Mark won't be joining us today as he's still recovering from a bug, plus previous visits to altitude have resulted in hospital stays for him, so he has been advised not to venture above 3500m or so.
Before we can go anywhere we need fuel. Opposite the hotel is set of storage tanks and we line up while a bucket is filled with highly inflammable liquid, which is then poured into our motorcycle tanks using a large funnel and a glass jar. Fuel overflows, gets spilled and drips everywhere. We leave high on fumes.
Setting off from Murghab it's a long slog on what was once asphalt but now is a large, long jigsaw with lots of pieces missing. The gaps are filled with gravel at the bottom of varying pot hole sizes. In between the asphalt sections are 'washboard' surfaces formed from the hardened dust. We've seen similar surfaces before in Bolivia, they're very punishing for bike and rider. Andre advises us to ride fast to get a rhythm that counteracts the vibration - well that's the theory. We end up at between 90 and 120 kph, which is a bit alarming at first, especially when you hit your first gravel rut which makes the bike shimmy, but the speed of the wheels gives the stability to carry on in a straight line, just don't fight the handlebars.
It's noticeably cooler as we climb, so much so that even the famous Mr King dons an outer layer jacket! We're all gobsmacked as he's normally a t-shirt man whatever the weather.
This is desolate terrain, devoid of significant features in the valley between high mountains on either side. The evidence suggests water flows here when it rains as the gravel fields on either side of the road have formed what look like water channels. One can imagine the greenery that blooms when that happens. There are a few creatures too, I see a red marmoset and there are also a few birds of prey patrolling the skies above.
We come across a pair of true bikers, a Dutch father and son on bicycles. They are also heading for Karakul Lake and ultimately the Kyrgyzstan border. They tell us the highest point in the Netherlands is 300m, but they seem to be coping very well with the altitude and the inclines.
Andre suddenly diverts off the road onto the dirt and rides through a break in a long and secure looking fence. He tells us this is the Chinese border and we've crossed it! We play around taking photos, but question the lack of any border guards. Checking our GPS position on a map reveals the actual Chinese border is some 20km away! But it is a security fence so must be a hangover from Soviet times.
We stop at the Akbaytal pass for photos, the views are impressive.
Setting off again, we drop down from the pass to around 4000m and eventually the lake comes in to view. From a distance its deep blue colour is spectacular, especially with the white capped peaks behind.
Turning off the asphalt highway onto the gravel we head towards the lake. At the very edge it's marshy and Charlie cakes his rear tyre in mud before he reaches our group parked up just above the marsh.
This is our lunch spot, but not before Biker Dom has his obligatory dip in the lake. At just under 4000m high, the large lake is cold, but there's a relatively shallow area that is a little warmer. The water near the edge is bareable, while further out it is freezing. Five minutes is enough, I'm out. Lunch is a picnic and I eat while drying off using the Hilux as a windbreak. Lunch is yak dumplings, chips, a boiled egg, prepared by the hotel and some watermelon brought by Andre and Anton. While we're eating lunch we see motorbikes in the distance, the first we have seen apart from ourselves.
On the way back to the hotel I experiment with filming the others on my helmet cam while riding along. I'm darting about in between and the sides and behind Danny, Christopher and the others and they are puzzled until realising they are being filmed. The results were pretty good, I'll do more of that tomorrow.
We're back by 4:30pm and refuel to save time tomorrow morning as it's a long day.
I torture myself and go for another run at 6pm, taking it a little easier this time, but it's still hard work. I see a few local sights and take a few pictures which are nice recovery breaks in between panting.
Steve, Danny and Cary take a walk into town to find the bazaar. They find a bazaar collection of products in the local shops and buy a few sweet treats.
After dinner, Charlie shows us where we've been and the intended route tomorrow. We have three days left and all look tough - just the way we like it!
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