Kyrgyzstan

We were very much looking forward to arriving in Osh, Kyrgyzstan as our rear tyre was on its way out, but Tez pulled through and he was in the workshop bright and early the next morning getting a new set of tyres. We coincidentally ended up staying at the same guesthouse as most of the crew we were going to be crossing China with a few days later. We planned to stay in Osh for a few days but ended up staying for 4 nights. We made a day trip up to the mountains and got to see some of the spectacular scenery we'd heard so much about. The trip up and back was constant entertainment with donkeys, cows, sheep and goats moving down the road to lower ground for the winter months. Quite often, they were in no hurry to get out of our way and we had to move around them - not at all concerned about the bike!

A few of the crew had planned to head to Lenin Peak Basecamp for a night before meeting to cross the Chinese border. We were really keen to join them but had a couple of reservations such as riding two-up on the road up and having no tent. However, after a little research, we decided the road would be fine and we hoped they had tents up there available to use. Turned out to be the best decision yet! The road up to basecamp was absolutely stunning. It was our first real attempt at 'off roading' and it was great fun. We arrived at the camp (3,600m) and settled in for the evening in a chilly 5 degrees - we did say we were looking forward to some cooler weather! The next morning, the sun came out and we were greeted with an amazing view of Lenin Peak which sits at 7,145m high. A bloody big mountain!

We then cruised back down the mountain to Sary Tash which was the organised meeting spot to meet the rest of the crew. With not much to do in the little mountain village, we sat around eating, drinking chai and getting very excited about crossing into China early the next morning.

Kyrgyzstan was our favourite of the 'stans' and we wished we had a little more time to explore the mountains. We're already planning a trip back again!

Snowing!

The locals live in huts called 'Yurts'

Whoops - one bike down

No problem for Tez!

Our home for the night - 3,600m

Nice to have warm clothes on!

This mountain is just over 7,000m