Tired of highways

The last two days we were basically driving on busy roads or on the highway’s emergency lane. This was fast, but not really that exciting and not the reason why I went to Iran on a trekking tour. Today, we decided to go through the back country instead. On Google maps, the road towards north was not connected, so we consulted the satellite view and saw that there are some tracks. It was around 35 km that were unknown if they were actually suitable for our bikes. But we took our chances in order to not having to drive on the highway again.

Driving on a dirt road

The first 20 km went perfect as there was a paved road until the end of a valley with almost no traffic. This is also where the street officially ends on Google Maps. After that, there was first a quite good non-paved road, which then turned into a steep climbing dirt track which was really challenging to ascend with my bike that weighs around 150 kg. I was glad that I had a good transmission thanks to my Pinion gearbox. The ascent in total since the beginning was around 600m.

The surprise then came on top of the pass: there was deep mud. I tried to ride through it, but got stuck immediately and the whole mudguard was immediately filled with mud and the wheels refused to rotate. As a consequence I had to remove my wheels and scratch out the dirt by hand. After that, I have been more careful where I was driving, but still, it happened to me twice again because the rain from the past few days softened the dirt road a lot.

Beautiful and remote high plateau

After the 35 km we then continued on a better non-paved road for about 15 km, which then converted into a nice paved road with almost no traffic. This part of the trip was really wonderful, first because we had quite strong tailwind, and second because the high plateau on 2400m was just stunning and very remote. Especially in the first 20 km, there was no sign of civilization.

Arriving in Aspas

The steep ascent from the morning however cost a lot of energy. The last 20 km to Aspas got tougher and tougher, even though we were still accompanied by the gentle tail wind. When we arrived in the village, we first went to a small bistro to get a cold coke. And there we also met our hosts for tonight. They invited us to dinner, and with us the whole family. We were around 20 people sitting on the floor and eating. It was an awesome atmosphere and another brilliant example of Iranian hospitality.

Detailed Track

Early Start

Tire problems again

After yesterday’s tire problems I thought that statistically speaking, nothing should happen anymore for the next few days if not even weeks. However, I was proven wrong! After around 45 km and around lunch time I ended up with another puncture, luckily close to a village called Sa’adat Shahr, where a local biker invited us to fix the bike in his home as he has a mountain bike himself. The problem was fixed quickly and compared to yesterday it was only one tiny hole. And after fixing the bike, we were invited by the family for an extensive lunch, which was very nice, but set us back another 1.5 hours in our schedule.

Ride to Pasargad with a former colonel

The local biker and one of his friends accompanied us the remaining 23 km to Pasargad. It turned out his friend was a former colonel in the Iranian army, but now retired (at 58) and president of a local biking association. He told us stories about the war against Irak, and how he was hit by 3 bullets and survived. His right hand’s fingers got partially cut off by a bomb which was clearly visible. He was a very gentle man and it was very interesting to listen to him, he for sure experienced a lot in his life.

After a one hour ride we reached the archeological site of Pasargad. The ruins unfortunately were not well preserved at all if we didn’t have to pass there anyway, we could easily have omitted them. The surrounding landscape with the Zagros Mountains in the background looked stunning in the evening sun.  And to our surprise, the colonel unpacked a gas cooker and prepared coffee for everyone, which we enjoyed on one of the ruins while watching the sunset. Also, the colonel used his connections and organized a place to stay for us so we don’t have to camp outside. We had a lot of fun with the family, even though our common language English did not work out so well and Google Translate was our friend.

A very nice day is coming to an end, and even though we did not nearly cycle as far as we planned, our day was full of impressions and we enjoyed once again the hospitality of the Iranians.

Detailed Track

Luggage has arrived

Today, my luggage has finally been delivered by Qatar Airways, so I went to the airport and prepared the bike for today’s ride towards the antique ruins of Persepolis. The bike survived the transport without problems, only the power cables for the lamp had to be reattached.

