June 19, 2014
Time to show some initiative: Country number something - China!
As you can see I had a bit of a surprise when I woke up and unzipped my tent to find snow outside. I was a bit concerned as I still had a lot of altitude to gain that the pass ahead was going to be blocked, but in fact there was no snow on the road at all. I felt very good as I continued on towards the climb, everything felt right being out on the Pamir, nothing could stand in my way now. And then my stupid cheap Chinese gear cable went and snapped. It must have forgotten about the pep-talk.
Showing remarkable and unprecedented levels of initiative I came up with a solution. All of the cables (and this was the third one now) were only snapping at the end, the ball that held them in place at the shifter was breaking off each time. I took this broken end and tied a knot in it to act as an unbreakable alternative, wrapping tape around to be sure. It worked perfectly. I congratulated myself for my intelligence and speed-of-thought and told myself I should really put my skills to better use after this is all over, perhaps coming up with a cure for cancer or inventing a faster-spinning tumble drier or something.
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As I was making my illegal visit to China I saw two cyclists coming along the road. It was the German couple that I first met just outside Dushanbe when I was having a mental breakdown about being alone. Seeing them again now was quite ironic because I was by now really enjoying being alone, and their arrival spoiled my reverie slightly. After exchanging pleasantries I let them go on ahead and waited a while so that I could be by myself again.
Not long afterwards I reached the foot of the steep climb up to the highest pass on the Pamir. Fortunately there was a summit sign for this pass, and even more fortunately it was at the bottom of the climb, so I was able to get my summit sign photo in without even having to go to the trouble of cycling up to the summit. But then the pass was still in my way, so I had to cycle up to the summit anyway.
I could see the Germans inching their way up on the slopes ahead. I really wanted to enjoy the summit by myself, and so I took my time to make sure I didn't catch them. To be honest, that wasn't the real reason I was taking my time. The real reason was the fact that there was barely more than 50% of the oxygen levels found at sea level available to my gasping lungs. And the road was steep. And gravel. And I was tired. And lazy.
Considering how high I was, and how very remote the road was (even the Chinese trucks didn't drive this way) it was a bit of a surprise to find a dog run over to me high up on the mountain. He was a very healthy and friendly looking dog. Of course I fed him and named him like I always do. His name was 'Spartacus: Dog of the mountains.' I wondered what Spartacus ate out here in the middle of nowhere. I had seen very little in the way of life, either plant or animal, except for a lot of marmots that popped their heads up and watched me curiously. Well I suppose that would explain why Spartacus had such a shiny golden coat.
Finally I made it to the summit, at 4655 metres above sea level it was very definitely the highest point of my life. I wanted to commemorate the moment somehow, but there wasn't very much at the top, except for a dog lying in the middle of the road. I decided to lie down in the road with him. It was a special moment indeed. Then I ate a Mars bar that I had been saving for just such an occasion. I considered sharing it with Spartacus. No, that was a bad idea. I gave him some more old biscuits that I didn't like much. Don't worry, he liked them.
Unfortunately Spartacus couldn't keep up with me on the downhill. I think he belonged in the mountains anyway. Someone's got to keep the marmot population down, their squeaking can be very annoying.
Today's ride: 71 km (44 miles)
Total: 21,081 km (13,091 miles)
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