The Depths of Fear

"Taking a deep breath, holding the handlebars tightly from the left side, I give a good push into the water and the front wheel rolls forward and then drops so far down that the water is nearly rushing over my front panniers. The drop causes me to be pulled further into the water than anticipated. My heart skips when I realize that the wheel is not even touching the ground. Water is up to the bottom of the rear panniers and up to my knees. I can feel the front of the bike wanting to be whipped down the river. Nellie behaves like a buoy and I think if I can press the front down, it will help stabilize it.But this doesn’t work and the further the front goes down, the greater pressure I feel from the river pressing my bike against me."

See what happens to Ellie (and Nellie, her Soma Saga in this SIDETRAK article where she shares about some scary moments in Tajikistan)
Eleanor Moseman began cycling Asia in the Spring of 2010 and has just completed 15,000 miles through 7 countries. She incorporated her photography to document the communities and peoples of the Western borderlands of China, including Tibet, Xinjiang and Central Asia.