Kyrgyzstan - Our host country for the winter

Finally ! After six months, four days and a little less than two hours of travel from Aime, in Savoie, we finally arrived in Kyrgyzstan! It is symbolic for us: the country is our halfway point, the halfway milestone, our resting place for the winter before setting off again for new adventures (again, by bike) towards Australia.

It was the time to arrive, November was here and in this hemisphere, winter was not far away! We entered this beautiful country through a secret door from Uzbekistan: the very confidential pedestrian border of Izboskan. No motor vehicle can cross the imaginary line here, one would have to go 100km further east through the city of Osh. But our bikes are motorless so we were able to cross here, as many cyclists have before us (Maxime Rey, the Sunriders, the Canadians, Meg & Dick and their tandem...). After the formalities, and the usual question from Uzbekistan: “Do you have a Drone?”, we finally step foot -or tire - into so called:the Switzerland of Central Asia! We have already been here, last year and a half ago, in the middle of summer for some mountaineering and cycling. It almost feels like home.

We had immense anticipation regarding our first kilometers in this country, which had been growing for several months now. A magnificent road, meandering, without traffic and above all: downhill! Kyrgyz Happiness !

But our joy was only short-lived, as we cycled along the No-mans-land of the border - barbed wires in the middle of a field - the dark clouds began to gather. We immediately faced a dilemma about how we were going to live during the next week: stop now in a shelter as long as we were dry, or continue further at the risk of ending up soaked. We had become, without knowing it, poker players.

At 3 p.m. and a stone's throw from the border that we had crossed at the beginning of the afternoon, we stopped. A charming farmhouse with a large porch that could serve as a shelter for the tent caught our eye from the road. To our luck, it was occupied by a Kyrgyz family who welcomed us with open arms. It is difficult for us travelers to return the generosity, travelling light without much to offer. Fortunately, Roxy speaks Russian, a language widely spoken in this former USSR country, and can therefore satisfy the curiosity of our guests, who often have a multitude of questions about life in Europe. Lately, we have also noticed that often the local's bikes are in poor condition, so we took the opportunity to restore them - when possible - with a few patches, a little oil, and a wrench here and there.

It had taken us a total of 4 days to reach the Toktogul reservoir and the town of the same name. On the way, we were invited to a Kyrgyz banquet, and pitched the tent in the endless fields with the mountains in the distance, which are getting closer, but which are still without their white coat. The question everyone is asking: will we get to Bishkek, the Kyrgyz capital, before the snow?

We reached Toktogul on November 7, Tommy's birthday. We took the opportunity to stay in a guest house and let 2 days of non-stop rain pass. The previous question had just been answered: the snow is here up in the mountains! In this lakeside town we tasted traditional dishes that we had tested a year and a half before! Several recipes are directly derived from Asian dishes, such as Boco Langman, which is a wok of beef, noodles and vegetables- delicious but fatty. Just what we needed before facing the biggest challenge since the beginning of the trip: crossing the mountain range that separates us from Bishkek, with two passes over 3000m.

We prepare ourselves mentally and stock up on food for the days to come.

The itinery of the first pass: more than 2300m of elevation to climb over 65 km to reach the famous Ala-Bel pass at 3175m. It was very cold. The forecast for the next three days was down to -17°C overnight, but with blue sky during the day. We decided to split the climb into two days. The first day we climbed the first 45 kilometers "easy" with 1500m of positive elevation. A long queue of trucks (a hundred!) surprised us at the start of the climb. They were stopped at a barrier that only allows light vehicles to pass, the road is still slippery up there: we were warned! At least we won't see any trucks on this restful first day of ascent. The second day was a little different...

Thanks to our English friends who travel by Tandem and who had been there a month ago, we found a shelter protected from the wind at 2300m, surrounded by nomadic huts - empty in this winter period. We still had a constant -10°C during the night. Fortunately we were able to melt the snow to stay hydrated and prepare thermos of hot tea for the night and the early morning. When we woke up, everything was frozen: our bananas and grapes were inedible. Honey hard as concrete and tea in the thermos (obviously) cold.

We then had 17 km of climbing left to reach the pass. After a restless and freezing night at 2300m, we felt exhausted but motivated. We left around 10am, with the first rays of sunshine. The initial 5 kilometers were going pretty well. The bikes reacted well to the sub-zero night temperatures. The last ten kilometers were a real challenge for us: a constant struggle to stay on the bike and move forward. A powerful headwind lowered our body temperatures even further. The lack of space on the road was the main danger. The trucks, which until then were blocked in the valley while waiting for the green light from the authorities, now passed at high speed, unable to slow down for fear of not setting out again on the steep slopes. But the road was only partially cleared, only by the comings and goings of vehicles, so we did not had our usual roadside and safety distance. So we tried to drive on the ice, but the tires were slipping. Many stops were needed to move our cold-numbed limbs and to maintain circulation in our feet and hands. Will we get there? We were beginning to feel doubtful as the temperatures were freezing. We needed to tap into our energy reserves deep within us. When we finally got to the pass, we were exhausted, physically and mentally! But we did it: the last big pedal stroke of the trip for 2022. After a selfie for posterity with the panel stamped with our logo-sticker, frozen to the bones that we began hitchhiking to descend, impossible to cycle with the icy surfaces and daytime traffic.

A truck picks us up quickly, not understanding what we are doing here at this time of year. Like any truck driver, he has a history with cyclists that goes back a few years. Everyone has a story with cyclists in Kyrgyzstan, land of horses and bicycles. Together we cross a long plateau, covered in snow. It is here, in summer, that the nomads take their herds of horses to graze - their meat very commonly consumed here, as is their milk, essential for the local drink: Kumus. There were hundreds of yurts here in the summer, but the nomads had all packed up and descended on the plains several weeks ago. This is also what we did with the truck, which allowed us to pass the second pass at 3000m, equipped with a single-lane tunnel and alternating traffic. Glad we didn't cycle through that one!

Further down the valley we resumed our nomadic means of transport. We had only a hundred kilometers left before Bishkek and were enjoying each of them by bike. We stopped in an orphanage in the last village before the capital. Here, Allen, an American missionary, lived and raised his large family. About fifteen children who have the luxury of having many passions: languages, playing music, cooking... A real little society that works wonderfully. You can read more on a blog (http://earth-roamers.blogspot.com/2015/09/friends-of-children-orphanage-sokuluk.html)

But now it was time to reach the city, Bishkek, where we leave our faithful steeds to exchange them for slightly different gear: the ski-touring equipment that awaits us here, thanks to Henri, a colleague. The bikes will hibernate until better weather, while we explore the Kyrgyz mountains on skis. This is why we chose to settle in Karakol, the 4th largest city in the country, at the foot of a mountain range and a small ski resort.

Adventure to be continued…