BREAKING THE CYCLE CENTRAL ASIA – Introduction

Welcome to the first blog for what’s going to be an epic journey through the heart of Central Asia. I’m writing from my room in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, soon to travel 300km north across the Fann Mountains and down to the ancient city of Khujand, a 2500 year old city founded by Alexander the Great, where I will start pedalling on 24th March.

This is going to be a five month, 10,500km journey following the Syr Darya (Jaxartes River) from its source in the Tien Shan, Kyrgyzstan, to the Aral Sea, and from there, trace the course of the Amu Darya (Oxus River) to discover its unverified true source in the Wakhan Corridor, Afghanistan. 

I’ve planned a storyline that will focus on cycling beside the two rivers and around and through the Aral Sea – the lifeblood of Central Asia. I aim to explore the ecological effects of decades of (mis)management by Soviet and post-Soviet regimes, the effects climate change is having on the glacier systems (that provide 80% of the region’s water), the ancient history of the hub of the Silk Route, a melting pot of different cultures, and listening to people’s hopes for the future.

How did the idea for the project come together?

By creating this project, I’ve combined several passions and interests that have developed through experience over several decades. I’ve known about the Aral Sea, the world’s fourth largest lake (the size of the country of Ireland), since I was an inquisitive youngster studying a world map on the kitchen wall. Learning about the Silk Route and its most famous travelling merchant, Marco Polo have also fuelled my imagination from a young age.

Growing up on a wheat and sheep farm in Western Australia, management of the land and its resources has always been of interest.

Since cycling across the New Russia in 1993, I have a particular interest in the countries of the former Soviet Union. I’d seen firsthand the effects of Soviet mismanagement and relentless adherence to Five Year Productivity Plans with disregard for the environmental and social consequences. If Greg Yeoman and I had taken a parallel path a few hundred kilometres further south of our route, we would have come across a much more ethnically diverse region we collectively nickname “The Stans”. In 1993, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Turkmenistan had only been countries for a year.

I became strongly aware of the plight of the Aral Sea, appalled by the deliberate draining and poisoning of the freshwater lake by taking water from the region’s two mighty rivers and their tributaries for the irrigation of water-thirsty cotton and rice crops.

I had always wanted to travel through Central Asia but hadn’t worked out how to pull all these interests and passions into one unique and engaging expedition. But then I had an epiphany – Just as I cycle and connect with the people and the lands, the waters that flow from the mighty glacier-fed rivers, the Syr Darya and Amu Darya, connects every aspect of life. By following these impressive watercourses and some of their key tributaries from the Tien Shan and Pamir mountains, the “water towers” of Central Asia, to the Aral Sea.

The expedition is seasonally dependent. To pedal from the mountains to the sea and back to the mountains, a distance of over 10,000km it is not possible to do it all in this order because the passes in the Tien Shan and the Pamirs will be blocked due to snow. So I will start cycling from the ancient city of Khujand on the Syr Darya in the lowlands on 24th March, and cover the deserts first in the cooler seasons and then, in the height of summer, cover the routes through the high mountains. 

The team I try to keep as small as possible – just myself and a filmmaker accompanied by a driver and occasionally a guide. Being a long expedition through six different countries, finding a team to cover the entire journey has been very complex – four filmmakers and seven drivers, one for each country, including Karakalpakstan (a part of Uzbekistan). I will introduce them as we go, but to start with I have filmmaker Georgia Graham and Tajikistan support organised by Alisho Sultonasaynov.

Alongside the expedition I’m aiming to raise funds for Water.org, run an education programme, produce a 4×60 minute TV series, and in partnership with Rouvy, create a major virtual cycling event for its “Spotlight on Great World Adventure.”

FOLLOW THE JOURNEY

Thanks to ZeroeSixZero, you can open this URL on your phone and select “add to home screen” and the map will become and app. You can then keep updated in real time: https://z6z.co/breakingthecycle/central-asia

TAKE ACTION

Support my Water.org fundraiser to help bring safe drinking water and sanitation to the world: Just $5 (USD) provides someone with safe drinking water or access to sanitation, and every $5 donated to my fundraiser will enter the donor into the Breaking the Cycle Prize Draw. https://give.water.org/f/breakingthecycle/#

EDUCATION

An education programme in partnership with Exploring by the Seat of Your Pants, with contributions from The Royal Geographical Society and The Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award Australia. We have created a Story Map resource to anchor the programme where presentations and updates will be added as we go.