Protyre News

We’re catching up with adventure bloggers Ed Holford-Walker and John Horsfall. They popped into Micheldever Tyres - Team Protyre back in April to get the most vital piece of kit for their journey…some new tyres! The teams choice in tyres was vital due to remote locations and varied terrains that they would be travelling on. Using Protyre’s extensive knowledge of tyres, we were able to research and identify a set of the perfect on and off road tyres for the job, the General Tire - Grabber AT3

We last saw our adventure team John and Ed when they were in Kazakhstan digging themselves out of a muddy spot having stopped to admire a beautiful lake.

After one night in Almaty city the pair headed towards Bishkek back at the edge of Kyrgyzstan. Unlike the other boarders they had crossed Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan are visa free so you can travel between the two as much as you like. Leaving Kyrgyzstan for the last time the following day in search of ski’able mountains lead them past this odd statue (below). It is the previous head of government Vladimir Lenin's head carved into the a structure looking out at the water.

After a day hiking up the Kazakhstan escarpment the team headed for Uzbekistan for the second time in their trip to take the time exploring the colour full capital city before heading towards Samarkand.

“We have heard incredible stories of this place so looking forward to checking out everything it has to offer. One of the great silk road cities and one of the oldest [continuously] inhabited cities in Central Asia”

Arriving in the city of Samarkand through the narrow back streets is like stepping back 200 years. The old city is woven elaborately into the new city constantly busy throughout the day and night. Having decided to stay a day or so longer to make the most of the air conditioning before the vast desert that lay before them on their way to the Caspian Sea the pair witnessed a local stag party. Very different from our own here in the UK, they set fire to huge burning hearts, dressed the groom and payed traditional music.

Joined by hitchhiker Peter from Malaysia who is cycling around the world Ed and John stopped at  a lake near the Amu Darya on the Turkmenistan border before arriving in Khiva. Another old town, it showcased some magnificent buildings with many old castles swallowed up by the desert which used to link the silk road.

Spending the night in Khiva the pair were now faced with what felt like endless desert all the way to the Caspian Sea and Kazakhstan port. Taking tips on how to keep cool from the locals Peter sat in the back of the truck with towels covering all the windows which seemed to work.

Camping near the escarpment, the pair had hoped to catch the ferry which arrives sporadically anytime between 1 and 10 days. Sadly, on this occasion arriving at the port early they had missed the ferry by 2 days. Their luck didn’t get any better though.

“Tonight we were told we needed to be at the port at 1am. Car holders had to go through (Ed) and passengers (me) had to wait for the office to open outside the gate. With this port though, its in their own time and it never opened, so everyone ended up sleeping on the tarmac or kerb outside, not the greatest of nights sleep!!! But, we are going now and after only two days”

Pictured below is the city in the sea Oil City. The city stretches for miles and is vast. Having encountered a bit of a storm over the Caspian, the travellers on the ferry were told they would be waiting it out on the boat. With nothing but the view and the small TV for football in the staff cabin there was nothing to do, but wait it out.

Finally, after 2 days of nothing at sea the adventurers made port in the Azerbaijan city of Baku. After a short explore around the futuristic city of modern buildings carefully slotted between the old, Ed and John travelled to Georgia where they had been tipped off about a beautiful abandoned monastery as a good camping spot.

The city of Georgia was beautiful with a mixture of architecture, vineyards and mountains, tearing themselves away their next destination was Towards Russia. South Ossetia sadly is part of an ongoing dispute between the Russians and Georgia so as occupied territory the pair were told not to spend more than 20mins passing thorugh.

Heading up to Stepantsminda near the Kazbegi National Park the pair embraced some traditional Georgian cuisine called Khinkali a type of dumpling filled with meats. Easily the favourite meal of the trip according to Ed and John they pair were all set to continue onwards to the black sea towards Turkey.
Turkey marked the start of the great venture towards the end of the great silk road and ultimately home. Putting in the miles John and Ed camped up in Serbia by a lake they found the first time around before getting to their final stop…..Venice, Italy.

All terrain adventure?

Find your next pair of General Tire tyres with our handy tyre search