558 miles (894 km) 21st October to 14th November 2019
For this fifth stage of our journey, we wanted to cycle from somewhere near where we left off from our last stage in Iran (Tabriz). In fact, our flight took us to Imam Khomeini International Airport, to the south of Tehran, so we decided to begin our ride from the holy city of Qom, 70 miles further south.
We did not want to cycle out of (or indeed in) Tehran as we had already witnessed the capital’s city traffic and we had already experienced the horrors of cycling on the M25 type ring road around Tabriz. Our initial plan was to cycle right across Iran from Qom to the Gulf of Hormuz, via Kashan, Isfahan and Shiraz, ending the ride on the much recommended beautiful island of Qeshm, before crossing the Gulf of Hormuz by ferry from Bandar Abbas to Sharjah (United Arab Emirates, near to Dubai). We had then planned to fly home from Dubai.
This was to be our most ambitious ride to date. We knew we would be cycling through deserts, and as we planned to camp, we knew we would need to carry lots of water and food with us. We decided that in order to do this in a manageable way for us, not having to carry too much extra baggage (including food and water), we would need a support vehicle. On this stretch we also had friends who wanted to come with us. We had raved a lot about Iran after our first trip last year!! So, it seemed a good idea to invite some people to ride with us, that way we would have fun company and some help with sharing the costs of the support vehicle and the compulsory guide “chaperone”.
But things changed in the world, and so our plans had to too. Relations between USA and Iran became very tense and, as we know, the UK is the “little devil”, USA being the “big devil”. Relations with the UK were a bit tense too. The British navy had seized an Iranian oil tanker off Gibraltar, at the request of the US. And now, a UK oil tanker had been seized by the Iranian Navy, leading to the Gulf of Hormuz filling up with UK and USA navy destroyers & aircraft carriers… it began to seem a very bad idea to go cycling around there or to cross such a tinderbox military hotspot on a small Iranian ferry boat. Especially as Bandar Abbas is an Iranian Navy head quarters where the UK Oil Tanker was taken to.
So, we changed our plans, we decided to cycle as far South as Shiraz and then to double up and head back North to visit Yazd. We did a loop rather than the straight line we hoped to do. Camping also seemed a bit more risky. We did not know how friendly local people would be and we also thought that going too much off-piste, off routes that tourists go, would also be inadvisable, so we booked to stay in hotels or homestays.
We decided that it would be easier to follow a “bookable” cycle tour that our Tehran based travel agency, Maral Tours, advertised on their website as the “Jewels of Persia” cycle tour. At least that way, Maral Tours would know the territory, without having to scout the route that Tim had worked on originally, via Google Maps.
Luckily, when the time came, the UK government had not advised against all travel…. so we set off, a bit scared and apprehensive about what was to come, but very excited too. We all felt that if we did not go to Iran in the Autumn of 2019, we might not be able to go for a long time afterwards, if the situation changed. We waited until the last minute to finalise our visas and book our flights.
In retrospect, we were right (and incredibly lucky) to go when we did, as the situation in Iran has become far more difficult with the US assassination of Qasem Soleimani in January 2020, followed by the tragic accidental shooting down of the Ukrainian airliner and the spread of Covid-19 across the country.
There were six of us, Suzy, Anna, Mike, Barb, me and Tim. There was Ali our lovely guide, from our last ride in Iran, and Medhi, our lovely minibus driver. Ali and Medhi were amazing support to our adventures.
There is a Flickr Album of Tim’s photos here…
Alysun’s diary of our ride….
