Pedaling from the Black Forest to the Yellow Sea

It was rest day and it really wasn’t. I spent the entire day organizing things over the web. The people in the internet cafe were not only helpful, but saved the day. I have to schedule an appointment for my visa interview, but you have to print all sorts of things and plug things into web forms, uncertain what you come up with in the end. The owner pulled out the non-functioning printer and together we managed to get it going. They also let me use their computer because I wasn’t certain whether I would be given a pdf and the like. But getting to this point was a bit daunting.

But here is where things stand:

1. Filled out form DS 156 - check

2. Passport pictures - check

3. Bring money - check

4. Bring notarized notice - check (on its way from the US)

5. letters of recommendation - check (on their way from several places)

6. made an appointment - check

I will now have an interview on October 7, 2008 in Bishkek. I will leave Tajikistan on October 2, 2008. Leave the bike in either Sary-Tash or Osh, head to Bishkek and apply for the visa there.

This took all day, so no pictures for today. You get one from yesterday.

At night, I was invited to Bianca’s farewell party. She is the friend of Bettina - and I happened upon Bianca in the internet cafe already. It’s a small place.

So, for the next 10-12 days there will not be any updates. There will not be any internet access and for the most part no electricity. Things are set up for the visa though I think, but do keep your fingers crossed at any rate in the meantime.

daily distance: 74km
total distance: 11,009km
riding time: 4-5h

The night had been cold as anticipated, but it was a great way to see the Milky Way above me. Can’t beat that kind of stuff. In the morning I set out in the still frigid air and pottered along the valley for the next few hours. The landscape was still at its grandiose best and the riding not too difficult. The road was mostly good.

But after the last days of roughness by bike has taken a beating and certain screws are becoming problem children it seems. One has actually completely failed and has shaken loose. I could replace it on the spot - and at night was given an even better replacement by Bill, another biker staying in the same hostel here in Khorog.

Khorog is nothing special. It’s a place for me to rest for a day, try to set up things for an interview at the US embassy in Bishkek in a couple of weeks and replenish some supplies. I will no longer ride along the river that I have been seeing for days now and Afghanistan will no longer be on my right hand side.  In the hostel I happened upon Bill, another biker from the US who is taking an indefinite vacation (limitation: money) and has graciously let me use his lockite on my screws - which I hope will settle the issue.

daily distance: 96km
total distance: 10,935km
riding time: 7h

I woke up in my tent with a cloggy nose, a big fat headache and a lump in my throat. Not a good way to start the day. Really, it isn’t. Add to that a kid that just wouldn’t go away after I had crawled out of my tent and you can see that I wasn’t a super happy camper at that point. After packing up I figured that I would flag down a car and get myself to Khorog by car. For some reason the first car I let pass (which would have been the perfect car with plenty of space) and the same again with the second. And then there weren’t many more. OK, about 20 in all, but most of them were full or not suitable. And I felt better after a couple of hours.

Annoying checkpoints and bored soldiers again … one patrol telling me that the road would be closed ahead when it wasn’t. I told them that a car had just passed and that I couldn’t see it any longer. And that I was going anyway. It was clear what they wanted and I was in no mood to give them any money.

The road continued its up and down fashion for quite a while, mostly on bad surface, bumpy for the most part. But again the scenery was breathtaking and made up for all the difficulties. I started to feel better too. Had loads of pseudo-chocolate to boost things and after a while things were back to normal. Keep your fingers crossed that this isn’t coming to haunt me once up in the Pamir. Here is some confidence-instilling piece of construction.

And this girl is becoming quite popular judging by the number of plastic bags that are adorned with her face.

And don’t ask what the girls had to drink …

In the afternoon the scenery opened up dramatically. The riverbed became much wider after a good number of fast-moving sections - the river that is. Markus was kept low by a blustery wind that was coming down the valley pretty hard. But once in the more wide open area the wind was switched off it seemed. And I didn’t have the underappreciative biker mentality when the wind comes from behind and we complain about it not being there. It simply stopped.

The area is amazing and the last bit was pure pleasure riding. I stopped to get a bite to eat for dinner and was overwhelmed when the lady started going to her own home to grab some tomatoes, but came back with bread, apples and peaches on top of things. And she wouldn’t take any money for it. No argument would convince her.

My quest for a tent site met with a similar fate. No, you have to come to our house. The daughter spoke really good English and so we had a great time discussing all sorts of things with the entire family. Things up here are a bit different. People are wonderful and extremely caring in a way that has been described to me many times, but that is hard to put down in words. Maybe I’ll be able to in a few days. And boy … the stars are out in force up here at 2200m. This promises to be a great ride up in the Pamirs.

daily distance: 101km
total distance: 10,841km
riding time: 8h

Early morning in Shirgovad and it was much colder than I had anticipated. The Pamir nights should be fun up at 4000m in the tent. Tonight was under the stars though and with a blanket and the silk liner only.

