Osh to Kazarman (day 18)

8:30ish departure from the hotel this morning. I was out of the light traffic within 3km and then it was just open roads towards Jalal-Abad.

I stop for fuel at the first opportunity as I'm not sure what I'll find ahead. Turns out that there's plenty to choose from and they're all open. The  service station I go to has a petite attendant wearing red dungarees working the pumps.

It's all going well, road is nice and flowing with not much traffic. I appreciate this calm after some of the cities I've been through. It's a bit short lived though as one car passes very close to me. Then a while later another does exactly the same. I notice that the two cars were right hand drive so it must be what they're used to doing. I was caught by surprise by both of them and they made me jump!

The tarmac on this stretch of road is nice and I can reach the giddy heights of just over 100km/h. Not seen that speed for a while. There's a small pass to go over and on the way down I find some turkeys on a bend. Not sure if they're wild or if they belong to some nearby farm.

After leaving Jalal-Abad I see two other bikes (one with pillion) on the opposite side of the road. I stop to speak with them and find out which way they're going. In my direction it turns out, so I might see them later on. They're looking for a restaurant but most of them are closed, it was 11am.

I decide to get a move on to Kazarman and possibly have lunch along the way out when I arrive. I've no idea have far away it is but I did feel confident I could make it today. Every time  I select the location on the GPS it tries to route me around a different route even though I've got the road on the map.

I take the turning and the road starts to climb and the tarmac also comes to an end. What I get is a mix of gravel, hard dirt, some mud and sometimes all three mixing together on some corners. Definitely keeps you on your toes.

I'm standing on the pegs for this section and it does start to get very tiring after a while. I'm out of shape when it comes to standing on the pegs, must do more biking. Turns out this off-road section was well over 100km and the part from Jalal-Abad to the hostel has taken me about 4 hours. I did stop for some photos but when I could see the speedometer I was travelling around 40/50 km/h with only occasionally seeing 80 km/h on safer sections.

The first pass on this section of road is the Kaldama Pass. The road is narrow in places and there's not much room for error at times as there's a nice drop to one side. The Chinese are working on road improvements and the road should be ready by 2017/8.

On the way up I see a cyclist. I stop and chat for a minute. He's not going to make it to Kazarman this evening so he's going to camp along the way. There are some families living here as there are yurts to be seen. The kids come running out when they hear the bike and start waving. The dogs also like to run out and try to bite! All go well except one time when two dogs run at me, I almost run over one of them and it then decided to follow me for about 200 meters barking and running across the front of the bike.

The mountains here are stunning, I'm concentrating on the road so much that I'm not seeing what is around me. Occasionally I catch a glimpse and take a look but I have to be careful as there's no barrier and it's a long way down the side.

I get to the top of one of the passes and it starts to rain. Now I'm worried that the track is going to get very muddy and make it tougher. I've no idea how these tyres perform in the mud. Just take it easy!

I eventually reach Kazarman and just outside the town I spot a petrol station and it seems to be open. I top up with fuel as I've no idea if they open early in the morning. As I pull in a swarm of urchins come over. Must check out how loud the bike is, needs stealth mode! The kids don't do much and they just say 'hello'.

I try to find a guest house. I don't see anything but I stop at a shop to get water. I ask about a guest house, he gets his phone and calls someone. They'll come and collect me. He points me to the 'kafe' and I go in to have Manty and some local bread.

I shown the way to the guest house which is tucked away in some of the back streets. I have a place to park the bike and I have to clean it as it's covered in mud and dust. The number plate is very dirty (yes guards in Uzbekistan, I'm cleaned out properly).

The owner Shireen (not certain of spelling) then comes to say hello. It's part of the Community Based Tourism (CBT) and hands me a map of showing the various locations where you can stay. The shower takes 30 minutes to warm up and it's outside. It's a small cubicle made of plywood with a tank above it, you turn the tap on and it's gravity fed! It's different but I couldn't care less, I get to have a shower.

The bike gets a clean and I try to clean the chain as best I can. After doing my washing I'm exhausted and it's just time to sit down and nod off.

Total distance: 245km (6 hours).