You are hereOver the hump / Reply to comment
Reply to comment
Over the hump
When I was planning my rough route back in Wisconsin, I knew that the real mountains would come as I passed from Central Asia into China. I guess Kyrgyzstan is both blessed and cursed by being a mountainous country; it offers pristine, beautiful scenery, but at the same time, the land is not productive and the country is very poor. Leaving Osh, the next milestone would be the crossroads town of Sary-Tash, where the north-south, and east-west highways in southern Kyrgyzstan meet. The town would be the last place to restock on food before heading into China. The first two days out of Osh put Christian (my German cycle-buddy) and I at an elevation of 7,000 ft (2,133m). On hump day, we would have to climb more than 5,000 total feet, with the final 2,000 feet over 9 switchbacks in 3 miles. We took the morning easy, stopping at restaurant to eat a hot meal, and taking 45 minutes to dry our tents which were wet from the night morning dew. As we pedaled on, we marveled at the sheer beauty of this place. Aside from the road and a two villages, there was absolutely nothing except tall mountain peaks.
Chugging along
Talking with herders
Beauty of a valley
A hot meal!
The road itself was typically Kyrgyz, meaning unpaved, rough and slow. Most of the day was a gentle ascent until the village of Akbosaga which is memorable because we passed just as school was letting out and a herd of schoolchildren mobbed me with shouts of "Turist", "ooooo" and "gyu da tyu dun sah bah", or something like that.
Always draw a crowd
From there, the road got steep and rather than gravel, the road was simply a thick layer of dust. The going was slow and exasperating given that we had to share the road with a steady stream of trucks from China hauling their goods to Osh and beyond kicking up dust all the while.
The road up to Taldyk pass
After reaching the hump at 11,860ft (3,615m), we took a few snapshots and started a gradual descent to Sary-Tash as the sun was setting behind the surrounding peaks. Unfortunately, the descent lasted past sunset and the mountains were blanketed by a complete darkness. Only a scattering of headlights ahead signaled the existence of a road, and we became slightly anxious by the fact that we could not see the lights of any town or village in the distance. After 8 miles, we finally arrived in Sary-Tash in the pitch dark and found the house with a sign out front marked "Hotel." Though the inn lacked a shower, water or a bathroom, we were happy for a warm place to rest our heads after crossing over the hump.
