A day for things to go wrong. Packed and ready to leave very early a gear cable snaps. I don't have a spare. I try to make a bodge job, open up my pannier only to find that my apple juice has burst leaking 1 liter of sweet sugary juice all over my clothes and possessions. Hrrumph. Not unsurprisingly my bodge job fails. So I ride with just the front cog into town to try and find a cycle shop. Happily I find one, but the only gear cables the shop have is a complete set with twister grips and handle grips for a kids bike. Never the less I buy it, remove the cable and give the rest of it back to the shop keeper. I find that changing the cable is not as difficult as I had first imagined and leave Toretai a good few hours later than planned, with the now heat and wind of the day as ever present company.
But today the wind is stronger than ever. dangerously strong every time a lorry passes. The suction from passing lorries is so strong that riding is becoming not only scary but bloody dangerous. I find a cafe, head inside, eat, drink, chat with lorry drivers and develop a plan.
I remember what the Stuttgart cyclist had told me the day before. I feel that a night ride is the only option. No wind, no sun, less heat. So I sit in the cafe for three hours and wait for the sun to set.
This starts of as a good plan. An hour or so before sunset I leave the cafe and hit the road. Already the wind has dropped massively and I can ride swiftly and safely. I ride on after sunset and press on over the desert. After 60kms or so I stop for a rest. But it turns out not to be a rest. I start to drink only to notice that I am being bitten alive by mosquitoes. As soon as I stop they can land an latch on to me. I drink quickly, stuff some food own my neck and head off. I know that Kyzlorda is a long way from here, and I do not fancy camping with the swarms. Also I need to make some miles as my visa is finite and Kazakhstan very large.
I press on until after midnight. I am beginning to get very tired. At about 1am the nice smooth road ends and turns into a dust track. The nice new road is not finished, so I press on breathing in dust and fumes of passing lorries and cars. I notice a distance post that says 100km to Kyzlorda. I choose not to believe it. I feel sure that I have gone further, and signposts here are not reliable.
I was wrong, the sign was right. After a few hours of switching between dust road and new road finally I reach the completed new road. Not without a certain amount of stubbornness however as twice I turned down a lift in passing vans. Kazakh hospitality again! I can also hear wild dogd howling in the distance. In my tiredness I start to get a little paranoid and wonder what would happen if they decide to chase. Sounds silly when I recall this and type, but I guess I have never pushed myself like this before and the brain can do funny things when tired.
At dawn I pass a sign that says 48km to Kyzlorda. I believe this one, but I am utterly exhausted, I have ridden 200kms in 20 hours without sleep. I can't stop as within a few hours the sun will be high and camping impossible due to the heat. So I carry on, cursing each peddle rotation and trying to not look at the distance markers to Kyzlorda. I finally make the edge of town. It is not that impressive a town. I cycle into the centre. Spend another hour trying to find a nice part of town. Everywhere looks the same and I curse my indecision. Being this tired has clearly affected my decision making abilities! I cycle back to a plain area that has pricey hotels and book in. The room is lovely. It is more like a little flat with bedroom, living room and bathroom. I spend the rest of the morning asleep on the sofa.
I wake after lunch still exhausted but starving. I eat at the coffee shop next door and then return to sleep. I repeat this in the evening, find a cafe and order soup. Central Asian soup is foul. And this was a great example. The cafe owners seemed very proud of the soup, which was essentially boiling water poured over beef fat with some veggies thrown in for good measure. I can't eat it and leave and find something better.
But today the wind is stronger than ever. dangerously strong every time a lorry passes. The suction from passing lorries is so strong that riding is becoming not only scary but bloody dangerous. I find a cafe, head inside, eat, drink, chat with lorry drivers and develop a plan.
I remember what the Stuttgart cyclist had told me the day before. I feel that a night ride is the only option. No wind, no sun, less heat. So I sit in the cafe for three hours and wait for the sun to set.
This starts of as a good plan. An hour or so before sunset I leave the cafe and hit the road. Already the wind has dropped massively and I can ride swiftly and safely. I ride on after sunset and press on over the desert. After 60kms or so I stop for a rest. But it turns out not to be a rest. I start to drink only to notice that I am being bitten alive by mosquitoes. As soon as I stop they can land an latch on to me. I drink quickly, stuff some food own my neck and head off. I know that Kyzlorda is a long way from here, and I do not fancy camping with the swarms. Also I need to make some miles as my visa is finite and Kazakhstan very large.
I press on until after midnight. I am beginning to get very tired. At about 1am the nice smooth road ends and turns into a dust track. The nice new road is not finished, so I press on breathing in dust and fumes of passing lorries and cars. I notice a distance post that says 100km to Kyzlorda. I choose not to believe it. I feel sure that I have gone further, and signposts here are not reliable.
I was wrong, the sign was right. After a few hours of switching between dust road and new road finally I reach the completed new road. Not without a certain amount of stubbornness however as twice I turned down a lift in passing vans. Kazakh hospitality again! I can also hear wild dogd howling in the distance. In my tiredness I start to get a little paranoid and wonder what would happen if they decide to chase. Sounds silly when I recall this and type, but I guess I have never pushed myself like this before and the brain can do funny things when tired.
At dawn I pass a sign that says 48km to Kyzlorda. I believe this one, but I am utterly exhausted, I have ridden 200kms in 20 hours without sleep. I can't stop as within a few hours the sun will be high and camping impossible due to the heat. So I carry on, cursing each peddle rotation and trying to not look at the distance markers to Kyzlorda. I finally make the edge of town. It is not that impressive a town. I cycle into the centre. Spend another hour trying to find a nice part of town. Everywhere looks the same and I curse my indecision. Being this tired has clearly affected my decision making abilities! I cycle back to a plain area that has pricey hotels and book in. The room is lovely. It is more like a little flat with bedroom, living room and bathroom. I spend the rest of the morning asleep on the sofa.
I wake after lunch still exhausted but starving. I eat at the coffee shop next door and then return to sleep. I repeat this in the evening, find a cafe and order soup. Central Asian soup is foul. And this was a great example. The cafe owners seemed very proud of the soup, which was essentially boiling water poured over beef fat with some veggies thrown in for good measure. I can't eat it and leave and find something better.
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