The first ride

As predicted yesterday, it was still raining heavily until the afternoon, so I had the chance to test my rain equipment on my very first ride here in Iran. And it passed the test, even after two hours I was still dry underneath. But of course, I was glad when after the lunch break the sun showed up and the sky cleared within an hour.

Big parts of the ride were on the emergency lane of a 3-lane highway because there is no other street available. This sounds scarier than it was, because the street was very wide and we had basically a lane to ourselves. Nevertheless, it was quite noisy and there was a lot of pollution. Only shortly before Persepolis we could ride on some normal roads.

The negative highlight of the day was something else however. Shortly after our lunch break I rode in some glass parts which resulted in 10 holes in the tube and also the tire got damaged. I was lucky I insisted on taking 2 replacement tubes and a replacement tire with me. I wouldn’t have thought that I will need it on my first day though. While the tube is probably done, the tire can probably be fixed.

Accommodation at a local family

Tonight we will stay at a private home of a very friendly Iranian family who offered us to stay at their place when we arrived in Seydan at Sunset. We had a very nice evening together and tried to communicate with hands, feet and Google Translate. It is now already the second time where we were offered to stay at a local family. The Iranian hospitality is at least as good as its reputation!

Detailed Track

When you hear about Iran, you probably think about heat and dry desert. However, today we experienced the complete opposite. It was basically pouring down all day, it was windy and chilly, and for those who have read my previous posts, I still don’t have a rain jacket as it is in Doha together with most of my luggage. So we restricted sightseeing to the Karim Khan Citadel, an old fortress. The rest of the day we either spent with our hosts Masoud and Zahra or we ran for some errands such as exchanging money or getting our SIM-cards to work.

The good news I just got from the airport: my luggage should be on the way to Shiraz and I can pick up my things tomorrow morning when we will hit the road towards Persepolis. Probably still in the rain, but it should get better towards the afternoon. And this will also mean that I might not be able to post every single day on this page.

Layover in Doha

After the difficulties with the checking the previous day in Zurich I was hoping that the rest of my trip would go smooth. And actually when I boarded the plane, more than 50% of the seats were not occupied so I could choose my favorite seat in the economy class: in the first row with additional legroom and a window. However when we were approaching Doha for the layover, the night sky was beautifully illuminated by countless thunderstorms over the Persian Gulf. While this nature spectacle was nice to watch, it also delayed our landing by 20 minutes. This does not sound too bad, but if the original layover time was only 55 min (officially suggested by Qatar Airways), then it got tight. And after running through half the airport and an additional security check I made it with the last call into the aircraft.

Flight to Shiraz

The thunderstorms were still active over the Persian Gulf, so the flight that should have taken less than an hour had an additional delay of 45 minutes. I did not mind so much however because I know I will arrive at the final destination eventually. Once landed in Shiraz, I made my way quickly through the immigration and was hoping to retrieve my two boxes quickly and assemble the bike. However, it turned out that the layover time in Doha was two short, no boxes arrived. However, I was not alone, a whole travel group from Switzerland were also missing their luggage. The unfortunate point is, the next flight only arrives in 2 days, this means wearing the same clothes for 3 days in total.

Sightseeing in Shiraz

With just my hand luggage in my hand, which consisted mainly of my electronic equipment and the travel documents, I met Lucie, my bike partner for the next three months. She already organized accommodation with some locals, and I was glad that I could simply drop off my luggage at their place and go sightseeing afterwards.

The historical center of Shiraz is really beautiful, especially the mosques and the famous bazaars, where you can choose between hundreds if not thousands of small vendors for carpets, sweets, clothes, and other traditional goods. However, the bazaar was also very crowded, so we were glad to visit the famous and impressive Shahcheragh Holy Shrine, the Vakil Mosque as well as other well-known historical sites. Our hosts Masoud and Zahra accompanied us the whole day and their support was priceless as only the minority of the people in the streets speak reasonable English.

After a day full of impressions, I finally get my well-deserved sleep to catch up from the last night during which I basically did not sleep at all.