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

Setting off in April, the team are now in Kazakhstan.

We had left the pair on Ed’s birthday as they hiked through the Pamir from a local village. Crossing the Hindu Kush mountains in Afghanistan they were assisted by a local family who assumed they were lost looking for a place to camp. After being given a quick tour they were shown exceptional hospitality with tea then supper and shown how traditional Wakhan hats are made.
 
In the 19th century the Afghanistan Wakhan corridor acted as a buffer between the Russians and the British. Climbing the highway the duo noticed large numbers of cycling tourers struggling up the mountain, but the surrounding views were amazing.
 
Osh, the second biggest city in Kyrgyzstan is the end point of the Pamir highway is a fairly built up city which allowed the two travellers to stay local and take a much-needed shower before the trip up north towards Song Kul Lake. The road to the lake is closed during the winters as it is a dirt track that can be washed away.

It might be the view or the fact we are standing at over 3000 metres above sea level but it certainly takes your breath away
 
After a stormy night by the river they headed up to Song Kul Lake in the afternoon, through lightening and hail storms. Though chilly the view was amazing. Horses roam freely and the shepherds were setting up their Yurts ready for the summer season.

Leaving the lake and heading back down the mountains towards Karakol the pair decided to camp for the night as the weather hadn’t yet improved. Soldiering on the next day through the rural communities at the foot of the mountains the pair navigated Central Asia's worst road. The stretch of road only 15km in length took 2 hours!

This picture shows how a typical Kyrgyz family live in the rural communities'

The plan was to be up the mountain side by lunch, but by the time they got to the top the weather was terrible and it was getting dark. Whilst searching for a place to camp the duo bumped into their old friend from Tajikistan 'Serge', who had been exploring the mountains over the past three days on horseback with some friends from back home.

Opting to have dinner together and sharing stories of their travels since Tajikistan they settled outside one of the yerts in preparation to make more headway the next day.
With the weather having been awful over the past 24 hours the hike planned for the day was cancelled and the journey to the local village took over an hour through thick mud. Villagers had to come and assist the teams who kept getting stuck.

'As we were making our way down, friends whom we had met a few days earlier were in front of us, struggling as well to get up and over……as we came round a corner we saw a group of tourists get out in th__e distance, looking down the mountain edge with black smoke coming from below. Our friends car was nowhere in sight. Ed and I, both realising what had happened, jumped out and ran down the hill, first to the scene'
 
Somehow with no seat belts they all survived, unfortunately two with a broken back, two with concussions and by pure luck one with a slight scratch to her left eye brow! The day was spent getting them to the hospital before going for farewell drinks with Serge.
 
Acquiring a third-party member, Benni from Norway, 🇳🇴who is also heading to Uzbekistan the group travelled through the Charyn National Park and carrying on off-road found some beautiful sites between the mountain tops.

In Kazakhstan heading towards Almaty the pair came across by chance a lake so blue they couldn’t believe their eyes! After taking in the natural wonder the tow suddenly realised that they were stuck in the mud and had to dig themselves out for an hour or so before being able to leave!

That’s all of the exciting up date for now,  you can follow their progress on www.johnhorsfall.org or via social media on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube!

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