When Chris Skinner's mate Stew asked where he'd like to go for his 60th, no one expected "Mt Everest by motorbike"

If you're used to creature comforts, wary about what you eat, and never know when you'll need patching up in a good hospital, you might think extreme locations are not for suburban folk like you. People can read Everest and Beyond to find out if that's right.

After following this sometimes awkward, sometimes inspiring journey to Everest and Lhasa, readers may set off in pursuit of their own inappropriate objectives. This is the story of a bold plan-rashly formulated over quite a few drinks, and carried out by people more likely to be seen in VIP lounges than the slopes above Base Camp, or struggling for breath in the world's highest towns.

On trusty Royal Enfields they rode the highest roads on the planet with white knuckles beneath black skies, through savage conditions, boggy roads and closed highways, armed checkpoints, dubious food and the occasional hot shower. They braved brutal altitudes for one of the rarest views on Earth-Mount Everest on a clear day. Along the way they met fantastic strangers who became fast friends-and saw the outlandish in a mystical land.