Ray Kreisel - A Different Kind of Freedom

When people ask me about my trip, I tell them “It was an exercise in learning how to manage pain.” That statement often provokes rather strong reactions from people, many of whom think I am somewhat crazy for subjecting myself to such an exercise. I guess I do not see it exactly that way. When the Buddha diagnosed the human condition, he also came to the same conclusion. He put this forth in the First Nobel Truth – “Life is suffering.” The difficult part is learning how to manage the situation.

In the time since I have returned to the USA, I have not been through a single day in which I did not think about some aspect of this journey. At a superficial level I have reentered life in America, buying my food at Safeway and writing computer software for a living, but the way in which I perceive the world around me has changed. Sometimes, when I listen to friends complain about a meal in a restaurant that is not cooked “just so” or get worried about a credit card bill that they forgot to pay, I just smile to myself as these matters seem meaningless in the larger scheme of things. There was a certain clarity of life and purpose during my travels in Tibet that often seems to be difficult to find in the normal hectic life of the USA.

Meanwhile when I pass Native Americans seated on the sidewalk outside a Montana bar listening to Indian chants and songs on a boom box, I say a prayer for my Tibetan friends and hope that a kinder fate awaits them.

Ray Kreisel

Missoula, Montana – 1996

Please feel free to contact me about any comments, corrections or questions.

Please contact me via

email: raykreisel@yahoo.com

webpage: http://www.kreisels.com/ray

The following is a list of all of the items that I carried during the journey, exclusive of food.

Sleeping Equipment

one person tent – Sierra Designs Divine Light Tent with stuff sack

sleeping bag – Feathered Friends Snow Bunting GorTex with compression stuff sack

sleeping mat – Thermarest with stuff sack

Clothing

Teva sandals

hiking shoes – Nike Lava Dome Jr.

riding gloves – with long fingers and covered back to protect my hands from the sun

socks (2 pair)

long pants (1 pair)

long sleeve cycling shirt -lightweight

cycling shorts (1 pair)

expedition weight long underwear zip turtleneck shirt

medium weight long underwear bottoms

pile jacket – 300 weight Polorguard

GorTex jacket – Marmot Alpinist jacket

rain pants – REI GorTex cycling pants

pile hat – with earflaps

baseball hat – to protect my face from the sun

bandanna

cotton surgical mask – to reduce the amount of road dust that I would inhale every day, commonly used in Tibet to help fight off bronchitis

stuff sack – 1 for clothes, 1 for food

winter gloves – GorTex ski type gloves

balaclava – light weight

small towel

Cooking Equipment

metal spoon

cooking stove – MSR XKG II stove with stove cleaning kit and nylon bag (I acquired this item halfway through the trip from the American Jay)

fuel bottle – filled with kerosene fuel

cook pot – large metal Chinese mug with lid, 1 liter size

water bottles – 2 liter Nagel plastic bottles, 1 with nylon carrying bag

plastic soda bottle – 1.5 liter size (only on second half of trip)

bicycle water bottles – 2 large size water bottles

water filter – Katadyn water filter with old toothbrush to clean water filter

Miscellaneous Equipment

flashlight – Maglight with extra light bulb and two AA batteries

mini Bic lighter

candles – (2) used for starting cook fires

thermometer

compass

small hand mirror – 2 inches across

comb

toilet paper

soap

Chapstick with sunblock

sunblock cream – SPF 25

multi-vitamins

sunglasses – glacier glasses

notebook

writing pen (2)

Chinese/English Dictionary-Phrase book

zip lock bags (4) – heavy duty freezer bags

local postcards with Chinese stamps already affixed

reading book – Annie Dillard, “ Pilgrim at Tinker Creek ”

short-wave radio – with two AA batteries

mini tripod for camera – 3 inches long

camera – Olympus Stylus Zoom, 35-70 mm zoom with extra battery

film – 8 rolls

fishing hooks (3)

fishing line – 60 feet [30 meters]

two extra AA batteries

Important Documents and Papers

passport

credit card

US dollars $300

AMEX Travelers checks US$2000

airplane ticket

money belt

photocopy of airplane ticket

photocopy of passport and traveler check numbers (5) – one copy in each of my different packs

maps – ONC maps for Yunnan, Tibet and Pakistan, Chinese Government map of Xizang Province (Tibet), map of China,

notes from collected research – 2 pages

First Aid Kit

elastic hair tie (3)

heavy sewing thread

sewing needle (3)

folding scissors

aluminum foil

safety pins (3)

adhesive tape

drug usage information sheet

Diamox – drug for high altitude

Imodium – drug for diarrhea

Trimethoprim-sulfa D.S. (Septra) – weaker antibiotic

Ciprofloxicin (Cipro) – stronger antibiotic

antibiotic cream – 4 small packs

bandages (6)

alcohol swab (3)

tinidazole 4 grams – drug for giardia two doses

sterile pad (3)

mole skin

iodine swab (2)

Bicycle Equipment

bike computer – Avocet cyclometer with altimeter

bicycle tire pump – mini Zefal Mt. Bike pump

extra bicycle tire – acquired in Lhasa

small piece of inner tube tire rubber

bicycle tube patch kit (2)

extra spokes for back wheel and front wheel

hacksaw blade – 3 inch piece for cutting bolts and other pieces of metal

climbing webbing – 2 pieces 10 feet [3 meters] long to tie all of the items on the rear rack of the bike

bicycle brakes – extra set for front and back

ball bearings – for headset and pedals

lubricant – TriFlow and motor oil

metal wire – 20 feet [7 meters]

metal U clamps for front and back racks in case the frame mounts broke

freewheel removable tool

rag

grease

Loctite – for gluing nuts and bolts in place

allen keys – 4 sizes

pipe clamps (4)

extra derailer cable and extra brake cable

bolts for front and back rack (6)

chain links (5)

spare bicycle tube (2)

crank arm extractor tool – small inset washer type

washers (10)

cool tool – multi-purpose bicycle tool, crescent wrench, chain tool, spoke wrench etc.

duct tape

strapping tape

large Mountain Smith bag for tools

canvas pedal covers – these homemade covers helped keep my feet dry and warm

SOG tool – multi-purpose tool, pliers, knife, metal file, can-opener etc.

front panniers – mid size from Overland Expeditions

rear panniers – trans-am’s from Madden

fanny pack – Mountain Smith Lumbar pack

lower rider front bicycle rack

rear bicycle rack – Blackburn Expedition Rear Rack

mountain bike – Fisher Hookookoo, steel frame bike in case I needed to have parts welded on the spot