"Silk" Road?

Shamakhi to Baku
August 19th
119km (1,415m vertical)

Today was hot and the roads were terrible – some “silk” road. After leaving my bike in the sun at lunch, the thermometer read 127F! For most of the afternoon, it was 111F while I was on the bike. That is real heat. Canadians are not made for this.

The landscape was completely different from the past 2 days. Ever since yesterday's big climb out of the valley, the trees and grass have disappeared and it looks like a desert. There is nothing to cast a cooling shadow except the occasional parked truck. (And my umbrella.)

The entire ride today was along broken road. Most of it was under repair, and the few sections that weren't should have been. Kilometer after kilometer of loose gravel, sand, broken pavement, scrapped road, and everything in between. Apparently, the locals have decided to rip up the entire road before starting to repave any of it. We came along at precisely the wrong time. Cars roared past us on both sides, since there was no real benefit to staying on the road itself. They kicked up clouds of dust as we tried to avoid them, steer around the big potholes and brace ourselves for the smaller ones.

My stomach felt a lot better today. Fingers crossed. The ride was a lot more enjoyable without worrying about my stomach all day. If only we could get the temperature down, then I could get back to enjoying myself.

The last 20km of the day were a group convoy into Baku. We definitely did not enter through the scenic route. The air was thick with dust and pollution, and everything seemed to be under repair. At one point, the main highway we were on was redirected into tiny back alley. Very basic hotel tonight. No A/C, no toilet paper, no curtains.

That's me...riding through a dust cloud:

A rare stretch of ok pavement:

Paul and Knut enjoying the view:
Dusty hills and construction...the story of the day:
Jost pushing up a climb on some rough road: