Watch: Two Canadians ride through the Pamir Mountains of Tajikistan

The Not Knowing follows Christian Meier and Peter Gaskill of The Service Course as they explore the remote wilderness of the Pamir Mountains in Tajikistan. “Peter always has a great sense of adventure, the moment he said Tajikistan, I straight away said ‘ok cool, let’s go’,” says Christian Meier, former professional racer and founder of The Service Course. “I had no idea what we were going to do… but in a way that’s what drew me to the experience. It was the not knowing.”

The film opens with sweeping drone shots of the striking mountainous landscape. Throughout the 12 minute documentary the mountains are consistently a part of the expansive vistas, in the foreground as the cyclists climb or surrounding them on all sides as they ride on rugged gravel roads.

A huge variety of landscapes and enormous elevation changes make Tajikistan a unique cycling destination. The Pamir Mountains are among the world’s highest. A pamir also refers to a flat plateau or U-shaped valley surrounded by mountains such as those seen when Meier and Gaskill ride through the Wakhan Valley.

The neutral muted tones of the Tajikistani landscapes beautifully compliment The Service Course logo/kit colours as the cyclists climb through the Pamir Mountains on long empty roads. They note that the distances in Tajikistan are massive compared to Europe- valleys that climb for 300 kilometers surrounded by breathtaking mountains make a cyclist feel like an ant scurrying along in a world of giants.

As a product of this journey into the unknown, The Service Course will be hosting its inaugural Tajikistan Gravel Tour in June 2020. The challenging and rewarding nine day trip is limited to six participants and will explore the Pamir Mountains from Dushanbe, the capital of Tajikistan, to the ancient city of Osh in Kyrgyzstan.