Depression

Mountain Camp to Turfan
October 2nd
139km (656m vertical)

I'm not depressed, and the economy (at least here) has not suddenly crashed. This area is known as the Turfan Depression because it is 156m below sea level. Turfan is another of the main Silk Route cities, and also claims to be both the hottest city in China and the world's farthest city from an ocean.

This morning we continued climbing through the rugged moonscape for 20km before cresting the gap and enjoying a 50km descent into the depression. That is an entire hour of coasting along at 50km/h! Unfortunately, we had a flash thunderstorm on the decent, whose strong winds and wet roads limited our speed. (It rained a bit last night too, which seems very out of place when you are surrounded by desert.) The temperature sat at 93F all afternoon, and my face got noticeably more tanned in the scorching sun - remarkable, since I've been out in the sun everyday for the past 5 months. (And yes mom, I'm wearing sunscreen.)

Me, cycling out of camp and back into the moonscape:

Nicole changing one of her two flats of the morning...with dark clouds gathering:

Descending into the depression...just before the rain hit:

More rocky downhill: