Kyrgyzstan started high up in the mountains with 12km of no-mans land. We keep saying it, and I really wasn’t expecting it at this border, but it felt (or at least looked) very different. After a few days with our new mega peleton of 10, we reached Osh. A huge city compared to what we had had for the last month. It wasn’t too touristy, and felt more like a larger town than a modern city. Hours were spent trapsing the Bazar and going back and forth between the must-visit Brio Cafe. Then it came time to set of on our own once again.

Cutting East into the middle of the country, arw old friend ‘Gravel Road’ reared it’s ugly head. And with a vengeance too. A quick hitch later and were in much better spirits, looking forward to some beautifully paved roads ahead. We decided to miss Son Kul because of the roads, and were glad we made that decision when we found out it had been snowing up there. Then we had a whole day off downhill to lake Issyk-Kul. The Second largest alpine lake in the world. (behind Lake Titticaca for those interested). We spent a lovely week or so going around the lake, taking it leisurely and soaking in the views. Tall snowy peaks jutting out from behind the foothills to our right, then the enormous blue expanses to our left. With a picture postcard view of the snowy mountains on the other side.

Then our longest day of the tour so far eventually found us in Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan. We just had one day here due to time constraints and the amount of things needing doing in Almaty.

All-round, another great Central Asian country that will be going on our visit again list. Probably with different bikes so we can get properly off the beaten track.

Kyrgyzstan in numbers:

Total distance – 884 miles

Longest day – 98 miles

Shortest day – 12 miles

Largest peleton – 10

Craft beers drunk – 2