Another Bad Turn For The Van

24th January - Saveh to Delijan - distance 126km - ascent 340m - av speed 16km/hr - current location 34,00N 50,40E

The comfort of the dorms meant that no one was too eager to get up early, especially Dom once the gas fire was turned on. However once Dickie returned from the shower singing it's praises it was as though Dom had just been offered a traditional English breakfast - the speed in which he left his bed was a speed which we have only seen him use when there is food to be had.

Being greeted by a wonderful sun, meant that for the first time in some weeks, we could go without gloves, hats and at least one top layer - perfect conditions for cycling in. This clearly influenced the riders with a quick first 20km. Pauline was then stopped in her tracks by a passing motorist who gave her a box of dates - another example of the kindness and generosity that the people of Iran show. They were then greeted by a long 15km climb which was of perfect gradient to get good rhythm. As height was gained the splendours of the Iranian countryside were there in evidence. Iran really is a beautiful country yet this is something which shamefully never gets mentioned due to all the other associated political matters.

At this point there was still no sight or sound of Ro and Dickie, along with their van. After a traditional meal of soup, rice and kebabs (one of the two dishes served in Iran) at a roadside cafe, the cyclists continued their journey to Delijan knowing they still had about 60km to go. Finally the van came into sight and it transpired that the van had blown a gasket earlier in the day and was now limping along to Delijan. Sarah and Nic both looked at each other as if to say "what does that mean?", whilst the two budding (?) car mechanics, Jamie and Dom were relishing getting their arms greasy again.

As the van left for its final leg into town, it became quickly apparant that the cyclists would be finishing their day in the dark again. They arrived at the hotel at around 6.45pm to be greeted with the sight of showers - useful also for washing clothes from previous weeks cycling. Evening meal of pizza (second dish served in Iran) with some strawberry non-alcoholic beer for the fool-hardy was followed by preparing for the following few days without the van....

Posted by Nic

Not so Saveh

23rd January - Shal to Saveh - distance 136km - descent 120m - av speed 21km/hr - current location

Arising pretty sharply the bikes were away on time on their quest to reach Saveh. The weather was markedly better and the bikes unfrozen so no heroics required to P*** start them from the boys. Much to their disappointment they emptied their bladders in the traditional method of using the hole in the floor toilets we are so used to. Ro and I stayed back to tidy up as usual and as our hosts, The Ministry of Transport, had provided us with a kitchen area it would have been rude not to make the most of it.

After many hints from Dom, I decided it was about time we had a curry, so delving into the depths of Rowena’s drawers I found all the necessary ingredients including a tin, aptly named by Rowena as sludge. Onions on, spices added, it smelt just like home. Sabzi Dopiaza was the loose basis for the dish, sabzi meaning vegetables in Farzi, one of only 20 words we seem to have picked up so far. And for all you purists, a Dopiaza is predominantly made of onions and tomatoes but as we had some aubergine, peppers and carrots to get rid of and no meat, it was the best I could do. The sludge turned out to be aubergine puree and a great addition to the pot. As a result, we are on the look out for more mysterious tins as we go along.

The roadsides have now gained a hard shoulder again as we lose height and gain temperature. The extra 2 metres of mud, rubble and occasional tarmac makes me feel a lot safer as we can now dodge oncoming lorries or bicycles in the middle of the road. We are also passing a lot more potential campsites so we have almost got our flexibility back and the choice of camping vs guesthouse is back on the agenda.

Ro and I seem to be a lot more organised about things now so we try to get on the bike every other day. It is essential that we get fit for the mountains and sitting in the van all day is not the best preparation for altitude. Saying that, we are more of your fair weather cyclists and see no point in all 7 of us being cold and wet if there is work to be done at the other end. Having fed the team, my bike was gracefully lowered from Martha’s roof and my pristine bike yelled for dirt. Getting on the bike was great. Not only does it help me appreciate what the cyclists have to achieve each day but it is much easier to absorb the surroundings. It also gives Ro the opportunity to play whatever she likes on the stereo.

The landscape was monochrome as we wound our way through a high mountain plain that must have been at least 50 miles wide. We had occasional undulations but the road after lunch was predominantly flat. The only thing to contend with was the occasional head wind. Jamie, finding conditions hard, had to resort to using the wagon as a shield. He thought he got away with it but no, experience will always catch you out.

I completed 2 legs before being despatched to find a room for the night. Normally, we would take this in our stride but not today. As we descended the final 20km, passing Sarah and Pauline doing a respectable 50km an hour, the industrial city of Saveh unfolded. The city took the usual format of garages and mechanics lining the outskirts followed by the welcoming roundabout and obligatory statue. Nothing quite as bad as the psychedelic cats in Van but we did later see a pomegranate.

