hi, i am a 28 yr old dutch guy looking for a cycling partner m/f. currently i am in pakistan and on my way to afganistan, uzbekistan, tadjikistan and kirzigistan to end up in china. i enjoy peddling with others for shorter or longer periods. let me know if you are in the neighbourhood. i plan to be in the stans the whole summer of 2004.

hi Lieven,
saw your post,
im heading from india, through Pakistan and Iran in September, October this year, how did you find it ? what was your route through pakistan ? no trouble ?
cheers,
Stephen

my route in pakistan, lahore, islamabad, k2, gilgit, chinese border, citral, peshawar to afganistan. the north is beautifull and easy going, frienly moderate people.
south of islamabad is hot and rough, demanding, sometimes hostile people.
problems, heat, food, clean water, stone throwing kids, if not slingshots.
old men are usually very friendly and helpful. salam maleikum (peace to the people) is a good ice breaker.
karachi is a not interesting. in quetta you may want to inform about the situation in baluchistan, the border area with pakistan, afghanistan and iran. it is a smuggleres paradise, you may want to take a lift on a truck. truckdrivers are generally angels. you can always stop them for water, food, a ride or hasj...
places to stay, the internet inn in lahore gives special offers to cyclists. the camping ground in islamabad is a historical meeting place for overlanders and good stop to get info or visas. camping is not a problem, but most of the time people will invite you. iran is one of my favourite countries, cant go wrong there, except for the border area perhaps. good luck

Hi

Im going to start cycling in Kyrgyzstan (Bishkek) in the beginning of august. I will be heading to OSh and on into China. From China i will continue into Tibet. Id like to meet you along the road if our rout crosses each other.

Korbinian Weiß
www.lost-horizon.de

thanks for all the info Lieven, thats great, havent got a map in front of me at the moment but ill have a closer look later,
are you still on the road by the way ?
cheers,
Steve

Helo,

Central Asian cycling can be a bit wild, especially if you’ve just landed from a country where there’s a developed cycling culture.

Across the region, more and more people are driving for the first time. The high cost of petrol relative to income meant that until recently few people could afford a car. Now, as the economy grows, the number of vehicles on the road is exploding. In Kazakhstan particularly you will see a surprising number of SUVs and luxury cars.

There’s no need to get too worried. First of all, you can avoid a lot of this just by picking the rural roads, of which there are many. When there is traffic, coming into cities for example, most drivers tolerate cyclists fairly well, simply going around them.

But because there are very few cyclists in Central Asia and because there isn’t a great deal of respect for cyclists (anyone with a bicycle is poor while a car symbolises power and wealth), clashes can happen if you don’t yield to local customs when it comes to who has right of way on the roads.

You should be aware that:

Techniques like moving with traffic in the lane, ‘taking the lane’ and going to the front of an intersection at red lights don’t generally play well. Expect plenty of horn honking, gestures and close encounters. At stop lights, cars frequently wait ahead of the stop line and will get upset if you’re “in their spot”
Many people have not been driving long so driving skills are lower than in developed countries; they may have even bought their driving license and never taken a test
Drink driving is somewhat common and culturally accepted as normal
Offended drivers may think nothing of lightly nudging your bike with their cars or getting out and challenging you to a fight
In cities, local cyclists tend to cross intersections by riding over pedestrian crosswalks and often on sidewalks. On the road, they will keep as far to one side as possible so cars can go around them.
Be careful of missing manhole covers and poorly maintained roads in general, which make night cycling particularly hazardous
Shared taxis, a common form of transportation, are another hazard to watch for in cities as they may stop unexpectedly or open a door in front of you