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For me the best thing with riding with people is the team work aspect, one get's a problem everybody helps to solve it, then you share the joy and carry on it's a great feeling, you live and learn hey!. http://steveccanyon.smugmug.com/Othe...PC110037-M.jpg Have a good Xmas and keep the report coming....:funmeteryes: bierbier |
And he told me sidecars were dangerous :innocent:
Glad you are OK Chris. Loved the pictures, even the scary ones once I'd got as far as knowing eveyone was OK. Andy |
Somebody asked about the bike. It's a hybrid of 2 Transalps. A 1988 frame/engine (hence to black motor (and oil consumption...) and everything else off a 1998.
http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/p...m/e555pic3.jpg Mods include: 30 litre African Queens petrol tank with vaccuum fuel pump by some Japanese company whose name starts with a K Progressive fork springs and harder oil than standard Rebuilt OEM shock with sleeve so as to increase spring-preload Wider footpegs (off a xr600) Bar risers and Renthal Dakar high bars Heated grips Lower strung silencer by Scorpion, allegedly off a 125 Varadero (that's what the bike breaker who sold me it said), with a custom link pipe. This enabled the area previous occupied to be used for spares (until they fell off and were lost!...). Also less heat so the reg/rec should survive longer. Giant Loop Great Basin bag: It leaks, despite seams sealed. Very sturdy though. Will pack more dry bag liners for next year's trip. Touratwat tank bag. My first ever TT product! :-) It was cheap on ebay, ok!, because the seller could'nt spell. Probably my last too, the zippers broke quite quickly. Tool roll on bash plate: Massey Ferguson tractor manual holder Alli bashplate: very strong. Some of the Mongolian rocks that bounced off it were huge! Tyres: Pirelli MT21 90/90/21 and 130/80/17 with Michelin HD tube in front. Rear has a normal tube as impossible to get a HD one. Rim locks in both wheels Swingarm and disk brake off a 98 bike as well as double disk front forks Crash bars (very strong :D) with a couple of no name spots mounted. |
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OK, I admit it, I'm sh!tdoh:confused1::taz: |
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I hope I'm there!, it;s a great place and it would be a pleasure to ride with you.. bier |
Things could only get better…
…and they did.
Sorry, no pictures of bikes in this episode. After a parting of the ways with the others, I set off to nowhere in particular. Riding along I spotted a German TLC parked on the side of the road. Hans and Ingrid were really nice people and also told me of a big party starting at Lake Song-Kul a couple of hundred clicks down the road. So that’s where I headed. Over the next 24 hours about 3000 other people also went my way: http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/p...ngKulKyrgz.jpg Some rode, some used the horsebox. http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/p...ngKulKyrgz.jpg They were there to celebrate the 185th birthday of a Kyrgyz hero for whom they had just finished building a monument. A great place to build a monument too: http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/p...ps0483d294.jpg Horses going for a swim. http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/p...ngKulKyrgz.jpg Some vehicles sported the not yet released in Europe nor USA 2013-model all new design, high tech, Touratech Alli panniers :confused1: They drank and ate… http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/p...ngKulKyrgz.jpg The most disgusting smelling (and tasting) boiled horse broth. I again had to endure the stuff in Mongolia later in the trip. Conveniently in Kyrgyzstan other foodstuffs were available, unlike Mongolia. http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/p...ngKulKyrgz.jpg The also came in Audi 80s. There were lots of them in Kyrgyzstan. Some showed off their pets. http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/p...ngKulKyrgz.jpg They wrestled. The Kazakh and Russian competitors received the biggest boos. Luckily a Kyrgyz won the final. http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/p...ngKulKyrgz.jpg People would regularly call you over and insist you took their picture. All they wanted was to say hello, shake your hand and look at the picture in the camera display. No requests for money, nor the “Donne moi un cadeau” sh!t as pedalled in central and west Africa. http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/p...psf8ce8caa.jpg I had the opportunity to meet young local women, dressed to impress... http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/p...ps2775afe4.jpg ...Watch horse against machine. Horse wins. http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/p...ps1c3317e2.jpg Spectate several round of "Horse murderball"(!?) (closest analogy is American Football on horses with a headless male goat as a “ball”)! You could tell it was a male goat because another part of his analomy hadn't been trimmed! http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/p...psad84be99.jpg Said hello to local men, also dressed to impress. The 48 hours I spent at Song Kul were some of the most memorable from the whole trip. Kyrgystan was my favourite country on the trip. |
More Kyrgyz fun heading to the Tajik border
http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/p...KulKyrgz-1.jpg