We found a hotel quite quickly but unfortunately it was full of students sitting finals. B**** Students! Things have changed since I was at university. We had to survive on a piece of coal a day and live in a cardboard box. Students today don’t know what’s good for them. A grotty guest house was then suggested but I didn’t have a good feeling about it so we drove back to town. We then encountered a problem that is common when you only know a few words of English. I couldn’t complain as our Farzi is diabolical but every person we spoke to kept on sending us to the same hotel. After our 3rd lap we met the cyclists who then joined in the mission. We showed them the grotty guest house and this time the guest house actually rejected us. We were then led to a posh hotel 15km back the way we came. The London prices were ridiculous so we refused and drove back to the main city.

The taxi driver picked up on the word camping and led an excited Pauline, Dom and Ro to a compound. Perfect. The problem was though that they would not let us in. I was led to the police station to explain what we were up to. It was then back to collect all the passports and off to dinner. We were joined by the Tamirah, an English teacher and friend of the chief of police who had spent the last 30mins translating. Tamirah and her 2 children, were fun and answered all Pauline’s questions about being a woman in Iran. When we were eventually re-united with our passports we were allowed to unpack. The family didn’t want to leave and were very generous. They capped an interesting but long day by being demonstrating the generosity we have found all over Iran and gave us the rooms for free. Outstanding.

Posted by Dickie

Shop Windows and Strange Buildings

22nd January - Soltaniyeh to Shal - distance 136km - descent 280m - av speed 24.3km/hr - current location 35,45N 49,45E

We woke up in our shop this morning deciding that it was quite the best place we had stayed. With our new camping heater it had been warm, dry and cosy and the walls didn’t flap all night (much to Paulines delight). After a breakfast of scrambled egg rolls and carrot jam (ok – I was the only person who had the jam!) the cyclists took half an hour to defrost their bikes. Pouring boiling water over the gears worked well until it rapidly froze leaving them encased in a new, admittedly much cleaner layer of ice. They finally set off in freezing sunshine and made very good progress with a cyclists best friend.. a tail wind.

Dickie and I did a small detour… to the Soltaniye Mausoleum. It has one of the largest domes in the world and was just down the road from our shop window. It also has one of the most scaffolded domes in the world, inside and out. The renovation was being done beautifully and meticulously by hand. The walls inside were covered with endless different patterns of turquoise and blue tiles. There was barely a wall that wasn’t decorated either with tiles or painted script. A lady on the scaffolding was repainting a wall with the smallest brush. We climbed up to the dome and found vaulted walkways and arches that went up and up. I climbed a mineret that turned out to be badly damaged. The stairs came to an end 150ft up, covered with snow, in the fresh air... Health and safety seems to be nonexistent in this country.

We caught up with the cyclists to find Pauline and Sarah on the side of the road with Pauline’s bike in pieces. Another puncture. Dom, having met a policeman who mimed that there was “trouble with a bike” arrived on scene having cycled back 8km, against the wnd only to find that the “trouble” was all sorted and he was not needed. Very gallant none the less. 16km extra in a 136km day is nothing to our brave leader!!!

The scenery today was fantastic. We have been cycling down the centre of a magnificent, wide, open valley edged with mountains on either side. There is snow as far as the eye can see and in the sunshine it has been spectacular. The road is flat and finally dry. The only thing spoiling it are the trucks that continue to pass very close, at speed, horns blaring. The cold continues to be a problem but our boys have come up with a cunning solution – peeing on their gears to melt the ice. The girls have yet to solve this problem.

I got on my bike again today and enjoyed a brief 25km stretch before jumping back in the van so Dickie and I could try and find somewhere for us all to stay for the night. There was never going to be a hotel so it was either camping or another shop window. We drove past heavily ploughed fields and strange towns, getting more and more concerned as the sun began to set and we still had nowhere to stay. After directing the team to a cake shop we tried again. Finally spotting a large building that looked a bit like a bank but empty.. Maybe we could all sleep on the floor. It would never work in England but in Iran anything is possible. There were two men inside who explained that it would be cold on the floor. We showed him that our alternative was a tent and that it would be even colder.. he offered us a room, somewhere to put the bikes, a kitchen with no gas and no water and some loos, also with no water. Almost perfect. After a long day, one puncture (Pauline), another broken spoke (Nick), two falls.. well.. sort of stylish bike departures (Nic and Jamie) it is perfect. Similar to last night but not quite as cool.

Posted by Rowena

The reality of being on expedition

21st January - Campsite to Soltaniyeh - distance 87km - ascent 500m - average speed 17.7km/ph - current location 36,25N 48,50E

Now I could write a diary today that would please all the mums at home, but instead, I feel it is time to come out with some real truths about our expedition.

