MOUNTAIN BIKING KAZAKHSTAN AND KYRGYZSTAN

This summer I rode ~500 km across the Tian Shan, from Almaty in Kazakhstan to Karakol in Kyrgyzstan, on the Spice Roads Mountain Biking Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan tour. 12 days, 10 of them on the bike, with the gear, food, and tents (6 nights of camping) moving ahead of us so all I had to carry was myself and a hydration pack. One day each on either side in Almaty on our own.

We flew in early to beat the jet lag and check out some culture in Almaty. Checking in to the Hotel Kazzhol Almaty late Friday / early Saturday was easy. It is a great central spot to go on walking tours of the city, which by the way the Soviets did a great job with the place: broad pedestrian boulevards, big trees, cafe culture, very European with an Asian flair.

Download the Yandex Go app - the rides are cheap and plentiful; opt for the Comfort+. We had fantastic drivers, especially our driver to the Central State Museum of the Republic of Kazakhstan; his street racer was an EDM party the whole way. According to the museum exhibits Kazakhstan was an ethnic dumping ground for the Soviets … which is why the food scene is so good??? Blend of Middle East, East Asian, Eastern European - all fresh ingredients.

The route

Almaty to the Kyrgyz border by bike, a helicopter drop, then over a pass at nearly 4,000 m into the Issyk-Kul basin: overview map

You’ll notice some transfers (breaks in the routes) which occurred in our chase vehicle, a Soviet-era truck (from 1969) with a passenger box on the back: Yellow support truck with riders climbing aboard

Slava, who races in Dubai, is a proud grandfather, and ex-trucker took terrain double-clutching I’ve never seen before. A renaissance man: gracefully fishes alpine rivers, thoughtful, expert player of the card game Fool, calm in all matter of situations, loves helping, and can talk his way through sticky situations.

Kazakhstan foothills

The first day is a climb out of the Almaty foothills through Turgen Gorge to the Asy Plateau over Oi-Zhailau Pass (2,600 m). Go hard from the beginning.

Red gravel road descending into a green valley Late-day light on a gravel descent from the Asy Plateau; better have your wits about you.

A horseback rider and dog on green steppe below the mountains Day 3 is probably where it hit hard the realization that this is what I came for: big views, mental/physical exhaustion, technical challenge, and being in the moment. Absolute heinous descent into Saty village.

Kolsai lake surrounded by spruce forest Kolsai Lakes just to the south of Saty village.

Day 4 and 5 are mostly paved roads, through rolling mountain steppe. Every serious ride needs a day you can turn the legs over and not think.

Into Kyrgyzstan for heli-biking

Day 6 is the shortest by distance and the biggest by vertical drop: 27 km with 1,217 m of descent and almost no climbing. A helicopter lifts you to a ridge at 3,500 m, and you ride nomadic trails home through forest, meadows, and river crossings. Home by the way for nights 5 and 6 was Karkara base camp with hot showers and a sauna. Amazing!

Mi-8 helicopter hovering above spruce trees A Soviet-era Mi-8, red star and all. Flights are subject to weather and pilot discretion. Spice Roads has an alternative loop ride if the helicopter is grounded.

Alpine ridge and valley in the Tian Shan The view from the top. Nothing to do at this point but go downhill.

Toward Khan Tengri

Days 7 and 8 go deep into the Central Tian Shan. The camp on Day 7 sits at 3,000 m, reached by a steady river valley climb, with Khan Tengri in the area. Day 8 crosses Aktog Pass and a long braided-river descent with jailoos (summer pastures) on both sides. One Chinese firm appeared to have the contract for the road development spanning the pass through most of the river valley. The pass was riding moondust; best to have a mask.

Day 9 was the crux: 70 km, 1,124 m up and 2,000 m down. It crosses Chon Ashu Pass at nearly 4,000 m, then drops through alpine tundra and spruce forest toward the Issyk-Kul basin. I had a feeling that the chain on this underspec hard tail would break today, sure enough it did, but Slava and I hammered it back together again on some shale.

Glacier and rocky peaks under overcast sky Overcast, with a glacier in the distance.

The last riding day is a mild 41 km of paved provincial road into Karakol, then a swim in Issyk-Kul, the second-largest alpine lake in the world. A fitting end after ten days of dust. The ride into Karakol through unending road construction is where my drive train finally exploded into unretrievable bits.

Charyn Canyon and back to Almaty

The last day out in the field is a 6-hour vehicle transfer back to Almaty with a lunch stop at Charyn Canyon, a labyrinth of red sandstone walls carved by the Charyn River.

Panorama of the Charyn River winding through the canyon Chernyy Kan’on, Almaty Region

What I took away

  • Go for the range, not the trail. Very little of what we rode is a “trail” in the Colorado sense. It is a way through country that stays largely as it was: herders, yurts, and no fences.
  • Show up fit. 1000 m of climbing a day at altitude for ten days, on rough surfaces, is a lot. The support crew handles everything else, so put your effort into the legs.
  • Supported touring is a fair trade. I gave up route freedom and got to spend all my attention on riding. I’ll do that again for remote places where I do not speak the language.
  • Central Asia is easy to get to and nobody goes. The gap between how accessible this is and how few people come is the whole appeal. 18 hour transit time: DEN -> FRA -> ALA. Foreigners can buy apartments in both countries …
  • The area is rapidly developing. There are massive outdoor recreation projects, road construction, infrastructure works going on all the time. Chinese firms are landing huge bids: https://snowbrains.com/kyrgyzstan-launches-2nd-major-ski-resort-project-with-chinese-backing/
///