- DAY 01… Home to Qom
DAY ONE… Arriving in Iran We are all waiting in our rooms for our supper which we have opted to have at the hotel (no other options!). The staff here… - DAY 02… Qom
DAY TWO… Sightseeing in Qom A thunderstorm this morning and rain on arrival yesterday. I have to say the weather is dampening my spirits. Rain is forecast for three days…. - DAY 03… Qom to Kashan
DAY THREE… 44.5 miles (71 km) An easy ride today. Roads skirting round the jagged peaks of the mountains and skimming the very edge of the desert. The roads were… - DAY 04… Kashan
DAY FOUR… Sightseeing in Kashan Woke to deafening burst of song from tiny sparrow like birds in the trees outside, in the courtyard garden. At breakfast we have learnt that… - DAY 05… Kashan to Abyaneh
DAY FIVE… 36.75 miles (59 km) Earlyish start, as it wasn’t raining (8.30am). It was pleasantly cool and overcast. We drove about 7km out of Kashan and then began our… - DAY 06… Abyaneh to Isfahan
DAY SIX… 42.5 miles (68 km) Luckily no rain this morning as we set off on a 28km downhill ride from Abyaneh to yesterday’s lunch stop. Dogs were there again,… - DAY 07… Isfahan
DAY SEVEN… Sightseeing in Isfahan We met up with Maryam, who had been our guide in Isfahan last year, today and because we had two guides Tim and I were… - DAY 08… Isfahan to Vanak Ecolodge
DAY EIGHT… 38.25 miles (61.25 km) Large breakfast, in fact, the best so far. Buffet style so absolutely no limits on what you could eat. We left Esfahan in the… - DAY 09… Vanak Ecolodge to Yasuj
DAY NINE… 44 miles (70 km) Awoke to find ourselves in the heart of the mountains. Mrs. Reza was busy preparing breakfast for us; lemon and honey tea, but where… - DAY 10… Yasuj to Shiraz
DAY TEN… 49.5 miles (79 km) Thankfully the ride today was easy; downhill with the wind behind us for much of the way and only one easy climb of 400… - DAY 11… Shiraz
DAY ELEVEN… Sightseeing in Shiraz Visit to the pink mosque, famed for its stained glass windows. Many Iranians come here to pose for photos in the colourful light as the… - DAY 12… Shiraz & Persepolis
DAY TWELVE… Sightseeing in Persepolis Rose at 6.45am, usual time…. to squeeze in a little time at the bazaar. It’s hard to spend a little time at the bazaar as… - DAY 13… Persepolis to Dorodzan Lake
DAY THIRTEEN… 59.5 miles (95 km) We left Persepolis (Apadana Hotel) with its beautiful blue sky and unusual bird song and headed off to our next destination, a homestay about… - DAY 14… Dorodzan Lake to Tang-e Boraq
DAY FOURTEEN… 28 miles (45 km) A sunny morning and a big spread for breakfast. The family returned to their home that they had vacated for us at great haste… - DAY 15… Tang-e Boraq to Abarkooh
DAY FIFTEEN… 53.5 miles (85.5 km) Woke to a beautiful sunny morning and snow-covered mountains across the valley. Headed up the Tang-e Boraq gorge, past the camping site that Tim… - DAY 16… Abarkooh to Yazd
DAY SIXTEEN… 41.25 miles (66 km) Sitting outside our rooms, sound of a courtyard fountain, early sun, cock crowing. I’m sitting on one of the raised platform seats in the… - DAY 17… Yazd
DAY SEVENTEEN… Sightseeing in Yazd A large breakfast, not only just a buffet but also ordering from the menu too. Ali has some plans for a ‘day of sightseeing’, I… - DAY 18… Yazd
DAY EIGHTEEN… Sightseeing in Yazd We set off after breakfast to explore the old city, entirely constructed of adobe. It is a UNESCO heritage site. There’s an amazing network of… - DAY 19… Yazd to Kuhpayeh
DAY NINETEEN… 24.75 miles (39.50 km) Back on our bicycles again today, but only for a brief ride from the Chak Chak Zorastrian Shrine to the main road. Our A-to-B… - DAY 20… Kuhpayeh to Isfahan
DAY TWENTY… 53.75 miles (86 km) We’re back in Isfahan in the hotel we stayed in last time. Tonight, we had a real struggle getting anything much vegetarian. We went… - DAY 21… Isfahan
DAY TWENTY ONE… Off to the Bazaar 🙂 At last a visit to the bazaar!! There were absolutely no excuses why we couldn’t go (no holy days, Friday etc). It… - DAY 22… Isfahan to Kashan
DAY TWENTY TWO… 42.5 miles (68 km) We decided to do some extra cycling today rather than more city sightseeing or bazaar shopping, one last day riding through our much-loved… - DAY 23… Kashan
DAY TWENTY THREE… Last full day All I wrote today was a poem… City of carpets, persimmons, pomegranates, Leg warmers, hats and ostrich produce; Feathers, leathers and creams, Rosewater, and… - DAY 24… Kashan to Home
DAY TWENTY FOUR…. going home, a postscript Our final day involved packing bags, packing bikes, last minute shopping and changing our excess Iranian cash back into Euros. Plus, of course,…