with Keith Craig of http://cycling-the-world.blogspot.com
Plan A, but it's open to change. We'll need a plan B if we can't get visas for this route. The total is very roughly 15,000 km (have only got small scale maps at this stage). We've averaged 75 km per day (includes non cycling days) over the last three trips (20,000 km) but for this one there will be waiting en route for visas, possibly waiting for spare parts and side trips. I'm allowing nine months.
Turkey. No visa required. Over the Bosphorus and up to the Black Sea. Follow the Black Sea coast as far as Tirebola. April is a good time. A few highlights from the Lonely Planet. Amasra - a real gem. To Sinop - a wonderfully scenic road, should be on every traveller's itinerary. Samsun - vibrant, bustling, very few tourists. Ordu - the Black Sea asserts its magic. Giresun - hazelnuts and cherries. At Tirebola turn south east into the mountains towards Erzuram. Then to the Iran border near Dogubayazit. Mt Ararat is pretty close. Approximately 1,700 km for Turkey.
Iran. Visas are up to 30 days but can be extended and you have to enter within 90 days. An authority letter from Iran is required, before applying, but there are internet sites where these can be organised. To Tabriz - a fine introduction to Iran. Then turn east to Ardabil and follow the southern Caspian Sea coast. Even the main road has attractive moments with areas of rice paddies and some lovely woodland. We could leave our bikes in Chalus or Noshahr and catch the bus to Tehran. Once we leave the Caspian we go through Gorgan, a large appealing city and turn north towards Turkmenistan at Shirvan. Total for Iran 1,600 km.
Turkmenistan. Without a guide the only possibility is a transit visa (no Letter of Invitation required for transit visas) usually valid for 3 days (233 km per day ??????????) but they have been given to cyclists for 7 and 10 days. Best time to visit April to June. Enter at Bajgiran / Gaudan then Ashgabat - one of the world's fastest changing cities, Mary and Chardzhev. 700 km for Turkmenistan.
Uzbekistan. NZ (not UK) passport holders require a Letter of Invitation. Visas can be issued for up to two months. To Bukhara from the border point. Bukhara is Central Asia's holiest city, has buildings spanning a thousand years of history and an old centre that hasn't changed much in two centuries. Then on to Samarkand. No name is so evocative of the Silk Road as Samarkand. Domes, minarets, larger than life monuments. Next Tashkent, the biggest and worldliest city of Central Asia. Finally Fergana with its tree lined avenues and pastel plastered tsarist buildings. The border crossing to Kyrgyzstan is in the Fergana Valley. Total for Uzbekistan 1,100 km.
Kyrgyzstan. 30 day tourist visas are available without letters of support. The first city is Osh with history dating back to the 5th century BC. Then Sary Tash to the Irkeshtam Pass (2,841 metres) which was re-opened to international traffic four years ago. The pass connects the Fergana Valley with Kashgar in China along an ancient branch of the Silk Road. There are entries on the Lonely Planet Thorn Tree which suggest that Irkeshtam is less hassle for cyclists than the more northerly Torugart Pass. Kyrgyzstan 300 km.
China. Hopefully we can get a 90 day visa but these are activated on issue not the arrival date. Extensions are possible but with a multiple entry visa you could exit (eg to Hong Kong) and re-enter for another 90 days. Kashgar - retains an intoxicating air of the exotic, has been a Silk Road trading centre for two millennia. There are two options from here other than the more tricky route through Tibet. The Silk Road North (via Korla) or the Silk Road South (via Hotan) to Lanzhou. They both enter the Taklamakan Desert. It's about 3,000 km from Kashgar to Lanzhou on the north route and 3,200 on the south one. Lanzhou is on the Yellow River. I wouldn't mind leaving the bikes here and travelling by train or flying to Xian, Beijing and Shanghai. From Lanzhou it's 2,400 km to the Laos border via Chengdu - an abundance of greenery and friendly characters, laid back. Then Kunming - thoroughly modern with wide palm lined roads and sky scrapers. Distance for China 5,900 km.
Laos. You can get a visa at the border or in Kunming. Enter at Boten. It's only about 200 km to Huay Xai on the Mekong, the road is passable if it's not too wet, but there are other longer routes to Thailand.
Thailand. Cross the Mekong to Chiang Khong and then 2,000 km to Malaysia following the tsunami coast.
Malaysia. 900 km down the west coast. It will be the tail end of the monsoon season on the east side. Some interesting places on the west like Langkawi, Penang, Malacca.
Singapore. Dipping at the same place as the start of the Singers / Honkers ride.
Misc
There's a brilliantly documented route at http://www.chinacycle.co.uk, though we are thinking of doing something slightly different, Pamir Highway, which is a lot of extra administration for visas, however, it's a fantastic route. We're working on getting Gavin & Rod to join us.
All the indications are that Iran will be safe, we're cycling in the safe areas and have heard good things, legendary hospitality. However, we have to cycle in long trousers, so am now on the lookout for something light and black.
Have done some training, but expecting to get fit in first 2 weeks, however, it might be painful with those hills at the start, then it'll flatten before the Himalayas. Then its dead flat through the deserts of West China but I expect we'll be more concerned trying to find cold drinks.