Off on the Russian asphalt, which means broken pieces for some time, but also mostly rideable. The fun thing is that you just never know when it starts or ends. I had been told that it would be 22km until I reach the town of Khalaikum - and 22km on the mark it was. Nothing spectacular - the stores weren’t even better stocked than in small towns, so I set out. Not without calling my sister to get some things organized. I have decided that I will apply for my US visa in Bishkek, the Beijing trip would take much longer and the wait times are not attractive. The decision in Bishkek is practically made on the spot and if approved you can pick up the visa the next day. For me, this means scrambling in every direction, trying to get everything to Bishkek in time without email connections to speak of. I have one day in Khorog for that. Then everything must be green and on its way.

Calling was easy - but not cheap. Nor easy to get the operator to find out the code she had to punch in for international calls. I knew 49 for Germany, but how do you come up with 8 and 10 before that? $1 for a minute. But under the circumstances I was glad that I could make the call after some discussions.

The rest of the day was devoted to one thing only. Riding. Long stretches with decent roads and long stretches without so decent roads. My TV program from days prior was on again. But much was on repeat. But the landscape is simply fantastic. If only the road was better so that I could look more often. The road also climbs a lot. The total was only a 300m gain or so, but overall I did more than 1300m in altitude. Roads at the end were kind of like yesterday, which was no fun. And I wasn’t sure where I would end up. As dark was approaching, I was still in a canyon-like part without any place to stay. The valley was narrow, no village on either side. I was sure it would open up eventually. Rockslide and mudslides and falling stone wasn’t my idea of having a good night.

I ended up out of the canyon part and found a good spot in an orchard. Good apples too.

The title of the email … Yes, yet another couple of soldiers being bored out of their mind stopped me. It must have been like no. 6 or 7 at the time. And I couldn’t help but showing my annoyance. The guy showed his Kalashnikov. I showed my passport. Then it occured to me that he couldn’t read. He kept staring at the Iranian visa. At me and then the Iranian visa. Over and over. Finally, I grabbed the passport, said that this was the passport, this was the visa and the permit for the Pamir. That out of the way, they let me go. Frustrating and sad at the same time.

daily distance: 92km
total distance: 10,740km
riding time: 8h

Another one of those days where you curse being on the bike. And then you love it and you can’t make up your mind. But in the end you’re glad you made the trip.

I left the teacher’s house with him at 7:30am and took off on a bad road, followed by a part that was paved. I thought to myself that this is grandiose riding. I still had this smirk on my face (again rather) when I looked across the river and saw Afghanistan and thought to myself that I biked all the way here. Did I want to go over to see what things are like in this part? Sure. Will I go? Hell no!!! Although curious I am, I must admit.

So, after the initial section of asphalt the rest of the next 50km (30 miles) were nothing but … well, what was it? Rocks, stones - something that may have been a road once. But it was bad. No fun to ride. Very rough going and needless to say I didn’t make a whole lot of mileage. But the landscape was grandiose. The Pyanj river cut a valley that is incredibly beautiful, deep and … dangerous. Well, human beings add to the danger quite a bit - needless to say, venturing off the road didn’t seem like a good idea.

I followed the river for a long while … all day and will do so for the next 4 or 5 as a matter of fact. All the while Afghanistan to my right. And the TV station that I saw was great. Burka-clad women on donkeys, traditional clothing, kids playing in the water, mud houses and what I thought was a Westerner with an umbrella shielding him from the sun.

The difference to my side was also stark. Yes, some satellite dishes, but no road - only trails hewn into the rockface with people walking on them and the occasional donkey. And … no powerlines. Plenty on my side (only transmitting power half the year though), none on the other.

During the rocky part of the day I also came through an Iranian construction site - just one example of the considerable influence that Iran has and has had historically. People speak the same language and - again - I get all the Aryan relationship between the Tajiks and the Iranians, and the Germans of course. I keep holding the same line as in Iran. Doesn’t matter, doesn’t matter.

Just after the Iranian construction site, things went from bad to worse. The road was unrideable, climbs up to 28%. Good pushing … I was absolutely glad to be out of this mess. I was bounced around like hardly ever before, the temperatures hovered over 40C and I was wasted.

Then the miracle happened at Zigar. The beginning of a super silky smooth 40km stretch of asphalt. Turkish construction. They had done a great job. This was a masterpiece. All the thoughts from earlier in the day were wiped clean, everything was good again. I took breaks and watched the other side of the river, had some apples here and there and just enjoyed what I had. Then I rounded a corner and saw … the road steeply climbing up. This was not what I wanted for the day. I was done. Small climbs OK, but nothing like this. It turned out not to the road I was to take.

I hunkered down in a small village after being invited by a family. Cooked my own food and slept soon enough though.