Day 51/54. Friday. July 15

  Naryn to Canyon Bush Camp 33.

Distance:  140 km

Cumulative Distance: 5741 km

Time: 8 hrs 38 min

Speed:  16.2 km/hr

Feet Climbed today: 5610

Cumulative Climb: 121,146  ft 

AHR (Average Heart Rate) 110 bpm..........approx

Punctures so far: 2.     

Altitude tonight: 5740 ft.

Wonderful days cycling but things were looking bleak last evening.

At 6 pm yesterday evening the weather forecasted was for rain this morning and clearing in afternoon. But the rain came early between 7pm and midnight and so, clear warm day all day today.

Lying in the tent from 6.30 and in bed by 8 with rain pattering down on the tent it's a very lonely claustrophobic place - hoping a strong wind won't make matters worse; trying to keep things from touching the sides etc. I finally got to sound sleep around 10. It was a sodden tent that I packed away this morning and didn't enclose it inside my bag but strapped to the side.

For the first 80 km today we left town and followed Naryn River which showed all the results of yesterday's thunder rain. On my left for those 80 km were clay cliffs, sometimes looking attractive under the morning sun but also showing the effects of water erosion over the years. This was a long straight road, reminiscent of Kazakhstan in many ways.

To make matters worse, I knew this was the last of the pavement for four days. Often enough I just hopped onto the gravel shoulder for a bit of comfort.

Above, you’ll notice the approx Average Heart Beat. My Garmin has packed in completely now. For the last few weeks the altimeter in it (for feet climbed, gradient and altitude) was not operating and I depended on others to supply such information. Possibly the heavy rain as I arrived in camp yesterday got into the card and fried the device. So now I fall back onto my back-up Crivit that works off the front wheel supplying distance, average speed and cycling time.

Just 5 km outside Naryn a 100 metre climb served as a warm-up, just one switch-back. After that just long straight stretches till lunch time at 80 km.

At 80 km just after a village the pavement ended and the gravel started. A number of police on the streets in that village and I found out later that the prime minister was due to pass that way later on. Also heard that Angela Merkel had been in Kyrgyzstan yesterday.

From lunch time (till Sunday evening) it's gravel all the way. Gravel means checking your line of travel all the time and clouds of dust from cars. 20 km of this till the real work of the day started.

At 100 km with four and a half hours cycling done I faced into a 25 km climb to an un-named pass. A couple of km of gradual ascent and then the switch-backs started, must have been over 25 of them.

Looking up ahead didn't give any indication of what lay ahead. It was only when I got up near the top and looked back down that the picture became clear. What appears in the photos is just a sample. On some of those turns I dismounted and walked a few hundred metres. An opportunity to admire the beautiful view beneath me. Quite a few of the cyclists didn't cycle the second half of the day at all and packed it in at lunch. This section of the road (and the first 65 km of tomorrow's route) is a summer-only road; only open to traffic from May to September. 

Felt elated to eventually arrive at the summit -2800 metres (9240 feet) and  had completed the challenge. Being an un-named pass on the maps I felt entitled to name it and wrote its new name in stone - Oisin Pass. It's still there on the ground for all to see.

Now for the 15 km gravel descent to camp. The mountains ahead and sky didn't look inviting and possibly rain would be my lot on arrival in camp again. Didn't happen.

I put on the jacket as descents normally are cooler. Not here. Being on gravel the descent was as cagey as the ascent - constantly picking lines and avoiding stray rocks and piles of gravel. Around all the switch-backs down I was just at about 12 km/hr. So off came the coat. I stopped a few times to take a shot of the view ahead or to look back. Beautiful. 

Tonight we are camping in a canyon with a little stream - great for a refreshing wash after a dusty day. No rain tonight so a good chance of a long uninterrupted sleep. Will need it with big climbs for the next two days.

Thank God for the health and thank God for the energy.