Silk Route Blog

The ‘Great Leader, Father of All Turkmen’ may have died but his spirit (and billboard-sized portraits) well and truly remain. We were ‘escorted’ by police throughout our catch-up bus journey to Ashgabat yesterday and it seems this trend will continue throughout our stay.

Ashgabat is a parody of a great capital - all marble domes and pillars surrounded by exotic fountains and golden mosques. It would be funny if it wasn’t for the fact people actually have to live here! Still, we are in a swanky hotel and the swimming pool for once has water in it!!

We are back on schedule now, too, and tomorrow we will be mounting our bikes and ready to roll (today’s highest temperature was 52* C, though, so perhaps the rolling will be a little on the slow side!)

PS: please forgive your nearest and dearest if you have not heard from them for a while but the only Internet provider in Turkmenistan is dial-up and the whole country has less than a half dozen Internet cafes. Big Brother is definitely watching us!

So just when we thought we were back on track the gods (particularly Neptune it seems) were once again against us.

Having enjoyed the highlights (the old city is a real treat) and lowlights (the velodrome hotel is in urgent need of demolition) Baku had to offer we peddled our way to the port and merrily stood in line to board the good ship Professor Gul. And stood, and stood, and stood, and SLEPT and CAMPED and stood AGAIN, AND CAMPED AGAIN and SLEPT AGAIN!

TWO AND A HALF DAYS LATER we were on board and ready to set sail. The crossing was smooth, the cabins comfortable and the crew hospitable - some of us we almost enjoying our ‘cruise’ when once again fate intervened and the crunch and grind of the anchor told us we were coming to a stop - 10km from shore!

ANOTHER DAY ANOTHER DOLLAR - or in this case Azeri/Turkmen Manat! Back to bed we went (in fact moist of us preferred to sleep on deck to catch what there was of a breeze). So another day’s delay but we would not be thwarted!

We docked the next morning and after a mere 4 hours of thumb-twiddling we were allowed off the boat. That is when true ennui set in! TWELVE HOURS later the last of us (poor Manon and Nicole) had been processed through customs and we were allowed into the cardboard cut-out town of Turkmenbashi.

One of us had joked that this 12 hour crossing was known to take up to 20 hours depending on how drunk the captain was - in fact it took us 5 DAYS!!!! That captain must have some hangover right now!!

In retrospect, writing in my last update from Baku that - the weather is calm so the ferry (departing Baku) should be on time give and take a few hours - was forgetting the complexity of the area and why we had to fly over Georgia. Azerbaijan is peaceful and there are no signs of the sudden conflict that exploded in Georgia two weeks ago. Yet while we were patiently awaiting the boarding of the ferry, the lack of any activities around us was slowly becoming a concern.

The ferries we take are essentially a transport ferry with a few spots to take passengers. These ferries do not have a timetable for departures or arrivals, but rather they depart when they are full. So as the hours passed and there was nothing being loaded, I was beginning to get an ominous sense that something was up. And at 8PM I was told, that “yes the ferry will not depart today”. The reason is that the train cargo that was to fill up the belly of the boat is not coming. And the reason that it was not coming was that the trains come from Georgia and as the Russians had bombed a bridge that the trains use, there was no train. “Hopefully there will be a train in the morning” I was told.

Now Friday has passed and part of Saturday and the cyclists are still in Baku’s port. But a rumour has it that they will be loaded on the ferry today.

Not long ago I was standing in front of a stand of flashy travel magazines, one of them announcing on its front page “a perfect vacation”. Looking at it, I remember thinking of the expeditions our company provides, one of them of course being the Silk Route Tour and a thought crossed my mind. That thought was that if ever we decide to advertise our tours it should say that our Expedition Tours will deliver anything but a perfect vacation but plenty of unexpected adventures.

So the 2008 Silk Route Tour continues and we will bring you the latest adventures as they occur.

