August 3, 2016
Week 71: to Andijan Reservoir: and then there were six cyclists
We cannot leave the TES oasis until after another great breakfast of bread, jam, fruit, eggs, rice porridge, coffee and juice. It is close to 8:30 when we say our goodbyes to Sarah and Tony and head out. Jo and Suzie, a girl who has accompanied him on and off since Tbilisi, ride out with us.
To go north in Kyrgyzstan the M41 cuts through a small corner of Uzbekistan, not a big deal for locals, but a problem for foreigners. We make a bit of a detour and go to Uzgen first, then around a reservoir towards Jalalabad. Googlemaps shows a nice road out of Osh towards Uzgen, but the road starts off as gravel. There is a new by-pass shown only as a minor road on google maps, once we reach that we get asphalt again but also a lot more traffic.
We already miss the quiet and low traffic volume of the Pamir Highway. The landscape is all right, not spectacular but rolling farm fields with lots of corn, watermelons and other crops. Another cyclist catches up with us and joins the group, Cyril is a Frenchman who was also staying at the TES Guesthouse. When we stop to fix a flat tire on Jo’s rear wheel a woman comes across the street bringing a very nice watermelon and a knife. Again, such friendly people.
For the first day back on the road after three rest days, the riding is fairly easy, a couple of gradual climbs with some shorter, steep downhills. Around noon we reach Uzgen and visit the 11th century minaret and three mausoleums built side-by-side. The brickwork on these almost one thousand year old structures is impressive. You can go up the minaret on a steep and narrow interior circular stairway. There is not much to see from above though.
After a short break we push on for another 20km to the reservoir. On google earth we spotted a potential good camping site. Just before we get there another Frenchman riding towards us and stops for a chat. He decides to join us as well. So now there are six cyclists camping here. The lake is a lot lower than on the satellite photos, but there are nice flats where we end up camping. Too bad we cannot get to the water itself, the closer you get the muddier the shore gets. Anyway, the water would be very shallow and no good for swimming. There is an irrigation ditch dug across the mudflats to run water to the reservoir. We can filter here and use the water for washing.
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Today's ride: 74 km (46 miles)
Total: 1,268 km (787 miles)
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