Bike Packing Day 8: Into the Swiss Alps After a hearty breakfast we bid a reluctant goodbye to our comfy yurt camp and head towards Moldo-Ashuu Pass. It is a steady, but rideable climb to the top at 3346 m, where the most astounding vistas await. We spend ages in a futile attempt to capture…
Kyrgyzstan Bike- Packing Day 7: Ghastly Gradients lead to glamping It’s not often I get off my bike and elect to push, especially with a fully laden bike. I just find it so much harder than pedalling, so you must know, that when I do get off, the gradient is simply ghastly. It all begins…
Packing Day 6: Testing my Equanimity Breakfast consists of hard, doughnut- shaped cookies dusted with icing sugar, dipped in coffee. We then head back up onto the road. “Hello legs!” – it’s a steep climb. I strain my eyes for signs of last night’s revelry down below, but all is quiet. The river becomes calmer…
Bike-Packing Day 5: Running on Empty I suppose it’s inevitable that after 3 tough days without sufficient food, it eventually takes its toll. I have no stored reserves, so if I fall short, it’s hard to catch up. This morning, after scrutinizing the map, Kati assures us it’s all downhill for the first 25km, where…
Bike-Packing Day 4: Cracking Karakol Last night we polished off 2 more of the 5 x freeze dried meals we’ve packed, plus 3 of the 6 x cuppa soups and we’ve used at least half of the milo, which leaves 1x freeze dried, 3 x soups, 4 x 2 min noodles, 3 x smash and…
Bike-Packing: Summiting the Beast Breakfast this morning is a sparse affair – coffee with honey and powdered milk plus a couple of small chocolate chip cookies, then off we set in good spirits to conquer Kegeti Pass. The first 9 km are almost entirely rideable and the surface rough in parts, but largely negotiable. Apart…