Day 11 Tash Rabat to Song Kol lake.

We woke  at 5 am and it was very brisk out so it didnt take much  to  convince us to get back  under the covers.  After our  7AM breakfast we prepared for our ride to Song Kol.  Before we left, our hosts insisted on dressing us up in traditional garb  and dancing around the camp and asking for a safe journey and good  weather. Eventually we were ready to leave and after  a round of hugs  and kisses from all we were on our way.

Our ride was going to be mostly unsealed roads with an occasional spattering of potholed sealed sections. At first the roads seem fairly good but that was to be short lived. Loose gravel turned to loose rocks and potholes turned into corrogations. Finally we had some creek crossings and although they were small, some of the slippery clay was a bit of fun with the back skipping out at times.

Out in the country  a babysitter is hard to find for the children so improvisation is a must. We came across a donkey with 3 toddlers on its back while it grazed. Brothers and sisters were closeby playing in the field. Life is so simple and easy out here.

Our ascent to the  passes was made via a series of curves hugging the hillsides and switchbacks again. The scenery  changed  with every corner. Ann commented to me that 'around  every corner is another wow'. That is so true  here.  After several wows, oh my gods and holy Sh@#s we started to descend again.

If ever you want good brakes it is on the way down the road here. Unfortunately for Ann, her back  brake decided not to work coming into a switchback with a car coming up the hill. Needless to say the end result was not ideal. Once we got moving again and a corner  later the back  brake failed again and Ann went bush. Our support crew were right into it and found  some  air  in the back  brake lines. Ironically, Zelda who is riding the same model bike as Ann has her brakes fail no less than 1km away. I guess maintenance is not a high priority for  the company  supplying the bikes.

We eventuality  got moving again and went to refuel and then have lunch before heading  over another  pass for  our final destination. The condition of the road was pretty  poor.  In fact calling it a road is an exaggeration. Once agan we had even  more switchbacks before  we levelled out around 3000m above sea level.

We could see the lake in the distance and knew our ride for today was close to an end. The temperature had dropped  from  28C to 5.5C and a few spots  of rain had collected on our visors. We made it to our camp and the spots of rain stopped. All we wanted  now was a hot shower and hot coffee  in any order.