Statistics

Last updated: 2 October 2019

 

Days out touring: 192

Days on bicycle: 145

Full rest days: 47

Longest time cycled without a full rest day: 17

 

Countries visited: 19: Norway, Denmark, Germany, Austria, Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, Bulgaria, Turkey, Iran, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, China, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand

Notably friendly people: Denmark, Austria, Turkey, Iran, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan

Times treated with chai: 50?

Longest one sided conversation in a language we don’t understand: 10 minutes in Bulgaria with some very old man that sat down and lit a cigarette as he talked

 

Total distance cycled: 9371 km

Longest distance cycled in one day: 151.1 km (Iran, August 6)

Shortest distance cycled in one day: 16.3 km

Average distance cycled per day: 65.1 km

Calories burned from cycling: 730851 kcal or the equivalent of 1433 Big Macs

 

Longest time cycled in a day: 8h 40m

Average time cycled per day: 4h 50m

Shortest time cycled in one day: 1h 10m

Total hours cycled: 710.3h

Longest time off bike: 8 days in Tehran, Iran (Visa applications)

 

Max speed: 79.5 km/h (Mt. Damavand Pass, Iran)

Average speed: 14.22 km/h

Times fallen with bike: Thea: 4, Daniel: 1

Times cycled together with other cyclists: 4

Number of times hitchhiked: 4

Number of times taken a bus: 1 from Tabriz to Tehran

 

Friendliest border guards: Turkey, Turkmenistan (Sarahs)

Slowest border crossing: Iran-Turkmenistan (Iran side), 3 hours!

Fastest border crossing: In and out of Tajikistan, ten minutes?

Country with most police checkpoints: Turkmenistan

Number of times stopped by police to be treated with tea: 1

Number of times danced at a Kurdish wedding: 1

Most mysterious country: Turkmenistan

 

Most enjoyable cycling: Turkey (Asian part)

Least enjoyable cycling: Iran

Most beautiful country: Tajikistan

Worst city to navigate with bicycle: Sofia, Bulgaria and Tehran, Iran

Worst traffic/drivers: Iran, China

Most happy honks: Croatia, Serbia, Turkey, Iran

Most angry honks: Germany

Number of times cycled on a highway (140kmh speed limit): 1

Worst roads: Tajikistan

Toughest cycling: Tajikistan

Worst pollution: Iran

Best roads: Austria, Turkey, China

Best bicycle infrastructure: Austria

Most boring cycling: Turkmenistan

Best food: Croatia, China, Thailand

Strangest currency: Iran, Uzbekistan

Number of times Thea spilled all of the cooked pasta on the ground: 2

 

Total ascend: 62337 m

Longest ascend in a day: 1757 m

Longest descend in a day: 2097 m

Longest continuous downhill in a day: Mt. Damavand pass, Iran. More or less 100 km downhill!

Highest point above sea level: 4655 m, Ak-Baital pass in Tajikistan

Lowest point below sea level: -28.6 m (Tunnel near Hamburg, Germany)

Toughest incline: Germany, Marktschellenberg to Ettenburg (real mental and physical challenge), and parts of Etappe 2-3 of Alpe Adria in Austria

Highest mountain seen: Lenin peak, 7134m (Tajikistan)

Number of mountain passes above 2000 meters: 6

Number of mountain passes above 3000 meters: 2

Number of mountain passes above 4000 meters: 3

 

Number of heatstrokes: 3

Number of food poisonings: 2

 

Flat tires: One (Daniel), on the 1st of October in Kyrgyzstan after 9300 km!

