I chose the route below to try and encompass as many different cultures as possible as I made my way East and as I see it falls into three sections Europe through to Baku in Azerbaijan is getting fit and trying to build up time in reserve for the challenge to come by seeking to maximise my daily distance on good tarmac roads.
When I get off the Caspian Sea Ferry which is by all accounts a challenge in itself, I enter "The Stans" following the old Silk Route through Uzbekistan and then the Pamir Highway thought Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan this come to an abrupt end as I want to avoid the monotony of China and by all account s pretty frosty reception so will hop on a plane to New Delhi to start again.
The final section I see as a bit more of a holiday I need to clear the Pamir Highway by the end of September or the 4,000 m passes will be impassable and I will be there for a ski season so that means in my grown up gap year I will have 5-6 week in hand to cover this section based on my 50 miles a day one day off in four rule of thumb so will have a bit more time to relax and see the sights.
Will I cycle all the way? No that is not my intention I will aim to cycle as much as I can but may look at alternative modes of transport if required. The first 500 miles from the Caspian sea for example if a desert which I could battle through with nothing to see but there is a train I can get which would leave me more time to enjoy the historic Silk Road cities which lie beyond. There are also some sections like the "Tunnel of Dead" approaching the Pamir highway where the advise is to hitch a ride in a passing truck rather than ending up under one!