The End

Queensland

Back to Australia

Well, after nearly a year I'm back home.

Camping gear is unpacked and the bike waits, upsidedown, for an overdue service. It's been a week, and it will probably wait a while longer.

I did plan on bringing the blog up-to-date with my culminating jaunt around Europe/Spain, going so far as half-finishing a few little posts, but for now it's summer and I've got people to catch up with. I'm also a bit sick of writing about myself. It's time to reintegrate. Time to use pantries and cupboards.

I've got some ideas for other bits and pieces that I may or may not scribble in the future, but either way it's adios for now. To anyone who read and offered feedback or kind words, thanks. If you're reading this as a tourer/traveller seeking more information and you think I might be able to help, don't hesitate to email. If you've arrived here and you're not quite sure how, just take a moment to appreciate the internet.

Have a good 2013,

- Daniel

Iran: Sep 10 - Oct 4

Tehran- shiraz - yazd - esfahan - Tehran

I could have written about Persepolis, about the glory of VIP buses or the constant and limitless kindness of everyday Iranians that drove me to renew my visa and stay for an extra two weeks.

Instead, here´s a customisable letter for use by touring cyclists. I wrote it specifically about my time in Central Asia and Iran, but hope that you can use it for any country. Just circle the most appropriate option.

Saraghs - Tehran: Aug 23 - Sep 9

Saraghs- Mozduran - Mashad - Quchan - Shirvan - Bojnurd - Chamanbid - Azad Shan - Kordkuy - Sari - Surk Abad - Firuzkh - Damavand - Tehran

Why I Ran

Take a plan incubated over two years and enacted for eight months, largely through a part of the world where visa inflexibility, sparse highway pickings and prohibitive seasons force a long-view itinerary, and you might stumble over something skipped in highschool physics: inertia rides a bike.

Turkmenistan: Aug 20 - 22

Turkmenebad - Mary - Saraghs

Golden Plans

After 40*, roads start to bubble and it´s hard to maintain original dash-across-200km-of-uninterrupted-desert plans.

Following Uzbekistan´s night riding, I thought Turkmenistan might be the place to set a new record. Before midday of the first day I had travelled only 30 km to Turkmenibad, where I instead found a crumbling hotel with a shower I sat under for two hours.

Uzbekistan: Jul 24 - Aug 19

Oibek - tashkent - samarkand - bukhara

Going Solo

I couldn´t get a Coke without comment.

"Adin?" asked the old woman with the rheumy eyes. One?

Tashkent: Jul 24 - Aug 3

Tashkent

How to Build a Central Asian Capital

Aim: To create a city-shaped mausoleum for common sense.

What You'll Need:

The Pamir Highway: Jun 29 - Jul 23

Murgab - khorog - dushanbe

Why By Bike?

Why by bike?

That was the million-dollar question as I slumped over my handlebars, a slight snowstorm pecking at our backs and Ak-Baital pass still a long climb ahead.

Kyrgyzstan: Jun 14 - 27

Irkeshtam - osh - bishkek - osh

Homeward Glances

Sometimes it's the closing in that makes you realise how far you really are.

We had raced from the border with a brief stopover in Osh. The first leg was in a hatchback so crammed we took turns lying on our panniers with feet dangling out the rear, the second in a rack-equipped stationwagon where the comfort of greater sprawl space was offset by the looping mortality song of tyres screeching around blind descents at 130 km/hr.