Whale meat, among other things in Svalbard

A first few days in Longyearbyen and around

Started off another trip to Svalbard a few days ago with 40 hours of flying. Not sure if it was a good idea to arrive with no sleep to somewhere with endless sun, but after a few hours at a deck party I sacked out for 15 hours. Since then I've made plenty of 3k runs from Nybyrn where I'm staying in the barracks down to the town center and general store, UNIS, and Freune, the decent new coffee shop that rightfully calls itself the furthest north coffee bar in the world. Runs for training have been limited a bit by the polar bear safe zone (there probably aren't bears super close to town but the fine isn't so nice if I don't have a rifle on me when off the main roads), but I now have a decent 8k zigzag worked out. Most Norwegians are gone for vacation but there are still big 1000+ person cruise ships- ending next year with a crude oil ban- and plenty of people crucial to the tourism industry in town. Seen some wildlife; they can be found among the pictures below.

The midnight sun. Doesn't mean you can see it.

Finally in Svalbard, and one of the worlds most northernmost towns, Longyearbyen. Their is daylight 24 hours per day, but for the next week I'm not expecting to see too much sun.

Saying goodbye to my bike; wishing her good travels in the Pamir

I want my bikes to go to a good home. After thousands of kilometers getting me between villages where no cars travel in Central Asia, she's had some wear to the tires and chain and frame. But the components are still good for many thousands of kilometers, and the bike rides herding paths like nothing else.

So obviously, she deserved a nice new caretaker. I'd like to announce her caretaker with a photo. He's a single Pamiri cartographer and GIS programmer from Rushan village, now living in Dushanbe. His co worker, Hussein, is an accomplished bike tourist from Kenya and most recently Canada. The two are planning a bike trip through the Pamirs in August, and if successful my bikes new caretaker will likely be one of the first Pamiris to ride through the Pamir. A good partnership for a bike designed for the Pamir and a man born in the heart of the Pamir.

Oh, the signs of modern democracy- In Dushanbe, Tajikistan

I had part of the day today to spend exploring the grand city of Dushanbe. Most everything- which is a lot compared to Khorog but very little even compared to Almaty- is within a few steps of the main Rudaki street, including state museums, parks, and Wi-Fi and western expresso at Segafredo Cafe. Dushanbe is the capital city, and has lots of gorgeous trees and some parks and lots of government buildings. Unfortunately there isn't too much else going on: business, intelligentsia, and arts are slim or elsewhere in the country. Maybe it's Ramadan, but most people here are non-practicing Sunnis so the town is probably like this the rest of the year.

Tomorrow I'll explore more and meet some more locals and try to sell my trusty Schwinn mountain bike and do all the other things one must do before leaving a big city among villages.

Ways of travel in Central Asia

Views from the Khorog- Dushanbe flight and some thoughts on Yaks

Somehow, I had to get to Dushanbe this week for a flight out of Tajikistan (sad, I know) on Friday. I heard rumors of an awesome flight from Khorog that ran during perfect weather, so I asked around and figured out that my bike would be allowed on as excess baggage for $10. I didn't really expect to make it through the ticketing process- involving dropping off a passport copy several days early and bugging the ticketing ladies a few times- but the alternative was a two day jeep ride on shit roads, so I pulled out all stops to get on the plane. And made it on the plane first after getting to disassemble and load my bike. A bike box certainly would not fit, so I had to get creative with a wrench, stuffing seatpost and bars and such in between Chinese duffels. Tajik Air hand wrote the tickets, and overfilled the flight, but I don't think we were too heavy, and the takeoff was smooth with no unbuckled kids or adults flying too far. The plane flight truly was one of the most spectacular I've had- endless views of mountains changing to rocky cliffs and finally farmland. Plus some snow, wind, rain, and narrow pass crossings with only a few meters room for error.

Thoughts on leaving Khorog. And a few pics of my final valley

If all goes right, I'll be leaving Khorog tomorrow for an hour flight over the mountains to Dushanbe. Yeah, I have my bike and I could be riding a gnarly mountain pass and spending 7 days in the heat. Or I could be hiking, relaxing in Khorog City Park, and having tea with Pamiris. I'm doing the latter, and have enjoyed my extra time in Khorog before some coffee chats and weight room sessions in Dushanbe. After three days of music and dance at the 6th Roof of the World Festival in the city park, I thought festivities were over. But then music started again, and I learned a local folk group was putting on a performance to raise funds for the disabled, complete with cake banquet and handicrafts fundraiser. I stayed, watched a bit, and headed to PECTA to hand over the newest Lonely Planet guide, some climbing slings, and the one valuable Kovea gas canister I cannot take on the plane (if you are looking for compressed gas in Khorog, PECTA normally has a supply and has at least one canister as of July 8th 2013).

The picture below is of today's festival. Take a close look and you'll see community members up dancing. Spontaneous dance is incredibly common among Pamiris, and I was sad during the festival to see the floor opened up only once or twice. But comment cards and emails do actually mean something here in Khorog so it may change. 

