cycling the kkh #1

before i left gilgit, i still needed a tire pump. a guy from the hotel luckily helped me and took me to a hardware store. got a cheap pump and headed off towards china.

exiting gilgit on the beautiful windy mountain road, i noticed that the cycling felt really tough, as if the brakes were on the whole time. i tried putting more pressure onto the tires, but it didn't help much. i told myself that it's just the weight. the other thing was the sun, absolutely blasting heat, really not fun on inclines (which made up most of the way xd).

i kept my spirits high and at the end of the day, i had made it exactly a third of the way to sost, where the bus to the chinese border would leave. pakistan is regarded as one of the worst countries for wild camping, but i managed to find an agreeable spot in a road bend. i thought i was invisible there, but didn't think of the possibility that there could be gardens in the hills above me.

sure enough, after an hour, two men came to me to tell me that it was dangerous to stay here and that i should go to a hotel down the road. luckily, after some negotiation, i managed to convince them to let me just do my thing. it really paid off. i decided to just sleep outside without the tent , watched a great movie and fell asleep under an amazing pollution-free night sky.Read more