Statistics

For all those who love statistics, numbers and details we offer a few of these aspects of our journey.

Complete cycling statistics

The complete details of every day of our journey, containing everything from distance covered to type of road surface can be download here.

Technical bike problems and repairs (number corresponds to km)

35: Sandro’s speedometer ceases to work correctly (replaced in Teheran km 5.664)
43: Alu SIGG bottle cracks open because of low temperatures (replaced in Istanbul km 2.202)
541: Loss of Kathi’s rear-view mirror (replaced in Istanbul km 2.202)
1.034: Kathi’s front gear-shift cable sheath breaks, cycling restricted to middle gears (repaired in Istanbul km 2.202)
1.805: Improved mud protection on rear wheel with cuttings from a plastic Coke bottle
2.202: Replaced both gear-shift sheaths of Kathi’s bike with longer ones
2.217: Flat tyre (back Kathi) - double puncture because of 3cm screw (repaired inner tube)
2.470: Flat tyre (back Kathi) - same place as first puncture (exchanged inner tube)
4.476: Discovery that inner walls of both rims of both bikes are breaking (exchanged in Teheran km 5.664)
4.721: Loss of Sandro’s front spanner screw head (replaced in Teheran km 5.664)
6.297: Strange and undefinable creaking noises in Sandro’s rear hub (oiled on the spot)
8.535: Small bolt on Sandro’s right front Ortlieb pannier breaks (replaced with a screw on the spot)
8.568: Left lower screw fixing Sandro’s front Tubus rack breaks, rest remaining in the eye (removed and replaced in Dushanbe km 8.765)
8.600: Small bolt on Kathi’s left rear Ortlieb pannier breaks (replaced with a screw on the spot)
8.601: Discovery of two breaks in Sandro’s front Tubus rack (welded in Dushanbe km 8.765)
8.693: Discovery of loss of lower fixation clip of Sandro’s right rear Ortlieb pannier (replaced in Kashgar km 10.356)
8.935: Discovery that inner wall of Kathi’s back rim is breaking again (replaced rim in Kashgar km 10.356)
9.868: Discovery that inner wall of Sandro’s back rim is breaking again (replaced rim in Kashgar km 10.356)
10.013: Top strap fixation of Sandro’s left hind Ortlieb pannier rips at plastic ledge (repaired in Xiahe km 14.153)
10.078: Left lower screw fixing Sandro’s front Tubus rack breaks, rest remaining in the eye (removed and replaced on the spot)
10.356: Discovery that the right end screw of Sandro’s rear hub was not correctly tightened leading to the destruction of the scew lining and in rare occasions lack of grip of the hub, also the cause of creaking noises in the hub (fixing not possible)
13.280: Loss of grip of Sandro’s rear hub (temporary fix using wire to increase pressure on Hügi grip mechanism)
13.838: Flat tyre (back Kathi) – small piece of wire caused the hole  (repaired inner tube)
13.838: Discovery that the plastic part keeping the rear gear shift cable in position below the pedals on Kathi’s bike is broken explaining the lack of precision when shifting gears (replaced in Kunming km 15.972)
14.032: Slow flat tyre (back Sandro) – two pieces of wire (exchanged inner tube km 14.942)
15.164: Flat tyre (back Kathi) – large piece of metal (exchanged inner tube)
15.464: Top strap fixation of Kathi’s left front Ortlieb pannier rips at plastic ledge (repaired once back home)
15.951: Brake spanner fixing front brakes to Kathi’s and Sandro’s frame loosens as constant vibrations have decreased maximum pressure (increased pressure by adding a metal distance holder in Kunming km 15.972)
18.226: Sandro’s second speedometer (replacement model brought to Teheran) ceases to work
18.824: Flat tyre (back Kathi) – same place as previous puncture (exchanged inner tube)
18.824: Discovery that Kathi’s rear tire is torn in one spot, dangerously exposing inner tube (replaced rear tyre with spare)
19.619: Discovery that the saddle support of both bikes is rusted to the frame making the money hidden inside inaccessible
19.678: Small bolt on Sandro’s left front Ortlieb pannier breaks (replaced with a screw on the spot)
20.507: Discarded first of three chains after total use of 8.538 km in alteration with other chains
20.584: Small bolt on Sandro’s left front Ortlieb pannier breaks (replaced with a screw on the spot)
22.073: Right lower screw fixing Sandro’s front Tubus rack breaks, rest remaining in the eye (removed and replaced on the spot)
22.324: Created mud protection on Kathi’s rear wheel from two empty plastic bottles (necessary because we sent hind pannier home)
22.469: Top strap fixation of Sandro’s right hind Ortlieb pannier rips at plastic ledge (repaired once back home)
22.584: Cable of hydraulic rear brake is torn by workers offloading bike from ferry (repaired once back home)
22.778: Slow flat tyre (back Sandro) – (repaired inner tube km 23.027)
23.965: Flat tyre (back Sandro) – (repaired inner tube)
24.018: Discarded second of three chains after total use of 9.447 km in alteration with other chains