Down the hill from Song Kul http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/p...ketKyrgz-1.jpg What do you do when you know there’ll be a power cut. Pump fuel into barrels and dispense using a bucket. No smoking please! http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/p...rgyzstan-1.jpg Camel at Sary Tash, an old Caravanserai Fort on the Silk Route, not far from the Chinese border. http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/p...rgyzstan-1.jpg Meeting the ladies. Nothing happened. Honest! But they did feed me. http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/p...atKyrgyz-1.jpg Promoting adventure motorcycling amongst the young of Kyrgyzstan. After Sary Tash I headed towards Tajikistan… http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/p...Kyrgyzstan.jpg Dodging the rain storms http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/p...Kyrgyzstan.jpg Mother and child on the move A video Southern Kyrgyzstan Not a Road like it says on OSM - YouTube The OSM base map on my Garmin was good, but not 100% accurate http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/p...Kyrgyzstan.jpg The people you meet: A couple of Dutch bikers. Both bikes have xr250 paperwork. Which one isn’t an XT250? http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/p...Kyrgyzstan.jpg The people you meet: A crazy Japanese cyclist. I met lots of people on pushbikes in Kyrgyzstan. Most were heading for Tajikistan. They wouldn’t be getting let in… http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/p...shKyrgyz-1.jpg The people you meet: Some other bloke and his dad. Said his name was Leonardo Di Caprio. Also doing the ADV thing… Apparently the ship sinks at the end of the film. http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/p...shKyrgyz-1.jpg En route to the Tajik border. Which way was the wind blowing? |
G'day
Ive enjoyed reading your blog ,great photo's .the two guys on bikes ,i had two early xt250's many years ago,i think the other bike is a TY250 yamaha.Noel:D
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They were really good guys. |
A short excursion into Tajikistan
The minor case of an assassination of the KGB chief in Khorog over a 1000km away caused the authorities to turn off the phone and internet networks and close all roads and then force all tourists to leave the country. They wouldn’t want outsiders to witness the murder of their own people, would they?. A big shame. And from a personal point of view a PITA. It meant I wouldn’t make it to Uzbekistan (not a biggie: everybody told me how unbearably hot it was there and I’m not actually that interested in looking at architecture anyway). On the plus side, I’d have more time in Mongolia later in the trip. A little windy http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/p...eforestorm.jpg A slightly spooky shot. I kinda like it. It was really windy. Down hill at 80kmh I had my own dust cloud overtaking me! And the temp gauge was on max too. http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/p...rakultajik.jpg Mr Sadat and a Polish Af Twin rider called Robert and his Slovak mate whose name I forget. Nice people. http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/p...rakultajik.jpg Full yard at Sadat’s in Karakul: my Trannie, 2 Polish Africa Twins and 5 Russians: 2 Af Twins, 2 Transalps 1 xt250 Baja http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/p...assat4655m.jpg Ak Baital Pass at 4655m on Pamir Highway between Karakul and Murgab. The bike was running fine here, over a vertical km higher than when I had my cliff incident. Hence the theory regarding the dodgy cdi unit suddenly kicking back in and launching me into space. Or not? http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/p...Tajikistan.jpg The gps reads only 4 meters lower. Not bad considering the distances to the satellites. http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/p...yarsetajik.jpg Long yes, winding? My arse. Video2 Tajikistan summer 2012 video 2 - YouTube A quick panorama http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/p...rakultajik.jpg A vaguely artful shot. Or not? Lake Karakul http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/p...28july2012.jpg Crazy Scottish cyclist called Stephen and Marek and Rarek from Poland http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/p...28july2012.jpg A solo (pretty) German cyclist... The following will sound really sexist. It is: On all my travels every time I meet solo female travellers, they tend to be “functional”. All the pretty ones have a fella in tow. This lady was actually very pretty and on her own, on a pushbike in the Pamir mountains! I first met Christine at the border between Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. We had heard of problems ahead and due to her slow average speed and her visa running out she had a big dilemma as to whether to continue on or not. In the end her decision was made for her: The authorities put her and several other cyclists in a jeep, drove them to the border and said “get lost”. Here she’s with my Polish mates Marek and Radek with whom I rode back to Osh in Kyrgyzstan. Over the fence behind them is China http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/p...Tajikistan.jpg Yours truely http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/p...Tajikistan.jpg Getting gas in Murgab http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/p...Tajikistan.jpg An artful photo? http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/p...urgabtajik.jpg End of the road at Murgab. They weren’t letting anyone into the rest of the Pamir region. Bollox Tajikistan summer 2012 video 3 - YouTube Leaving the country |
I continue to enjoy your blog.
