Ka Pai Kiwis

Bike maintenance day. There is a bike shop here called Zorro motors. So we went off to Zorro, some got new tyres, I just needed to do some basic stuff which I did myself but its nicely set up with all the consumables included in the price of $15USD to use the facility. They also repaired my plastic chain guard which had become badly bent. This afternoon I washed all our panniers which were coated with road grime, sand and dust. Robyn got the Blog up to date - and sorted photos. Last minute shopping for some replacement T shirts for Robyn  and my 3rd new cap so far. (Others lost). The local park leading to the Bazaar Some serious games of chess Some of the other guys who are joining Jason and Kurien for the China leg have arrived. Nice blokes so there are few of us together at the moment. Having a cull of some of the now surplus paperwork we have been carting around. Sometimes it seems endless and largely pointless but all the same necessary for th...

The M41, which is as rough as guts took us to the Khyrgistan border. I have to admit I have underestimated just how rough the sealed roads are. We are probably only averaging about 40km/hr and no matter how vigilant I am the front suspension bottoms out occasionally. The day didn’t get off to a great start, Robyn kept reliving how close to the edge we were at times and was suffering slightly from the altitude, consequently didn’t get much sleep, when she got up she put her t shirt on inside out AND back to front. Sadly the little camera we bought in Dushanbe no longer functions as it is full of dust and sand. A couple of days R&R in Osh is due. With the tee-shirt on the right way now.  The hostel/hotel in Murgharb Petrol station in Murgharb Anyway off we set and I will say right now that if I die in my sleep tonight I will have died a happy man. The scenery was absolutely sublime. The area around Lake Karakul just spellbinding. It was hard turning...

This morning we went shopping. SIM cards, haircut for Robyn, haircut, shave, misc other hair trim, the last time my hair was this short I was six months old. Also new camera shopping , ouch but it is so worth it. The afternoon was spent catching up on a weeks worth of blog etc. and planning the next few days We are well ahead of schedule so we will take in some places we hadn’t planned to see. We are not due at the China border until the 12th August. At the Bazaar in Osh  We have just received a message from the Finnish couple we traveled with earlier. They are stuck here in Osh with major bike trouble so we have arranged to meet for coffee. Wow. What a tale they had to tell. Leaving Osh for the second time - ( the first time their front fork started to leak so they returned to Osh to get it fixed)  heading north they became hopelessly lost and every time they asked for directions the stock answer was ‘just 5kms more". The road became narrower and narrower and th...

Come on an adventure he said. It’ll be fun he said. Oh haha. Our bodies are battered but our spirits are strong. We had been warned that the first 100km today are a real test, with many kilometres of sand to negotiate and very steep and tight bends to negotiate as we climb out of this valley and rejoin the M41. So we left this morning with feelings to trepidation. Straight away we were into extremely tight hairpin bends as we gained height very quickly. This is not a road but just a four wheel drive track. There are no guard rails and some of the drop offs would take your breath away. Onward and upwards we began to feel the altitude. No photos at this point- I'm hanging on tightly! -Found out later this section of the road is listed as one of the most dangerous roads in the world! I'd believe it - sheer drop and not much space, so steep. Robyn  We passed by very close to Afghanistan and saw a caravan like convoy of people walking, some of the men were on horseback a...

Local policeman was very interested in the bikes, He let Jason sit on his in return he had his photo taken next to Jason's bike. Today we head south and we will still be hugging the Afghanistan border. If you look carefully at a map of Afghanistan you will see a little finger of land. This is known as the Wakhan corridor. Whilst we won’t be riding through it we will skirt along its edge. We are keen to see it as it is apparently quite beautiful. And indeed it was. Mountain vistas, just magnificent. Unfortunately the road is still challenging the last 50km especially. Badly corrugated and some sections of deep newly laid (but not compacted) gravel. There were a few sections of sand and one was particularly deep and on a corner which saw Robyn and I take our first spill. No harm done not even to the ego. It was a real bitch. Neither of the other two fell off but both bogged down. Our two mates are good fun and we are having lots of laughs.  This section of the ...

Think of the worst road you can imagine. Bumpy, trip ending potholes, narrow, precipitous drop offs into a raging muddy river. Got the picture? Now think of dodging oncoming B trains and Landcruiser taxis that drive like lunatics. For good measure add in 40+ degrees, 250km and dust in every orifice. Sound like fun? We feel we’ve achieved something. Scenery to die for and lots of fun with locals including a swim in the river with probably 50 kids. This road can destroy men, women and machinery. The Triumph did well despite not being meant for conditions like these. A few times I did wish for longer suspension as we crashed headlong into another unseen crater. I didn’t drop it and Robyn was a star. The pillion gets a raw deal on these roads. To the top left of the photo is a big truck passing leaving clouds of dust. we were very close to the edge. Oh dear - a very overloaded vehicle hit a rock. Traffic jam!!  For today and the next few days (...