Cycling facts and records:

  • Total distance: 24.018,36 km
  • Distance on asphalt roads: 22.507,70 km
  • Distance gravel/dirt track roads: 1.510,66 km
  • Longest distance cycled on a day: 210,31 km, Melaka - Kahang, Malyasia, 30.01.2010
  • Longest distance cycled without getting off the bike: 72,34 km, Highway 4, Thailand, 25.12.2009
  • Approximate number of pedal revolutions per person on the whole trip: 6.900.000
  • Number of wheel revolutions on the whole trip: 11.747.774
  • Total altitude covered: 137.287
  • Total time cycled: 1.469 hours 44 minutes 10 seconds
  • Number of flat tyres: 6 (not counting repeat fixes of same puncture)
  • Highest elevation: 4.655m Ak Baital Pass, Tajikistan, 22.06.2009
  • Lowest elevation: -28m Baku, Azerbaijan, 02.03.2009

Other facts and records:

  • Number of days with tail wind: 55
  • Number of days with head wind: 59
  • Lowest temperature in the tent: -8°C
  • Highest daytime temperature: 42°C in the shade, 51°C in the sun
  • Days of heavy rain: 24
  • Most expensive night: 100 USD (78,74 EUR) suite in Tbilisi, 23.02.2009
  • Cheapest night (excluding tent): 30.000 Kip (2,37 EUR) double room, ensuite bathroom, Champasak, Laos, 23.-25.10.2009
  • Closest camp to the road: 124cm, Pu’er, China 11.09.2009 (dense jungle gorge and no space)
  • Number of different locations slept in during the journey: 256
  • Number of nights spent sleeping in the tent: 140
  • Number of nights spent sleeping at people’s private homes: 20
  • Number of nights spent sleeping in hotels: 246
  • Longest distance cycled between taking showers: 1.035,00 km, Kashgar - Korla, 08.-14.07.2009
  • Longest tunnel used: 5,23 km, Anzob Pass Tunnel, Tajikistan, 30.05.2009
  • Cheapest transport used: Metro Baku, single ride 0,05 Manat (0,05 EUR)
  • Cheapest bread: 500 Rial (0,038 EUR), Yazd, Iran
  • Number of pictures taken (after deleting unwanted ones!): 7.376
  • Maximum number of litres of water carried among the two of us: 40,25 + 2 watermelons (Gobi Desert, China)
  • Total amount of liquid (mainly water) consumed per person: 2.620 litres
  • Total amount of suntan lotion used: 908ml
  • Number of police/military checks where we were actually stopped, excluding borders (there were countless more where we were either not stopped or more often we simply ignored the check):
  • - Turkey: 1
    - Iran: 6
    - Turkmenistan: 3
    - Uzbekistan: 1
    - Tajikistan: 18
    - Kyrgyzstan: 1
    - China: 6
  • Most dangerous situation: riding the car with Ali through morning traffic in Shiraz or was it riding our bikes along the Afghanistan border which included: landslides, river and waterfall crossings, land mines, dynamite blastings, having loaded machine guns pointed at us by nighttime Tajik military patrols
  • Metro lines used: Istanbul, Tbilisi, Baku, Teheran, Tashkent, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore