Chapter 10: Breathless in the Pamirs (Dushanbe, Tajikistan to Kyzyl-Art Pass, Kyrgyzstan)
The old road from Dushanbe to Kalai-kumb, now a forgotten dirt trackThe river had washed away the road here, meaning I had to push my bicycle across this sketchy bridgeOne of the shepherds posing for a photo with his massive flock of sheep behindReaching the back of another flock as I climb into the mountainsThe smiling shepherd who showed me the best way to ford one of the trickier riversSome of the many friendly Tajik kids who would ask for high fives as I passedThe cliff-side gravel track descending the far side of the Saghirdasht PassDescending into a more lush landscape on the far side of the Saghirdasht PassCrossing over a beautiful turquoise river as I close in on Kalai-kumbFollowing the old Soviet road along the Panj River, with the green mountains of Afghanistan on the far sideSome Afghan houses on the far bank, with their carpets drying nearby in the sunThe greenness of Afghanistan was striking at times compared to the bare, rocky landscape on the Tajik side of the riverThe road plunging into shadow during the hottest part of the day such were the height of the cliffs hereMark and Tim cycling along the Panj as five of us set off into the Wakhan ValleyTim pushing across one of the many little rivers which descend out of the mountains of the Wakhan Valley and into the PanjTurning a corner to be welcomed by the mighty sight of the snow-capped Hindu Kush for the first timeReaching the 10,000 kilometre mark (since leaving Limerick) on my second day in the Wakhan ValleyTim loading his bamboo bicycle onto a jeep, just before him and Karina were whisked off back to KhorogContinuing alone into the vastness of the Wakhan ValleyPedalling with a local teenager who was on his way home. He was able to show me the smoothest lines on this rough track.One of Langar’s two shops. This one was closed, but from peeking through the window the shelves were fairly bare anyway.Stopping to filter some stream water above Langar. I would be living off stream water for the next 3.5 days.Pedalling through a patch of yellow flowers as I ascend higher away from LangarThe mighty peaks of AfghanistanThe landscape becoming more barren and lifeless on my second day out of LangarTwo Pamiri gentlemen who I came across in the wilderness waiting hours for a vehicle to pass which could give them a liftMy tent sheltered from the wind near the military checkpointEnjoying the company of Kim and Mark as they cook up dinner on the far side of the Khargush PassMark and Kim descending the remaining section of the Khargush PassKim and Mark descending the last, rough section of the Khargush Pass before joining the smooth tarmac of the Pamir HighwayThe village of Alichur, situated just shy of 4,000 metres on the Pamir PlateauThe rugged scenery of the Pamir Plateau on the far side of AlichurViewing the sun set over the Pamirs from the chaihana where we were invited to spend the nightKim photographing a herd of yaks grazing outside the chaihana in the morningKim and Matthew pedalling out onto the Pamir PlateauMy three companions for the Pamir Highway: Kim, Matthew and MarkKim with the Pamir Highway stretching away into the distanceA straight rainbow cutting across the sky, the first time I had witnessed such a phenomenonMark tackling a brief climb on this mostly flat road through the Pamir PlateauComing across a yak roadblockMy three companions pedalling across the vastness of the Pamir PlateauAn ancient, abandoned caravanserei in the wilderness on the far side of MurghabRushing to pack our gear into our tents as a storm barrels down the valley towards usThe barren landscape as we close in on the Ak-Baital PassMatthew drinking some hot tea in the family home near the summit of the Ak-Baital Pass while we waited for the storm to passMark zig-zagging up the steepest section of the climb up the Ak-Baital PassThe view from the 4,655-metre summit of the Ak-Baital PassKim battling the rough track down the far side of the passBattling a strong evening headwind towards Karakul Lake where we knew there was a homestayA heavy rain shower passing over the lakeMark pumping water for Matthew in the small village of KarakulMatthew and Kim leaving Karakul in the direction of our last three Tajik passesThe blue waters of Karakul Lake, a jewel in this ashen, barren landscapeMark and Matthew fighting up the first 4,200 metre pass with a dust devil and some ominous clouds in the backgroundThe clouds clearing, opening up the view back into the meteorite crater Karakul Lake is situated withinSetting up camp in a lunar landscape on our last night in TajikistanWatching yet another storm roll across the landscape towards us from our sheltered wild campTajikistan’s ubiquitous wild, epic, barren landscape which I was going to miss so muchAscending the gravel track up the Kyzyl-Art pass, an appropriate end to our time in this wonderful country
Irregular Adventures 
Extraordinary vistas and demanding conditions for cycling. Amazing !
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