Route
Follow the planned and the actual route, our present position and points of interest on this map:
For technical reasons MAP 1 shows the route from Vienna to Hami, China (lower map) and MAP 2 shows the route from Hami onwards (right below).
MAP 2
MAP 1
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We planned the route in such a way that we would pass through as many interesting places and landscapes as possible while avoiding current hot spots. Starting in Vienna we follow the course of the Danube down to its estuary at the Black Sea. When one has grown up in Klosterneuburg on the bank of the Danube, at some stage one wants to follow the stream down to its end. Additionally, this route has the advantage that we do not need to cross any mountain ranges in this first stage of the journey, which is the best we can do in the cold continental European winter.
Planned route
We follow the mild climate of the Black Sea cost through Turkey all the way to Georgia, from where we continue into Azerbaijan and reach Iran following the lush coast of the Caspian Sea. In Teheran we park our bikes for a few weeks since we meet our parents and will travel through Iran together with them and visit the great sights of this country. At the end of their stay we want to climb the highest point of the country, the 5.671m high peak of the volcano Demavend. Afterwards, we continue into Central Asia with our bikes and will make the first acquaintance with lengthy desert crossings, before the heat of the summer makes these impassable.
In the central part of our journey we follow the route of the historic Silk Road, which leads us through the most beautiful cities of Central Asia. On the Pamir Highway in Tadjikistan we cross the highest mountain range of the former Soviet Union, right at the base of the Pik Lenin. Kashgar represents the gate to China, from here we plan to enter Tibet „through the back door“. We pass by the holy Mount Kailash and plan to do the kora, the traditional circular trek around the mountain as well as a trek starting from Mount Everest Base Camp later on.
The route through Tibet is more than 5.000km long, it mostly runs above 4.000m and crosses at least 15 passes which are higher than 5.000m. This section of our route makes the highest demands on us and our equipment, which has to withstand constant vibrations of the rough earth roads, extreme weather conditions, dust and strong UV-rays.
The road from Tibet leads through the subtropic South West of China, before we follow the Mekong all through Laos until we end up in Cambodia, where we will not miss the famous temples of Angkor Wat. Cycling through Thailand, Malaysia we will finally reach Singapore, almost right on the equator.
The total route is currently more than 22.000km long and encompasses at least 123.000 meters of difference in altitude, but it lies in the nature of such a trip that adaptations need to be possible at all times for political, health, weather or other reasons.