Date: May 5th, 2016
Distance: 142
Song of the Day: You Go Running - Deep Sea Diver

New country day! I am always happy for one of those. Frankly, I was a bit glad to be leaving Turkmenistan. The only times I really felt comfortable there was when I was camping in the desert.

Leaving town was a bit of an adventure. The main road is being worked on, so I had to cross this crazy pontoon bridge and go on some back roads. Now, that is more like the adventures I have come to crave.

The border was just 40 kilometers out of Turkmenabat. Checking out of the country was actually fairly easy. Nobody was all that interested in me, which is generally a good thing. Unfortunately, getting into Uzbekistan was a bit more challenging. Before anything could happen, I had to wait for the border guards to finish lunch. Not a big deal, and while I was waiting I was invited to eat with a few Kurdish truck drivers. It was very sweet of them. I loved their setup, as well. Each truck has a box attached to it filled with everything needed to cook a meal. We had some rice with cucumber and tomatoes, which was delicious. It also wouldn't be a meal here without bread and tea.

Once lunch was finished, I was able to start going through the checkpoint for Uzbekistan. They had a new requirement that I have not seen before: they wanted me to walk my bike over some wet wood chips. This was for "disinfecting" they said. I wasn't sure of the science behind it, but at least they didn't make me cycle through the deep pool of water the trucks had to go through. I also had to be seen by a medical examiner. He asked me a few questions and scanned my forehead to take my temperature, no problems there. (While I am talking about health issues, here is the Doctors Without Borders page for Uzbekistan.)

After all of that, then I had to go through customs. Their office was a bit weird, and I say that as a person who has passed through many border stations. There were birds living in this office. I don't mean that a couple of birds had gotten in, or that they kept pet birds, I mean there was a full nesting colony in the place. They had even taped up cardboard shields to keep the birds from pooping on some of the desks. Some. The office also had pictures of things you couldn't bring in. I had a good laugh about the picture of a Predator drone. This is a military aircraft with a 15 meter wingspan, it would be impossible to sneak in. Still, Uzbekistan is very particular about what you can take with you. They don't want certain medicines like codeine in the country. They also don't want you bringing any currency out of the country. I had to fill out two forms: one for this office, and one for when I leave Uzbekistan.

I then had to go back and get my passport stamped. It turns out that I should have gone to immigration first to do this, but of course no one told me that. The guy in the immigration office wasn't there, either. I guess he was taking an even longer lunch than everyone else. Eventually, he was rounded up and the rest of the process didn't take long once he was there. I got my passport stamped and I was into Uzbekistan.

The road out from the border wasn't that exciting. It was flat, dry, and empty. I don't think there was a single village in the first 40 kilometers. Not that I could complain, I was making good time. I stopped for some food in the afternoon, and when I started again I soon came upon another cyclist. He was also fully loaded on a big touring rig. So this is how I met Arthur, a French cyclist. He had also crossed the border from Turkmenistan today, maybe just a little bit after I did. The two of us rode together and chatted for a bit on the way into Bukhara.

We got into the city just in time, too. Just after we arrived at the hotel the sky opened up. There was rain, and thunder, and lightning. Quite a show in fact. Beautiful, but I'm glad we weren't out in it.



-Dravis

Date: May 4th, 2016
Distance: 46 km
Song of the Day: Diminishing Returns - Harvey Danger

Today was a short day. I had camped just outside of Turkmenabat, and I wasn't in a rush. My visa for Uzbekistan didn't start until the 5th, so I had a day to kill. It was nice to get to town and have time to explore the place. What I really wanted to do was find some internet. I needed to update this blog and e-mail some people. You know, let my family know I'm still alive and whatnot. My hotel was supposed to have WiFi, but it didn't work. There was supposed to be another place in town that had it, but when I got there they they wouldn't let me use my laptop. Frustrating. So that was a bust. Still, I was able to change some money there, so it wasn't a totally wasted trip. I also got to the post office to send a few postcards, which made it feel like a productive day. I'm all set for going to Uzbekistan.



