The Wind Was Weaker, but It Was Still a Headwind

As I mentioned yesterday, today's plan was to ride the slightly more than 150 kilometers to Zhangye. To prepare for that, I went to bed early last night and got up at 6:00 a.m. today. However, by the time I had packed everything and eaten a bowl of noodles for breakfast, quite a bit of time had passed, so I didn't actually set off until just before 7:30 a.m.

At first, I thought it was actually calm today, but it didn't take long for me to realize that wasn't the case. I still had a headwind, though fortunately it wasn't nearly as strong as yesterday's.

The ride began with a climb, so my speed was naturally quite low. I had eaten late last night and then already had breakfast this morning—which would probably have been too much if I hadn't been setting out on a 150-kilometer ride. The food felt heavy in my stomach, and I had some mild stomach pain. Fortunately, it gradually improved, and after about two hours I no longer noticed it at all.

On the descent, I was able to make up some time and move my average speed closer to the 20 km/h that I always aim for. That reassured me that I probably wouldn't arrive too late today either.

Along the way, I met two Chinese cyclists. They knew each other but were no longer riding together that day. The first one gave me some sports drinks containing sugar and salt as a gift—perfect for physical activity. Thank you very much!

After riding more than 90 kilometers, I finally took a proper break. I sat down and had something to eat. A few more breaks probably wouldn't have hurt, but today I was concerned that it would only get hotter as the day went on, so I wanted to keep making progress.

Speaking of the wind, after about 120 kilometers I finally experienced what it felt like to ride without a headwind again—the first time in roughly 200 kilometers. My only thought was how wonderful cycling could be. I made quick progress into the city, with its abundant water and even more abundant population of over one million people, and arrived at my hotel at 4:19 p.m. In total, the day took 8 hours and 51 minutes, of which I spent 7 hours and 45 minutes in the saddle.

After arriving, I felt better than I had yesterday and was very happy that I had managed such a long stage so well. By the end of the ride, the temperature had reached 35°C, so being cold certainly wasn't an issue. It seems that I have become a little better accustomed to the heat.

Today I also learned that the G312 National Highway, on which I have already ridden many kilometers, stretches all the way from Khorgas to Shanghai. That means I can simply keep following this road to reach my destination. At one point during the ride, I noticed a marker reading "G312 2900," and one kilometer later it read "2899." So, at least along this route, I still have about 2,900 kilometers to go before reaching Shanghai.