Part 1 was over. I’m calling it “Part 1” in an attempt to induce a subsequent part. I had spent 5 of 7 months in Muslim countries and cycled roughly 10,000km. The first 5000 had taken 6 weeks, the second 5000 had taken 5 and a half months. I had ultimately been thwarted by the weather and the only machine in the world capable of hatred.

They asked me to repack my bags in Frankfurt, which I did, but not before suppressing the urge to tuck a Euro into the breast-pocket of the stewardess. “Put your money away bro, that is just not gonna fly here”, I thought. “Pffffff”, this would never have been a problem in Tajikistan. Was I actually missing central Asia? Utterly incredible.