-Dravis

Date: May 3rd, 2016
Distance: 109
Song of the Day: Nothing at All - The Shins

Today was an all desert day. I really can't tell you where the day started or where it ended, neither of the places were by any villages or settlements. It was all out in the wilderness. It actually feels kind of nice to be lost. Well, not lost precisely. I am on the one and only road in this region. Still, being away from settlements is kind of fun. I have lots of time to be by myself. It was pretty much me and a few camel herders.

Things haven't been as hot today, which is nice. The rain yesterday brought along with it some clouds and cooler weather. My water hasn't been heating up anymore, it was at a drinkable temperature all day.

I had one interesting experience at the end of the day. I had stopped to take a photo of a train sitting on the tracks next to the main road. The freight cars were standing out rust red against the tan and green of the earth and the blue sky, it just looked so cool. When heading over to get a better view of the train, I found a group of bee keepers. They had a bunch of hives laid out in the sand. Two men were opening up the boxes and pulling the frames out, another guy was using a hot knife to cut open the honeycomb on one side, a fourth was placing the frames in a large machine to spin the honey out of it. It was an interesting operation to see. They even gave me some fresh honeycomb to eat. Mmmmmmm. The further away from big cities I get, the more friendly the people seem to be.



-Dravis

Date: May 2nd, 2016
Distance: 121
Song of the Day: Another Brick in the Wall - Pink Floyd

Today, the weather was not as good as it has been the past few days. It was cloudy and raining pretty hard when I woke up. Maybe that is better than the insufferable heat? As nice as it would have been to relax here another day, I had a visa that was going to expire and I needed to be on my way. My first stop was to an ancient site about 30 kilometers outside of Mary called Merv. It has been inhabited for almost the last three thousand years, which is pretty incredible. It's an oasis out in the desert, but also near a river I guess? I am not sure how that works, but apparently it is a good place to build a settlement. Unlike many other sites, where each new city is built on the ruins of the old, here there was enough space to build a new city just down the road. This makes it easy to work out archaeologically, because things aren't all jumbled together.

The rain had turned just about everything to mud. Remember, most of the buildings themselves are made of mud bricks, so when it rains it appears like the structures are just melting away. The process of trying to preserve these places must be a complete nightmare. Most of what remains are just massive walls that will take centuries to wash away, and basically anything that you can see is (or was) enormous. Everywhere you go around the place are walls of mud bricks that are now jagged and eroded. It is hard to tell what they are a part of, or which empire built them, but the remains seem to indicate that the place was an important settlement for centuries. The tourist office mentioned that this place was probably the largest city in the world in the 12th century. Now just a few buildings and the walls remain, but at one point this remote corner of Central Asia was a hub of commercial and religious activity.

In the center of the site, there is an old Persian fortress formed by a gigantic ring of mud bricks. Walking around the rim, it feels more like the caldera of a volcano than part of a civilization. I found it almost hard to believe that humans could have built the thing, not to mention that it was constructed two and a half thousand years ago. If that weren't enough, there were miles of lower walls surrounding it, which enclosed a huge area. Almost nothing is left now, but it's obvious, even without being told, that there must have been a giant, thriving city here at one point. The inside of the fortress is littered with broken pottery. So much of it is laying there it is hard to put a foot down without stepping on some pieces.

After getting back on the road, things were pretty boring. There really isn't much in the desert between Mary and Turkmenabat. The roads were also pretty bad for a lot of it, so many cracks and potholes that at times it was easier to ride along the dirt next to the road than on the pavement. I wasn't the only person with that idea. Often there were a few ruts worn into the dirt where other vehicles of various types had done the same thing.

I was hoping things would become really dry and I would ride through sand dunes in a classic sort of desert. It never happened, though. There was lots of sand, but no real dunes. Instead, the ground was evenly covered with hardy plants. The earth was mostly dry, too, after the morning rains, all of the water being sucked up rapidly. At least I didn't have to camp in mud.



-Dravis

Date: May 1st, 2016
Distance: Rest Day

The good thing about having a tourist visa instead of just a short transit visa is that I can actually take a day to relax and enjoy myself. I tried to get this blog updated, but that was an exercise in futility. There is only one spot in Mary that has WiFi, and that's the nicest hotel in town. Not where I'm staying. My hotel called them up to make sure that I could come over and use it, but when I got there, it wasn't working. Their router was having issues. I tried to ask them to reboot it, but the clerk didn't understand. He kept telling me it was working, which it wasn't. Then an actual guest at the hotel came to say it wasn't working. The guy at reception finally believed him, but said he didn't know how to fix it. We tried to explain how to unplug it and plug it in again, but the desk clerk insisted that the computer guy get called in. So it would be a few hours. At least the other guest and I had something to complain about. In the end he invited me to dinner with his wife that evening.

