It was our final day of cycling as we left a shimmering Lake Kara Kul behind taking a series of punishing short climbs on to a no mans land plateau between Tajikistan & Kyrgyzstan for a road side morning tea !
Shortly after our break on an exposed section of road Stuart became the tours first road casualty dismounting in a less than recommended manner - thankfully when dusted Stuart was able to confirm that he was injury free !
Finally we climbed into a strong headwind to our 2nd to last checkpoint where we waited patiently with a few Mongol Car rally participants to be finally let through enabling us to crossing our final pass the Kyzl - Art at 4200 metres !
The descent that followed into Kyrgyzstan provided for an incredibly changed landscape - almost European like with towering green hills and snow capped mountain monoliths
After our final checkpoint we cycled 25 kms to Sary Tash quite literally the hardest kms on the whole trip as we punched into an incredibly strong headwind that had us falling over the finish line ! We had completed a stunning 800+km journey through one of the least visited countries on the planet !
Some celebratory back slaps were followed by a few cold beers and an urgent queue for a warm shower - or in my case drinking while queuing!
With the hot water tank emptied we headed over to a nearby Yurt for dinner and speeches thanking our wonderful support crew for their efforts. 5 of our group generously ended up donating their bikes in a great gesture.
After a fabulous trip all that remains now is to pack the bikes and head on to Bishkek !
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| Entering Kyrgyzstan |
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| Farewell speeches and bike gifts ! |
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| Ciao Mario ! |
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| Christine on descent into Krygyzstan |
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| No mans land ! |
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| Lunch short of our final checkpoint ! |
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