After 50 days on the road, I have arrived at the core goal of this trip: to ride the M41, or the Pamir Highway, traversing Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. This is a rugged highway which some say was one of the Silk Road routes which ran from China to the ancient city of Samarkand.

The inspiration for this goal is similar to that which inspired me to visit the Zhangye Danxia landform; wallpaper searching. Many years ago, I was yet again searching for a new desktop background, and had decided that this time I wanted a mountain backdrop.

After some browsing, I found an extremely rugged set of mountains, devoid of life, with a lone motorcycle parked by the road. This inspired a sort of romance; to ride a motorcycle to the remote corners of the world. I found out where the mountains were, and it has been a long held dream since then.

This meant that Bishkek would be the last “city” before tackling the highway, and that it was probably a prudent to take my time getting ready.

While I woke up early, I used this time to get a few things sorted before setting off:

• printed out visa (and GBAO permit) for Tajikistan
• got gemini to plan my route and waypoints
• had a decent sized breakfast
• filled up my fuel bladder, so I have an extra 10 litres in case things go awry

At breakfast I was sat next to a table with four older Indian men. They were in their 60s and traveling together, and they had known each other since university, where they studied architecture together. That was over 40 years ago! I hope that at their age, I am still spending time with my friends from today.

Today’s route in blue

And then, at ~10am, I set off. Leaving the city, I rode westward, and then turned south to ride through a pass in the Tian Shan mountains.

Green fields of a village hug the snow melt river

Riding towards the mountain pass

This kid, without any prompting, helped me put my hydration bladder back into my airbag! So nice.

The roads transitioned from agricultural fields, and small villages hugging snow melt rivers, to Rocky Mountains, with the road bending tens if not hundreds of times to climb the mountains. As I gained altitude, the temperature dropped from high 30s to below 20. Not yet cold but definitely cool and comfortable.

A cautionary tale

Narrow pass through the mountains, following the snow-melt river

Near the mountain pass

On the other side of the mountain I stopped to take photos.

From the mountains, overlooking the fertile valley below

Astonishingly beautiful views

A trucker helped me take a photo and then later on, an older german bloke on a Honda 250 CRF stopped to say hello. He saw that I had a Desert X, which is the same bike he has in Germany. He was 58, and in Kyrgystan for a holiday with his friend.

Still adventuring off road at 58!

They had rented motorcycles and were going to check out a few different sites, and to scout out some of the way as he prepared for a trip from Germany to Japan in the future. It would be nice to be as adventurous as him when I am his age.

One final pic of the valley below

We continued down the mountain to the fertile valley below, and then parted ways. He was heading to a famous mountain lake called Song-Kul. My objective was to reach Toktogul, a large freshwater reservoir about midway to Osh, and then to decide what to do from there.

Lunch was noodles and horse meat - I did my usual trick of asking the staff to choose my food for me. I love not needing to figure out what it is, and to outsource the decision making!

The afternoon was spent riding through green pastures, descending gently to the town of Toktogul.

Through green hills, towards Toktogul

How is this place real…

I have found myself riding with no sense of urgency, at speeds slow enough to be overtaken by cars. As I ride, I enjoy the views, the sense of wonder at what each new corner brings. When I feel curious or inspired by a sight, I stop to take photos or take my bike off the road. Perhaps I am riding like this because this is exactly where I would like to be; in the here and now.

By the time I reached town, it was already nearing 5PM. With sun setting at 8:30, and wanting to find dinner and set up camp before dark, I couldn’t be too ambitious with my riding. I decided to stop on the other side of the reservoir (quite large, about 30km long), and while refueling, asked the cashier if they knew any good camping spots. I was told there was a nice place about 60km down the road, and thus set off.

Pillow-like hills with covered in soft, golden grass

Difficult to capture all the colours, but this scene was something else in person

The scenery around the reservoir is some of the best I’ve ever seen on this trip and in my life. The hills billow like ruffled feathers, and host a myriad of colours. In the distance, intense rocky mountains can be seen. The lake shines turquoise, and has different surface textures, sometimes mirror like and other times matte.

Toktogul Reservoir

Unmatched beauty

Near the suggested town, I spotted a dirt road down to a beach. It was so picturesque, and the idea of taking a bath in the lake took root in my thoughts. But first, I needed to get supplies for dinner. At a roadside shop I purchased 3 litres of water, Kyrgyz bread, and 5 eggs, and some fried fish from a mountainside restaurant.

Fairy-tale landscape

Upon my return to the beach, it was already ~7pm. I found a relatively flat patch of land without too many rocks (the beach itself was very rocky) and set up camp. After a quick dip and some noodles I had brought with me, it was time to retire for an evening under the stars.

Camp for the evening

This evening’s bath / swim

Fine cuisine

Some stats:

• 360 KMs traveled
• 29.4L fuel added
• 30g coffee consumed
• 5 unique interactions

Altitude map of today’s ride

Route to date