In the mean time, I went to check out Mary. (It is pronounced like "maari" by the locals.) It is a nice little city, more comfortable than Ashgabat. Fewer police, and even these are more relaxed. The people are also notably friendlier. I got free ice cream from one of the vendors out on the street. Let's go over that again, free ice cream. The city has a few places that show off the bizarre fixation with white marble buildings here. Most of the city, however, is older Soviet architecture. Often that meant the classic apartment blocks I associate with that period. There were also a few brick structures that could possibly be from before the Bolshevik revolution. Things were less well maintained and more dirty than Ashgabat. Even the parks dedicated to Turkmenbashi were not as well kept. It felt like people actually lived here, which was nice.

In the evening I met up with my friend from earlier in the day and his wife. We walked around for a bit before finding a good restaurant. The couple was originally from the Netherlands, but are now living in Almaty. I had a really nice time with them chatting about the affairs of Europe, Central Asia, and America. I even got an invitation for a place to stay when I get to Almaty. You never know who you are going to meet on trips like this, which is all part of the fun.



-Dravis

Date: April 30th, 2016
Distance: 200 km
Song of the Day: Rolling - Soul Coughing

Bam! Another 200 kilometer day. I am just rocketing along here. It's pretty good, especially considering that I didn't sleep well last night. I knew we were camping near the highway, and that noise didn't bother me too much. We were also right next the rail lines, though. Having freight trains rumble by every hour wasn't very conducive to a restful evening.

Still, I felt good by the time the sun was up. The morning was actually cool and I wanted to get started before the day got hot again. I feel a bit bad, because for all the work I did to get here I am just cruising on through. Then again, there isn't a whole lot out here. Things are just flat and open, some farms or pastures interspersed with sections of scrub desert. There aren't even that many towns. At times it is more than fifty kilometers between settlements.



This has lead to a new little problem. I can carry enough water on my bike to get through the day, but most of it winds up warm by the end of it. I have never been a big fan a gulping down warm water on a hot day. So when I do see a settlement, it is usually time to stop and get something cold. Often this is a coke and some ice cream if they have it. Ahhhh.

I arrived in Mary just before sunset. It felt good to be back in a little bit of civilization. It was still a strange place, though. Not quite as bizarre as Ashgabat, but a little bit weird. The main market is way outside of town, and it looks more like an airport. Next to it is a giant yurt. The influence of the central government isn't as strong here, but you can see it is still there.



-Dravis

Date: April 29th, 2016
Distance: 201 km
Song of the Day: Row - Wild Ones

Today was my chance to leave Ashgabat, and I'm a little bit glad of that. It is an interesting place to see, but it really ain't my style. Too formal. Too many rules. I feel like I am always being watched. Two days is my limit on that kind of stuff.

Of course, I still had to get my Uzbek visa. It wasn't that bad since I had done the dry run the day before. I knew where everything was, the trip to the bank was fine. I showed them my slip of paper and they showed me the line to get into. This took a while. The lady behind the window would take your slip of paper and print out five copies of it on an old dot matrix printer. I could hear the thing sputtering away behind her desk "tt tttt t- - t t--t t-t tt -t - t t-t ttt". I felt sorry for the IT guy who had to keep that thing running. Once I had received my copies, I was sent to a different window to pay. This is not a country that uses cards much, so I pulled out the cash I had from home. The lady there kept pointing out small defects in the money. Like a small tear, or an ink stain, or a corner bent. She would hand them back to me, and I would give them back to her with a "xorosho". Eventually she shook her head and accepted the money. She also took all my slips of paper, stamped them, kept one, and handed back the rest. What a process.

