Central Asia

TwistingSpokes in Tajikistan

By |2019-08-15T10:03:51+02:00 8th June, 2016|Categories: Tajikistan, TwistingSpokes in ...|Tags: , , , , , , , |

Bicycle touring in Tajikistan is a dream of many. Riding the Pamir Highway at 3000 to 4000 meters altitude surrounded by the Pamir mountains with 7000+ peaks at the edge of the Himalayas is insane. Tajikistan was playing in our minds since we left home on the bicycle because it would be the first time we [...]

TwistingSpokes in Kyrgyzstan

By |2019-08-15T10:03:55+02:00 13th January, 2016|Categories: Kyrgyzstan, TwistingSpokes in ...|Tags: , , , , , , , |

Bicycle touring Kyrgyzstan is great! The scenery and nature are amazing and the people are interested and hospitable. We spent a considerable amount of time in Osh and in Bishkek eating and preparing for winter which was speedily approaching. We entered Kyrgyzstan on the 15th of October 2014 and left the country on the 25th of [...]

TwistingSpokes in Kazakhstan

By |2019-08-15T10:03:57+02:00 25th November, 2015|Categories: Kazakhstan, TwistingSpokes in ...|Tags: , , , , , , , , |

Bicycle touring Kazakhstan in November and December was chilly and special. We only crossed a corner of this huge country. The country that is known for the movie Borat and the pro-cycling team Astana, and got a good impression. We entered Kazakhstan on the 26th of November and left the country on the 16th of December. We have cycled approx. 514 km, hitchhiked 120 km because of a broken tooth and ascended 3850 meters.

Central Asia: the final chapter

By |2019-08-15T10:03:13+02:00 29th December, 2014|Categories: Kazakhstan|Tags: , , , , , , |

Almaty, the second city and previous capital of Kazakhstan, felt like Europe to us. Expensive Burger King, household appliances, large super markets, food courts and even proper dental care. It was nice to be in a place where we could enjoy some luxuries, although we were missing the off the beaten track feel of the places we [...]

A 36 hour taste of winter cycling

By |2019-08-15T10:03:13+02:00 6th December, 2014|Categories: Cycling, Kazakhstan, Nature|Tags: , , , , , , |

Our legs are shaking, our fingers are numb and we are only 500 meters away from the hostel where we stayed in Bishkek. A really nice place by the way, nice and comfortable, where the communal heating was on all day. So making the step from 23 degrees inside to minus 10 outside after three weeks was [...]

Discovering the diversity of Kyrgyzstan

By |2019-08-15T10:03:13+02:00 21st November, 2014|Categories: High mountains, Kyrgyzstan, Northern Kyrgyzstan, Winter cycling|Tags: , , , , , , |

Looking at the map we see a red line running from Osh to Bishkek. It is a highway and actually still the M41. We are reluctant to take this road because we prefer to avoid heavy traffic and take smaller roads where possible. At the same time we have heard that many of the smaller roads are [...]

The Pamir Highway M41- 4655m a real high

By |2019-08-15T10:03:14+02:00 6th November, 2014|Categories: High mountains, Hospitality, Kyrgyzstan, North eastern Tajikistan, Southern Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan|Tags: , , , , , , |

Anticipation... Expectations... Personal opinions and the Ak-Baital Pass. Cycling the The Pamir Highway M41 is not only about having the legs but definitely the stamina, the motivation and the persistence. Altitude sickness, bad roads, good and bad stories of other cyclists and illness are all a part of it. It has been a mind blowing, interesting cultural and physical [...]

The Wakhan valley with exciting views, roads and people.

By |2019-08-15T10:03:14+02:00 23rd October, 2014|Categories: Ancient civilizations, High mountains, Southern Tajikistan, Tajikistan|Tags: , , , , , , |

We were excited the day had come Martin was feeling better from the Giardia Lamblia infection and it was our 8 months anniversary for the journey. We had to go and get on the road out of Khorog and cycle onwards to the Wakhan valley. The Wakhan valley we had heard from many people should be a [...]

Roughing it on the M41 to Khorog

By |2019-08-15T10:03:15+02:00 29th September, 2014|Categories: High mountains, Hospitality, Tajikistan, Western Tajikistan|Tags: , , , , |

We are approaching the Roof of the World, the Pamir plateau. It makes us nervous and exciting and we are a little bit worried. At the same time other people have cycled here as well so it will be okay... Won't it? We only know that our preparation ride from Dushanbe to Khorog was tough, very tough. [...]

Leaving Samarqand, cycling south with mixed emotions

By |2019-08-15T10:03:15+02:00 18th September, 2014|Categories: Eastern Uzbekistan, Heat and desert, High mountains, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Western Tajikistan|Tags: , , |

It is hard leaving a place where you feel comfortable en where you are understood by others. So leaving Samarqand was difficult and this was not made easier by a stomach bug that was traveling around. We were cycling south with mixed emotions because it was hard to say goodbye but we were also looking very much [...]

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