About
Us
4033 km, 8 countries, 1 team
We have started from the bridge between East and West-Istanbul, across the Asia Minor Peninsula, passed through the South Caucasus nations, and entered Iran. From Tehran to Tashkent we took the train due to the high risk, and continued the cycling trip in Central Asia, and finished our trip at Yili, Kazakh-China border.
Since January 2018, Jerry (UWC Mostar 18', China) started organizing this 2018 Silk Road Biking project. The first member of the team is Magdalena (UWC Mostar 18', Germany)
o km: Istanbul, Turkey
Jerry and Magdalena first took the plane to Sarajevo, Bosnia, and later took the plane to Istanbul, Turkey. In the five days staying in the magic bridge between Asia and Europe, Jerry and Magdalena managed to find the necessary equipment with the help of a kind Turkish bike shop owner. Then they embarked on the trip.
The team started from the bridge between the West and the East: Istanbul, and have crossed the mountains in Asia Minor Peninsula to reach the Black Sea in Samsun.
With Magdalena going back to home in Germany, Jerry started his solo cycling trip along the Black Sea coast line and then reached Georgia.
1663 km: Tbilisi
Following the Black Sea coast time, Jerry crossed the first border from Turkey to Georgia. First city he saw is the pearl of Black Sea - Batumi. Then he followed the mountains and arrived at the the first capital city: Tbilisi, Georgia.
Batumi shines brightly on the coast of Black Sea, where the vibrant city life blends with the mellow history it has.
No far away from Tbilisi, Jerry passes the border and arrives at the third country of the trip: Azerbaijan - the land of fire.
In the second biggest city of the country - Ganja, Jerry met the second teammate - Raghdan from Syria, UWC Mahindra 18'.
2737 km: Tehran
The first big milestone is at the Azadi Tower in Tehran Iran (the tower of peace), where Jerry and raghdan has passed through the distance from Astara to Tehran, embarking the 2737 km of the whole trip.
The team first entered from the Northwest part - Astara, and followed the Caspian Sea, arriving at Rasht and Qazvin.
Later then passed through the mountains and arrived at the Iranian Plateau. Then they biked straight to the capital of Iran - Tehran.
From Tehran, Iran to Tashkent, Uzbekistan, Jerry chose to take the train instead of cycling due to the high risk of high temperature and disconnect. He first took a detour to the south of Iran - Shiraz, and found his way to Turkmenistan through Persepolis, Yazd, Isfahan and Mashhad. He entered Turkmenistan and took the taxi from the border town Sarakh to the second biggest city - Mary.
After visiting Mary and taking the night train from Mary to the border town Turkmenabat, Jerry passed the border and met his third team - Kesava, from India, UWC Mahindra 18' in the ancient town of Bukhara.
After visiting Samarkand and Tashkent in Uzbekistan, Jerry and Kesava resumed cycling from Tashkent, and passed the border to Kazakhstan. Originally the team wanted to go to China directly from Kazakhstan. However, the tourist visa application didn't go well for Jerry, so Jerry and Kesava needed to find a third-country Kyrgyzstan to stop over, and travelled in Kazakhstan using 2 transit visa.
Kyrgyzstan is considering as the oasis of Central Asia, due to the regions surrounded are much drier than Kyrgyzstan. The country also has the spectacular Issyk Kul Lake.
However when the team biked from the west to the east of Kyrgyzstan, the border police told them they couldn't leave the country because the border is seasonal and cannot read their e-visa. Thus Jerry and Kesava took the bus back to Bishkek, and later took a taxi to Almaty, Kazakhstan.
4033 km: Home-China!
Finally after 80 days, 4033km, 8 countries, Silk Road Biking finally reached the destination, China!
After Almaty, Kazakhstan, the team continued cycling in the vast land of Kazakhstan, while enjoying the good road infrastructure.
In the end, in a rainy day, the team reached Horgos, and entered China! Later the team shipped the bike to UWC Changshu China so that the bikes can continue to be used. Jerry and Kesava flew to Chengdu, where Jerry is from.