Last November I left from Bologna, my hometown to ride my bike across Asia. This trip should bring me to Turkey through East Europe. I’ll then enter Iran and continue through the Stans (with a possible detour on the Pamir highway in Tajikistan), China and South-East Asia.
On this page you can find a blog I try to keep updated, here you can find a map of the route I’ve followed until now and here there are some photos I’ve taken. I am also trying to keep a page with some statistics. Click here to see it (it is actually under construction, if there is anything you’d like to know about my ‘dayly routine’ or whatever else that I might include there, do let me know).
If you have any questions or suggestions, please, write me
Actual Route
For some statistics click here
Uzbekistan route:
To see the route on other countries go on the route page
Approximately 8500 km cycled
Latest post
Dasht e Kavir: across the Iranian Desert
Pedalando verso Oriente: in Kurdistan (italian)
Latest news
18-05-2013 Arrived in Samarkand. From Bukhara it was a three days ride, along endless cultivated fields and lot of villages. The heat was sometimes almost unbearable, but real mountains are starting soon, in a week I should be in Tadjikistan.
13-05-2013 I am in Bukhara, where I arrived a couple of days ago, completely exhausted and with pain everywhere, after having cycled the 650 km in Turkmenistan in less than 5 days (quite a bit of it were in the desert, but not nearly as good as the Iranian desert). I am still staying here a couple of days, then heading to Samarkand. I just found out that the border I wanted to use to cross into Tadjikistan closed more than a year ago (also all the other cyclists and motorcyclists in the hostel with me were completely unaware of that), so I have to take a little detour in Uzbekistan, but it seems to be a good one.
06-05-2013 New blog post: Dasht e Kavir: across the Iranian Desert
29-04-2013 And here some photos from the last 10 days in the desert https://www.dropbox.com/sh/bcc6779m6lyrtdd/MT2jWNMhIA
28-04-2013 New blog post: Out of the Traffic
28-04-2013 I am in Mashhad after having finished my first desert crossing. Central Asia is not far now!
Cycling out of the abandoned caravanserai where I spent one night
14-04-2013 Arrived yesterday in Yazd after three beautiful days in the middle of nowhere. Now resting (again) for a couple of days in the huge patio of Kohan Hotel.
A whole day spent on this unpaved road without crossing any village until late afternoon
10-04-2013 I spent the last three days in Esfahan preparing to leave again and meeting up with some nice couchsurfers.
The bike has new chain, new derailleur and new brake pads; I sent home my winter equipment and replaced it with some summer stuff (finally!).
Everything packed, tomorrow morning I am riding to Yazd, 350 km, mostly in a desert (looking at the map). Stocked up on food and water.
07-04-2013 New blog post: Iranian Kurdistan: in the Howraman Valley
I am now in Teheran, tonight I should take a train back to Esfahan, from where I will start cycling again to Yazd.
04-04-2013 New blog post (in italian): Pedalando verso Oriente: in Kurdistan
01-04-2013 Also some picture from the (cold) week I spent in south east Turkey between Lake Van and the Hakkari province. Click here to see them. (I will put them to flickr when I manage, but it will take a lot of time…)
01-04-2013 New blog post: Iranian New Year or No Ruz
30-03-2013 
Probably the last picture with some snow. It was after Marivan, at at a 2200 m pass I climbed to enter a Kurdish valley where I cycled for two days (on the background there is the road I came from).
Now I have a break of some days in Esfahan, tomorrow my parents come to visit me, which means I will stay in fancy hotel instead of the tent/hostel
24-03-2013 I am now in Nur Abad, internet points are usually closed because is No Ruz (Iranian new year) and literally all iranians seem to be on holiday, camping and having picnics. the riding goes well, sometimes too much traffic and head-wind, but bearable. Best ride in Iran has been on the Howraman valley, 70 kms of unpaved road through the mountains passing tiny traditional villages where everybody still wears proper kurdish clothes.
Next sunday I should arrive in Isfahan where I meet with my parents and have a week off the bike. Hopefully I will also manage to post some pictures, at least those from Turkey!
(you can still see my actual position clicking here. it is updated once or twice per day).
11-03-2013 I arrived yesterday in Urmia, Iran and I decided to take a rest day to sort some practical things out, such as getting a map (which is in persian…), a phrasebook and changing money. Tomorrow I start my ride towards Esfahan, where I should arrive in 20 days.
09-03-2013 New blog post:
Dıyarbakir bike tour
After five beautiful days of mountains I am now in Yuksekova, 40 km from the border with Iran, which I enter tomorrow. I don’t know how internet works there, so it might be possible that I will not post anything for a while. And now I go to drink my last beer, likely there will be no alcohol for the next two months
During the climb yesterday
05-03-2013 This has been my view for the whole day (it also got worse).
Too much snow, I’ve stopped at a petrol station where I spend the night. While killing time I tried to set up a ‘statistics page‘. Any suggestions on what I might write in there are welcome
Tomorrow it should clear up, but it might be a little bit cold. I am actually looking forward to the ride along the snowy road and under the sun.
04-03-2013 After two long days of riding and really a lot of mountains I arrived in Tatvan. Lot of snow in thw ground, I took a room for the night. Tomorrow I will start the ride around the south shore of lake Van.
27-02-2013 New blog post: A warm Turkish Winter
After a night bus from Diyarbakir, I am now in Ankara. I found a new rim, so on the next days I will take the bus back and start the ride again for the last bit of Turkey.
22-02-2013 I am spending the night in Hasankeyf, in the house of a nature association with a great view on the Tigris river. Today no cycling because of the rim problem, I arrived here hitchhiking, something which seems to be quite common here in Kurdistan, even though I was the only one with a loaded bike!
21-02-2013 I am in Mardin where I arrived yesterday, after a two days ride from Diyarbakir. Back rim broke again, completely (yes, the one I changed in Albania). Had it happened a month ago it might have been better, had it happened next month I might have been in much more trouble. So I can’t complain too much, but now is back to Ankara, to buy a new rim. But before I will spend the week-end in Hasankeyf, a tiny village close to the Tigris river with a friend (I’ll try to hitchhike to get there).
My arrival in Diyarbakir, ‘escorted’ by Rezul, from the local bike club.
11-02-2013 New blog post: Picnic and Caves in Cappadocia
11-02-2013 I arrived yesterday in Malatya where I plan to stop for a couple of days. Much needed after 12 days and more than 700 kms from Ankara. Now in a nice bike shop which organizes bike tour on Saturday and which gave me a very welcome contact in Diyarbakır, where I should arrive at the end of this week.
24-01-2013 New bog post: Çay and Empty Spaces
For older updates click here
