The Bishkek crew had slowly disintegrated during the last weeks, and before I knew it I was alone and homeless again. Solo bike adventures belonged to the distant past. Although being in a group is a lot of fun, it’s not good for your confidence. You can always hide in the group, so it takes ages to make decisions. Riding out of Bishkek felt like riding out of my hometown again. Full of energy, but sad because of yet another home I abandoned.
Apart from the scenic, but quite busy road from Osh to Bishkek, I hadn’t seen too much of Kyrgyzstan, which has so much to offer. Dragging the route to Almati around the lake was the perfect solution to make up for this irresponsible form of tourism I’d been part of. Apart from some abandoned Soviet project, tourism is close to non-existing on the south side. Paradise for cycling, camping on the beach and swimming. Finally enjoying summer like I should.
