About 30 kilometers outside of Qalai Khum, in the hot afternoon sun, we found a guesthouse in the small village of Yoged and were looking forward to showering our dusty bodies. The road along the Afghan border between Khorog and Yoged is only partially asphalted, so dirt was constantly kicked up by passing cars and trucks. Our overnight spots in …
Cycling along the Panj River valley in Tajikistan
In Khorog, we treated ourselves to another rest day. We figured that the never-ending 130-kilometer ride ‘downhill’ warranted a day for our bodies to recover. Already, it felt like our time up high in the Pamirs was a part of a dream; in Khorog, the weather was warm and sunny with a soft breeze, there were people and decent cell …
The route from Murghab to Khorog – the Pamir Highway at 4000 meters (13,000 feet)
Once in Murghab, Cédric and I decided to take a day off to rest from the week’s ride. We had been cycling up from 900m in Osh to 4655m on the Akbaital-Pass, with multiple smaller passes and endless smaller ascents on unpaved roads (often more strenuous than the highest pass), so our bodies were calling for a full day of …
In between the ‘Stans and up over the Ak-Baital pass
Energized by an evening of stories with other cyclo-tourists, Cédric and were ready to make our way into Tajikistan. As we bid farewell to everyone and wished them luck for their respective journeys (some were headed north, others towards China and Peak Lenin), Cédric and I slowly collected our things and made a few last-minute purchases for the big ascent. …
The final frontier of Kyrgyzstan – the way to Sary Tash
After our 100 km hustle from Jalal-Abad to Osh on heavily trafficked roads, Cédric and I were happy to settle down for a few days and plan the next leg of our journey. Recovering from our pizza overload (see the picture in the previous post) and an epic breakfast prepared by our homestay, we rode off to the sprawling Osh …
The roughest road pt. II: Kazarman to Osh
With our day off in Kazarman, Cédric and I were happy hang out in the shade at our clean guesthouse and catch up on some sleep. At one point, Cédric ventured out in search of ‘worst case scenario’ screws at the local bazaar, incase our trailer didn’t manage with the zip-ties, cord and prayers. In Kyrgyzstan (and most parts of …