 

Yesterday I went for a long hike in Shokdara Valley, the last valley I had to visit in the Pamir of Tajikistan. Together with some friends, I hopped into a rented Lada Niva, stopped a few times to find food since almost all stores are closed on Sunday, and drove to an undisclosed location about 30km into Shokdara. There, we started our hike to the white mountain and an ancient fortress. The pictures below should tell you a lot, including how many kilos were in my pack and the date of my most recent watermelon hike (haven't done one since last year).

Clear streams

 Nice nests

 fast descents from 11,000 feet

final sun rays

Tomorrow I'll post pictures of my flight, which promises to be the one of the cheapest and scariest I've been on. I have already packaged some bic lighters (a favorite among all men or smokers here) and a few dollars to sneak into the cockpit of the Yak 40 twin prop plane or Mi 8 chopper I'll be in (along with my bike and 30kg of gear). 

Top and final act of Day 2 Roof of the World: Temursho and Sarah Solomon

Badakshans Youngest Musician: Drum Clip

Everyone is very proud of kids and they are showcased everywhere. Including at Roof of The World Festival in Khorog City Park.

And the dance floor at Roof of The World 2013 is open

Day 1 Roof of the World: national dances

A sword dancer and crowd music

Khorog city park: Most beautiful concert venue in the world

Instead of heading into the Wakhan again, I'm staying for two days of music and demonstrations in the Pamirs. After last years Roof of the World festival was disrupted by violence, this years has been going fine with plenty of local and a bit of foreign attendance. About to add $10 to my sim account so live videos and a few photos of the performances should be up here in a few hours. Enjoy the sounds and tastes of the Pamir.

Big rocks, two light tires, bad dental floss, no jeeps= long walk

Lesson: always question your spares. Some roads are not designed for driving let alone riding at high speeds on full suspension bikes, and some tires are not made to withstand such riding. Next time I'm back to Schwalbe after failed sidewalls on a Conti Mountain King and Kenda Small Block Eight in 2 days of riding.

Scenes from a week in the Wakhan border zone: mountain hot springs, Afghan Hindu Kush, delicious Iranian and Tajik juices, emergency tire repair on a brand new spare, Homestay in Inif village near Vrang

I started out the 3rd of 4 or 5 big valley visits last week (still have the Shockdara and Vanj areas on the list. Riding was disrupted a large number times by a hub that stopped coasting- necessitating tying up the chain for every descent because the roads are too poor to descent no feet- and a 2.5" read in a tire (due, I believe, to the inordinate amounts of sand and river rock that are called a road). Saw a few cars every day; most were at risk of bottoming out and several lay in stages of disrepair in the middle of the road.

I visited the largest and arguably best hot springs resort at Garm Chasma on day 1 after an emergency tool delivery to a French couple on permanent cycling vacation. Rode onwards to Awj, and met new friends in a young guide picking up clients from Afghanistan and a chef who decided I needed American style eggs which turned out very well. Rain in the morning meant a short delay, and a ride on to the Oblast center of Ishkashim to try to find something cable of taking off a cassette. No luck, but observed and chatted with some nice local kids and had a great dinner at Hanis Guesthouse. The next day I paid for my laziness with an 85 or 90 km ride on gorgeous roads to Vrang. Met up with another cyclist and made plans for a quick hike; unfortunately he was sick the next morning so alone in my hiking scheme.

With uncertain weather- read rain snow and wind- I decided on a long day, racing across washed out trail and dodging rockfall on the way to Vrang pass. One sign of human and a few of animal, plus some herder's huts around 3800 meters. Views of 5 and 6000 meter peaks came and went, as did a delightful wandering mountain stream. Surprised no one else visited, but again the trail would be tricky to impossible with a full pack and in many places is just a scraping on rocks or unstable slopes. I am fine with some places staying unvisited too. Learned that my Rab Latok Alpine jacket is still waterproof and my new Dyanstar Cham Light pack is not. Plus wet rock at 4000 meters does not make for easy passage, though it increases the taste of adventure. For back to a decent soup of lentils, spuds, and pasta at my Homestay.

The first of July - 6 weeks into my trip- brought a long ride up above the river Panj and into 110 plus miles of nothingness with little water. Given the multiple 4500 meter passes and steep drop offs into the canyon between Afghanistan and Tajikistan, I for the more than first time erred towards caution and attempted to ride back down the first pass with my feet off the pedals, metal whirring beneath me. The other cyclist I met decided to continue on despite illness and signs of respiratory issues; let's just say I tried my hardest but I'm not a police suicide negotiator. But there are at least a couple cars per week, and I made sure he had some food and a mobile. On the ride back down to Langar I survived and my bike only decided to lead my near to death 5 times. And my brakes survived. Made it another 30km to Inif village in 35kmh headwinds on a mix of every flavor Safo juice and was pulled off the road by a young looking girl who asked if I had a few minutes. In villages -most here in the Pamirs- where few understand English and less to none speak English, this is codespeak that someone wants to practice. Little did I know that the girl was older than me, a 3rd year English student, and had a Homestay of sorts down the road. We spent the night practicing grammar and pronouciation; a fair trade in my opinion for a good nights sleep on a rainy day. This afternoon I will try to get to Ishkashim of Khorog in time for the Roof of the World festival 5 to 7 July.