Going to Kyrgyzstan

So, in the middle of August I'm leaving for a trip to Kyrgyzstan. I'm gonna share some thoughts here as well as the inevitable angst over what gear to take. I went to Tajikistan a few years ago and I had an amazing time. The views were like nothing I'd seen before or after and the same goes for the hospitality shown by the locals. Taking the opportunity to share some photos from that trip. I'm hoping Kyrgyzstan will be the same thing, with some more careful planning, maybe even better.

A few things went wrong in Tajikistan:

1. I took far too much stuff. This made the cycling a bit boring and a real chore up the mountains. This time I'm only taking the essentials.
   
2. Not really my fault but Turkish airlines lost the bike on the way over there. So I ended up sitting in a hotel room in Dushanbe for 5 days waiting for it to show up. This screwed up my schedule bad. This was only a 2 week trip... It didnt help that I also had to do a 1 day jeep trip along the Afghan border to Khorog to get started on my route. This time I'll try out Aeroflot and minimize off bike transport.
   
3. 32mm Paselas aint enough in this part of the world. Not even close. Also, the pump I brought was so shitty I couldn't get high enough pressure in them leaving me with numerous pinch punctures. This time I'll be on as wide mtb tyres as my bike can take.
   
4. It was a bit lonely. So this time I'll bring a couple of friends.
   
   

I've made a route. It's up the mountains of course why else go there. Its gonna be tough but I'm trying to keep the milage low to allow for rest days and unplanned excursions. Any tips and ideas are welcome. Feel free to share if you've done something similar.