And so it begins. It feels like the trip so far has just been a warmup and preparation for the next 2-3 months. I’m pleased to get underway in Kyrgyzstan for no other reason than I’m sick of preparing. Really sick of preparing.
I’ve got food, all the gear I need and I’m ready. The only slight issue is the bike. The front wheel has been a little rough since Urumqi and a mechanic in Bishkek confirmed the damage to the cones. Unfortunately nobody in Bishkek has the parts, so while it’s not ideal, it’s not catastrophic, although I’m not sure when I’ll come across a good bike shop in the next few months 😁
In Bishkek, it was all logistics and very little tourism. That’s a pity, but I’m really here for the landscapes. I’ve been to plenty of cities on this trip already.
Today is 65kms of flat road riding so there was no rush. However, I stopped a million times. First to exchange some Kazahk money which they wouldn’t accept – great. Then I rode around looking at some of the brutal Soviet architecture. I saw another bank that did foreign exchange and went in, but the queue was too long. Off course by now, I decided to have a coffee and reset.
That done, I took off again. I saw a mall that had a supermarket. I needed a couple of things, so in I went. I emerged with milk powder, instant soup (maybe) and some cash. Great, I can really get going now !
I could have, but it was 12:30pm and I got hungry. Ok, next food place on the way then … A burger place, that’ll do. Off again. Another mall and there was a store advertised that in Almaty, had quality bike parts, so I stopped again. No parts here.
And finally, I started heading for Tokmok. I cleared the suburbs on bike paths, then joined the secondary road for a bit. Then Komoot took me on some back walking lanes and tiny bridges to emerge onto a series of really bad roads. They weren’t really roads, just a series of large potholes arranged randomly and interconnected with rocks.
I tired of it quickly and headed for the main road. I would have stayed on it, but it was clogged with trucks and impatient drivers hardly moving. So I searched for somewhere in between and for a few kilometres, I found it. I had to rejoin the larger road eventually but only did so after the worst of the congestion had passed and the road was wider.
After another town, the traffic became very light and the road improved further, so the last part was quite enjoyable. The cloud had come in and cooled the temperature.
I’ve seen the Mig fighter jet in countless blogs, and it felt like a Central Asia Cyclist’s rite of passage when I stopped and took photos.
There’s a different sort of warplane at the main roundabout in town too.
I’d booked a room in a hotel and Google maps guided me there, but it had no markings to indicate it was a hotel. Luckily, a mother with her kids saw my indecision and pointed out where to go.
The landlady is great, as are the rooms. It’s also a short walk into town for a fast food dinner (that’s all that was on offer when I walked around). I had the Shawarma XL and it was the best one I’d had that day.theres plenty of rain predicted for tomorrow which is a wild camp evening on the way to Issy Kul Lake. Let’s see how the weather pans out.