In the year 2016, I ride with a handful of other participants the exclusive Silk Route long distance bicycle marathon. 
A 1200 kilometer plus round trip starting in Tashkent the capital of Uzbekistan. The road leads you to Samarkand on the first day and if you have time to sleep you will end up in Bukhara a city like Samarkand along the ancient trade route.
the roads are often in ill repair and during the day you could be roasted in the relentless sun. Riding through the night the temperature could drop below zero. Read how I nearly died on the last day of this challenge...