We do a lot of stories about adventurous Westerners, so it’s a treat when we’re reminded how many local people from every corner of the globe feel the same itch to wander.
On August 1, 39-year-old Ravshan Amirov from Samarkand, Uzbekistan, left his city’s famous Registan Square. He cycled east through Tajikistan into China, then turned northwest through the edge of the Tien Shan mountains into Kyrgyzstan. Finally, Amirov finished in his own country, in the town of Andijan, on September 2.
He covered over 3,000km in 33 days, camping much of the time, though he did stay in some small hotels and accepted hospitality when strangers offered it.
Amirov works as the library director at the Samarkand International University of Technology — an atypical adventure background. But three years earlier, at Registan Square, Amirov met a French couple who had cycled through 15 countries in four months. Their journey inspired his own. He then spent roughly a year preparing —training, acquiring equipment, and studying books and films about long-distance cycling. He even ran a marathon.
Yet already on the third day, in Dushanbe, he discovered that his preparations had not been ideal. His bike and gear felt like they weighed a ton. He spent a day pruning his gear and making a few repairs, which were already necessary.
Photo: Ravshan Amirov/VeloLife
Hard lessons
Troubles continued. His sleeping pad punctured, forcing him to put in a brutally long day to reach a town large enough to have a hotel where he could repair the puncture. “This is a bitter lesson to learn,” he commented on his Instagram expedition page, VeloLife.
Large parts of his journey followed the Pamir Highway, which had some smooth paved sections but also bone-jarring rough patches. About halfway through, he reached the toughest section of the ride: a three- to five-day stretch where he had to carry all his food and water. “Very scary,” he mused in the lead-up.
A rough and dusty section of the Pamir Highway. Photo: Ravshan Amirov/VeloLife
Indeed, Day 18 proved the hardest. He rode all day and didn’t see a single person or vehicle. “I’ve never seen such roads in my life,” he wrote. “I was preparing for something terrible, but it turned out to be horror squared.”
A lonely road. Photo: Ravshan Amirov/VeloLife
By the 22nd day, things began to pick up. He crossed into China, where the road was “smooth as glass.” He spent an extra day soaking up the sights of the ancient city of Kashgar.
A day off in Kashgar. Photo: Ravshan Amirov/VeloLife
High pass
The Ak-Baital Pass was always going to be the crux. At 4,655m, it was the highest part of his route. He reached it on Day 26. Although temperatures in his hometown of Samarkand drop to near zero in winter, he had never slept outside in such cold, and his sleeping bag was inadequate.
“It was the first time in my life I was this cold,” he said. “It was just unreal.” He drank a whole pot of coffee in the morning to warm himself up and improve his morale.
After almost a month, he finally reached the Kyrgyz border. The Tien Shan Mountains affected him deeply. “It was so beautiful that I stopped every 100 meters,” he said. “I was overwhelmed with happiness. In all my 29 years, I don’t think I’ve ever been happier.”
On Day 32, he overnighted in the Kyrgyz city of Osh, then cycled back into his native Uzbekistan the next morning, arriving in Andijan after a short two-hour jaunt. From here, as planned, he caught the train back to Samarkand.