Back at the Uzbek embassy I noticed a lot of familiar faces. It was all the people I had been standing in line behind at the bank. I handed over my passport and my four remaining slips of paper. There seemed to be a lot of confusion. I didn't know why at first, because my Russian still isn't that good. They kept asking me "when". Finally one of the guys who spoke English at the embassy came out and asked me when I wanted the visa to start. I told him "May 4th", and that was good enough. I don't know why there was so much confusion about this. My Telex sheet and my letter of invitation all have it marked. Oh well. About fifteen minutes after that I was given my passport back with the visa in it. For some reason they also gave me back three of the copies from the bank. What the hell am I supposed to do with those?

From there I went back and got checked out of my hotel. On the way over there, I realized part of why this country seems so strange. The women can wear whatever they want. Sure, the street ninjas are covered head to toe. The Turkmen ladies also like to cover their hair with an arrangement of scarves. This is traditional, rather than religious, though. I guess it's an indication that they are married. Other than that, things are fair game. After Iran, seeing a woman walking around in shorts and a t-shirt seems very strange now.

At the hotel I met up with my tour guide and driver. Part of the rules for coming here is that I need someone with me at all times when I am on the road. So I guess the driver will be following me as I bike around. Okay, whatever. It actually worked out okay. The driver would go down the road 20 or 30 kilometers. When I passed he would ask "horosho?" I would say "da, horosho" then start the process over. We did this most of the day. At one of the stops he made tea, which was oddly refreshing on a hot day.

Oh, and it was hot. I have been thinking about the point I would hit hot weather and start to miss cold days, and now I think I have passed that point. Riding along, it's not so bad. The wind action keeps me cool and somewhat dry. As soon as I stop, though, I turn into a sweaty mess. By the afternoon my t-shirt had turned into a hardened carapace from all the salt and dirt that had dried in it. Gross, huh? Even better, this is also part of the world where bugs are going to be accompanying just about every meal. There are flies everywhere. Any time I stop they swarm around, and even on occasion as I am biking I will get a few stray bugs orbiting around me. They also bounce off my sunglasses or fly into my mouth. More often they get stuck in the sweat and sunscreen on my arms. This nomadic lifestyle is not as glamorous as it might sometimes be portrayed. The beard has been kind of nice, though. I don't need sunscreen on most of my face, and insects just seem to bounce off of it. So that is a bonus.

In spite of all of this, I made good time on the day. There wasn't much out here, though. Lots of wide open spaces. Some farms, but mostly open land. There were very few towns along the way, and nothing substantial. There was one old ruin to see. I think it was once a stop along the Silk Road. I could see mud brick walls for a large fortress. Surrounding it were the remains of many smaller buildings. I wish I knew more about it, but the one sign describing the place was in Turkmen.

Since there wasn't much out in the desert, I could stop anytime I felt like it and camp. I just wanted my tent up before sunset. I met up with my driver about the 180km mark and told him I was ready to stop. We pulled off the highway a bit and set up camp. Things were nice. The driver made tea and I fixed up some dinner. He showed me how to make some of what I think of as "chai soup" with tea, salted beef, and bread. All of this was as the sun was setting. It was a good way to end the day.

Except that it wasn't the end of the day. Just as we were packing up from dinner, a truck full of soldiers came by. They jumped out and started interrogating my driver. Eventually they wanted to see my passport. Then I got yelled at for not having the right visa. Except the guy was looking at the wrong page! Idiot. He had found the Uzbekistan visa I had just received. I had to show him that two pages earlier was my Turkmenistan visa. After that everything was okay. The soldiers calmed down. They didn't want us staying, though. They said it was some kind of military land. Who knows? It isn't like they mark anything. So, now that it was dark I packed up my tent and got back on the road. The soldiers said we had to cross a river and then we were out of their land. It was supposed to be 10 kilometers. It wasn't. I did about 20 kilometers down the highway before I found the bridge. Then it was back to setting up the tent and going to bed. What a day.



-Dravis

Date: April 28th, 2016
Distance: "Rest day" (81 km)
Song of the Day: Nothing Good - PonyHomie

I got to spend more time riding around the city today. It is still a very odd place. The parks were almost devoid of people again. If there was someone else in the park, they were almost certainly one of the groundskeepers. I get that someone has to make sure the grass is mowed, the plants are in bloom, and the fountains are working. In some of the parks this looks to be a pretty major effort. There are dozens of people toiling away. Even in the small parks there are usually a few workers fixing things up. These people aren't really there to enjoy the park, though. I almost never saw someone using the park just for fun. I know, the city is a hot place. The people here are more practical than to swelter out in the sun at midday for the fun of it. Still, it seemed strange.