Mysterious nightly tube deflations: 2

Chains worn out: Thea: 1 (replaced at 4000 km), Daniel: 1 (will maybe replace it one day, it’s gold colored and looks rad)

Cassettes worn out: Thea: 1 (replaced at 4000 km), Daniel: 1 (haven’t found a new one yet)

Brake pad sets replaced: 2

Bicycle modifications: Thea: Crankset changed to 40/30/22T, Daniel: Crankset changed to 44/32/22T, new derailleur in Bulgaria

Broken things: Daniel: Rear derailleur+bent dropout (broke right after entering Bulgaria, damn you twig), 2 broken spokes in rear wheel

Lost things: Leatherman multi-tool (probably fell out of bag at some point in Iran), a cap, a wool cap

 

Theas ditched items:

• Cycling shorts
• 1 pair of shorts
• Foldable silicone coffee filter
• 2 pair of socks
• Wool headband
• Thin wool cap
• Ortlieb shoulder strap
• 1 unread book
• 3 spare gear straps

Daniels ditched items:

• Cycling shorts
• Cycling shorts
• Thin wool cap
• Thermarest backup sleeping mat (never used it, cut a sitting pad out of it which was never used either and later ditched)
• 1 drysack
• 1 pair of socks
• Ortlieb shoulder straps x3
• 3 identical micro USB cables
• 2 more identical USB cables
• Aluminium 10000 mAh powerbank (too heavy!)
• 3 spare gear straps
• Small cooking pot (never used it)
• 1 long sleeve shirt (It had seen too much dirt)
• Arm sleeves (lost its stretch)

Items picked up along the way:

• Anker PowerCore 13000 mAh
• GoalZero Nomad 7 Plus Solar panel
• Ortlieb Rack Pack 31L (Thea)
• Ortlieb Rack Pack 24L (Daniel)
• Lightweight chillout pants for off days (Daniel)
• Primus Omnifuel
• Kindle Paperwhite
• Clothing for Iran (Thea)

Nights slept in tent: 117

Nights slept in paid accommodation: 63

Nights slept at hosts: 11

 

Country most difficult to do hidden wild camping in: Austria

Country most easy to do hidden wild camping in: Turkey, Tajikistan

Countries with most variation and scenery: Tajikistan, Turkey

 

Country with the most beautiful sunrise: Turkmenistan

Country with the most beautiful sunset: Turkmenistan

Country with the most beautiful starry nights: Tajikistan, absolutely no light pollution

 

Strangest place slept in: Abandoned construction site container in Austria, Tiny abandoned rehab center on a farming field in Serbia

 

Favourite road(s): Ciclovia Alpe Adria etappe 2 and 3 (Austria), Werratal Radweg (Germany), Road from Aksaray to Göreme (Turkey), All of Anatolia in Eastern Turkey, M41 in Tajikistan

Longest time without a shower: 12 days

 

Warmest temperature experienced: 45° c (Iran)

Coldest temperature experienced: -15° c (Tajikistan)

Strongest headwind: East Iran, 40 km/h, the road to Sary-Tash in Kyrgyzstan, 40 km/h

Max consecutive days of headwind: 6 (Central/South Germany)

Max consecutive days of rain: 5 (Austria)

Total days with rain: 24

Total days with snow: 3

Total days with sunshine: 59

Highest humidity: Northern coast of Iran, 100%

 

Times camped through a thunderstorm: 7

Times nearly hit by lightning: 2 (300m away)

 

Number of adrenaline filled scary dog chases: Too many, most in Serbia and Bulgaria, Turkey has some crazy ass gigantic and scary sheepdogs though.

Number of non scary dog chases: 5, slow wiener dogs

 

Place with worst mosquitoes: Turkmenistan

Tick bites: Daniel: 4, Thea: 0

Rare animals seen: Mole (dead), Ferret (dead), Tiny weasel (both dead and alive), Someones escaped pet parakeet, Foxes, 50+ pheasants, Turtles, Eagles, Falcons, Storks, Cranes, Various kinds of pretty lizards, 6 cm long wasps, Snakes, Toads, Frogs, Locusts, Prairie dogs

 

Starting weight of loaded bicycles: 58 kg & 49 kg

Max total weight of bicycles: 70 kg (Turkmenistan)