Today the sun shone, the road was immaculate, and I climbed into the heavens. A 1100m climb and a 1650m drop. These mountains are big!
High mountains
The climb followed the valley to the north, which meant I had no wind – or tailwind. The road climbed, rising higher and higher over the river a long way below. Higher peaks poked over the horizon, and even rugged snow-capped peaks in the distance.
Farm
Temple in the sun
Temple in the distance
The drop was enormous, and quite steep as I followed a fast flowing river. The headwind kept my speed in check. I am in the last village before the now infamous ‘bad road’. Everyone shakes their head in disbelief that I intend to cycle it. I have been told it is 40km to the summit. I am now at 2500m, and I suspect the summit is at about 4500m. It is going to be a hard day tomorrow – a hard day in beautiful sunny weather.
Some twists and turns
arctic-cycler.com 