So the 2009 Silk Route is back in full swing. Today we have completed our third day of cycling in Azerbaijan finishing with a successful convoy into busy Baku. All riders are well and likely tired after three days of challenging and great riding.

Tomorrow is time to visit such local spots as the wonderful carpet museum, the old walled city and of course all plan to report to their loved ones back home.

And Thursday we are on a ferry to Turkmenistan.

The weather is calm so the ferry should be right on schedule, plus or minus several hours.

Yes that’s right, the tour is back! Up and running and in Azerbaijan!

After the enforced break at the Georgian border we retreated to Kars where we were able to visit the medieval Armenian capital of Arni - a real treat. From there we bussed it to Ankara, packed up the bikes and flew to Baku (more about which later). Unfortunately we had to fly via… yes you guessed it ISTANBUL!!! but once all the Deja Vu had subsided we were just happy to be on our way!

To make the trip as authentic as possible we bussed ourselves back up to near the Georgian/Azerbaijan border yesterday and rejoined our route in Shaki, a beautiful provincial capital nestled in the foothills of the Caucasus! An impressive caravansary got us back in the mood and today once we were back on our bikes it was as though we had never been away!

Having said that some things are a little different as we have two new riders, Thomas from Austria and Nick from Holland and they are settling nicely - Thomas bought his first round of beers tonight!! and Nick took out his first stage today!! We have lost Stephen though who had been due to finish his tour in Tbilisi!! Hope you arrived home safe, buddy!!

There were a couple of mechanical tweaks necessary yesterday morning (there always are when putting bikes back together from boxes) but two 95km rides soon ironed them out. This part of the world is very rural so there are more cows and sheep on the roads than cars but they aren’t any easier to negotiate!! Most of the roads are tree-lined which offers lots of shade but the steep hills are no less difficult because of that. The imposing Greater Caucasus kept us company to the north today and the Lesser Caucasus to the south, but we knew it was only a matter of time before the road had to cross one or the other.

Just our luck it crossed both!!!

Still we are safely in Shamacki and ready for a bit of a party - three parties in fact as we have three rider birthday’s today: Clive Dan and Knut - photos (appropriately censored!) will follow!!!

Due to the unexpected break out of hostilities and violence in Georgia, The Silk Route Bicycle Tour has been forced to stop short of the Georgia border and temporarily suspend the tour. Today was to be the day we were to cross into Georgia, but instead the riders are having a rest day in the Turkish town of Kars. The Riders are all safe and well and in good spirits. Tomorrow they will take a bus to Ankara, and then take a flight to Baku where the tour will re-commence on August 17. The group will then have a few days of cycling in Azerbaijan before getting on the ferry to Turkmenistan and back on schedule.

We hope for a quick return to calm in Georgia – one of the most beautiful countries on our route.

These last two stages seemed to come in phases. The mornings were mostly overcast and cool, the afternoons intense and hot with the sun beating down, and the evenings chilly in the wind.

Stage 10 brought us out of our gas-station hotel in Sebinkarahisar and down the mountain in the shadow of its impressive citadel perched way up on a rocky crag – citadels perched on rocky crags seem to be the theme in these parts.

Everyone charged along at a good lick and with plenty of water troughs located along the way there was no need to repeat the mercy dash of yesterday (by three o’clock it had got so hot the boys had no option but to load up with Cokes and head back along the road to ‘water’ the troops). All the water from these taps is potable, even though the troughs are as often used for animals as humans.

We have had our first campfire and Graham was quick to reel out his ghost stories (only slightly better than Fred’s jokes). The duck had been quiet for a couple of days but Dan managed to create his very own ‘ship/duck in a bottle’ conundrum. For two days it foiled everyone but this morning James ‘magiced’ it free from its prison – don’t worry James your secret’s safe with me.

The roads have become windier and windier. Just a single lane now so no more trucks and in fact hardly any traffic. We are up high in the mountains and the scenery is incredible, as epitomized by Stage 11’s ‘camp’: a barren hilltop (near Pazaryolu) amidst a panorama of gorges, valleys and rolling peaks.

