The Pamir HIghway/Wakhan Valley, Tajikistan

Tajikistan started as an afterthought. more of a way to spend time while awaiting the Pakistan visa clear.  Well, I didn't get the visa I was after, but I did get to experience the Pamir Highway and the Wakhan Valley, which is was amazing.  What the two stretches had in common was the magnificent scenery.  I have had the opportunity to visit many places in my lifetime, and I can say without hesitation, that this was one of the most breathtaking areas I have ever been. 

The area is traversed mostly by motorcycles and bicycles and on rare occasion, a 4x4 vehicle.  With regards to the Pamir Highway, the route itself comes within three meters of China, and appears to not have been repaved since the reign of the Soviet Union.  With regards to the Wakhan Valley, the road is either sand, loose gravel, dirt, large rocks, or a combination of the above.  Sections of the eastern half of the road is single lane (passing needs to be creative), hangs perilously on the edge of cliff (looking over you can find a vehicle or two that did not make the turn), and overlooks the amazing Hindu-Kush mountain range in Afghanistan.  The road parallels the Panj River that separates the two countries, with Afghanistan close enough to throw a rock into...which of course  I did :-).  The western half of the road drops down into a lush fertile valley with small villages dotted along the way.  The ride was rough, jarring and nothing less than exhilarating.  

Leg Distance: 426 mi (688 km)
Total Distance Traveled by Motorcycle: 27,692 mi (44,664 km) 

Countries/Territories Visited: USA, Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Argentina, Uruguay, Canada, Portugal, Spain, Morocco, Gibraltar, France, Monaco, Italy, Vatican City, San Marino, Slovenia, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Czech Republic, Poland, Ukraine, Transnistria, Moldova, Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, Albania, Kosovo, Macedonia, Greece, Turkey, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, China (for 20 seconds)

Sary-Tash, Kyrgyzstan

Aafter almost a week of being stranded in Osh awaiting for the seal for final drive, I am back on the road again.  It was a quick two-hour run up to Sary-Tash, a small little village at the base of the Parmir mountain range.  The village is just short of the Tajikistan border, and is the last speck if civilization before the Pamir Highway.  The highway is by all accounts epic, and will bring me over the Pamir mountain range, into the Wakhan Valley, and right next to the Afghanistan and Chinese borders.  The trip should be nothing less than amazing.  The only negative is that due to the remoteness, I will not have access to internet for the next 10 days. This will be the first time since the late 1990s that this will have happened.  Not sure I will survive.

Yurt Village

Leg Distance: 117 mi (189 km)
Total Distance Traveled by Motorcycle: 27,266 mi (43,976 km) 

Countries/Territories Visited: USA, Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Argentina, Uruguay, Canada, Portugal, Spain, Morocco, Gibraltar, France, Monaco, Italy, Vatican City, San Marino, Slovenia, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Czech Republic, Poland, Ukraine, Transnistria, Moldova, Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, Albania, Kosovo, Macedonia, Greece, Turkey, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan

Osh, Kyrgystan

Today I headed out for Tajikistan on some of the most scenic roads I have ever ridden.  The roads were twisty, turny, and had massive grade changes, they were essentially every motorcyclists dream. This is a welcome change since I have not seen a mountain pass since central Turkey.  Interestingly enough, central and southern Kyrgyzstan is starting to become not only an adventure bikers dream, but their destination vacation.  Since my departure from Western Europe, I have encountered only a small handful of fellow riders, but on this stretch of road alone I passed maybe a dozen or so, and this in a country that does not have a single motorcycle dealership.  Apparently, at least one European adventure travel agency has set up shop in southern Kyrgyzstan and offers guided tours and motorcycle rentals for this area.  At the time, this seemed a bit immaterial, but this little observation would become very important very quickly.   

The second half of this wildly scenic ride was met with cold driving rain and high wind.  I believe I would of been quite miserable if the roads were not so incredible.  I descended out of the mountains and into an intermittent valley to find a much needed gas station.  I gassed up, grabbed some food, and sat on the curb and ate.  Looking over at Greta, I noticed oil coming out of the main hub of her rear wheel.  I looked more closely, and part a strap had come loose from the bike, a piece of it was torn off and sucked up into the hub destroying the main seal and causing the leak.  The rear brakes no longer worked, and to be honest, at this point I thought I had damaged the brake caliper, not the hub (the hub oil had gotten on the brake disk).  Unfortunately, I still had 70 miles to go to my next stop.  So in the driving rain, I crossed another mountain range with dozens of switch backs, all on an injured Greta.  Two exhausting hours later I rolled into Osh, thankful to not have rear-ended anybody or gone off a cliff. 

Now what to do?  With no motorcycle service centers or dealers for literally 1,000 km, I was kinda stuck.  Well, remembering all of the adventure riders passing me, I started looking for the touring company that was supplying their bikes.  By the grace of luck, the company (MuzzToo) was located just 3 miles from where I was staying, so I went and visited them.  They were extremely helpful, pulled the back of the bike apart, found the issue, and then started making calls, within an hour they found the proper size seal (from a machine shop supplier), and it will be here on Monday.  So with luck, I will be on my way to Tajikistan Monday night or Tuesday morning.  The motorcycle brotherhood is extremely strong in this part of the world, and as I come to learn, it is the only way to survive here.  




Leg Distance: 432 mi (696 km)
Total Distance Traveled by Motorcycle: 27,149 mi (43,787 km) 

Countries/Territories Visited: USA, Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Argentina, Uruguay, Canada, Portugal, Spain, Morocco, Gibraltar, France, Monaco, Italy, Vatican City, San Marino, Slovenia, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Czech Republic, Poland, Ukraine, Transnistria, Moldova, Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, Albania, Kosovo, Macedonia, Greece, Turkey, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan