Who would have thought that there would be highways (very nicely paved) with scenery just as spectacular as the Pamir Highway in Tajikistan? I certainly did not expect this, but the M34 is exactly that.

Running north from Dushanbe to Khujand, today’s ride cuts through the Zarafshan and Turkestan Ranges, reaching the fertile Fergana valley, which I assume to be the primary agricultural region of Tajikistan.

Today’s route in blue

It was a late start yet again; comfortable hotels = i take my time to get ready, make my coffee, spend time packing my bike etc etc…so I was on the road around 11AM, and it was already rather warm at ~37 degrees.

Today’s ride offered nice paved roads, wandering up north, cutting through canyons and mountain ranges. The mountains were rocky with patches of shrub dotting the surface, giving a feeling of timelessness. I can imagine that this would have looked this way centuries ago, through the ages when it was occupied by all different groups of people, from nomadic tribespeople of the area, to the greeks post Alexander the great. When riding in this landscape, you can feel the history of the land.

The Zarafshan Range

I spent most of the morning and afternoon in a sort of flow state, listening yet again to the Dao De Jing. It is difficult to listen to other things in this state of mind.

Tunnels were a key feature of today’s ride

In the Pamirs I was listening to mostly travel music I’d been listening to for years, mainly to place my attention on the road and the activity of riding (given it was quite technical managing the difficult terrain).

Crossing over to the Turkestan range

I’ve found that the Dao De Jing particularly resonates with me; I have long felt that the ideal state of mind is a state of contentment (a 1-2 on a scale from -10 to 10), because chasing peaks results in troughs and normalisation - and ends up futile due to reversion to baseline. (An example: when buying something particularly nice and special, I tend to feel like it’ll bring me joy in perpetuity, and after a few months…it just feels normal). From my current basic interpretation of Daoism, I feel like these are similar things which are being spoken of.

Here the road is more predictable and was the sort of environment where I could keep going, stopping only for bathroom breaks, the occasional photo, and for when I needed some sugar to stay focused.

The Turkestan range

Don’t look down!

One thing I realised that I have completely misjudged was the wealth of Tajikistan. Based on my impression of the GBAO region (where the Pamir Highway is), I had assumed that Tajikistan was an extremely poor country with very limited infrastructure. It is now apparent to me that the corridor from Dushanbe to Khujand is likely one of the main economic drivers of the country, with significant agriculture and some mining activity. Along the route are plenty of charging stations and many Chinese NEVs travel along the route.

I reached the city of Khujand at 4PM, and had a decision to make. To continue on and camp near the border at Isfara, or to wake up early and do the miles tomorrow morning. I outsourced this decision to Gemini, which raised the valid point that it might not have been wise to camp in a border region that was recently contested (prior to June this year). Plus I have to admit that I prefer the comfort of a hotel.

Khujand, surrounded with lush fields and with its back to the mountains

To my good fortune, the owners of the hotel also have a car wash/detailing studio, so I was able to get Sandeep cleaned so that it feels nicer to ride / does not feel like I am getting my clothes dirty when I get onto the bike (it was caked with dust and rock, and the tank stained with fuel from gas station spills).

Back to being clean once again!

Tomorrow; Osh!

Some stats:

• 313 KMs traveled
• 19.2L fuel added
• 1 unique interaction
• 30g coffee consumed

Altitude map of today’s ride

Route to date