Days to go: 98
Punctures: 18
Bee stings: 3 (all this countryside may mean no more trucks but a new foe has appeared in the form of buzzing black and yellow honey-producers – almost every farm seems to supplement its income with apiary)

Last night we were camping again but next to a spa hotel in the small town of Resadiye. It may not be the most salubrious of spas and the hot springs thermal pool had its limitations (the water was an unattractive green colour for a start - although Mike reckons that is because Al washed his shorts in it!) but the water sure was hot. For some reason women weren’t allowed in the pool, although most of them didn’t see that as a major minus point!

The landscape is becoming more barren but the crops are changing accordingly. Now we have ochre, walnuts and haystacks to accompany us along our ride and as we headed up into the hills we encountered more of the damns which form part of Turkey’s enormous hydro-electric campaign. The hills are turning redder, too, a sign of the imminent mining schemes the government wishes to implement.

As yet there has been no call for our female riders to cover up necessarily but the atmosphere is changing and we now carry extra ‘loose’ clothing in the lunch van just in case. Certainly the mosque per capita ratio is on the up and all the local women are in headscarves.

A bomb/grenade has killed 15 policemen up ahead in Xinjiang (NW China) which could cause us problems further down the line but hopefully by th time we get there (post Olympics) things will have calmed down.

Days to go: 100!
Km to go: less than 10,000 (which means we have done our first 1,000!!)
Punctures: 2 (16)

We had our first birthday on tour today - yippee!

Theresa has finally turned 21 and celebrated in style with boxes of Baclava and lashings of Ginger Beer! We are now in remote eastern Turkey and our world becomes more conservative by the day. Alcohol is still sold in a few shops but cannot be consumed in public - even a hotel bar will make you go back to your room to drink the beer it has just served you!

T and Aman are our lunch stop gurus. While Miles and Ben head off to the next night’s camp, T and A set up lunch stop, buy supplies and keep the convoy thoroughly fed and watered.

After the rest day there were a few sore behinds as we rolled out of Amasya. The town is a gem and definitely worth a visit if you are ever in the area.

We headed along the river again and although today was a massive 157km, the temperatures have dropped and the going was good, although roads and a nasty little climb at the end dampened a few spirits. The good news though is that we have said goodbye to the main highway and so the enormous trucks. There are still the odd one but they are no longer charging passed at 100 miles an hour.

It’s a week into the tour and we thought it important to focus in on our 4 ‘racers’. Of course, we are all here for fun and how long we take certainly definitely doesn’t matter but we always try to run some sort of race on these tours, along with Stage Wins! Time Trials!! And Team Time Trials!!

So we have four ‘racers’: Trine, Fred, Al and Stewart.

If nothing else they will know, to the minute, exactly how long it does indeed take to cycle from Istanbul to Beijing. Just to clarify, your time starts when you cross the start line and stops when you finish so you don’t all have to start together if you don’t want. Drinks breaks are included, however, so it’s up to you how long you take (ditto for lunch, and ice cream). Prizes will be awarded in Beijing in several categories (watch this space).

Stage 7 brought us into the picturesque town of Amasya. This is definitely a Turkish town and the Muezzin (prayer caller) cries out Azan (call to prayer) loud and clear 5 times a day, but there is also an almost Tuscan/Mediterranean feel. The city is bisected by the River Yesilirmak (Iris) and centres around a beautiful Seljuk mosque. The real treat is up above though, in the cliff faces. First is the Kale (citadel) a significant Ottoman fortress, and then come some incredible rock tombs dating from the ancient Greek era.

Our hotel is amazing, old school houses made of timber and wattle with innumerable niches and alcoves, all with A1 views of the river, city or tombs depending on your room.

We’ve been cycling 7 days straight now and the collective legs are tired but that’s what rest days are for and boy are we going to enjoy ours! See you in a couple of days!