We have had to halt our progress east but are pleased to say only temporarily.
After the situation in Georgia deteriorated rapidly over Friday and Saturday we maintained our original route and cycled up almost as far as the border but last night (Saturday) we were left with no alternative but to re-route south to Kars.
In fact it is unlikely we would have been allowed to cross the border and almost certain the road blocks inside Georgia would have prevented any crossing in a foreign vehicle let alone a group of 20 bicycles.
Ethically, as well, we as tourists do not feel comfortable 'enjoying ourselves' in an area where so many are suffering.
We are all safe and well, however, and in good spirits. We will bus our way back to Ankara and then fly over Georgia to rejoin our schedule in Azerbaijan. The logistics are not simple and the main support vehicle will have to make a dash down to the Iranian border and attempt to cross that country to meet us in Turkmenistan.
Sorry for not filling you in on the delights of Yusufeli and stark beauty of Turkey's easternmost provinces but hopefully we can return to these in the next couple of days.'
Cheers
Paul
Not a whole lot to say other then in the past few days the weather has been perfect along with the roads, the food and the scenery.
Last night we camped out in a rather eerie place (which was the first impression) but ended up being a great spot and accommodated us all quite well. We set up camp inside the confines of an old cattle slaughter ranch. There were about 30 long rectangular cattle stalls with small windows every 20 feet or so making a big square shaped compound. Around the edge the grounds was all perfectly flat cement pads and a sort of a long grassy courtyard in the center with a fresh water well!!. The whole outside of the compound was enclosed with a big tall brick fence. We just sat around all afternoon and evening shooting the breeze, drinking coffee and tea. The evenings are still quite warm, and you can get away with sleeping in only your sleeping bag liner and with your tent fly off for a good view of the clear starry night sky.
We have now skirted three quarters of the way across the north of the Taklamakan desert and have reached a bit of a cross roads here in Korla. This is where one of the many Silk Routes (and the one in which we are following) splits heading north east and the other heading south east cutting right through the center of the desert. We will be heading north east tomorrow making our way towards Turpan (80m below sea level) where we will have another rest day. Until then we will be three more days out on the road, camping in the desert at night and racking up some more miles!!
Ben Shillington
I have arrived in Korla the western-most city I planned to visit on the scouting mission. Korla is the oil capital of the quickly developing oil fields in the Takla Makan desert and this is quickly visible on arrival to the city. Shinny high-rises, wide boulevards, western style boutiques and energy � energy that comes when optimism and expectation sets in - that there is more money "in them sandy dunes."
So what other wonders have I seen since leaving Lanzhau? Well, there was the replica of the famous Flying Horse of Wuwei and the tomb where he was found, the giant reclining Budha and his disciples in Zhangye, the last fortress of the Great Wall in Jianguan, with "the wall" leading in and out of the fortress, an impressive structure by any means of measurement, and not the least the Mogao Grottos caves in Dunhaung perhaps the crowning glory of the trip. And of course the awesome cliffs that you see when you travel through the Hexi corridor, the edge of the world famed Gobi desert and the quiet peaceful vine trellises covered boulevards of Turpan the lowest depression in China - 80 meters below sea level.
Tomorrow I will check out the road west, on the edge of the Takla Makan (means "those who go in do not come out") desert which leads all the way to Kashgar and then to the border, though I do not plan to go too far. This part of the journey will remain un-scouted, so that all participants in the Silk Route Bicycle Caravan including myself will experience the adventure of the unknown and the unexpected - and unexpected will be without a doubt in abundance.
Cheers, Henry
Four years ago when the back pack from the inaugural Tour d�Afrique was nearing Cape Town some of us started to throw the idea of what next. And so the Silk Route Bicycle tour was born. Fours years on, I am in Lanzhou the eastern gate of the Hexi corridor from which point, for hundreds of years, the real journey into the west began.
It has been ten days since I started my journey in Beijing and even though I am not on bicycle it has been an exhilarating experience.
While most of us by now have heard about the industrial miracle that is transforming China at an immense speed, it is only when one sees it that one begins to comprehend what it really means. New buildings are sprouting up everywhere, new roads are being constructed, everywhere young people are fashionably dressed, but what most striking thing is the energy of the place - as if a sleeping giant has woken up and now nothing will stop him.
Everywhere I go people are friendly and welcoming and each time I mention the Silk Route Race/Expedition I get a smile, a warm reception and eagerness to help.
The timing for the tour could not better. It appears that China and the UN will have major conferences next fall on the Silk Road, its history and it�s potential for the future.
And though China maybe changing fast it is now more than eager to preserve and in fact reconstruct many of its historical wonders - and wonders they are. From The Forbidden City which I visited on my first day in China, to the Terracotta warriors I saw near Xian to the Taoists and Buddhists monasteries I visited yesterday in Kontong Shan near the city of Pingliang - one of our stops next year. Tomorrow another set of adventures.
So long, Henry