Today was one of those normal days on expedition. We woke up, loaded the van, had no idea where or what we'd be sleeping in tonight, cycled almost 100km, found where we were going to sleep, unloaded the van, cleaned the bikes and now we are preparing a serious amount of food. Food is quite a critical part of this expedition. It is important, especially for me, that we still have excess weight on us when we get to Everest, but the amount of exercise we do each day means we are constantly starving. This is why we make full use of the support team and Iranian tea shops. Now you may think these are luxuries, but fact that a few of us now have been on the verge on passing out due to low energy (including me) clearly shows that these so called luxuries are actually a necessity.

Outside the tent this morning the wind had picked up (especially from Paulines direction), the temperature had dropped (again) and there was a definite feel of snow in the air. In fact, within 5 minutes of being on the bikes the snow came, being driven into our faces by the ferocious head wind. After 20km, we took shelter in a tunnel where we could briefly warm the hands before pushing on to the next town. Cycling then became extremely dangerous because we were slowly loosing our hard shoulder to snow. This forced us into the road where huge trucks and buses literally brushed past us at ridiculous speed, with no care for life, and covering us in slush and grit.

In towns traffic always gets worse, and today was a prize example. We could hardly see because of grit and snow in our eyes, the roads were slushy and our bodies were hungry. This made dodging cars, buses, trucks, tractors, snow ploughs, motorbikes, dogs, donkeys, people, broken glass, pot holes and snow drifts somewhat more of a challenge.

After lunch the weather deteriorated even more and with Dickie and Ro held up in town buying food for camping, we were left to fend for ourselves. The snow turned to slush and within half an hour we turned into icy cycling machines, fighting our way through whatever elements were thrown at us. Its times like these, when you can't feel your feet, when every lorry honks at you as it shoots past, and when all you've got to look forward to is a cold damp tent, one tends to seek motivation to carry on. I simply imagine that our German nemesis Geri Winkler is round the next corner and it tends to work!

So far on the expedition everyone has fallen off there bike in some way or another, except our intrepid leader Dom. However, today this all changed. Failing to see the slight dip at the side of the road, he lost control and luckily Nic was there to catch it all on camera. This was a sharp lesson for Dom, so let's hope from now on he leaves the off-road stunts to the expert cyclists such as myself and Nic. On a serious note, we have all been very lucky to not injure ourselves badly. The roads and conditions are not in our favour, "but if it was easy, it would have been done before" (a quote that keeps us all going).

As we neared our destination, the cloud cleared (better late then never) and Sarah took this opportunity to take some arty photos. Ro found us an empty shop to sleep and cook in, and Dickie is currently preparing spaghetti Bolognese. We do feel a bit like gold fish, with locals peering in the window, but it is warm and dry so it's all we need.

Apart from the damp, today was just a normal day on expedition. With over 3500 miles still to go, the restaurants and bars of Kathmandu feels a long way away, but if the rest of the trip is as fun as the first month I'm sure we'll be there in no time at all.

Posted by Jamie

HI DE HI!

20th January - Miyaneh to campsite - distance 98km - ascent 300m - av speed km/hr - current location 36,50N 48,05E

Yes we are back to the world of camping…hooray! As much we all love the Iranian toilets that always carry a special aromatic smell and the vast array of cuisine on offer in the towns (kebabs with rice or kebabs without rice or kebabs and bread) we love it in the wild. There is something about camping that brings out the ‘ug’ in our men (male noise when doing boysy stuff and obviously we hear this constantly) and the women can unveil and show the men how to put the tent up efficiently.

But I am jumping ahead of myself. This morning we left our outstanding establishment ( based on price rather than their meet and greet policy) in Miyaneh to head for the stunning range of Alpine style mountains. In a stretch of less than 20km the geography has changed from snow flanked roads and over undulating hills to dry cliffs and steep sided mountains and now into flatter stretches with stunning ranges in the north that come from nowhere of desert coloured (ie various colours of sand for want of a better description) and to the southeast our snowcapped ranges that we are heading for. Stunning!

We had Dickie join us for most of the cycle today and did us proud by choosing to wear the numpty hat. We obviously gave him his space so he could go at his own pace and not because he was embarrassing to be …….honest.

We decided to camp before town as we found a great spot and we are no longer in sub zero temperatures. What a great view and perfect terrain for a game of mini volleyball. Of course none of us are competitive at all!!!!! Let the fight begin. Having shown that they are prone to selective vision, Jamie and Nic were kept on the straight and narrow by a very fair referee, Sarah. Pauline and Dom obviously used their years of experience, maturity and athleticism to whip them……Bring it on!!!We are now awaiting Ro to work her magic and come back from town with goodies that we are going to cook and it will be our first attempt at apple crumble and custard……oh I am missing the kebabs already!

