23.05.09

It was 18 days ago when I last did serious miles on the bike and I woke up early today to recify that. The goal was Dushanbe … 500 km, one border and 2 high passes away.

Vlad came round at 8am to pick me up and take me to his garage where my bike was stored. I spent some time preparing my luggage and bike while Vlad zoomed off to do some errands and pick up a bolt and some hose clamps for me. By the time he returned, Zhenya had joined us and the boys decided they would ride with me to the Tajik border, about 100km south of Tashkent.

Despite best intentions to leave early, it was after 11am by the time we were all on the road and fuelled up. We got to the border about 12:30 and chatted to the Uzbek border police for the best part of half an hour before pushing onto the border itself. They had vague recollections of another motorcyclist coming thru here a few days earlier.  I said fond farewells to Vlad and Zhenya, the two young Tashkent bikers who had helped me totally while I was in Tashkent. The guys had been terrific and I knew I would miss their company and help. I entered the border zone and shut off my engine to hear their two Kawasakis screaming away in the distance, heading back to Tashkent.

Border formalities were simple and relatively quick. The Uzbek side naturally enough needed a ot of paperwork, but the Tajik side was a very simple passport stamp and a 5 day customs importation permit. Unfortunately 5 days is the maximum they can give at the border. He opened his logbook to prove it … sure enough every vehicle had been given only 5 days. I even saw the other motorcycle in there – a Russian called Gleb, on a Honda, 4 days ago.

By 2:45 I was on the road in TJ.
%