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When Life jams the signal….

The first Kilometers behind the Kyrgyz Border Control where really relaxing. Flat terrain, a sunny Morning and behind us an amazing mountain ridge we crossed the hours before…
In Sary Tash we took a deep breath took three good meals and a night in a real bed before we continued the Last part to Osh. Three Passes on our way the road leads us down into the Plains.
with less Altitude the Vegetation starts getting richer, little streams running down the valleys, birds singing and after a few bushes also trees started growing… I spontaneously felt in love with this country…
Around the Passes you could see why the country is called „The Switzerland of Central Asia“, the landscape looked really like the Alps.
After a second long descent we crossed the burned grassland around osh (that reminded me of Kazakhstan) and arrived in the City to take a break. After that break it was time to say goodbye. Katharinas and my ways split up from here on.
My ways should lead me through the Tian Shan (chinese Name for Mountains of Heaven) down to Bishkek. At the End of the Mountains i decided to go the hard way, bad roads (washboard and it´s friend the loose sand), high passes but also fantastic Landscapes and totally lonely roads and regions. In the guesthouse they called this paradise „the middle road“!
So here we go…
But it came different than expected… so this trip ended 2 days after the start in the Moment my Seatpost broke. I tried to cycle without, but it was impossible… A new experience (for me)…
So they way back to the next city by hitchhiking, a farmer took me down the whole way while my bike shares the back with 5 Sheeps and later also two cows… without a damage!
The next morning i took a shared taxi to Bishkek where i tried to find a replacement for my post…
The way over the Mountains took me 10 Hours and passes wonderful landscapes and beautiful valleys. A paradise for cycling and camping. We passed the gigantic Toktogul-Lake and a wide high altitude valley before we crossed the last pass to drive down to Bishkek. With the bike it would have taken me a whole week. A few tears ran down my cheek on the way…
In Bishkek i found accommodation in the House of Angie and Nathan, a kind of Guesthouse for Cyclists with an integrated Bike-Workshop and a hot Shower. Exactly what i needed. And it went my home for longer than i expected. I could´t find a Seatpost in my size in the City, so i ordered one (with several different things i needed from Europe) in Germany.
In Bishkek i applied for my chinese Visa, what took me normally a week, but in my case it was about 2 weeks. You should apply via an agency cause the Chinese want a perfect story for the trip (including the bookings) and the agencies prepare everything for you.
So i waited for the parcel and made a nice trip to the mountains south of Bishkek with coco, a cyclist from France. We cycled there, walked up to the hut and climbed the peak the next day. Utschitjel, 4527m high delivered us perfect views to the glaciers and down to Bishkek that was almost 4000m below us. We walked down again and cycled back to the City. A wonderful trip that kept in my mind with (not only) some painful days afterwards…

Patrik, another cyclist from Switzerland, got a visit from his father from Zurich that brought Spokes and a Seatpost for me with him and so i replaced the Backwheel of my bike and repaired the Post. Also the Cassett and the Chain had to be replaced after 22000km. So i had a almost new bike after that…
I gave my Mountain-Boots back to Switzerland and short after he left i got a bad message…
After 3 weeks UPS told me that the parcel is lost and so i had to find another solution (and another pair of boots for the winter), cause my chinese visa was running…
I cycled to Almaty, a beautiful trip along Yssyk-Kol Lake and the Tian Shan Mountains and went shopping in Almaty. The City is known as the best place to shop Outdoor-Gear in Central Asia. After two intense Days i found the most of what i was looking for and took a bus back to Bishkek.
From Bishkek i took another shared Taxi to Osh and from there on to Sary Tash (the one from the beginning of the Story). A really multicultural trip over the mountains with a Chinese, a uighur (a chinese minority), a uzbek and two kyrgyz speaking people. I couldn´t understand a word…
There where some really spectacular accidents on the way south, they really drive like they ride the bike… Crazy!
As i had to discuss the price for the second lift twice and the driver from my first taxi also wanted more money at the end i thought about raging up. But a smile and little discussion later everything was fine… Asia at it´s best…
In Sary Cash i took a night in the same guesthouse than before and started my ride to china the next morning. There was one high Pass on the way to the border and a gigantic fascinating country behind that border… I was excited!

Here there are new Adventures in front of me, but this is another story i want to tell you the next time…

My Stay in Kyrgyzstan was completely different that i expected it. The long stays in the guesthouses in Osh and Bishkek were fine and brought a lot of information, stories and fun, but this is not the way to meet the people of the country.
I enjoyed the few moments when i was able to feel the culture and friendliness of the kyrgyz people and the landscape of Kyrgyzstan is beautiful to look at. There is a lot left to cycle cause i covered more distance in a Taxi than on the Bike…
Maybe next time…