Through the Desert with a Tailwind

After the fun and sociable evening yesterday — in the end we didn’t even have to unpack our sleeping bags because a boy brought us futons and blankets when we headed toward the room — the next surprise came this morning: rain. And this time it was real rain, lasting for several hours. Right in the middle of the desert. But since the forecast predicted it would stop between eleven and twelve, I took it easy and chatted a bit more with Bing before we slowly got ready to leave.

We wanted to take a photo together at the viewpoint right behind the restaurant, and at that exact moment a tour group arrived and became interested in us. It turned out they were mostly Italians from northern Italy. But when they asked where I was from and I answered Zurich — after all, I do live near Zurich — one of them told me to wait a moment. Shortly afterward, Adrian (I hope I remember the name correctly) was suddenly standing in front of me. He said he was from Zug but worked in Zurich. Things then became a bit hectic because the tour group had to leave, so we didn’t really have much time to talk. Still, it was really nice to briefly hear and speak Swiss German again.

After that, Bing and I finally set off as well — after all, it was already past noon. Bing rode with me for a few hundred more meters until there was a gap in the median barrier that allowed him to switch comfortably to the other side of the road. I found it quite amusing to see his guitar sticking out diagonally from the back of his luggage rack.

At first, my route followed the Amu Darya River and several small lakes connected to it, which together also form the border with Turkmenistan. Later, the road moved farther away from the border, and eventually there was no water left in sight. But the temperatures were very pleasant — neither cold nor hot, somewhere between 20 and 25 degrees, with cloudy skies. Combined with the tailwind, it created ideal cycling conditions. So I moved forward quickly with hardly any effort and could completely relax. What a contrast to a few days ago, when I was seriously overheating and probably suffering from a very mild heatstroke.

My goal for today was a restaurant along the A-380 where I thought overnight rooms were also available. But after arriving, I realized that wasn’t the case. So I politely asked whether I could pitch my tent nearby, and they assigned me a spot right next to the restaurant. That way, at least dinner, toilets, and even a small shop were all close by. So now I finally had to use the tent after all. It was probably about time anyway, considering I’ve been carrying it around for more than 6,000 kilometers. But with all this infrastructure around me — the restaurant naturally also has WiFi — this is basically a “light version” of camping. That suits me just fine.