Just 24 hours after landing in Bishkek, Nurjamal and two video and production crew members would pick me and my bike up from the guesthouse. Brooks England hoped to get video footage of me riding my bike for a little promo piece. I had planned to be in Kyrgyzstan a month before the race to acclimate and finish the last of the training, so it seemed that it would also work best for the little film.
We would drive for a couple of hours directly south of Bishkek, headed towards Ala-Archa Nature Park. Unfortunately, arriving at the park gate a little after sunrise, it was closed for the next couple of days, to our disappointment and confusion. Reassessing our options, we drove back towards Bishkek. Stopping around Tash-Dobo, the crew set up their camera so there would be a view of Ala-Archa in the background and the soft morning light.
Although I was jet-lagged and sleep deprived because of the excitement and heat (close to 100F during the day), I was full of energy FINALLY to pedal my bike around the mountains of Kyrgyzstan. It had been over ten years since my initial visit on my old steel touring bike, and now I had Baby Yak, which had been built for the mountains.
After riding back and forth on the pavement, we headed towards the Chunkurchak Valley. Finally, leaving the tarmac and finding gravel.
It’s almost like I lept out of the vehicle with my bike and started to ride up the switchbacks. We were fortunate to catch a shepherd and his horses. I rode up the pass to meet him while our camera guy followed up through the field and two others in the vehicle. It would take a lot to get me off my bike after finally getting here.
I had dreamed of this day for what seemed like forever. I was finally able to return to Central Asia with a bicycle. I was here to race in the Silk Road Mountain Race, something I had wanted to do for four years. Something I had worked very hard for, almost every day, for the last year. There is no way to describe how it felt, how each pedal stroke ignited a spark to grow the flame inside. It didn’t matter what happened from then on out because…
…I won!
All that work had gotten me to exactly where I had dreamt of. Magic exists. And I got to share it with others. Nurjamal and Tilek, our videographer, both took a little spin on Baby Yak. I’m still trying to convince them to race the Silk Road someday.
This was the point where we stopped and turned around. I told the crew I would ride down, and they would film out of the back of the vehicle. It was an excellent little ride to test my bike, and my tool canister flew off from the water, cage on the bottom/underside of the down tube. Twice. That would have been fun if I had found that out during the race, so I would strap down the canister for future riding.
I’m still not sure if I enjoy climbing or descending more. I think each is needed to appreciate the other. These were the first miles in Kyrgyzstan since 2012, and I felt terrific and grateful to be there. An overwhelming joy that perhaps can only be understood by those inflicted with wanderlust, infinite curiosity, and a genuine love of two-wheeled travel. I had been locked out of Asia for two and a half years. I was closer to being “home” than I could have imagined. I felt like who I was before Covid threw me off course. I found a piece of me that roams the mountains, awaiting my return.
The last two and a half years have been challenging for me. When I opened up to some people, they shamed me for my feelings because some people had died because of Covid. As if I had no right to feel so sad and confused about my loss and confusion. For years, I was waiting for the dream to end. I would wake up from a nap on the plateau, surrounded by my Tibetan friends and family. They would laugh at my little snooze, and we would resume with laughter, tea, and tsampa. We would dance. We would walk through the mountains. Sit around the hearth of the home and braid our hair. I would be walking towards the sunset of the infinite plateau horizon. It was all a dream.
I don’t expect others to understand my feelings, but I am thankful for those that can commiserate. Many of my fellow ex-pats had left China around the same time or were still enduring the insanity. Other friends that were travelers could understand, and many expressed their sympathies. They knew how much I loved my Tibetan and Uyghur lands and what an emptiness I carried. I remind myself that I can understand the diasporas a little more because of this experience and the inability to return. I will be a better photographer and, more importantly, a better human when I can return.
Getting here. Now. To Kyrgyzstan was one of the first things I have done for myself in a very long time. I spent over a decade working and saving every cent to pursue projects with Tibetans and Uyghurs. There was guilt if I wasn’t on the path to helping others. But I forgot to care about myself along that route. And so, for the last year, I put everything I had into getting to Kyrgyzstan. To arrive at that start line and try to finish one of the most difficult bike races in the world. All I wanted was to get here. And I did.
And I won.
The sun is rising in the sky, and it’s getting hot. So we decided to return to Bishkek to rest and return to the mountains later in the day.
Strava route can be found here.
Images of Bishkek
The heat is unbearable during the daytime hours. I can barely get any sleep as my hostel dorm room has no curtains, and the AC isn’t turned on. I believe this is for the best, as I think it will help me acclimate to the heat, but I think the lack of sleep eventually caught up to me.
