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Woo Hoo, looking good as always, jealous (I think)
G&F |
Quote:
Yes great except the accommodations and the sandy bits!!! Better than work!! SP |
We arrived to a sign that pointed right, but the 41 went left. Cars came from both directions.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4319/...aece8543_b.jpgTajikistan Pamir Dekh-11 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4307/...8f0c2886_b.jpgTajik Pamir-41 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4309/...14c25f91_b.jpgTajikistan Pamir Dekh-12 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr We went left and after about 5 km of pretty rough road we arrived to a huge land slide. There was a rough rock “path” and Dan rode up over it and to the bridge 1 km further. Meanwhile several guys on the opposite hillside and up about 300 m started yelling wildly. They got louder and louder and more urgent until it became obvious we would turn back. A local came walking buy to basically say (in Russian and with hand signals) the road was closed and we needed to go back to the turnoff and take the detour around. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4291/...74239835_b.jpgTajikistan Pamir Dekh-13 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4320/...0361a784_b.jpgTajikistan Pamir Dekh-14 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4306/...bdeb00d5_b.jpgTajik Pamir-42 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4325/...28fa0784_b.jpgTajikistan Pamir Dekh-15 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
So its back on the road to the turn off. This road climbs and winds up thru a village and then up thru meadows of wild flowers. It eventually meets the 41 again farther south about 15 km.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4293/...2891d305_b.jpgTajikistan Pamir Dekh-16 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4296/...279c1365_b.jpgTajikistan Pamir Dekh-17 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4303/...bfcb8e90_b.jpgScreen Shot 2017-07-18 at 10.51.48 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4321/...e904abbc_b.jpgTajikistan Pamir Dekh-18 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4306/...ac898ef9_b.jpgTajik Pamir-51 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4316/...6cb2a13d_b.jpgTajik Pamir-52 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4302/...cbb056bc_b.jpgTajik Pamir-53 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4318/...aaf0ccd6_b.jpgTajikistan Pamir Dekh-19 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4299/...8953b6f4_b.jpgTajik Pamir-43 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
The road here is wide and firm. It climbs steadily up to the summit of the pass at 3258 m where it was 12 degrees.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4323/...5749f2b1_b.jpgTajikistan Pamir Dekh-20 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4294/...7a810a27_b.jpgTajik Pamir-45 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4323/...6148427d_b.jpgTajik Pamir-46 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4305/...6fd239a3_b.jpgTajik Pamir-47 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4323/...aaff93c7_b.jpgTajik Pamir-48 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4310/...09ff249d_b.jpgTajik Pamir-50 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
There was one black ominous looking cloud in our path. On the downward side it is a bit narrower and windy. It then started to rain the most enormous drops, but there were not actually that many of them. There was much heavier 2mm hail pelting us. The cloud was moving in the opposite direction to us and we managed to ride thru the worst of it in less than 10 minutes. These roads are mostly easy going, but in the rain it would quickly turn into a nightmare.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4325/...5aecab4f_b.jpgTajikistan Pamir Dekh-21 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4321/...4730c6f3_b.jpgTajikistan Pamir Dekh-22 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr Just after this we ran into a Romanian rider and let him know about the unmarked detour. He was asking about the quality of the road ahead. I feel bad for him as he looked worried and his way it gets worse where as in ours it gets better we found. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4324/...6c419502_b.jpgTajik Pamir-55 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4324/...8be39e26_b.jpgTajik Pamir-56 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4321/...db42daac_b.jpgTajikistan Pamir Dekh-23 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4300/...9cc4f78f_b.jpgTajikistan Pamir Dekh-24 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4327/...55bdd7c2_b.jpgTajikistan Pamir Dekh-25 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
The road hangs on the cliff side at times. Then it is down down down to the river again and to 32 degrees. On the way we met 2 Swiss who also noted the road deteriorating….There are more sections with intact pavement here and we are getting close to the town of Kalaikhum.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4318/...c38c95cb_b.jpgTajikistan Pamir Dekh-26 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4322/...606426c0_b.jpgTajik Pamir-57 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4303/...6808b22d_b.jpgTajikistan Pamir Dekh-27 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4297/...9df07a99_b.jpgTajikistan Pamir Dekh-28 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4314/...d96bb937_b.jpgTajik Pamir-58 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4320/...9da1d067_b.jpgTajikistan Pamir Dekh-29 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4310/...18bc9bec_b.jpgTajikistan Pamir Dekh-30 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4325/...f9f0a46b_b.jpgTajikistan Pamir Dekh-31 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4329/...6ca94b7f_b.jpgTajik Pamir-59 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4294/...e2109209_b.jpgTajikistan Pamir Dekh-32 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
Kalaikhum is where we would have arrived from the lower road it was open on Monday. We stopped here for some lunch at 1230 and met 4 Polish on 2 bikes. They may have a challenge 2 up on the next leg.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4291/...90883ce6_b.jpgTajikistan Pamir Dekh-33 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4325/...25aed092_b.jpgTajik Pamir-60 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4293/...579d3b95_b.jpgTajikistan Pamir Dekh-34 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
Leaving we had 180 km to go to Rushan. Kalaikhum is also where the border with Afghanistan can be seen across the river. We will follow this for the next few days.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4316/...92796076_b.jpgTajikistan Pamir Dekh-35 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4324/...51363b7e_b.jpgTajik Pamir-62 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4321/...1db6664f_b.jpgTajik Pamir-63 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4303/...05f66fb9_b.jpgTajik Pamir-61 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr Just before we left town we found a station with 92 and topped up. There are short section with pavement here. In every village the kids come running out screaming “hello” and waving or wanting a high 5. We know Michael had been pelted with rocks and hit in the head, but we have only seen waving kids. They all want to high 5 and I could strangle the rider who stared this trend. Even toddlers in diapers run out into the road right into your path with arm raised to you. This is so dangerous. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4299/...931bc9c2_b.jpgTajikistan Pamir Dekh-36 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4303/...42e33dc5_b.jpgTajikistan Pamir Dekh-43 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4292/...75d2fef0_b.jpgTajikistan Pamir Dekh-44 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
Views of Afghanistan!!!
