It’s Getting Warmer…

Before today, I knew that there were still a little more than 200 kilometers left to Tashkent. Since I also wanted to explore the city, I decided to ride a bit farther today so that I could arrive in Tashkent early in the afternoon tomorrow. Besides, after a little more than 120 kilometers there was also a place marked on the map with accommodations — so it fit perfectly. I just couldn’t book anything online and would probably, as so often, have to arrange it directly on site.

Shortly after 10 a.m., I set off in still very pleasant temperatures. After 21 kilometers, I was back on the large M39 road that I had already ridden on yesterday. I had missed the chance to stock up on drinks before leaving the city, but fortunately there were small shops all along the main road. They were a bit more expensive, but so what — better than not drinking enough.

The M39 is currently being renovated — which means that on the one hand there were often perfectly smooth stretches of asphalt that rolled wonderfully, but on the other hand there were also sections where traffic moved in only one lane. Trucks sometimes overtook me very closely there, and on one particularly narrow section I deliberately rode in the middle of the road so that nobody could overtake me. The truck driver behind me didn’t seem too pleased about it, but he could probably survive the thirty-second delay. After all, the road was still slightly downhill and the wind relatively weak.

At one point, a truck loaded with huge bales of cotton overtook me. I had already learned from my tour guide in Khiva that Uzbekistan used to produce cotton on a massive scale. She explained that this large-scale production and export was the main reason why the Aral Sea had largely dried up. Nowadays, however, the cotton is no longer exported but only produced for domestic use. I had also heard that the legal minimum wage in Uzbekistan — which workers on cotton plantations receive — is around 84 Swiss francs per month.

After a little more than halfway, the road made a large bend because going straight ahead would have led into Kazakhstan. This small protrusion of Kazakhstan made the route about 20 kilometers longer, but exiting and re-entering Uzbekistan would certainly have taken even more time.

Shortly before the bend, I stopped at a small shop for a break and stocked up on more water. More and more Uzbeks gathered around me and wanted to talk — naturally via Google Translate. The longest conversation I had was with Baxtiyor (the name means “the happy one,” how beautiful), and we also took a photo together. Among other things, he wanted to know whether I needed a visa to enter Uzbekistan. I said no, but he himself would need one if he wanted to travel to Europe. Just as I was slowly about to say goodbye, a younger man arrived who spoke English. He asked me, “Do you have everything you need? Water? Money?” — incredible, it felt like he would even have given me money if necessary. But I didn’t want that, and I already had enough water, so I continued on my way.

By now, the temperature had risen to 33 degrees. That made drinking enough water all the more important. But with the airflow while riding and the dry air, it actually didn’t feel especially hot — in fact, it felt quite pleasant. Personally, I definitely found this more comfortable than the 6 or 7 degrees at the beginning of my journey.

Shortly before arriving in Sirdaryo — I was already expecting to get there before 5 p.m. — I once again met a cyclist coming from the opposite direction. Together with Martin from the Netherlands, I went to the next restaurant, and we ate and drank together. He is on his way from Singapore to Amsterdam — also quite an incredible journey!

We talked for quite a long time, and in the end I only arrived at a hotel with an available room at around 6:40 p.m.