Cycle complete!
It's fair to say that I have had a few dodgy moments on my travels so far, most of these relating to traffic or to strangers in the night. However I doubt I will have few more unwelcome scenarios then the one I had on the Karakoram Highway in Northern Pakistan. When I mention the latter part of the previous sentence I imagine you'll be thinking it has something to do with terrorism or the like, however the fright was more to do with the elements than anything else.
The Karakoram is a wonderful, scenic tarmaced road which links northern Pakistan with north western China, however every year it is subject to some of the worst landslides worldwide. This year most of these were as a result of unusually heavy rains in April when the whole highway was shut for over a week with 100 reported landslides. Two weeks after these were cleared I ventured up the highway on the bike, witnessing the remnants of old landslides alongside some fresh ones. The weather that day was misty drizzle, much like we are accustomed to getting in Ireland. It was about mid morning when the incident occured. Cycling beside a towering cliff face with loose rock, without warning I see a flash of rock, smash just one foot in front of me, banging the railing and thundering down the ravine to my right. The thud was so loud that I let off quiet a shout and then fearing further rockfalls I absolutely pedalled for my life for the next 5 minutes! I reckoned with its size that it must have weighed about 20 kilo Quick glances behind showed more loose rock falling at a tremendous pace although none as large as the first rock which smashed in front of me. Thankfully there were no more calls as close as that one but it left a deep impression on me as to what could have been if I'd been a second or two faster, and I felt extremely grateful to God that it had not hit me or the bike. Maybe it was just me but I had always imagined that landslides moved rather slowly, but boy that rock certainly was anything but! If it had hit me on the head I was certainly a dead man. Anywhere else on my body and it would have left a crushed arm or leg. Hitting the bike would probably have resulted in serious damage to it, not to mind the resulting fall that would have ensued. Thankfully the fright was short lived, but it did make me appreciate how difficult it must be for locals who face this danger for many months of the year.
1 Comment
Sam
5/14/2016 10:40:52
Wow, thank God for his protection... None of these things are just coincidences and chance, His hand is over you, protecting you. Thanks for sharing, Dan
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The AuthorName: Daniel Ross Top Tips:
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October 2016
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