Taldyk Pass

Camp near Murdas to Sary-Tash
September 16th
84km (2,193m vertical)

Short day but it was all uphill and included the toughest climb of the trip (so far anyway). Averaged a pathetic 11.9km/h, which reflects the fact that I spent almost all day in my granny gear.

The first 50km into lunch followed a creek in between the mountains. We passed through a handful of small villages en route, where locals came rushing out to greet us. Most yelled “Hello" or “What is your name?" as we went past them. They only had time to get one question in, so I laughed when someone yelled “How old are you?” The funniest was the person who chose“Good morning teacher"...perhaps the only thing he remembered from a previous English course.

At the 60km mark, the road curved sharply upward for 10km. There were a dozen switchbacks, and almost a 10% average grade before the top of the pass at 3,615m. The road had been torn apart by trucks, so every hairpin turn deteriorated into several inches of fine sand. Tough to keep your balance on that stuff when you are moving so slowly. Several of the riders chose to walk their bikes up the climb, and several others ended up falling at some point. The trucks went groaning past us the whole way, belching black smoke in our faces. Emissions standards in this part of the world are not very restrictive.

The large elevation gain made for some big temperature swings. It was 51F as we left camp this morning. Once the sun was on us, it rose to 89F, before dropping down to 48F at the top of the pass.

Tonight we are sleeping in traditional Kyrgy yurts. They've got carpeted floors and come with blankets to sleep on. Its a bit tight with 9 guys in my yurt, but hopefully that keeps us all warm.

I realize that with all my complaints about the tour company, I've never mentioned what a great cook Miles is. Without exception, the dinners he has made for us on the road have been fantastic. Tonight, we had corn on the cob, mashed potatoes with cheese and beef with veggies in sauce. Delicious.

Morning sun hits the mountains:
Empty landscape:
Looking down on a small town from an early climb:
I really thought this scenery was interesting:

View from the top of the pass. Look at the one, long, windy road below: Tonight's accomodation - a yurt: