Bikepacking Kyrgyzstan | Cycling 1000km in 16 days on the Tian Shan Traverse

[@gerard3665]

Thanks for the video. Congratulations for your trip. You are very courageous

[@kristahall9179]

Spectacular. We bikepacked the traverse in August. Reminiscing while watching your video.

[@jamiebell7901]

It’s such an incredible country!

[@silkroadskyrgyztyrkbiz5470]

Wellkome to Kyrgyzstan bro 🙌🇰🇬🇰🇬🇰🇬🇰🇬🤲☝️💕

[@rockotter666]

Super cool video, great backing music too(first tack excluded), loved the style ; )

[@jo-annespindler2241]

Beautiful - I had no idea! some sketchy looking roads! Looks like it was an AMAZING trip. Good job boys - making memories ❤️

[@Ivan-gb3gn]

Did SRMR23 route in July. The Arabel plateau was so eerie but at the same time magnificent. Great video!

[@warrenshrimpton1514]

Wonderful video....would love to see more 😀😀😀

[@jamiebell7901]

Glad you enjoyed!

[@GesulinoPereiradaRochaFilho]

Lindas imagens, meus parabéns 👏👏👏👏👏

[@skiersara]

Beautiful video!! I’m trying to research a little on resupplies - how many days of food did you carry and were there any more remote sections without resupply you could call out?

[@jamiebell7901]

@@skiersara Thanks! We were usually carrying around 3-5 days of food. This obviously depends a bit on the speed you want to go, the weight of your setup etc. The section from the start to Naryn has no resupply at all, and between Naryn and Baetov along the border there is also nothing. There are small shops periodically to resupply snacks and some basics, such as Chayek and Kyzyl-Ol. We only found gas canisters at Bishkek but others had luck in Naryn as well.

[@nickbroon]

Great video! Do you have a GPX route file available for your variation of the Tian Shan Traverse?

[@joebennet770]

What time of year did you do this route? - looks awesome!

[@jamiebell7901]

@@joebennet770 We cycled the route in late June/early July. That’s about as early as I would recommend starting as there is likely still some snow about. August would be a perfect time.

[@nonamejoname6728]

Which camera(s) and drone did you use to film this?

[@jamiebell7901]

@@nonamejoname6728 For the video we just used our phones (an old iPhone and a Google Pixel) and the drone is a DJI Mavic.

[@nonamejoname6728]

@@jamiebell7901 Thank you for the response! I've been thinking about buying the Mavic Pro 3. I'm going to wait until the end of this month to make a decision about that, though. Great video!

[@petajohannsen9674]

Random question perhaps! We are thinking of only doing a part of the overall trail over 5 days. Is there any particular section you would recommend/that you really enjoyed the most- both from a nature and interacting with the locals point of view? I was thinkin Naryn to Song Kel or the start to Nayrn. More than likely we would ride either part backwards, as I have read it is slightly easier. Wish we had the time to do the entire trail like you! Amazing work!

[@jamiebell7901]

Thanks for the comment! I think it’s hard to go wrong riding anywhere in Kyrgyzstan - it’s all very beautiful. However I would particularly highlight the first section to Naryn. It is however a difficult and remote section. Naryn to Song-Kul (at least on the regular bikepacking.com route) would be a lot of road riding and probably the least exciting views of the trip. We took instead a detour along the Chinese border. The landscapes in Kyrgyzstan are extremely varied so if there is a particular part of the video you would love to see I would be happy to suggest something incorporating that, let me know! Happy cycling

[@mjm6451]

WOW! How many tire repairs?

[@jamiebell7901]

Zero flats believe it or not!

[@Bg563]

Awesome video Jamie! I'm hoping to make it out to Kyrgyzstan before I die. How did you two find getting to the start? Was it difficult to get a ride from Bishkek, or where ever you started. Also, how is the resupply on the route? Cheers, greetings from Canada!

[@jamiebell7901]

I’m glad you enjoyed the video, I can only recommend a trip to Kyrgyzstan you won’t regret it! The best way to organise transport is to go to the main bus station in Bishkek. Outside there are many people in taxis and minivans (some speak broken English, or use Google translate) who will be happy to negotiate a price to go anywhere you want. Don’t bother with the information desk at the bus station itself, they only sell tickets for the marshrutkas. Resupply outside of Bishkek is very limited even in bigger towns like Naryn (there is no resupply at all before Naryn), but you can find some small stores selling basic staples every 3 or 4 riding days on average. You won’t starve but you may have to be creative. Best to get any items like gas canisters in Bishkek in my opinion (although some have had success finding this in Naryn).

[@monptiniou]

hello, I did the same route as you in 2019. I had to turn around on your route between camp 5 and 6. There was a military checkpoint. how did you manage to pass?

[@jamiebell7901]

Yes there is a military checkpoint. You need to apply for a border permit before leaving, which we collected from Naryn.

[@kierenbell5507]

Shout out to Jason for doing Kyrgyzstan and Iceland back to back

[@maxbikepacking]

@jamiebell this guy is throwing a lot of shade for someone who only cycles to jindy shops ;)

[@kierenbell5507]

@@maxbikepacking very funny Max....

[@tkdliron]

What bike and tire size/width did you use for your trip :)

[@jamiebell7901]

We had a Giant Toughroad and Norco Search XR Flat Bar with around 50mm tires. They held up well to the conditions!

[@motodroid2798]

Вы из какой страны ребята? Фильм хорошо сняли, без лишней болтовни.

[@barsikbarso5732]

Алга Кыргызстан 🇰🇬🇰🇬🇰🇬☝️

[@eivissastef]

what a mix of music ..... with these beautiful places ;((

[@jonathanbevan6923]

Shame about the dreadful music. Maybe a bit of commentary would help too. Great scenery though.