Great photo's.Noel:D
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A couple of gps maps
Now that I’ve reached the most southerly point on this trip and have been forced to turn round, here are 3 maps of my gps tracks so far with a couple of annotations. They might be of some interest. From now on, the only way is north... and east... and north east.... and east.... and south east... and east again.
http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/p...er2012map1.jpg http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/p...er2012map2.jpg http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/p...er2012map3.jpg |
2500km Tajik/Kyrgyz border to Kazakh/Russia Border
Here’s just a random selection (in chronological order…) of pictures from the Tajik/Kyrgyz to the Kazakh/Russia border: About 2500km where nothing untoward happened. Just a lot of riding, nice views and people, a bit of drinking and quite a few fun experiences.
http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/p...tOshKyrgyz.jpg Osh was a good place to hang out for a couple of days. Lenin Street had some nice bars and eateries. http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/p...rOshKyrgyz.jpg A weird looking poster. Not sure if it’s for beer or whatever is in those packets. Wouldn’t eat or drink the stuff if you end up looking like those 2 Neanderthals. While taking the above pic, look what walked by… http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/p...sOshKyrgyz.jpg http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/p...lingKyrgyz.jpg Beehives and honey selling http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/p...bikeKyrgyz.jpg Genghis Khan on a horse, on a bike. Note the “superior” side panel mod so that the reg/rec can run a bit cooler. http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/p...112percent.jpg All uphill and downhill incline signs in Central Asia say 12%! I kid you not. Either the ex-Soviet factory only made this particular 12% sign, or the roads are all at 12%. I don’t think it’s the later. Some inclines were definitely steeper, some shallower. http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/p...ncinKyrgyz.jpg Some (new) bag of sh!t Chinese Lonchin 125 thing. But nice stickers eh? A DRZ Gixxer. The ultimate Adventure bike? http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/p...lersKyrgyz.jpg What you can buy on the side of the road in Kyrgyzstan. The obligatory water melons and inflatable beach toys (Lake Issy Kul is a 100 clicks down the road). http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/p...mytowngate.jpg A couple of interesting stickers (Colebatch’s and HU amongst others) on the gate of My Town Motors in Almaty, Kazakhstan. I went there to have a chat and buy some proper engine oil. http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/p...matyKazakh.jpg Chatting to the mechanic at My Town Somewhere on road north east of Almaty I had my “It’s as far from me to you as it is from you to me, you pig” interaction with a couple of bent coppers, as mentioned at the start of this RR. http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/p...launchsite.jpg While stopping for a comfort break where a gravel road goes off into the distance, who should turn up? Michal Rej and Marek Zarod, 2 Polish hardcore 4x4 people. They told me that down the track there’s an abandoned former Soviet nuclear missile launch site. Both were really nice guys. Michal has lots of YouTube videos including http://www.youtube.com/user/SyberiaM...?feature=watch http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/p...launchsite.jpg The site mentioned above. http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/p...therainbow.jpg What do you find at the end of a rainbow? http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/p...ruckKazakh.jpg Ooops. http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/p...ahutKazakh.jpg I was getting annoyed at riding through the nothingness that is eastern Kazakhstan. Then it started to rain. The only town I rode through only had expensive hotels and I couldn’t be arsed to put my tent up. Just before dark I saw a building on the hillside with no smoke coming out of the chimney. A shepherd’s hut. It was locked with a twisted coat hanger, but my Leatherman allowed easy entry ;) This is me at breakfast the flowing morning. I then rode 750km to Semey, close to the border with Russia. A really glowing (radioactive) town. http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/p...emeyKazakh.jpg Having a nice chat with the locals while buying breakfast on the way towards the Russian border. http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/p...trapRussia.jpg Welcome to Russia! Watch out for speed traps. |
Top report as always.
I agree with the"new bag of shit"statement id rather an old Honda any day.:D
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