State Circus and The Chatkal State Biosphere Nature Reserve
Plan this ride
Recorded distance
348 km
Riding-time estimate
7 h 27
Journey
Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
The recorded total and the leg detail need reconciliation. Inspect the leg notes before using this record for timing or navigation. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
From Tashkent it runs 348 km to Tashkent; allow about 7 h 27 of riding. On the way it passes Big Solar Furnace, The Chatkal State Biosphere Nature Reserve and back through Big Solar Furnace. The stored terrain estimate reaches about 1,950 m; a measured road-elevation profile is not available.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. State Circus
The Tashkent circus looks like a landed spaceship, or a giant pale flying saucer, and for decades it was one of the city's proudest buildings. Circus was a serious art form in the Soviet Union, with its own schools, state companies and international stars, and every large city had a permanent big top made of concrete. The one in Tashkent, a round building with a huge dome, was built in the 1970s and holds nearly two thousand spectators, and the tradition of acrobats, trained animals, clowns and trapeze artists is a cherished part of the city's culture, with many families bringing their children on Sundays.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
State Circus is where the day begins. Next is Big Solar Furnace.
2. Big Solar Furnace
In the foothills of the Tian Shan, about an hour north-east of Tashkent, there is a building that looks as if it belongs in a science fiction film: a huge curved mirror, made of thousands of smaller mirrors, facing a field of tracking mirrors that follow the sun and focus its light onto a single point. This is the Big Solar Furnace near Parkent, built in the Soviet era in the 1980s, and still used for research into materials that can withstand extremely high temperatures.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Big Solar Furnace comes up 42 km in. Next is The Chatkal State Biosphere Nature Reserve.
3. The Chatkal State Biosphere Nature Reserve
East of Tashkent, the land rises steeply into the western ranges of the Tian Shan, and the Chatkal range forms the border with Kyrgyzstan. The Chatkal State Biosphere Reserve, established in the Soviet era, protects a stretch of these mountains, with juniper forests, walnut and wild fruit trees, alpine meadows and rocky peaks.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at State Circus. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
State Circus to Big Solar Furnace
State Circus → Big Solar Furnace is 56 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Big Solar Furnace to The Chatkal State Biosphere Nature Reserve
Big Solar Furnace → The Chatkal State Biosphere Nature Reserve is 27 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
The Chatkal State Biosphere Nature Reserve to back through Big Solar Furnace
The Chatkal State Biosphere Nature Reserve → back through Big Solar Furnace is 27 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Big Solar Furnace to State Circus
back through Big Solar Furnace → State Circus is 56 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.