Pedaling from the Black Forest to the Yellow Sea

daily distance: 99km
total distance: 10,648km
riding time: 7-8h

I set out after a yummy breakfast and continued my way to Kuljab. I was there soon enough and wanted to try my luck with finding an internet cafe. Some of you may wonder about this obsession, but the visa question for the US is burning on my mind. And sure enough. There was paperwork to be taken care of. And decisoins to be made. I need to figure out whether to make the application in Bishkek/Kyrgyzstan or someplace in China. I figured China would be easier and started preparing for that. Things have to be sent there, interview times set up and the like. Not good to do this on the road on a bike. Final consideration is to head to Germany and cut the trip short. Not something I want to do, but something I may have to consider.

I was so engrossed in everything that I went the wrong way. I found out 12km later. Back to where I was and I decided to head to the internet cafe again and do some more work. The guys were nice. It was part of a university and funded by a US agency and the person running it was extremely helpful with everything. Not only once, but twice. Thanks so much. Things changed a bit and it was a good thing I came back. I looked more closely at the wait times and prep times at the Chinese embassies and the whole thing is a bit more complicated than in Bishkek. There, it’s a one day affair really and so I am thinking about shifiting everything there. Time is an issue of course and we shall see how it goes. Will have to prepare everything in Khorog and then take it from there. After that, no more internet and until then, no internet. I know … 15 years ago. And then the Neanderthals …

It was uphill for a long time and I kept hacking away at a 2200m pass, starting at 600m or so, maybe a bit more. Up, up and more up. It was hot, though beautiful and I reached the top around mid- to late afternoon. Too much time due to the detour.

On the downhill you get checked twice. Once by the military and once by the police. The checkpoints are 100m apart. I am sorry, this is stupid. I have exactly zero understanding for that. Each time, they do the same stuff and it is nothing but annoying.

In town I stocked up and headed out, knowing it would be a close call to get to the valley bottom before dark. I didn’t make it and sort of did. I headed through a steep valley, which never seemed to end. And it was gettting dark. Too dark for riding and the road was getting worse and worse. Really bad as a matter of fact.

Somehow I managed to signal a car to stay behind me and I was looking for a place to pitch. The people in the car had other plans though and said that I should move 2km further (turned out to be 12km) and I would sleep there. Deal. Murderous run through the night, but I made it in one piece. I was shot and drained when we got there in the pitch dark. What I saw before though was majestic. The mountains on the other side of the river must have been Afghanistan and the moon rising over them was a moving sight. Got here in one piece (barely over that downhill).

I did however ponder that I will most likely no longer be able to make it to the Yellow Sea without the help of motorized vehicles. Either way … Bishkek or Beijing, I will not have enough time unless I race like crazy and I don’t feel like doing this. We shall see what happens.

daily distance: 120km
total distance: 10,549km
riding time: 8h

That U-turn is telling. And the tunnel that they are digging a bit further is too. It means that it goes uphill steeply. And I mean very steeply. Everything is up and up and unrelentingly so. Can’t complain about not having a good workout in the morning. The top saw - yes - yet another useless police checkpoint and some great views.

Lots of ups and downs lead me to Dangara, a town of some size here and I tried to find out whether more about the US visa situation. The quest for an internet connection was on. The first lead went straight to a toilet. I guess it rhymes with internet. The second to the post office. Computers … but no internet. Go back there says the postmaster. All the while my bike is rather unprotected and too many kids milling about. Nothing it seems. More computers in a room, but it’s games only. Finally I go into a place without having any hopes, but they advertised picture developing. There wasn’t anything, but I suddenly saw a printout with the Interent Explorer symbol as background and decided to push the agenda. Can’t be there for no reason and it had a local number on it. An older man with authority was called in. He makes phone calls and after a while we come back to the guys that said no internet before.

We get to the sole internet computer in town - in the Tajikistan Telecom building. One guy knows how to operate the machine and he says: “No problem”. And then he pulls out a 230.4kb/s connection over a dial-up modem. Never seen that - maybe someone can enlighten me how that works. At any rate, the visa exception was granted, so now I was celebrating. It still means a lot of back and forth I am sure, but the big news that I got was worth all the trouble to get that connection. Now I have to go through the interview process at a US embassy and hope that the big fat Iran visa in my passport isn’t too much cause for concern. I don’t see why it should be really.

The remainder of the day was cycling through golden hills and wonderful territory. Tough at times and hot. But awesome in so many ways. Reminded me a lot of California in the early fall. It’s called Golden State for a reason. I pushed on for a while and ended up in a farm, asking whether I could pitch. The shorts were objectionable. So I put on long pants and right away was invited in. The young farmer would not let me stay outside … and soon enough everything was set up for many people to come by. Communication was much easier after Olimjon came by, an aid worker who had studied in Kayseri / Turkey and who spoke excellent English. Thanks so much to him and the family for putting me up. I again learned so much over dinner and during the time I spent there.

daily distance: 70km
total distance: 10,429km
riding time: 5h

I really did leave Dushanbe today. Finally. Really, out of there. Not until noon though. The two hours I had planned on spending updating the website and burn some DVDs turned out to be 4 and so I set out midday only.

And for the most part, the ride was pretty uneventful. Out of Dushanbe was a no-brainer as long as you keep going straight after that traffic circle and ignore the police man that whistles after you for no reason.

Then you hang a hard right and you’re in open territory. And then the uphill starts. I hadn’t thought it would be that much of an uphill and felt that it would never end. It’s the bad thing when you have no real clue as to altitude coming up. You don’t know what to expect. And it was long and steep.

I was out of water until I came upon an apple stand where payment was refused and after seeing that I got three apples an old lady loaded three pears on top of that. When I sat down a bit later to have a go at some of the fruit a truck driver stopped and gave me a pommegranate … just like that.

On the top of the pass there wasn’t much of a view, but the downhill was exhilarating and brought me to Nurek soon enough. Looking at the picture now, I am totally spoiled. The view was great …

From there I continued some more kms and found a spot to pitch or so I thought. The owner of a nearby farm (mud house rather) thought that his dogs would eat me alive that night (and from the looks of it they would have) and ultimately invited me to his place.

I meant to leave Dushanbe today. Everything was ready - but not my body. I didn’t feel well and so opted to stay here for another day. It is now more and more likely that I will travel part of the way by car as my visa will be running out. We shall see how things develop, but I really want to ride the Pamir and not rush through it badly. Let’s see how things turn out in the end.

I am not sure if and to what extent I will be able to post anything over the next week, but will try my best. And I should be able to post something in Khorog. Until then, any messages or comments are of course, as always, welcome.

For those reading German, you can read an article in the Badische Zeitung or check out the report on a radio station - SWR3 weltweit. I am working to get an mp3 file of the actual interview.

It was my day off again … the plan was to rest up, have an easy day and not do much. That’s what happened. Manuela, Mark and I had breakfast. A long breakfast and a very relaxing one with good conversations about the country and life in the place.

Some more time on the web before I met up with Ravshan from Tashkent who was doing translation work for a judge from Germany who is doing a legal development project here in Tajikistan. It was a good deal of fun to meet him yet again (we had met up in Dushanbe in 2004, totally unexpectedly). Sadly, the spars that were to come in with him never made it to Tashkent. So, until China I am relying on what I have with me right now.

Manuela, Mark and I finished the day off with some Indian food (great place, the owner being a total character with the restaurant HQ in New Delhi and outlets in Mazar-i-Sharif, Kabul- Dushanbe and Khorog. Might just hit the place up when I am there, the food was very delicious.