Yip – it was damn early at 0530! And the ‘hurry up and wait’ began almost straight away with us all having our bags down by 0550 but then no rider’s meeting at 0600 and no bus ready at 0700.…
Permission granted (Ashgabat rest day two)
Another good night’s sleep, followed by another mediocre hotel breakfast – though I did discover that you can ask for fried eggs which improved things slightly. The first group of people to submit their Iranian visa applications then headed off…
Whiling away a day (Ashgabat rest day one)
Finally a good night’s sleep! I was in bed by 2130 and didn’t wake until 0645 all of which made me feel a whole lot more alert. The hotel breakfast is decidedly mediocre again with the same boring things as…
Off to Ashgabat (stage 82)
Another crappy night’s sleep – last night it wasn’t so much about the distractions as just not being able to get to sleep – I was still awake at 2330 so went for a wander out to the road in…
Blowing in the wind (stage 81)
Not a great nights sleep was had – too many dogs barking, trucks arriving and general movement on the road to make for anything particularly restful. It also got surprisingly cool, to the point that I needed a second layer…
Racing across the desert (stage 80)
My roomie was up just before 0500 so with plenty of time to spare I took a shower this morning, mostly just to enjoy again the best showering experience of the trip – the water pressure is amazing! Rider’s meeting…
Melting in Mary (rest day)
I’ve decided that Mary is very like Canberra – it’s huge, massively spread out (and consequently difficult to get round), full of government buildings, and really there’s not a lot of point going there! Perhaps unlike Canberra it also gets…
Merv or Mary it’s all the same (stage 79)
We had a later start than usual this morning as ‘because rules’ we can’t check in to the hotel until 1200, so it was breakfast at 0630 and then on the road shortly before 0700. Unfortunately the wind was already…
The truck-stops of Turkmenistan (stage 78)
The usual morning routine today and I was on the road as soon as it was safe to be riding in the hope that I could get the 140km done before the real heat of the day – somewhat optimistic…
Welcome to Turkmenistan (stage 77)
This might be too much information, but I’m pleased to report that this mornings ‘output’ was back to normal in terms of timing, volume, colour and consistency so while I have a way to go in terms of getting energy…