Trikes on the Roof of the World 

Many cyclists call it the worlds most epic bike ride. The journey across the highest plateau on earth traverses the 1100 kilometer ‘Friendship Highway’ from Lhasa in Tibet, to Kathmandu in Nepal. It is an odyssey that crosses eight high passes, three above 5300 meters, cycles to Everest Base Camp, and makes the demands of high altitude a very real problem. For some this cycling pilgrimage, over the Himalaya’s, is a ‘life changing’ journey.

And that is if all your limbs function correctly. Now just imagine achieving this if you were disabled. This is exactly what Carol Hurst andPaul Pritchard will do this September. We will attempt the 36 day traverse by recumbent tricycle (we are unable to ride two wheelers) and film the adventure. We have different disabilities and are each dealing with our disability in our own way. The one thing we do have in common - neither of us can walk very far so rely on our trikes. Film makers Sharyn Jones and Chris Jones will be filming the Journey thereby encouraging other disabled people.

•  Join us in spirit as we record Trikes on the Roof of the World on film. 

Paul Pritchard will tour Australia  and venues around the world with Trikes on the Roof of the World. The film will be used as an educational tool to promote much needed positive role models for disabled people. We hope to inspire other people who do not have the good fortune of a healthy body to keep striving to be the best they can. This is a powerful, uplifting message not just for the disabled, but for all people.

Trikes on the Roof of the World will explore the perception of many Tibetans that if you are disabled or blind you must have done something bad in a past life and are now paying for it in a karmic way. The film hopes to juxtapose this with western attitudes towards the disabled and highlight the ability in disability, thereby challenging perceptions of the disabled. All this set against the jaw-dropping backdrop of Tibet and the Himalayas. 

On the 20th September the team will head west from Lhasa. Besides Everest other Himalayan giants encountered will be Choy Oyu (8201m) and Shishapangma (8014m).

And as if that wasn’t enough coming off Mount Everest toward Kathmandu we face an astonishing 4600m of downhill, the longest road descent on earth. Imagine doing that on your back with your backside only centimeters from a mud packed Nepalese road surface.

We are hoping to raise $8000 for filming and editing costs and DVD production.