After our gravel and washboard excursions in Kyrgyzstan, as amazing as they might have been, we were dreaming and looking forward to the tarmac roads of Kazhakistan. However, contrary to expectations, the tarmac, took some time to come. We thought as soon as we crossed the border the road would automatically improve and change to … Continue reading Steppe-ing through Kazakhstan
It was hard to fit all of the experiences we had in Kyrgyzstan in a short video, but we gave it our best shot. Kyrgyzstan definitely deserves it!We had an amazing time cycling there. From lush green farm fields, to bare and desert mountain landscapes. From snow blizzards in our faces to summer swims in … Continue reading Kyrgyzstan – bumpy but beautiful
Like Tajikistan, there were few route options in Kyrgyzstan - take the main road to Bishkek and around Issykul lake or stay on gravel roads in the mountainous interior of the country. Given that we knew we would already be making a stop in Almaty- Kazakhstan, we decided we didn't need, or want, a second … Continue reading Kyrgyzstan – from lake to lake through beautiful valleys
After almost 3 weeks on the road together, in Osh we said farewell to our slow cycling, gourmet dinner dreaming, salt lake swimming, cow poo fire building, snicker eating buddies: Mari and Eva @12brakeblocks, as we head to similar destinations but through different paths… While we are back in the Pamir they made a day … Continue reading A day in the life in the Pamir
As soon as we crossed the border into Kyrgyzstan, it seemed the landscape changed immediately. Green rolling hills started to appear, and trees!! We hadn't really realised quite how much we had missed seeing trees! It was as if the simple image of a tree in our minds brought a comforting feeling. We zoomed down … Continue reading Kyrgyzstan – a little detour to a big mountain
Our time in Tajakistan was quite special for us, so we decided to make a film of our time cycling through it. Here is a month cycling in Tajakistan squeezed into a 4min video: https://youtu.be/K9NrJy_dkfM
The stretch after Murghab can only be described as like cycling on the moon. Or mars, but colder. Nothing but rocks and mountains and a few supremely isolated yurts. No trees, no villages, not even any yaks. We were pedaling towards the highest pass that any of us were likely to ever cycle over : … Continue reading Cycling on the moon
By the time we reached Khorug, our bodies, brains and bikes were well in need of a rest. The new wheels had held up through the bumpy gravel roads and our digestive systems were mostly back to normal, but we were exhausted and one of my pannier bags had a rather sizeable 8 inch tear … Continue reading The M41: Khorug – Murghab
After a couple of bad nights sleep in a cheap hostel in Dushanbe, we managed to find and move in with a warmshowers, Bianca. We were in fact really lucky, as Bianca was only staying in Dushanbe for two months whilst completing an internship and agreed to have us in her apartment during the very … Continue reading The North Road
We had been anticipating the Pamir Highway for such a long time. When we were getting tired of the lack of camping and craving some personal space in Iran, I was wishing ourselves forward a few thousand kms to Tajikistan. But then suddenly we were here. Less than ten days after leaving Iran, we had … Continue reading Back into the mountains