the Sunday ride I'll be cycling through the Himalayas in northern Pakistan from Besham to Masaf, Arabat. I'll be visiting a local school, I have to deal with major mechanical problems and I attempt to do the biggest climb of my life. So sit back, relax and enjoy the ride. Good morning from the town of Besham where the roosters are waking the town up while I'm making my way through. The climbing has already started, I'm going further into the Himalayas, the beautiful Himalayas of northern Pakistan. It's going to be intense, it's going to be beautiful. Today I'm trying to reach Dasu which is going to be approximately 2,500 meters of elevation gain. Intense day to start off with but very excited to see the rest of this valley. Already tired. What a way to wake up here in the valleys of the Himalayas. Incredible morning light cutting through the valleys, the views are amazing. A little downside though, I've been joined by my good old friends. Yeah they're back, the police. Another day of police escorts. Whoop-de-doo. What a nice and beautiful day here in the valleys. The natural beauty all around me, it's so nice, so nice to see. It really makes me happy. The mountains are getting rougher, tougher and more beautiful in my opinion. And at the same time I already almost arrived in Dasu. Much faster than expected because for some reason my navigation counted hills that were not even there. So instead of 2,500 meters of elevation I'm doing only 1,500 meters of elevation. Nice little surprise, I can take some rest before continuing my way to Chitral tomorrow. Good morning, I'm on the way and as you can see without police surprisingly. There was one policeman in the hotel, he woke up but he let me go without police car, very surprisingly. I don't get it why they would stay with me but better. On the other hand I know that it won't take long because the first police check post is very soon, so it is what it is. So I got stopped on the side of the road again by the police but this time because the roads are closed off, they're working on the roads and it's going to take about two hours to fix everything. So in the meantime I'm going to spend some time with all these guys. Say hello. So yeah, it's a good vibe here. So while I was sitting with the policeman I got an invitation from the local teacher here, teaching in this small school. You can hear them already and I'm gonna have a look in how the Pakistani schools in a small village look like, if you can still hear me. Well, great experience again, great work. I saw the local teacher here, he's performing here, he's giving these kids a good education here in the mountains, in the small village. And at the same time this is a good reminder that I am cycling to raise money to build a school in Africa. So please, if you haven't yet, consider donating. Take a look at least at the webpage, the link is down in the description below. I just hope to give kids in Africa a future like these kids have right here. Even though it's a small school, it really helps a lot. Education is key, so thank you. Crap. Oh no, I just noticed a really, really big problem. I noticed my rear wheel was really wobbly, so I checked if one of the spokes was broken. And it seemed like it, but upon further inspection I noticed that basically my hub broke, sort of, where the spokes are located. So two spokes are completely loose right now. The spokes itself are fine, but they're just not attached to anything. And oh man, two spokes. I'm in the middle of nowhere. I don't even think the next town, Chilas, which is still 100 kilometers away, has any bike mechanic. I'm pretty sure about that. And if they do, they don't have a new hub. I think Islamabad is my nearest option, which is a long, long way from here. Oh man. Well, I did the best I could. It's not completely straight yet, but as good as it gets. To be honest, I don't know how long it's gonna last, because I also saw there was a crack going further into the hub. So if that one breaks, it's game over. And there's still a lot of bumpy roads coming up, I know. So I'm gonna expect the worst, I'm afraid. All right, I'm about 60 kilometers further now, and the bike is still holding up pretty well. I shouldn't jinx it, of course, but I hope it's gonna hold up a little bit more, at least. Because I have to push to Chilas, because in the towns in between, there's no hotel, nothing. So it's gonna be a long day today. The sun is setting behind me as we speak, and it's gonna be dark soon. So it's gonna be one or two hours more riding in the dark, but at least I'll be in Chilas. Good morning. It's time for the big climb today. Here in the hotel, I tried to fix my wheel as good as possible, to get the spoke tension a little bit better. The wheel's a little more straight right now, but obviously the hub is still broken. So I'm gonna pray that it's gonna hold up. In any case, I will try to get up the climb. It's gonna be a very, very long climb. 1,000 meters right now. Okay, I'm allowed to go. 1,000 meters right now is going up to 4,000 meters. So a staggering 3,000 meters of elevation gain. It's gonna be very heavy, very intense. The longest and biggest climb I've ever done in my life. But let's get it. All right, I started my 3,000 meter ascent. The challenge has started, and unfortunately I'm gonna be joined by the police real soon, because they wanted to follow me. But actually this time around, it's not that bad, because if my bike breaks, I have someone to carry me up the mountain. And also the police officer down at the bottom, he told me that there's snow at the top. So extra challenging for an already challenging climb. Guess where I am baby? At the Babusar top at 4,177 meters. Wow, that was a really, really tough one. The last five kilometers was just insanely, insanely tough. My body was just out of energy. My legs were just screaming, please no more. My hands were freezing, as you can see by the good old orange jacket. It's freezing up here, but I made it. I made it to the top. Oh wow, I'm just so proud, so proud. And I'm even more proud of my bike that it held up without any issues. Well done buddy, together good teamwork. And now I'm gonna find some warm shelter for tonight, because I'm freezing. next week I make my way out of the mountains, I experience more technical issues on the road, and I start to feel really sick. But that's it for this week, and I'll see you in the next one. Hi there, thank you for watching this video up until the end. And did you like this video? Don't forget to like and subscribe down there, or click on my face right there. It really helps me a lot, so thank you. I would also like to remind you that I am making this trip in order to raise money to build a school in Africa. For more information or donations, click on the school right next to my face. And while you're at it, don't forget to follow me on social media as well. Links down in the description below. See you next week.