I was riding by myself into the mountains of Kyrgyzstan again. I had met up with these other motorcycle travelers the night before and they were heading in the same direction, just with a different route. We agreed to ride together if we ran into each other at this lake.
I really thought, how hard can it be? It looks like a small lake on the map and I know that they are coming from the north, so if I ride up north from the south I have to run into them.
So I started my ascend towards the lake, as soon as I left the main highway the road turned into gravel and the clouds packed together.
With snow sprinkled on the mountains it wasn't getting any warmer and I started to doubt if I would make it to the lake at all. It was the end of the day and I knew the sun would be setting in a few hours.
To make the adventure complete, I was still a beginner at offroad riding. I had practised a little bit in Kazakhstan, but I didn't really have any skills. So when I finally came over the top of the hill and saw the lake I was incredibly happy.
With the sun setting I continued riding north, the horses on the horizon and the clouds creating a beautiful artwort in the sky, I looked for my new friends. But how far I looked, I did not see any other motorcycles. I rode by a lot of yurts and scoured every place for big two wheelers. The sun was slowly saying goodbye and I needed a place to sleep. So I set up my tent next to a yurt camp and made friends with the Kyrgyz.
So the next day I got up, packed Zuki and set off again. The road followed the outline of the lake and was getting trickier by the hour. There were a few moments I felt overwhelmed by the offroad riding, but there was no other option then to continue.
The scenery was gorgeous, the view of the lake, blue as the sky. The mountains on all sides dividing the water and air showing of the beautiful side of nature. I wasn't disappointed anymore because I hadn't found the other travelers. I figured they must have gone round the lake on the west side while I was riding on the east side. After riding the tough sections for 2 hours I really started to enjoy it more and when I arrived on the north side of the lake I found that the riding got easier and the terrain transformed into a flat pancake.
It was time to look for an exit and I was looking on the map where I was going to get back to the highway. The roads that were on the map were nothing more then offroad tracks, but there were more tracks on the ground then there were on the map so I was just guessing were I needed to go.
And then in the distance I see some other riders approach, I even didn't think it was possible that those were the people I was supposed to meet up with. But they were.
Photo by Leonie from Amsterdam to Anywhere
It was a complete coincidence we ran into each other again, but I am so happy we did. We decided to ride together and it ended up being one of the best experience of my trip. I learned so much from these people and we became good friends in just 5 days.
So don't be afraid that if you go on a trip alone, you will be lonely, because you will meet the most amazing people along the way who will teach you things you never thought about learning.
Thank you Peter, Leonie, Kirstin and Stephan for letting me tag along and teaching me that riding together can be great with the right people.
Photo by Peter from Amsterdam to Anywhere