Day 2. Shakedown ride into the Fann Mountains

First day of riding and we're introduced to our bikes, Steve going through the rental document with a fine toothed comb crossing out sections that have no relevance or are just unreasonable, such as charging for each scratch. Andre our guide assures us it is just a standard text and that he will not be unreasonable about minor damage caused by wear and tear. 

The bikes are DR650SEs, updated and lighter versions of Biker Dom's own 1991 DR650RSE. They have higher kms on the speedo, but are generally in very good condition. Let's hope they stay that way as some of us have reputations for falling off! 

Boris the chicken takes his place and we're off, and we leave the surprisingly not that busy roads of the capital city Dushanbe. 

Speed limits seem rather optional to the traffic around us, but we try to keep up to stay safe. After a short while we leave the city.

A nice asphalt road takes us north west and we start to climb. That usually means bends and it didn't disappoint, flowing nicely. As we reach steep sided valleys we have to negotiate a series of tunnels culminating in an unlit 5km dark dungeon. When you first enter it takes your eyes a few terrifying moments to adjust and after a that you soon begin to appreciate how bad the headlights are on DR650SEs, there are no lights in this tunnel and so the terror continues for 5km. The headlights of oncoming vehicles give some relief as they light your path, but they're soon gone. The dark walls seem to soak up any photons emitted by your headlight, making it really difficult to see the walls, the road surface and to judge speed - you dare not even look down at the speedo as you need to concentrate on staying in your lane. Not only that, but the tunnel is filled with acrid fumes spewed from the many lorries struggling up the tunnel's incline, you can feel it in your throat and eyes. The relief of emerging into sunlight is immense and we're at our peak for today, around 2700m. For the return journey later in the day, the support vehicle takes the lead, lighting the way for us, thus making the traverse less nerve shattering. Also, they have now turned on the tunnel lights, not that bright, but every little helps.  

We turn off onto a gravel road and continue to climb,  manoeuvring past cows and piles of random hay placed in the middle of the road.  The views begin to become more interesting 

Our lunch stop is at Lake Iskander, named after Alexander the Great,  who apparently came through this area on his way to conquering much beyond.  

Lunch is ordered and the lake looks lovely with towering mountains in the distance, and, well, it would be a shame not to have a dip. And so I did, and bloody cold it was too!

On the return journey we enjoy the sweeping roads and stop to take photos along the way. The overtaking by the locals reminded me of India; Mark ahead of me, overtaking a lorry, was himself overtaken at the same time by particularly gung-ho Audi driver.  

Refuel and return to our Dushanbe hotel, 261km today. (I'm using my Garmin watch to track an 'e-bike' ride! 🤣

I go for a short run before dinner, then enjoy a relatively guilt-free shower as there appears to be no water shortage here. 

The group have a hankering for hummus, so we aim for a Lebanese restaurant. And very good it was too. The food from hereon in will be mostly simple local cuisine, usually lamb.