Bike-battling out of Turpan into the desert (day 158)

Start: Turpan, Xinjiang, China
End: Culvert under the G312, west of Turpan, Xinjiang, China
Distance: 47 km
Time: 6'20"
Avg: 7.3 k/h
Max: 23.2 k/h
Total: 12,439 km
Total riding days: 165
Riding hours: 0955 - 2145

Looked out of the window and it looked promising. Turpan, baking yesterday under a 45 degree sun (OK, the sun itself might have been a bit hotter, but you get the picture), was today cool and cloudy. I was privileged to feel the tickle of a dozen raindrops on my nose - Kashgar gets about 16 mm of rain a year, so this was something pretty special.

And then the wind started to blow.

I spent most of the day hiding in a hole in the desert. I reckon the wind was up around 120 or 130 km/h. Moving was impossible, holding the bike upright without being blown backwards was a struggle.



This man, Serge Girard (left), had it easy. He was going downwind. Running from Paris to Tokyo, 75 km a day, admittedly, but downwind, eh? No wonder his beard doesn't grow properly.

Ah well, at least the sun set nicely.

A bed for the night. Those are my toes.