Feb. 18 - Peshawar, Pakistan

Saturday, February 18 :: Peshawar, Pakistan :: 136km today / 4731km total

I force-fed myself last night, scared of what I thought would be a very difficult ride to Peshawar today. It turned out to be not too bad, with only a gentle headwind, and I rode the first 100km in one shot, munching on some chocolate and grapefruits I was carrying, not stopping for food or drinks until within 30km of Peshawar. Some warplanes were flying overhead, unidentifiable but Pakistani I assume. The police tried some stupid tactics to get some $$ from me, but I shut them down pretty quickly and didn't put up with their nonsense.

The ride today was awesome, through a fantastic mixed desert/green landscape. Very 'stan-ish. A major landmark was crossing the Indus river. Peshawar itself is a bit less dramatic than I thought it would be - it's supposed to be this romantic frontier town, but all I see are the same roads, stores, fumes, and everything else thats common to Pakistani desert towns. I mean, its not a bad town, but nothing really out of the ordinary...? Afghanistan is only 50km to the West - the road is closed to all but the most heavily armed of vehicles. This is as far West as I can go. Effectively I've ridden from Nepal to Afghanistan, contiguously!!! bwaaahahahahahaha

What to do now? The drivers continued to be fantastic today, and I've decided not to go back to India, until the very end of my trip (to see Delhi, and the flight home). I can't stomach the thought of the chaos of Indian roads, after being in heavenly Pakistan. So, I will ride up the Karakoram Highway (KKH), as far as possible! The KKH is a recently-built road that connects Pakistan to China through the Karakoram mountains. On the Pakistani side it starts effectively at Islamabad, at less than 2,000 feet above sea level, and pushes about 900km North through the mountains - among some of the highest in the world (including Nanga Parbat and coming near K2), to a pass thats around 15,000 feet above sea level. I'll ride it in the uphill direction to avoid altitude sickness, if I get high enough for that to be an issue (doubtful?). The KKH is one of the Holy Grails of bike touring, supposedly one of the most spectacular roads on the planet. It's as safe as the Punjab - no security concerns. It's also not the best season for it, being WINTER, which is why I hadn't really planned on it, but oh well. Services will be sparse, and some hotels will be closed since it is VERY MUCH the tourist off-season for this area (July and August are high-season). The pass itself usually only opens in May or June, due to being clogged with snow. However, I'll push up the KKH as far as I can - the first 500-600km shouldn't be too cold. But I'm a Canadian, right? I can handle a little snow.