Around 4 pm, we loaded back up and drove Southwest of Bishkek towards Kegety Pass. I remembered part of the route out of the city from the first Silk Road Mountain Race in 2018. Fond memories and somewhat surreal. We would turn off before Kegety and head towards the same mountain range but up Alamedin Gorge.
Glaciers in the background peaking over 15,000 feet, fresh water, and that alpine landscape. I seem to be getting closer and closer to the heavens.
I was able to ride a bit of double and single track. The bike is so light and nimble without gear, and wishing I could ride every day with a nearly bare naked baby yak. I could imagine I was back in Colorado or Washington or returning to when I was riding my fully loaded touring bike around Tibet. Sometimes I think about how heavy that bike was with all the gear and imagine what it would be like to return with such a lighter setup.
Up the Alamedin Gorge, you’ll find fresh flowing water, flowers, waterfalls, and hot springs. Small villages are lower, but it gets much more remote after the last village at the bridge.
Strava route can be found here.
While we were up there, where the road ended and turned to single track, Nurjamal found her “dream house.” And to be honest, it was mine too. However, the house seemed out of place for Kyrgyzstan as it seemed to be entirely new construction, well cared for, and even a guard sitting on the porch.
Again, I couldn’t resist riding down the gorge on the bike and would take the lead from the vehicle considerably. Washboard and washed-out roads are much less demanding on bikes. I took a little detour up a hill with my extra time and then found an apricot tree to enjoy the first fresh fruit of the trip.
The van would arrive, and I reluctantly loaded back as I wanted to ride forever. Finally, I felt back to myself. Before returning to Bishkek, we would catch the sunset and record a few moments of my riding on the road. A small car came around the corner and swerved to avoid me as I rode back to the vehicle after a short descent. I would ride this road again when I left Bishkek for Osh in a few days.
On the third day, July 14th, we would meet later. Again, I had difficulties sleeping in the hostel. A couple of guests didn’t want to turn the lights off, and one stayed up all night on her computer. This coupled with the heat, I couldn’t sleep and knew I was asking for future problems by going into a sleep deficit. So I decided to leave in two days to head into the mountains, where the air is cooler, and I can ride while catching up on sleep in the evenings.
Jet lagged and sleep deprived, I took a walk early in the morning to get the last of the supplies and food to head me out on the road towards Osh. I was estimating a week to ride but knew I would have some villages where I could refill supplies. But, I was looking forward to getting away from towns and more into the remote mountains. Also, loading up on extra gear would allow me to train more with weight for the race.
The quiet morning through the parks and a city just coming to life felt so welcoming and comforting. It reminded me of all the walks through China. When I lived in Shanghai, I would walk everywhere during all hours of the day—sometimes starting at 4 am or 4 pm. I would walk and have all my senses wake up while clearing my mind. Even though I grew up in a small town and love getting lost in the mountains or roaming the plateaus, it’s the big cities where I feel the most anonymous and unnoticed. No one cares about you or what you’re doing. You walk, questioning your existence. Does no one notice me? Am I even here?
The street sweepers pull at my heartstrings. It was one of the first things that captivated me about Asia. Especially during my first visit to China in 2007. And then, during my 2010-12012 bike tour, I would spend countless hours with street sweepers on the side of highways or in the middle of villages. Then when I would continue doing long-distance walking and hitchhiking, they were still the ones that provided me proof—that proof of existence.
The roses of Central Asia. You can’t miss them. You’ll find them in the parks and along the tree-lined roads. You’ll find them in the homes. That morning the smell seemed to float among the cool breeze trailed by the heat that would soon engulf the city.
Then there are the groceries. I can’t express the feelings I have when entering a supermarket in Asia after nearly three years. The colors. The smell. There is something so very different than those in the US. There are some different methods, too, but I understand it all.
It feels like I’m home. I’m finally home. Close enough, at least.
I don’t know how to describe it. It just feels right. It feels as if Bishkek hasn’t changed since I first visited in 2012. It feels comforting to be around women covering their hair in scarves and men wearing doppas. I would do nearly anything to stay forever. To stop time. To pause the progression.
That is one of the biggest inner turmoils I have been battling since leaving Asia. The passing of time and looking at the last decade and seeing what I did “wrong” or should have done instead. Where did that time go? I was bouncing around Asia for nearly ten years, having the time of my life. Then it ended. I took things for granted. Too often, I said, “next time.” I learned a harsh lesson: sometimes, there really is no “next time.” I don’t know when I will be able to spend time with my friends in Tibet. Or with my Uyghur friends, for more than a couple of reasons. The last three years have been memories filled with longing and regrets, and I don’t ever want that happen to again. I want to make the clock stop ticking and exist in these moments for all eternity.
