It’s time to play catch up.

I’ve left it all so long that it’s no longer fresh in my mind. And before you get too excited, I’m still leaving it. My bike trip through Central Asia was incredible. It also sucked. The highest highs and the lowest lows are what is the norm on a long trip like that. One day I’ll come back to it and write all about it. Today is not that day. Not because I don’t want to think about it, nor because it has been long forgotten, more that I’ve started a new trip, and if I want to keep up somewhat with that, it means skipping over what I’ve missed and going back later. Some highlights though:

Uzbekistan was a lot more desert. And the most amazing people. I rode by myself for a while, which was great, but I also experienced true thirst in that desert. The currency is insane so we had comical amounts of cash. The tourist cities are beautiful, old, and worth it. Also we met Ash, an Aussie cycling from London back to Australia.

Tajikistan was the start of the Pamir mountains, and really our reason for coming to Central Asia. It was daunting, but after celebrating my birthday with Soph and Ash in a strange couchsurfing home, we headed off to tackle the mountains. They were tough, oxygen was lacking, and I was woefully underprepared. But we pedalled on and up. We met a huge number of wonderful other cyclists, bumped along on sand, rock, gravel, and dirt. Washboard roads finally won in the battle against my front rack, so with some rope, zip ties, and determination, I lashed that thing back on to my bike and kept pushing forward. People we met were amazing. The views were stunning. We waived to the kids in Afghanistan, who were (if I were more athletically adept) a literal stones throw away. We pushed our bikes over mountain passes, against the wind, through the sand. We ate buckwheat. Three meals a day. We never got the water to buckwheat ratio right. It was cold, it was hot, it hailed, the wind tore at us, we couldn’t breathe, eat, drink, or speak in any combination. Life became the simplest it had ever been. Doing two things at once was a distant dream. We crossed the most relaxed border on a mountain pass and entered a stunning 20km long no man’s land.

Kyrgyzstan marked the end of the Pamirs, the arrival of Soph’s friend Astrid, the return of green and animals, and the start of the solo portion of the ride. Osh was amazing. It marks the end of the Pamir highway, and was where we once again saw all the cyclists we had met riding the mountains. Everyone seems to take a few days off in Osh to let their bodies recover from the feat they have just accomplished. Which meant that even though we were slower than the rest, we still got to see them in Osh and all congratulate ourselves for having made it through. We ate full watermelons and bore the astonished looks of the non-cyclists with pride. I have never felt I earned fresh fruit more. Even though Soph had tried everything we could think of to get her Chinese visa, it was a no go, which also meant a change of plans. She could no longer cycle into Mongolia (having neither the Russian nor Chinese visas), and I didn’t want to ride Mongolia alone. Especially since the cold weather there was approaching. So we decided that this was the time to split, and Soph would carry on with Astrid, and I would ride through Kazahkstan, and into China. From there, the plan sort of faded like the end of a pop song.

Kazahkstan… Again. Here’s a shocker, more desert. I saw a canyon, met Peter, a Kiwi cyclist, and pretty quickly made it to the Chinese border. And then I was afraid. China has a reputation for being difficult on a bike. Camping is technically not allowed, staying in an unregistered hotel is not allowed, there are huge internet restrictions, checkpoints everywhere, and it’s super populated. I thought about turning back. Made some frantic phone calls. Decided to keep going.

China. Not as scary as I thought. I didn’t end up in China for too long. I rode to Urumqi. It was easy riding, camping was fairly easy, people were lovely, and they were everywhere. I was getting to a point where I just wanted to be anonymous for a little while. I was getting tired, and it was no longer as much fun as I wanted. So I decided that I would fly out of Urumqi and head to Scotland. There I could blend in, have my anonymity, but still be having an adventure. Flying out of China was definitely an adventure in itself, but luckily (as seems to often be the case) there were wonderful people around who helped me navigate the airport, understand what the announcements being made were saying, and made sure that everything was organized for the unforeseen overnight layover due to a delay. Somehow I even ended up in Business class for the hour long flight to Kazahkstan! And you know that I took full advantage of that.

Scotland was just what I needed. I flew in to London, took the train to Aberdeen, and rode out to the Cairngorm National Park where I had organized to volunteer at a little inn situated inside the park. It was wonderful. I was there for about two months before heading back to North America in time to see my cousin get married. It rained pretty much every day. The ducks loved it. The sheep seemed indifferent. The chickens mostly hid under things. It was just what I needed.

So there you have it. The Cliff Notes version of that trip. Eventually I’ll add photos, write longer things, do it properly, but until then, this will have to suffice. But hey, at least it means that I can start writing about the next trip already. So buckle up because Louanne and I are making our way to Eastern Canada.