Through the desert, almost in the rain

This morning I had breakfast already at 8 a.m.—I had planned to start early—but somehow I didn’t feel great. To my surprise, it was raining outside, though at 28°C I would probably have welcomed it rather than being bothered by it. I lay down again and promptly fell asleep. In the end, I didn’t leave until 11:30—and by then there was no sign of rain anymore, all the roads were dry.

Contrary to my original plan, I decided to make a detour to Khiva. On one hand, it would be a shame to miss the city, which has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1990, when I’m already so close. On the other hand, my original route would have taken me through a very long desert stretch, where supplies might have been more difficult.

So I set off toward Khiva, and shortly after leaving Nukus I entered the desert for the first time on this route. The first few kilometers felt good—I thought the extra rest had paid off. But then I hit a small low point. Even though my heart rate was relatively low and I didn’t let the slow speed caused by the headwind throw me off, I still felt off somehow. Even after a longer food break, it didn’t improve much.

Only after I finished the desert section and turned right off the A-380 into greener areas did things improve. It still felt like a headwind, but I was suddenly moving much faster with the same effort and felt full of energy again. Maybe it was because it had become cloudier? Though even in the desert the sun hadn’t been too strong, and I had felt a few drops of rain—but it never really started raining. And today would probably have been the first day of my trip where I would have actually welcomed rain. Even now, despite worse road conditions, I made good progress and occasionally felt a few drops, but it never truly rained.

When I set off this morning, I didn’t actually know where I would stay at night. On all the booking platforms and maps I knew, there was no hotel in my target area. I briefly considered riding all the way to Khiva—that would have been about 170 km—but that would have required an earlier start and less headwind. I had already started to prepare mentally for possibly using my tent for the first time. I followed a route taken by two English cyclists who had been here in 2019 and rode to a point where they had marked an overnight stop—I was sure I’d find a solution there. There was a café, and I thought maybe I could arrange something, even if it was just pitching my tent. When I arrived, a group of more than ten people quickly gathered around me. When I asked about accommodation and mentioned that I had a tent and sleeping bag, the “collective intelligence” told me there was a hotel in the next larger town.

So I set off again and rode another 12 km to Gurlan. I had originally planned to go a bit further anyway, so I could reach Khiva early tomorrow and have time to explore, so this worked out well. I found the hotel without any problems and finished today’s stage shortly after 6:30 p.m.