Last night’s camp was great and today only had one uphill, some downhill and lots of flat. Unfortunately, nothing is easy in Kyrgyzstan.
I’m used to taking my time over breakfast. The small stream and the trees made for a lovely setting for muesli and a nice slow coffee. There were no prizes for getting to Kazarman early today. There’s apparently not much there.
Packed, I got going and rode to the next village. IOverlander had a water tap marked and I went there, … or tried to. The map didn’t make sense so I flagged down the next car and and asked if there was water here. They indicated to follow them and drove slowly down the road to a manhole cover where the guy reached in and grabbed a hose. It was leaking but kinked and tied together with rope to slow the flow.
So I filtered two and a half litres and thanked them profusely. I would never have found it. And the bonus was that the water tasted beautiful. (When you drink water from streams for a while, you get to recognise the good stuff. My palate is becoming more and more educated. Maybe there’s a career as a water taster ?)
I marked the manhole cover on Rolling Around so others can use it too. As I rode out, I noticed a water tap that I’d ridden past. It didn’t look like it was in use as everything around it was bone dry.
That’s all I needed for the days ride, so I set off, immediately up a hill. I felt better today and crested the hill without the need to walk at all. Maybe I’m getting used to it. In fairness, the last real hills I’d ridden before Song Kul, were in Yunnan, China some time ago.
At the top, there was a sign showing local animals that you can identify. There were some pretty nasty looking animals there – bears and snow leopards (I think). All I’ve seen are birds and marmots.
Then the downhill started and another canyon, the same types of drivers and some beautiful scenery. It was deja vu all over again.
Through the canyon, I crossed a fast flowing river and the road became flat – not the surface by any means, just the gradient. I looked for a spot to stop for lunch but the clouds of dust caused by the couple of cars and trucks going past would have added a layer of dirt to my sandwiches.
There was a construction site which I’d later find out was housing for the workers who will build a hydro project not far from here. It seems like a good site to me. Lots of fast flowing water.
I kept going through the dust and bumps and mercifully, 8kms from Kazarman, there was some gloriously smooth asphalt – aaahhhh, the first since Jangy Talay.
Rolling into Kazarman was interesting. There was a brand new cycle / walking path that was perfect, but the road was still bumpy and the gutters full of dirt.
And that brings me to my rant today. Ahem … these places seem to get funding for new projects, but they could spend a lot less and simply clean and maintain what they have. Everything becomes dilapidated due to the harsh environment but also due to the fact that nobody seems to maintain things.
Kazarman is interesting. It’s certainly nothing to look at, but requires digging below the surface. The supermarket I went to, looks nothing from the outside but is well stocked and organised on the inside. The cafe where I had lunch on the way in, is the same. I had a rest day here and went to a different cafe – again, nothing on the outside but lovely on the inside. In fact, I went past it. It just looks residential.
Similarly with the guesthouse. The street is a series of potholes, dirt and rocks, the courtyard looks and smells like they’ve worked on a lot of cars but inside the place ? Spotless and well appointed.
On my rest day, I did some washing and obsessed about getting to Jalalabad / Manas.
There is a 3000m pass and there is also a newish road with a tunnel (One day faster and with 1100m less climbing). You can guess which one I felt like. I’m quite tired.
Some cyclists had been allowed through the tunnel, some had had to pay a small bribe and others had been turned away. I did t want to waste a 44km climb just to have to retrace my steps. Nor did I feel like a big climb and more tough roads.
At dinner on my rest day, I met some French motorcyclists who solved it all for me. The pass is currently closed due to a. Ery large landslide, and the tunnel opened officially on June 1 – woohoo. Decision made.