Wandering CrankWandering Crank

Biking the World one crank at a time

Wild Camping

The Fergana Valley

by Nathan Molyneaux on category , ,

Leaving Tashkent was an absolute nightmare.  Busy roads, disobedient drivers (do drivers ever follow the rules) and badly built roads.  The worst part was leaving the city past the airport and market.  There is only one road and it has everyone stopping to pick up people and goods.  There was one police car watching the chaos and occasionally they would put the sirens on but no one cared and the chaos continued.  It seems to pick people up and cargo is far more important than keeping the road clear and safe!  Much like school pick-up in the UK!

It was then time to join a long dull road; Uzbekistan seems to have a few of these.  It was the only way over the Qamchiq pass to the Fergana Valley.  For my first night on this journey, I decided to camp behind a petrol station.  It was out of sight and with a wall in the way quiet.  I was not alone.  There was a family staying there in a temporary shelter, keeping an eye on their crops and a herd of cows.  They allowed me to put up my tent.

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Hospitality and the final frontier

by Nathan Molyneaux on category , ,

Our first day’s ride from Bukhara was fairly uneventful, with one exception.  I managed to get completely lost, I ignored my navigation and just carried on the main road at a lovely speed with the wind behind me.  Blissfully unaware that I had just added an extra 20km to my journey!  I eventually caught up with Seb and Ollie, I always leave early because I am slower.  Luckily, it was only a short ride after our siesta, the afternoons were getting hot.  We found an old caravanserai on the side of a main road with a restaurant opposite.

However, the next day we jointly decided the main road was a terrible place to ride and opted to go North from Navoi to a road south of the Narutau mountains.  We were looking for a field with poppies for a picture but the farmer had changed the crop that year!  However, Ollie had found Samsa (a round pastry filled with meat and potato usually), and he had to fill his addiction.

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Khiva, Bukhara and a new crew

by Nathan Molyneaux on category , ,

Nukus was a great rest for a couple of days whilst I work out the plan for the rest of Uzbekistan.  The steppe had been tough and I wasn’t sure I wanted more of it.  It was also a chance to meet two other cyclists, Sebastian from France and Ollie from the UK.  Julia had decided to cycle every kilometre and this would mean having to leave after one day.  I was willing to take a train for a bit to avoid more steppe.  This meant we had to say goodbye and cooked a meal for our hosts Julian and Nora.

There is also the Svitsky art museum, which houses the largest collection of Soviet artworks.  Sveitsky saved many of these from destruction after the fall of the Soviet Union.  The museum is well planned out and you have time to appreciate the artwork; however, just be ready for the school children.  There are many groups and it did become noisy.

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Remnants of the South Aral Sea

by Nathan Molyneaux on category , ,

Very quickly the road deteriorates into a bad mud track.  Even 4x4s have to slow right down.  We are enveloped in dust, rattled around by the endless potholes.  After about 10km of this we scoot across to an area where it looks like there is a road under construction, it was.  We even joined the workers for lunch in the shade of a vehicle.  They welcomed us and we shared our dates with them; always remember to bring a gift.  Despite the wind, against us again, we had an easy afternoon cruising along compacted gravel.

On looking for a place to camp out of the wind, we asked at the workers’ camp if we could pitch our tents next to a wall.  We were taken aback when they spoke fluent English.  Nilufar was the translator for the Chinese and International teams.  Nilufar spoke with the deputy engineer, Muhammad, for the project and we found ourselves whisked into the executive worker’s hut and given a room with a warm shower, functioning toilet, kitchen and even a gym!  Muhammed, from Pakistan, also offered to cook.

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The steppe and Uzbekistan awaits

by Nathan Molyneaux on category , ,

We set off with the intention of using as much time with the reduced wind as possible; however, this didn’t happen with a puncture of Julia’s bike.  We knew the wind would pick up in the afternoon and there was a good chance of rain in the evening.  Cycling across the steppe was a mixture of good compacted and churned-up mud track.  We carried water and food for two days.  We came across no one on the steppe.   Only camels, horses, destroyed buildings and abandoned trig points.

We found some cover from the winds in a destroyed building and started cooking immediately.  There were some creatures here that could do us some harm, but luckily we were too early for them.  We just about finished and dished out as the rain started.  We sat in our tents eating our food. A miserable end to the day. The rain had turned the mud track into a bit of a nightmare with the mud now sticking to our tyres and in Julia’s case, clogging up the fenders and forcing her to stop.

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