THE TRICKY BIT

'Dad, Mum, I have something to say, best sit down.' So it unfolded that our son Pedr was planning to cycle around the world, on his own and unsupported, for the next couple of years. Seizing the opportunity for adventure, and supporting our son, I joined him for 'the tricky bit' - cycling through Kyrgyzstan, crossing China's most restrictive area of Xinjiang province, across the Karakoram and Himalayan mountain ranges, through Pakistan, and over the Wagah border to India. Every day and each country brought huge challenges and interesting interactions. There was high-stakes hide-and-seek with the Chinese police; experiencing the challenges of the Uyghur people; meeting the different cultures and reactions of the variety of people in Pakistan; the magically appearing police intervention on the really unsafe parts; and challenges crossing to India.