is very popular with cyclists for its
beauty, ruggedness and isolation.
The spirit of adventure was deliv-
ered to us all through standing riding
on rough rocky, gravel surfaces and
rugged beauty all around us.
On a section of bitumen I decided
I could just soak in the scenery how-
ever, with a sudden jolt my bike was
completely airborne & handlebars
pointing where they shouldn’t be.
Somehow, I righted the direction as
I hit the ground and stayed upright.
(Whew!) I asked the rider behind me,
Ian, what had happened. I had hit a
large rock that had fallen of the cliff
face.
It was with a feeling of accomplish-
ment that we reached the village of
Kalaihumb on the 1125 km long River
Panj that flowed rather rapidly beside
and partly under the night’s accom-
modation. The hills of Afghanistan
around us seemed close enough to
touch with a photo opportunity at a
signboard to Afghanistan being quite
special.
Our next arrival at Khorog the cap-
ital of the Gorno-Badakhshan Auton-
omous Region (GBAO) had us feeling
really satisfied in terms of adventure.
A mix of great riding with almost all
being on gravel, best scenery, remote-
ness and being beside Afghanistan, a
country that until recently I had not
dreamt of being close to.
The friendly Khorog people run-
ning the market stalls seemed to en-
joy our visit as much as we did. Mc-
Dolands restaurant complete with
golden arches caused a few laughs.
Mountain roads in the Wakhan
Valley which dated back hundreds
of years, having no doubt been used
initially to move trade caravans with
camels were simply a motorcyclists
dream. Yamchun, a fortress dating
back to the 3rd century BC is slow-
ly falling apart but its history is re-
ally something to consider. The fort
played a key role on the Silk Road
leading from Pamir to Bactria, India &
TRAVERSE 79
Iran, controlling the traffic, cargo and
security in the region.
Murgab! Now here is a place that I
will not easily forget. Words such as
‘remote’, ‘desolate’ ‘barren’ all spring
to mind. What a great day of riding
to reach this place which was once a
Russian garrison. It grew to existence
in the 1930’s to support what was the
new Pamir Highway. Just what people
do to survive there is simply beyond
me. At 3,600 metres nothing much
grows, and all food comes from far
away towns. A generator has replaced
the hydro turbine which the town can-
not afford to repair since the Russians
stopped funding.
Animal herds and traffic increased
as we neared Osh in Kyrgyzstan. Osh
is reported to have been in existence
for around 3,000 years & is home to
500,000 people.
This was to be an interesting day for
me.
A small fender bender in the market
area with a couple of cars still block-