On the streets there are more people, but like the parks a sizable portion of them are out maintaining the roads. They are what some of the local Americans referred to as "street ninjas". I think this is both because they are most often clothed head to toe with only the eyes showing (to keep the sun off) as well as their ability to dodge the zooming cars. They are almost always women armed with home made straw brooms sweeping out the gutters. Large water trucks also roam the city spraying the streets down. For me it was nice, Ashgabat has some of the nicest roads anywhere in the world, especially in a city. Most towns have streets with cracks and pot holes. Here the main roads are all like silk. If you are being charitable you might say the new buildings, the parks, and the clean streets are just a way to provide jobs for everyone. I don't think that is really the reason, though.

It feels more like Ashgabat was designed by a megalomaniac to be a gigantic living sculpture. Except that having people actually living in the place would ruin it. The parks would be dirty and the grass trampled. The beautiful white buildings would be marred by laundry hanging from the windows, or satellite dishes rusting on the roof. Instead, it is a toy still sealed in its packaging. The place lacks the vibrancy and energy that a normal city has. The infrastructure may be designed to be beautiful, but at the cost of livability. Everywhere I look it seems like people were an afterthought. Everything is so spread out that getting anywhere is a chore. The bigger parks are far from where people live, or work, or shop. It feels like someone tried to create the perfect city and failed. Not for the lack of money, but because they forgot to think about how people were going to use the place. So Ashgabat is really just a shell, like something you would find washed up on a beach. Pretty, but empty. Just a facade of wonder and sophistication.

The more time I spent in the city the more its flaws became apparent. Many of the parks are only manicured as far as you can see from the road. Further in, the grass is uncut and the trees grow wild. Even the roads themselves are only kept up so far. Once you leave the main streets things deteriorate rather quickly. The pavement is cracked and covered in dirt and dust, the lots around are vacant or under construction. There are many of the old Soviet era buildings still around, mostly on the East side of town. This is where the people of Ashgabat really live. It was a place that I felt much more comfortable in. Sure, it is a bit more run down, but it felt like people had made the places their homes. Plus, I didn't feel like I was being watched all the time.

In the center of Ashgabat it seems like you are always being watched. There are policemen everywhere. They almost outnumber the street ninjas. They stand in front of all the government buildings making sure that no one takes pictures of it, and even more so around the presidential palace. Whenever I even get close to it, the police are there trying to get my attention to not look at the building. I hate poor logical thinking. It doesn't make sense to build a giant complex in the middle of your showpiece city, cover it with three massive golden domes, and then get mad when people look at it. It just boggles my mind.

Another huge flaw that I can find here is that nothing is marked. I tried to find the Uzbekistan embassy to pick up my visa and that took hours. I knew kind of where it was, but even knowing if I was on the right road was difficult. There are no street signs anywhere, so it turns into a giant guessing game. I did finally get to the embassy, I had my paperwork in order, all I had to do was get to the bank to make my payment. That took even more time. Same run around with finding the right place. The bank in question is half way across town so it would take a while even if I knew where to go. When I finally found the right place, they sent me to their branch office down the road. At first they sent me down the wrong road, though. I spent a while looking in the wrong place and finally ended up back at the bank I started at. When they finally told me the right street, it still took a bit of time to get there, as it was another three kilometers away. The branch office was closed, so I have to come back tomorrow. Not what I wanted, but at least I know where everything is now.

I met up with a group of Americans for dinner. Some of them work for the American school, others for the embassy. They told me I had gotten the Ashgabat run-around. It felt like it. For what was supposed to be a rest day I have had a hell of a time. Having dinner, and joking, and laughing with a few other people wasn't a bad way to end the day. They also gave me a bit more of an insight into the politics of the place. If you wondered why I have not posted about the Doctors Without Borders efforts here it's because they no longer have an office in Turkmenistan. They, like a lot of other international health and development organizations, where kicked out of the country. The government never asked them to leave, but they did make it impossible to continue working here by denying visas and housing for their staff. Then the government claims they no longer need international aid, and they leave their sick and poor without help. Nice job Berdimuhamedow.



