Jinji Sadan

Finally I am starting to see and feel the mountains; it’s been a while since I saw some snow picks that melts my heart from the beauty.

Slowly I climbed to higher level with small villages with locals that farming everywhere and little children waving hand and so happy to see cyclist from other places in the world.

some times they help me to push emuna…

In this part of the world (going to the Pamir highway) in this time of the year there is many cyclist that coming especially to do this route so it’s hard not to cycle with someone some days.

We were 3 for the first climb, I felt so happy to feel my heart pulse and to sweat from the effort and not from the heat of the desert.

The views remind me the days in Peru 2 years ago (wow it’s been a while) but here the climb finished in a different way, not a normal mountain pass but a really crazy tunnel…

The anzob tunnel.

This tunnel is something to write about, in the altitude of 2500m, 7 km of dark with holes in the road and water that running everywhere and don’t forget the crazy trucks that going there and without air that coming with all the smoke of the trucks. In the beginning we said that we not going to ride it and we will take a ride with a truck to cross the crazy tunnel like most of the bikers but after seating there waiting the adventure called me and I thought that it will not kill me only make us more experience and stronger, so I told the guys that I am going inside and after some thoughts they joined me.

I looked more like a mind worker then a cyclist with helmet, head lamp and dust mask.

The first 2 km were ok but then the light finish and it was really dark and also the road conditions were bad to nightmare.

To make things more challenging the German cyclist had a flat tire in the middle of the tunnel…

We fix it but it was crazy in the middle of a dark cold and very smoky tunnel, at list we made it.

Going out of the tunnel after a long hour was nice the sun was shining and the air was a fresh mountain air.

The rest of the week was like in a movie with amazing landscapes: snowy picks and strong rivers.

The faces of the people changed a little and it’s nice to see the Tajik people smiling and working hard.

I went to a small market and say that I want onion and garlic (with the help of my photos dictionary) and the women went to the garden and gave me what I wanted from the ground…

Life can be so simple and so special in the same time.

We got to a big river that now we will flow him for some days and this river is also the border to Afghanistan  and on the other side you can see how the people leave there with a mud houses and no cars because the only way to get there is on foot or horses.

Chris (the Swedish) cyclist had a stomach pains (normal it this place) and he could not go on so he took a ride to the next small city and I was happy to be alone again especially because it was in my 3^rd anniversary of the journey the 25 of July.

I was camping in the wild only me and the mountains and the sun set behind them with amazing colors.

This is my place, the place that I know myself, this is my stage. This is my synagogue, my church my mosque.

Try to understand what I did in the last 3 years, all the people that they are my friends now and the amazing adventures.

I had everything in this journey, a journey of a life time.

In the first year I starting to know myself but now I am in a different level I am starting to understand myself.

Now I am going to the mountains of the Pamir highway so it will be interesting.

Wish me luck and power I need it.

Yours

Roei “jinji” sadan

Khorong (the entrance for the Pamir highway)

Tajikistan

Asia

The world

photos from this stage:

crossing the big alps in the winter its something that i knew that will come and i was preparing myself for that,its not the big Andes or the huge Himalaya but its still quite big and very cold in this time of the year.

the roads and the behavior of the drivers in France are very very good and it help for the cycling. after being in Grenoble with my friends ,eating good and charge myself mentally and physically i was strong and fast , the city of Grenoble is located in a valley and for me from her all the road is going up, like i love…. very fast in the first day i was in the height of the snow that staying on the ground… that makes a small problem for pitching the tent so i was happy to find a king of a cave with a door and a wall in one of the sides of the cave, on the door was a paint of a heart and i knew that this is the right place for me, it was dry and OK for sleeping… because there wasn’t in the area a small river

to take water i took some snow and heat it in my stove, i felt good to feel in this time of the adventure. alone with the nature and you need to do whatever to make you warm and to eat after a really long days. pasta its always good and with tuna cans its give me all that i need for being strong for the days after.

the second day it was a really “”Andes”‘ day i wanted to crossed 2 passes in a height of 2065 m and 1885 m with 2 big climbs and after that to enter Italy and find a warm place to put the tent.

the first pass the famous “lautaret” pass was amazing climb,long and steady with amazing landscapes that make everything more easy just to look of that amazing mountain give me energy and toghts about my past and my future but it was important to feel the present.

i climbed more and more and pass small unique villages and sky resorts…

the height of the snow beside the road was 3 meters and i could see small and deserted houses and cars under the snow.

on the pass in the height of 2085m there is a small sky resort with and hotels and it felt weird , in a way i missed the feeling in the Andes that after i big climb i had a moment of my own with the mountains thanking them for the feeling that they gave me but its not like that her in the commercial alps.

i wanted to clim more to the famouse galibari pass but it was close in this time of the year….

after the c;climb a good descent to the small city of briacon that to France are saying that this is the highest city in Europe in the height of 1400m. i stooped to make a good sandwich and a small rest before the second climb this time to Italy!!!

i like ti climb much more then to go down , the landscapes are getting better as you climb and i like to earn my views.

i was happy to be in the pass of “montever”with another holiday village with many skiers.

i tunnel on the road and in the other side i was already in Italy, a country that i always wanted to see and to feel it with Emuna(my bike).

i found a small deserted place to spend the cold night.

in the 3rd day went down from the alps and was happy to be in a little warmer places ,i had good luck with the sunny weather when i was up in the mountain and this luck ended when i got to the big city of torino, a big and black cloud was in the sky and it start to be very very rainy… i knew that this cold will not kill me or something like that but its not nice to cycle wet with big cars splashing on me….

the roads in Italy are not as good in France and small roads are also full with big trucks in a way it remind me the days cycling in Israel before the journey…

you can see that the Italian people are very different from the people in France , her many people asking me what i am doing with the bike and where i am going , people honking and waving there hands and wishing me good luck… i know that i will love Italy.

after torino i had 140km of a flat busy road to Milan.

it was really long day and for me to cross a really big city with heavy traffic is more harder then to climb and big pass in the mountain, her you need to be focus with the cars and you feel really small.

after really long 4 days i got to Milan and meet my friends amit,from Israel and Gabriel that cycled with me in Patagonia.

in the next days i will jump to Switzerland to work with my sponsors “Eden springs” and then come back to Milan.

 

will dream will see

 

love you all

roei “jinji”sadan

 

Milan

Italy

Europe

the world