September 2nd
129km (230m vertical)
No matter how good you are or how much you achieve, there is always someone who is better and has achieved more. Today we met a Japanese cyclist who is riding around the world...all by himself...for the second time...consecutively. He left 8 years ago and aims to finish 2 years from now. He has traveled over 130,000kms so far! We hosted him for lunch and dinner.
This morning, we were entertained at breakfast by a huge dung beetle. Max got a photo of a hairy tarantula too. We are not alone in this desert.
The day was tough with heat and headwinds. It was 107F for most of the ride and it got up to 117F by the time we got to camp. Riding through the desert is tough mentally, since the scenery is boring and doesn't change much. Over each little rise in the land lies another desert scene that looks exactly like what you just rode through.
Our camp tonight had a well with a hand pump, so everyone got to shower. There was also plenty of shade and Paul went on a cold drinks run. Everything you could ask for in a desert camp.
After dinner, some local guys that were loitering around stole James' cycling computer off of his bike. The dozens of police that are always around us caught the two guys, and got the computer back, although they ripped the wires off the bike so it won't work anymore. Not sure what the punishment for petty theft is in Turkmenistan, but one of the guys didn't want to find out. He ran out across the sand, with a police officer running after him...and a stray dog running after both of them.
Camels in the desert:
Japanese rider with 70kgs of baggage!
Sand, road and sky:
Apartment building in Turkmenabat. Each unit has its own sattelite dish:
Floating bridge across a canal:
1 comment:
Daniel: you write of the Japanese cyclist with a bit of envy in your prose.
PLEASE do not get any ideas in your head about how cool it would be to cycle around the world...twice! [Once is more than adequate.]
LFL
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