Had my first bit of real bad luck on the trip as my bicycle got clipped by a car on a day trip out of Bishkek.  The idiot who did it, clearly didn’t realise that going as fast as possible around a blind bend can lead to you losing control and ending up on the wrong side of the road in a skid.  He was lucky it was just a bicycle coming the other way…Sadly his fortune was my misfortune as my left crank now looks like this:

Still in a way I was pretty lucky as I my huge pedals and rear panniers meant that I didn’t actually get hit myself.  It remains to be seen whether any worse damage has been done to the bike as the recommended bike shop in Bishkek was not open.

The driver didn’t even stop and accelerated off into the distance.  All I can hope is that he has a very large dent in his car from my pedal.

On the plus side the backdrop to the accident was spectacular.

And I got to see some Kyrgyz people building a traditional yurt.

Which should look like this when finished:

A nomad’s summer home.
Apparently I should get my Chinese visa on May 16th, whether this happens or not remains to be seen. I also have to think about how long it will take to fix my bicycle now.