If you think cycling from Czechia to Kyrgyzstan is an ambitious undertaking, how about doing it on a handcycle, navigating wild camping, inaccessible infrastructure and headwinds as a paraplegic?
In the vast steppes of Kazakhstan, two Czech travellers are battling against strong winds and their own minds, desperate to find some distraction after cycling hundreds of kilometres on perfectly flat roads, with only sand and camels in sight.
Like many European cycle travellers, Aleš Černohous and Šarka Jelinkova wanted to test themselves and experience a real challenge on the Silk Road. However, their journey was marred by some additional obstacles.
How it started
“25 years ago, I had an accident in a London Park”, tells me Aleš. “There was a strong wind, and a big tree fell on me. It was bad luck; I was in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
Since then, he’s been living with a spinal cord injury and, as a peer mentor, helped other people learn how to navigate the challenges around paraplegia.
Although he’s never been much of a cyclist, a year ago, he came up with the idea of going on an adventure on a handcycle. Instead of choosing an easy, wheelchair-friendly destination like Spain or Sweden, he threw himself into deep water and chose cycling through the Caucasus to Central Asia.
He needed someone to do it with, so he asked Šarka, an occupational therapist experienced with spine injuries, to join him.
“At the beginning, we didn’t know what to expect. It’s hard to imagine what it’s going to be like”, says Šarka, when I ask what they were most afraid of before they started.
They took a few weekend rides to test the gear and setup, and on March 30, they left their homes in the Czech Republic, gradually adjusting to the rhythm of cycling for hours every day.
Accessibility
Cycling long distances was not easy, but the real challenge would await them at the end of the day, when searching for accommodation.
“The only time we stayed in a fully-accessible place without any stairs was the second night of our trip, at our friend’s in the Czech Republic. He is also in a wheelchair, so his house was perfect. After that, there were always stairs”, says Šarka.
In these situations, Aleš needed her help to get into the room.
“We were happy if it were only three steps, then we could manage it together. If there were one whole floor, Aleš would get on his bottom and jump stair by stair, and I’d carry his wheelchair upstairs”, she recalls.
Aleš, who also works for a group mapping accessible tourism places in the Czech Republic, was prepared for such difficulties. That’s why the duo spent most of their night camping in the wild. Surprisingly, most of the time, it was easier than finding a room with wheelchair access.
“This is not something all people with paraplegia can do, but I am luckily able to transfer from the wheelchair or handcycle to the ground by myself”, says Aleš.
Unexpected challenges
Wild camping wasn’t without its challenges. One night in Uzbekistan, Aleš and Šarka had already pitched their tent and enjoyed a quiet evening after a long day on a bike when they received an unexpected visit.
“The landowner came and wanted to harvest his crops with big machines”, recalls Šarka. “He was arguing with us a bit, but it was already dark, and we didn’t want to pack everything again. In the end, we were allowed to stay, although our tent got super dusty.”
Some days later, near the border to Tajikistan, they were less lucky. A soldier came around 10 pm, announcing that it was forbidden to camp there.
“We knew it was our fault, and the soldier was doing his job”, admits Šarka. “However, it wasn’t very pleasant, having to pack our stuff again and ride until 2 am to find a new place to stay for the night.”
Closed borders and troublesome trains
Since some borders along the route were closed for unmotorised travellers, Aleš and Šarka had to cover some stretches of the way using public transport. While taking a ferry across the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea was pretty straightforward, taking a train from Beyneu (Kazakhstan) to Nukus (Uzbekistan) was a logistical nightmare.
The old Soviet train operating on this route is infamous among cyclists – even those without disabilities struggle significantly to carry their bikes from a low platform up the steep stairs and manoeuvre them through tight cars. With a much bigger and heavier handcycle, Aleš and Šarka had considerable uncertainty about whether they would be able to board the train.
“When we bought the tickets at the train station, they told us that it was not a problem and we just had to talk with the staff”, says Aleš. “But when the train staff saw my handcycle, they said: We have a problem, it’s too big. All travellers on the train had big bags, and we had to wait until everybody boarded to see if we could fit the bikes inside.”
After cycling thousands of kilometres through steppes, mountains, and deserts, the duo had to face one final hurdle: bringing the handcycle back to the Czech Republic after they reached the finish line of their journey in Bishkek.
“We were mentally prepared for the mountains, camping without showers for days and other things”, says Šarka. “But getting the handcycle on the plane was super stressful, since you cannot disassemble it like a traditional leg-powered bike. It’s also much heavier and electric, and most airlines don’t allow you to bring the batteries on board. It was a lengthy communication with the airport staff and the airline, but everything ultimately worked out.”
The handcycle
Finding the right vehicle to carry him through the bumpy roads of the Caucasus, dusty steppes of Kazakhstan and steep mountain passes in Kyrgyzstan wasn’t an easy quest for Aleš.
“There are only three companies in Europe that manufacture this kind of handcycle”, says Aleš. “Mine is from a Polish company, Sport On, and of course, it rides best on asphalt, but it can also handle gravel roads. Only a few times did Šarka have to push me on steeper, lower-quality trails.”
Together with Aleš, his wheelchair and all the luggage, the handcycle’s weight was close to 180 kg. Luckily, the vehicle has an electric motor, which enables Aleš to cover an average of 80 km per day.
Communication is key
Spending 24/7 with one person while battling physical and mental challenges for over three months can be quite a struggle.
“This trip was a big lesson on how to cooperate, communicate and deal with conflicts”, says Šarka. “Of course, we were arguing every day, but it wasn’t horrible. It never came to it that I’d wake up in the morning thinking: oh God, another day with him.”
For Aleš, the trip served as a confirmation of what he was capable of. It also left him hungry for more.
“One week after we returned, he was already looking at the map and making new routes”, laughs Šarka.
“I would love to discover the other parts of Asia”, shares Aleš with dreamy eyes. “Maybe starting from Japan and heading west.”
Tips for a cycle touring adventure with a disability
I asked Aleš and Šarka for their advice on how to support other people with disabilities who would like to try travelling on a handcycle. Here are their tips:
1. Know your disability and what your body can do. For Aleš, it was possible to wild camp because he could get from the wheelchair to the ground on his own. For others, this might be out of reach. Adjust your goals and your route to what is accessible to you.
2. Be realistic about how much assistance you need. Being an assistant for a person with disability can be exhausting, whether you’re at home or on a cycle tour. Asking for small things 100 times per day can be tiring (especially when combined with biking for hours a day) – you need to ensure that the person assisting you during your trip can handle the demands.
3. Consider how many hours of riding your bottom can handle. On a leg-powered bike, you can stand up from the saddle when the road gets bumpy. On a handcycle, you sit all the time and feel every hole and every bump. Prepare for it!
4. Research your route thoroughly. Šarka and Aleš used mapy.cz to plan their ride, and (apart from one terrible road in Georgia), it worked out fine. Double-check the streets on the satellite image, ask other travellers – do everything to ensure you won’t find yourself in the middle of a field where your handcycle cannot get through (people relying on Komoot too much know what I’m talking about).
5. Remember to bring all the medication you need and check if they are allowed in the countries you’ll visit. You might need some documentation from your doctor.
6. Going to the toilet in the middle of nowhere can be quite a tricky matter for wheelchair users. However, Aleš discovered that a shower chair with a hole inside works perfectly.
7. If you’ll be travelling on an electric handcycle, bring a spare battery and charge it at every opportunity.
Want to find out more about Aleš and Šarka and their adventure? Visit their website, Instagram and YouTube Channel!