In todays digital age it has been extremely easy to bring you digital photos from our trip virtually as they happen, but imagine a trip where the memories you bring back are more than files on a small piece of plastic. This is exactly what our friend Taka does. We first met Taka in Bishkek, […]
There is nothing like 2 and a half hours of downhill riding to remind you why cycling is so much fun.
Flying in the post-9/11 era has become a rather stressful experience. Security is so strict these days that it would be easier to get into prison than most airports. Retina scans and biometric passport ID are fast becoming the norm for proving that you are indeed you, and not a pale imitation. Rules are made […]
A lot has happened since I last wrote a post about our route. Previously we had planned to cycle the majority of Kazakhstan. This idea was put to bed after a long conversation about visas, road conditions and sightseeing with David from Stan Tours. As you know since then we have cycled through Kyrgyzstan and […]
Having spent 4 days here in Bishkek at the Sakura Guesthouse I have fast learned that this seems to be the place where cycle tourists, motorcyclists and backpackers alike come to vanish into the vortex that is the Central Asian Visa process. So far I have met a couple from Spain that have been cycling […]
Hailing from a small island nation has its ups and downs. You lack the bad press that comes with being an American (unfortunate, yet true), but despite the best efforts of U2 and a legion of Irish pubs stretching from Boston to the Baltic, anonymity is often the best you can hope for. Having said […]
Sakura Guesthouse was a lovely little family-owned establishment in Bishkek, run by a very pleasant Japanese couple. A popular destination, it had evidently been doing good business in recent times. There was a band-new accommodation block, the upper floors still being painted and decorated at the time of our visits. The reality was far-removed from […]
S-T-O-P. Not to be confused with a street name as I did Vodka mixers on sale at every corner The Bishkek Opera House Guarding the flag City Square
Ever since we arrived in the Stans there have either been these mini tank kind of things on the side of the road or drinking barrels on the side of just about every corner of town. While walking back from an unsuccessful visit to the Kazakhstan consulate in Bishkek my curiosity got the better of […]
The stop-start-stop cycle of visa extensions and applications has been a wearying and frustrating necessity for the BB team in the first half of our journey to Ireland. We’re sick and tired of waiting instead of riding. However, there is nothing much we can do about it. The only alternative would be to jump on […]
It seems that tourists here go one of two ways; Sitting around with cups of coffee and a cigarette hanging with a blank expression on their face waiting to be mucked around by the usual visa paperwork and governmental bureaucracy, or going on a kebab binge found on nearly every corner around town. Kebabs, known […]
Arriving into a new city after a long day on the bike is not a good way to see us at our most alert. In our haste to to get settled into an actual guest house with a roof and working shower, rather than kipping in a tent in a thunderstorm, we often neglect to […]
We set out from Korea fully knowing that our travel plans would have to be fluid as they are dependent on world politics, country stability and visas. I thought I’d take a moment to let you know what we have talked about lately. Initially we had planned to go along the Southern section of the […]
