The Gobi Desert has always had a mystical appeal to me, and yet most people can't place it on the map. So I propose to find it by bicycle!

I'd like to travel there along the Silk Road and learn about the route's history, the interchanges of culture and knowledge and religions from east to west, and see some of the wild parts of Asia.

I'm hoping to find a companion for this who is interested in the challenge of self-propelled adventure, of seeing remote places off the tourist trail, and of interaction with people and landscapes at a local level.

The route is flexible, but my rough plan is as follows: Early January 2018: leave the UK, head south east through Europe to Istanbul, arriving there in February. I'd be happy to meet people along the way if you're starting elsewhere in Europe. February / March: Cross Turkey and into Iran (probably visiting Shiraz and Yazd) April: into the 'Stans and Central Asia for the spring. The leaving date is hinged around this, as Central Asia is incredibly hot in the summer, and incredibly cold in the winter, so really needs to be visited in Spring or Autumn (and spring should be prettier). May: wiggle through north west China, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan June: China / Mongolia - and hopefully the Gobi Desert (if only the edge!)

The aim would be to do around 100-120 km per day, to give time to see the sights as we go, and spend a couple of days in special places if there's lots to see. I haven't planned the route beyond June, but there would certainly be options to go east through China, or south to Nepal or South East Asia, depending how everything was going.

Get in touch if you're interested - even if only for bits of it - and let me know a little bit about yourself and we'll go from there. This could be quite an adventure!