At the time of this writing, I can at least say I don’t have any regrets from my time in Kyrgyzstan last summer, at least from what I had control over. Perhaps I would have taken more photos, but I did my best to balance a race, riding, and time. Time. The most precious thing we have.
I would go back to the guesthouse to try and rest before going out with the crew in the afternoon. Again, the heat has become unbearable, and I end up sitting outside and resting on the tapchan. The tapchan is one of the things I love the most about Central Asian countries. When I bike toured through the “Stans”, I spent so many nights sleeping on them at roadside cafes or in the backyards of a family’s home. Countless conversations, pantomiming with tea, naan, fruit compote. Especially apricot.
While waiting, I spent some time prepping my things for the road. My Tibetan professor had given me a Tibetan prayer to recite at the mountain tops for world peace. I was also given some time to catch up with my favorite traveler of Central Asia. Alick Warburton. A kiwi that can speak Russian has traversed over some of the most regions and routes of the region. He always has an answer to my questions of the region. An enCYCLEpedia on two wheels. I was so fortunate to meet him in a guesthouse in Dushanbe during the summer of 2012. And we haven’t seen each other in ten years, but perhaps our paths will cross again. And, of course in only the most remote regions of Asia
While driving up to the mountains, I teach Nurjamal the art of “your momma” jokes, dancing in the van, and flower picking. It’s been an absolute joy to share time with Nurjamal again. She is one of a kind, and her laughter and big heart are genuine.
We headed up the mountains to a yurt camp near Kegeti Pass again. We are looking for some nomad camps to film in, but it is challenging to remain this close to the city. There is a tourist yurt camp, and after we could get a few minutes of filming, a not-so-kind boss man chased us out.
Happier than I can imagine.
Me and Baby Yak
Mountains and Yurts.
It’s been a few years since I found myself in a yurt. Even with the lapse of time, I am still very aware of the etiquette and symbolism of yurts and nomadic life. I have to be honest; I have to turn away too often when I see foreigners in yurts for the first time, and no one has told them some of the etiquette or how to eat from shared plates.
The center of a yurt is called a tündük. It is also the emblem of the Turkic peoples and symbolizes their unity and connection. This symbol is found on the Kyrgyzstan flag. It is actually a depiction of the first thing one sees when waking up in a yurt, namely the construction of the pinnacle of every Kyrgyz yurt with three crisscrossing laths across the circular opening at the top of the yurt.
Tilek got another chance to ride Baby Yak, and I have high hopes he will race someday.
After the angry Kyrgyz chased us off for hanging around his yurts, we found a very kind guesthouse owner that was beyond hospitable. He allowed us in his yurt, where we were able to spend some time with him and his wife. We had a little lunch, and then the afternoon finished with a beautiful rainbow and some donkeys I chased down to kiss.
That night, again, I did not get much sleep, and I hope you can foresee enough with the mention of it that it may catch up with me at some point.
The following day, on July 14th, I went for a back massage at a clinic for blind masseuses. It was recommended to me by a local Kyrgyz. Nurshat. Give that guy a follow. I later found out that besides being a cyclist and runner, he helps visually disabled Kyrgyz run and even competes! Learning that and then understanding why he was tied to runners made me cry; what a wonderful soul to share something like that and encourage others to break past boundaries.
After navigating through a beautiful Central Asian garden, I found the complex. I waited outside in the shade and noted all the colorful flowers, clean white homes, and bright blue skies.
The young woman that gave me the massage was shy and apologized for her poor English. I took a taxi more than 30 minutes from the city to visit her. After doing this so much in China, I understood there would be a communication issue. Especially since she couldn’t read Google translate on my phone. I had to use my old ways of communicating and use more hand-holding and writing on hands, than pantomiming. She was sweet, and Nurshat told me she had worked hard and saved enough money to buy her apartment. These are the stories that give me the strength to carry on toward my own dreams.
She did state that my back was “bad”. That is not new news to me. Everyone comments on it. I heard it nearly every time I went for a massage in China. Sometimes the diagnosis was much more frightening than others.
Now, I was ready to go! Tomorrow. Finally. After a year of preparing. After four years of dreaming of this day. After ten years of being here for the first time on my bicycle. I am here. ME. The me that’s been missing for too long. I’m here and ready to go.
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I love this and love that you are back to writing! Looking forward to the next installment.