Wandering CrankWandering Crank

Biking the World one crank at a time

Uzbekistan: A bright future but some ugliness remains

by Nathan Molyneaux on category , ,

Arriving at the home of my host I suddenly realised there were a lot of other volunteers.  I had the impression that the opportunity did not gain much attention.  The next day I got my first chance at helping out.  Filip, a Swiss who was also volunteering, and I headed over to the school.  The children were prepping for their IELTS exam in June.

On arrival, I was asked to give a quick introduction to myself.  The first thing they all noticed was my accent.  A native British accent is always tricky and whilst my accent is relatively neutral, the speed at which I speak isn’t!  I had to slow down and enunciate my words more clearly.  Our host had to leave, so Filip and I took over.  We played a little hangman and I added in a few tongue twisters to help with pronunciation.  It was fun but very tiring.

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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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Broken pedals, the Nuratau Mountains and Tashkent

by Nathan Molyneaux on category ,

It was sad to leave Ollie and Seb and continue my journey without them, but after over a month of travelling with people, I needed some time alone.  The journey out of Samarkand was challenging but not too dangerous and I was soon on the country lanes thanks to Komoot’s algorithm.

The journey was broken up perfectly by small cafes and shops but this soon disappeared as I got closer to the mountains and I now needed to think about my food supplies.  It was nice to be cycling again by myself and found I could stop and camp wherever I liked.  Stopping for lunch, I was invited to join others with a flick to the neck.  A sign that they were offering vodka.  I declined.  Cycling and alcohol do not mix!

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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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