Posted by Pauline

On the road again

19th January - Bostanabad to Miyaneh - distance 107km - descent 600m - av speed km/hr - current position 47,45E 37,25N

A few pre-conceived ideas of Iran have been shattered in the last few days. My understanding was that we would be cycling along hot dusty desert roads. However another night where the temperature plummeted below minus 20 has made the conditions pretty demanding. The worse victim of course has been the van (yes the same van that is formerly known as Martha). Unable to handle the freezing temperatures and out of desperation we decided to run the engine all night so that we wouldn't have problems this morning. This may seem like an extravagance but in Iran it costs about 8000 rials or 70p to fill the tank from empty! The plan worked and with the van ticking over nicely we packed quickly and hit the road. We were by now desperate to leave the town of Bostanabad , reputedly the coldest in place in Iran and we can well believe it, and now home for the last four nights. We were rapidly becoming permanent residents in our little hotel by the roadside. Such was Pauline's frustration, that last night even saw her help the locals wash up in the kitchen after dinner.

Our pace was gentle with Sarah still feeling fragile and running on empty after three days of next to no food. We climbed gently for the first 20km, the hill helping to warm us in the sub-zero conditions. Mt. Sahand (3710m) looked immense in the background and gave the scenery a Himalyan feel. Water bottles froze within a few minutes of setting off and we all suffered with cold extremities - Jamie has employed a new use for his Buff glove (S) to protect one particular extremity that he obviously cherishes. We stopped briefly to drink from the flask of tea and team chocolate that Nic was carrying. We then began the long awaited descent that we had been relishing having heard that the next 140km could be gently downhill. By 60km the van had caught us up and we enjoyed a 'Dickie and Ro pasta special'. No sooner had Ro cooked and she was on the bike with us for the afternoon leg.

Iranian roads are superbly made with gentle gradients and usually a generous hard shoulder. For descents the slope is perfect allowing us to reach a steady speed of about 32kmh (20mph) with ease. Of more dubious quality is the standard of Iranian driving. Truck drivers seem to enjoy a modern day version of medieval jousting, waiting to the last possible moment to swerve out of the way, while smaller vehicles are left to their peril. Overtaking into oncoming traffic is the norm, Iranians convinced that a two lane highway is more than sufficient for several vehicles to travel side by side. We hugged the edge of the road and dashed through a succession of tunnels with the scenery just getting better and better with every turn. We were following a river valley down through rocky crags on either side while snow covered peaks dominated the horizon all the way into Miyaneh our destination. Dickie had located our cheapest hotel to date, simple but cheerful and less than £10 for all of us. Overall it has been one of out best days yet and certainly the most scenic. Conditions have warmed a little and thankfully the roads are at least clear of snow. Due to our delay we've decided to give Tehran a miss by heading to the south of the city over the next few days. Our next major stop will be in the ancient city of Esfahan in about 8 days time. You may be interested to know that over 250 people are following our progress daily on the web and we hope this will increase still further over the coming weeks. Furthermore many of you have contributed online through our supporters page. Thanks for being with us every step of the way!

Posted by Dom

Being ill sucks

18th January - Bostanabad to Bostanabad with a brief road trip back to Tabriz

It is so easy to say to someone "take your time, get well properly, we don't mind waiting an extra day until you've eaten something" and it is so hard being the person who's making everyone wait.

That said, the team really have been awesome and not put any pressure on me to get going, if anything they've done quite the opposite and today feels a little bit like an enforced day of taking it easy and getting some food on board. It's probably no bad thing given that, in the words of Cool Runnings, stepping outside involves "freezing my royal rastifarian naa naa off". The cold means that even a relatively easy day suddenly burns twice the number of calories as normal and with no choice but camping in sub-zero temperatures between here and the next town it would put everyone at unnecessary risk if I couldn't do a whole day.

This morning was passed looking after Martha again (she and I are in tune) - her gear stick had sheered off, but thankfully after shelling out a whole 60p for a new part (!!!) Dom and Jamie did the man thing and fitted it, so she was fixed within the hour. Itchy to get back on the bike Nic and Jamie then went for a ride with Dickie, while Ro and Pauline taught some of the local women breaststroke in the spa pool. Feeling much better I took Dom on at backgammon - he claimns to be a master.....time will tell.

We then headed back to Tabriz, the girls haring along in a taxi blasting out the Iranian equivalent of Hound Dog and the boys driving at a more sedate pace in the van. The city was still packed with slow moving traffic and bright lights. The girls wandered the 3km maze of souk - a very old style shopping mall rambling though choir-cloister like architecture with shops every 5m selling jewellery, clothes, trotters, spices and tonnes of tat. We aquired some more headdresses too - by no means are we Iranian beauties but at least we're trying. The boys did internet stuff and then we all enjoyed a firework display over dinner - ah, they shouldn't have.

Back at our home from home in Bostanabad some marmite on toast has just gone down a treat and I think I speak for everyone when I say that I sincerely hope we move tommorrow.

Posted by Sarah