June 17, 2014
The Pamir HIGHway: Bit remote isn't it?
I felt a lot better in the morning and continued cycling, initially in some cold and rainy weather. But by the afternoon it was bright and sunny and I had a tremendous tailwind that pushed me on to more than 100 kilometres for the day. Pretty much the only time that I saw people all day was in the small village of Alichur, standing alone, isolated and windswept in the middle of nowhere. The people looked different than I had seen elsewhere in Tajikistan, more East Asian in appearance, with rounder faces. The shop I found was almost empty but I found a few dates and some condensed milk for a much needed energy boost, and in any case I had brought enough food to make it to Murgab. I tried eating some condensed milk but it was a difficult thing to do without a spoon. I tried dipping biscuits into it but the condensed milk flew off in the wind and coated everything else nearby, most of which happened to be me.
The scenery was great of course, although it wasn't the best bit about the Pamir Highway. That was the remoteness itself, the feeling of being so far from civilization, of being all alone on a vast open plain. Half a day could pass without me seeing anyone. And I liked that. I liked that a lot.
The next day I reached Murgab, a town of 6000 souls living out in the middle of nowhere, where I was able to restock better for the next part of the road, which turned north towards a series of passes. The first of these would climb to 4650 metres and would be the highest point of the road, my trip, and my life, beyond all approximations. As I left Murgab and began to climb slowly my headache was long gone and I was feeling strong and well again. Out on my own again I leaned the bike against a rock at the side of the road to take a break. Places to lean the bike were rare and this rock seemed like it was up to the job. Alas that turned out to be a misconception, as the rock soon gave way, sending my bike somersaulting down the verge at the side of the road. I was sat on the ground and watched it all happen as if in slow motion, the bike rolling over and over like a professional footballer would having taken one in the nuts. Naturally I feared the worst, and you can imagine my relief when it turned out nothing had been damaged in the fall. The worst of it was that it was impossible to push the loaded bike back up to the road, and I had to unhook all the bags and carry them all up separately.
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In the evening I camped a little early to avoid some rain. Once that had passed I got out of the tent and ran up a small hill to look around. Well, I tried to run up it, I was soon out of breath from the altitude and resorted to walking up. It was worth it. The view from the top was incredible, the scenery was absolutely UNREAL! It was just an amazing place to be, with mountains in every direction that looked like cardboard cutouts against the moody sky behind. I was alone with all this, for one night it was all mine. I was mesmorised. It was really a wonderful moment.
17/06/14 - 118km
18/06/14 - 68km
Today's ride: 186 km (116 miles)
Total: 21,010 km (13,047 miles)
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