Aydin Irmak wants to carry his bike up Mt. Everest. To the summit if possible. The bike is a steel single speed and it weighs 33 pounds. Most people struggle just to get themselves on top, let alone an iron horse. But the 46-year-old from New York is committed. And while his quest might seem absurd to some, he’s most of the way there, having ridden through Russia, Thailand, and eventually Tibet and then Nepal to get to Everest Base Camp, where he is now attempting to wade through bureaucracy to get the second permit he needs to haul the bike at least as high as Camp IV.
Outside’s Grayson Schaffer has been reporting from EBC this climbing season and wrote a fascinating (and respectful) piece on Irmak, one of the more unconventional seekers Everest has seen. Read it here.
Photo by Grayson Schaffer
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{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
Single speed? Looks like he has a double up front and a cassette on the rear.
You’re right, I think. Grayson reported it as a single speed, but that sure looks like a hanger in the back.
Well, it might be singlespeed now because it no longer shifts.
You have to love this bloke, single speed or old school 24, the world is a richer place for people that just do stuff like this. Great find
when I weigh in the odds of this bike ending up as yet another piece of high elevation trash, I vote this man a fool. A hardman most certainly, but definitely a fool.