THE ALCHE MISTS

They led a cycling revolution in Afghanistan where women were forbidden to ride. When the Taliban returned to power, their only hope was a harrowing escape to an uncertain future.

- KIM CROSS

PART I. PIONEERS

The day before the Taliban tram`meled her freedom, a young woman went for a bike ride.

She wore pants and a long-sleeved shirt under a sky blue cycling jersey. Her ponytail flew behind her like a flag, free of the hijab she usually wore tucked into her helmet. Her smile was shy but also bold, with a pop of red lipstick.

Reihana Mohammadi was 18 years old, a new member of the Afghan National Cycling Team. She lived and trained in Bamyan, a small and peaceful city in the rugged heart of Afghanistan. On this 20-mile ride, she was thinking about her next big race, three weeks away in Pakistan.

She hoped to raise her country's flag in her first international victory.

Riding a team-issue mountain bike, Reihana sailed down a twolane ribbon of road, through a desert canyon with crumbling walls.

Behind her, in a valley framed by peaks, were the ancient cliffs of Bamyan. The city was known for the Bamyan Buddhas, two statues carved into a cliff.

Created in the 6th century, these statues were older than Islam. One Buddha, regarded as male, was 18 stories tall and named Salsal, which means: Light shines through the universe. The other was smaller and older. Her name was Shahmama. Queen Mother.

Salsal and Shahmama had witnessed the rise and fall of one civilization after another. A Buddhist holy site. A Silk Road trading post. A Muslim city of 70,000 with a spirit of peace and progress.

These Buddhas had watched over Bamyan for 1,500 years.

Now, in their place, were two voids.

In March 2001, the Taliban denounced the statues as "idols" and "gods of the infidels." Militants from the Islamic fundamentalist group fired at the Buddhas with tanks and artillery. When that failed to fully destroy them, they used explosives, cheering as the statues crumbled in a cloud of dust and smoke.