Action Cam by Sony Presents Dream Capture Episode II - "Forgotten Dirt", featuring Matt Hunter.
 | This was an epic journey through one of the most remote and difficult places to travel in the world, biking through this region was something special, it was tough, but I think we are all pretty proud of what we achieved. - Tom Bodkin, Guide, Secret Compass |
| There are very few places left in the world that have not been explored by bike, apart from the polar ice caps and major deserts. So the opportunity to explore Afghanistan's isolated Wakhan Corridor - a place without roads, electricity and running water - is extremely rare. Our expedition was tough, with gruelling glacier crossings and the rigours of high altitude, and this made our accomplishment all the more rewarding! I think each of us feels lucky to have been a part of this once-in-a-lifetime adventure. - Brice Minnigh, Writer/Russian Translator, Bike Magazine |
| Hard, tough and tiring: that was the Wakhan. There is nothing easy here. But while our 'expedition' turned out to be the hardest I've ever done with a bike in 30 years of remote mountain bike masochism, the lows of the immense physical and mental challenges were pitched against the unmeasurable highs of riding a bike here. Incredible towering mountains, raging rivers, miles of technical singletrack and some of the friendliest and most welcoming people I have ever crossed paths with made this a journey rather than just a trip. It wasn't an easy trip, and not one I am in a hurry to repeat, but the experience is priceless. Riding a bike in a place like this is a double edged sword. The rewards are there, but to reap them is a hard fought battle. - Dan Milner, Photographer |
| When I was a kid I always liked the idea of getting into a time machine, probably because I was pretty into dinosaurs at the time... What's cool about our recent trip to Afghanistan is that it's the closest you can get to time travel without bending the space/time continuum! Aside from a few small items from the modern world, life in the remote corners of the Wakhan Corridor are just as they were thousands of years ago. Interacting with nomads and riding sections of the original "silk road" that are still in single track form today definitely captures the imagination. Who knew a time machine would have full suspension and 26" wheels. - Darcy Wittenburg, Cinematographer, Anthill Films |
| The travel to Afghanistan has given me a once in a lifetime experience. The truly amazing landscapes were like nothing that I'd seen before... To experience this absolutely extreme and rugged terrain first hand, and connect with some of the most remote people in the world is everything I could dream of in an expedition. The value of this experience was all the perspective you gain and bring home. You appreciate everything a little more. - Colin Jones, Cinematographer, Anthill Films |
| It was an incomparable experience to ride the Wakhan. At first glance it may seem trivial to travel across the world, gambling with health and safety, just to go on a bike ride. But the experience of this trip outweighed those factors tenfold. We took a big bite on this adventure; it was more than we could chew alone. As riders, we couldn't have done it without the help of the Afghans who were with us. In this way, we were a team. We came to ride, but we also witnessed how people can live without anything that we consider normal. - Matt Hunter, Rider |
Check out Dan Milner's photos and Brice Minnigh's story on
bikemag.com now, and watch for the full feature story in the November issue of Bike magazine.
Get inspired for your own adventure of a life time... visit
secretcompass.comSubscribe to Sony's
Action Cam YouTube channel to see more Dream Capture short films.
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"And he would run him over with his bike, then use his chain ring, would slowly poke his eyes out, then he would release the hydraulic fluid in his fork (which is most likely poisonous) and if that didn't kill him, then he would do tail-whips to his head until it fell off, right?" - Silly Americ*nt, Hunter can't tailwhip! Furthermore, we don't give a shit about you or your unscrupulous (yet disguised as honorable & justified) invasions, world domination campaigns, fruitless wars & meddling in other's affairs, we only go along with it because we are in an unfortunate position being your neighbors & outnumbered 10:1.
And we have so many riders so many trails with lift over here.....
But the issue is that nobody in our biking internet community has the potential to write down some thing like this........
And those who have the potential.............dont have the time...........................im willing to write dopwn an essay about ridding in iran but work ..work ...work and work dont let me ........
On another note, where is all the biking footage? I hope there is more to come out of this trip.
Nice video with a quality edit.
Props to Matt and crew- way to break down the cultural barriers!!
The pack animals are treated well. No local can afford to lose one. Our pack animals were actually used to haul local's resources too, into remote herding settlements. For info, when we finished the trip back at the village by the road, our empty (and paid for) horses were then used to take locals food and wood stoves back to the villages where they had started too, and our surplus food was divided up between them too.
More than a dozen local people who exist on subsistence herding got paid an officially agreed rate for their days they were with us. They use the money to buy bread flour and pulses. These people are the toughest you will ever meet. Their lives are hard and unprivileged. Yet they are also the most friendly and welcoming I have ever met, even with us being on 'expensive' bikes.
Just to ask: Do you have the same gut feeling when you ride your own expensive bike through your local inner city housing estate where there is 80% unemployment and families are on the poverty line?
I have done several trips to developing countries and live in them. The idea bringing in food instead is a nice idea in theory, but the reality it is of little value for several different reasons. Usually our tastes are different to what they eat, so knowing how to cook it into something palatable is unknown to them or it might use too much fuel. I seen many number of markets with food aid in them for sale, mainly because it does not work for the people who it was given to, so then it is sold off. Just handing over some food just feeds them for a short period of time, teaching them how to diversify their income can bring food to the table for years to come.
I think before jumping on some band wagon you need to go on a trip some place off the beaten path to understand what kind of impact it has. A trip like theirs money was probably filtered through about 4 or 5 set of hands, not only does is benefit the people seen on the path, but those dealing with all the logistics. There so many misconceptions about people in "developed" countries and visa versa that trip like this not about showing off your bling in front of those less fortunate. It becomes more of a cultural exchange, I love learning how they prepare their food, how they keep things working with nothing, how they survive up in the mountains. They get a chance to hear about another side that most people are not born into a lavish lifestyle of the rich and famous, that trips like this are not everyday occurrences or for that matter yearly, that most of us put in what are considered long hours at work that keep us inside. There is a lot to learn on both sides.
Lesson learned: Bring a Yak.
Why did you use clipless Dan? You had regular mountaineer shoes and then you needed a cycling shoe so you thought you can take whatever and that was quite a light alternative? Just curious.
Clipless... have always ridden clipless since 1990.. so its what I do. The Mavic AlpineXL shoe is my "go-to" bike shoe for expeditions.. it is simply the best out there for hike-a-bike trips ..it breathes well, dries quickly (after river wadings) and has a great outsole. With heavy camera gear and extra layers on my back already, I won't carry an extra pair of shoes on my pack as well just for the hiking sections. The snow passes and boggy days were the toughest. Cold, wet feet. Maybe I need to get used to riding flats for days like this! CJ had hiking boots and I was jealous on days like this! My other pair of shoes were lightweight trail running shoe for wearing after riding. You calculate your gear needs for a trip like this as best you can from experience, but there is always a curve ball when you get there. Neoprene socks (ie, those for kayaking) would have been best for the icy river crossings.. small to pack, light, warm to wear and grippy.
All the best!