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4316/...aab7771c_b.jpgTajik Pamir-64 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4292/...8bf52955_b.jpgTajik Pamir-65 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4307/...ccce2096_b.jpgTajik Pamir-66 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4295/...cae7f826_b.jpgTajikistan Pamir Dekh-37 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4295/...0f5cfb75_b.jpgTajik Pamir-67 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4328/...11d7d8f9_b.jpgTajik Pamir-68 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4328/...81d4af04_b.jpgTajik Pamir-69 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4306/...24c63862_b.jpgTajik Pamir-72 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
The road hangs along the cliff side and there are a few water crossings where there have been wash outs.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4311/...b62a7963_b.jpgTajikistan Pamir Dekh-38 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4330/...eff06b6a_b.jpgTajikistan Pamir Dekh-39 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4319/...0dd9a5a0_b.jpgTajik Pamir-73 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4320/...b60d3e1b_b.jpgTajik Pamir-76 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4312/...e07c1155_b.jpgTajik Pamir-77 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4322/...3a217487_b.jpgTajik Pamir-79 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4326/...c4da5759_b.jpgTajikistan Pamir Dekh-40 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4310/...194e79a3_b.jpgTajikistan Pamir Dekh-41 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4312/...51132647_b.jpgTajikistan Pamir Dekh-42 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4308/...55f3ab3f_b.jpgTajikistan Pamir Dekh-45 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4313/...e1f08110_b.jpgTajikistan Pamir Dekh-46 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4327/...5efbabc7_b.jpgTajikistan Pamir Dekh-47 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4315/...394996f0_b.jpgTajikistan Pamir Dekh-48 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4320/...e737d837_b.jpgTajikistan Pamir Dekh-49 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4328/...76b736c6_b.jpgTajikistan Pamir Dekh-51 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4316/...1aee4a47_b.jpgTajikistan Pamir Dekh-52 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
The next military check point was just before the road was surfaced more than not and we could finally get some speed up for 500 m once in a while. It was now after 430 and we still have 100 km to go to Rushon, but we pressed on. We were all getting very tired after 530 and 8 1/2 hours of rough at times riding.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4302/...d9c3dd0b_b.jpgTajikistan Pamir Dekh-53 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4308/...53d19b94_b.jpgTajikistan Pamir Dekh-50 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4306/...436b4d37_b.jpgTajik Pamir-78 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4307/...c7dc26d6_b.jpgTajikistan Pamir Dekh-54 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4326/...77938825_b.jpgTajikistan Pamir Dekh-55 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4315/...96ab3cd1_b.jpgTajikistan Pamir Dekh-56 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4327/...2161acf4_b.jpgTajik Pamir-80 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4305/...1bcc669c_b.jpgTajikistan Pamir Dekh-57 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
With 56 km left to go to Ruson we decide to give up at just after 6 and found a “guest house” in the GPS, which is actually at the truck stop just past Dekh.
There are no real rooms, but you can sleep on a raised platform outside where it is so loud from the raging river and the waterfalls you would never sleep. There is one large room with a platform that seems to be where they sleep. We got out the camping gear and made due. There is also no shower, but you can wash at the communal spot that has glacial water flowing from a drain spout. There is also not bathroom and only the communal outhouse across the road. Trevor checked it out and said not to go within 50 meters ( actually he said “i would rather take a dump in the middle of the road than go in there again”). They also made us dinner which was edible at best. We said no to breakfast. We were all tired and in bed by 930. It was disconcerting at 1 am when Trevor got up to pee that all the doors were locked from the outside. The owner was sleeping outside and eventually roused with the banging to open the door. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4292/...a7859d7d_b.jpgTajik Pamir-81 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4312/...988bac91_b.jpgTajik Pamir-84 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4319/...5fee01dc_b.jpgTajik Pamir-85 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4330/...b8deece5_b.jpgTajik Pamir-82 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4317/...74262e9a_b.jpgTajik Pamir-83 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
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