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7:00 am the alarm clock rings. It’s been a long time since I’ve been up so early!
Kegeti pass
The other two are already in the kitchen. There’s Guido, the Swiss, 52 years old. A few years ago, he made a world tour that lasted 6 years. Then, Edi (Eddy?) the Bosnian. A 30-year-old madman who started a world tour a few months ago, which he hopes will last 10 years. He is an experienced endurance rider and has just completed a “road” through the mountains that looks more like a mule track than anything else: the “Kegeti pass”.
Kegeti Pass
I must admit I’m a little worried. Despite my experience, I think I am the least experienced of the three and Guido can repeat that Africa is the hardest continent… my off-road motorcycle riding in the mountains is limited for the moment.
What also worries me is the way Edi defined the route: on Google Earth, he found a path that runs through the mountain and used it to create the trail. Certainly George who works here has certified that the walk was feasible and very pretty. But he also said that it usually takes two days. Edi wants to do it in a single day: 260 km in total, including more than 100 km off-road in the mountains.
The XT 600 I bought for the occasion (Utopia being in maintenance) seems ridiculously light and small to me. We’re leaving. We have to get out of the city first. I don’t like that. Since my accident, 4 years ago, I can’t help but be afraid of other users. We head south and 60 km later we turn left towards the East. Very quickly the tar leaves the place to a good gravel track. A little corrugated iron but nothing bad. Then the track starts to climb. In total during the day we will pass from 970 m to 3560 m with a mix of all kinds of off-road tracks: gravel, sand, grass, etc. But no mud. The XT, although lacking a little power at times, allows you to go anywhere in a relaxed way, a real toy. Its weight means you don’t have to concentrate too much on the road and really enjoy the ride.
In the end: A very nice and easy excursion with the bikes we had and some nice laughs (heavier bikes pass without any problem but require more technicality I think from the rider).
The next day the crazy Bosnian girl goes back on the road. Our paths are likely to cross again: we are moving in much the same direction.
For my part, I am thinking more and more about the following: Either take a boat to Africa from India, or continue eastwards and once arrived in the far east, take a boat to Vladivostok and return via Russia/Mongolia. This last option would allow me to return to Kyrgyzstan in the spring to better discover this beautiful country.
To be continued……
In the meantime, after a rather difficult start I must say, due to my overweight and a too sedentary life, I am in great shape….. And I take the time to live… Parisian life seems to me to be nothing more than a dream.
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JggqUfciuws[/embedyt]