-Dravis

Date: April 27th, 2016
Distance: 86 km
Song of the Day: City of Delusion - Muse

I made it to Turkmenistan today. How man countries is that now? Fifteen? Yeah, fifteen. I am losing count. The process at the border wasn't that hard. I said goodbye to Darius on the Iran side. Overall, it's been good traveling with him. He has plans for a European tour next fall. Best of luck with that, man.

The Turkmen side took a bit longer. I had the Letter of Invitation, I just needed to get the visa. The process wouldn't have taken that long, but nobody there was in a hurry. There was a lot of waiting. I can't complain too much. For as hard as this country is to get into, this visa process was relatively simple. If someone wants to take their sweet time with it, I am okay. The customs people were a bit sketchy. They put my bags through an x-ray scanner, but I don't know that they even looked. They were super paranoid about my GoPro, which had been off the whole time. They wanted me to turn it on so they could watch every video. They kept asking me if I had taken a picture of the border. I really don't care about their stupid border facilities, but whatever. They can look at videos from yesterday. I don't care. On the other hand, they kept asking if I had another camera. I declined to mention my phone takes pictures, since they didn't ask. I had no desire to give them my phone.

Once I was out of the station, the guards were super paranoid about me biking down to Ashgabat. The first twenty-five kilometers was a special "neutral zone", they said. I have no idea what they thought I was going to do. There is nothing out there, just a road winding down through some grass and rocks. Kind of pretty, but after how weird they were about things, I decided this was not a place to take pictures. It would suck to be deported on my first day here.

Things got better once I left the border zone and into Ashgabat. I have heard a lot of stories about the place and the reality is more surreal than you can imagine. It isn't as empty as people say, but there is definitely a strange sense of stillness here. There isn't much traffic on the main roads, all of the which are lined with large buildings clad in white marble. I think for the most part they are empty, though. No laundry is hanging from the windows, no cars in the parking lots, no people walking in and out. The same is true for the parks. There are tons of parks in the center of the city. Each is filled with water fountains and blooming flowers, every plaza and the paths between them are paved in stone. But they were empty. Most of the stairs have wheelchair ramps built in, so it makes them awesome to bike through. I just could never shake the feeling that I was going to be arrested for being there, though. With everything being so empty, it was an eerie feeling.

In the center of Ashgabat, it seems like you are always being watched. There are policemen everywhere. They almost outnumber the street ninjas. They stand in front of all the government buildings making sure that no one takes pictures of it. Even more so around the presidential palace. Whenever I even got close to it, the police were there trying to get my attention so I wouldn't look at it. I hate poor logical thinking. It doesn't make sense to build a giant complex in the middle of your showpiece city, cover it with three massive golden domes, and then get mad when people look at it. It just boggles my mind.

After wandering around, pretty much lost the entire afternoon, I finally found the right spot to meet up with some friends of my hosts in Baku. They had lived in Ashgabat for a couple of years and know a bunch of the Americans living there. The rules for people being in Turkmenistan don't let me stay with them, but at least we could have dinner. I love spinning yarns about my various adventures, and it's really fun to meet people who have great stories of their own.



-Dravis

Date: April 26th, 2016
Distance: 81 km
Song of the Day: Ramble On - Led Zeppelin

Countries have had this habit of saving the best road for last. Iran today, on my last day, has been no different. I didn't think it would measure up when I left this morning, though. Part of this is due to the fact that I have already been to so many amazingly beautiful places in Iran, I didn't think anything could top what I have already seen. The other piece is the fact that the road out of Quchan wasn't that exciting. It wound through rolling hills and farmland. Not ugly, just nothing that exciting. It was a lot of up hill, though, and the hills would continue all day. This is mountainous country. Why put a border in flat, productive farmland when you can place it up in the mountains away from everyone?

At the top of the first pass, I got a glimpse of what things could be. The rolling hills started to break out in cliffs and rocky promontories. It is a dry land, but still alive with hardy vegetation. These plants appeared bright green under the hot sun. The rocks stood out in brown and red under the blue sky. It didn't last long, though. Soon Darius and I were back to riding through rolling pasture land and high plateaus, the landscape leading to sweeping vistas of hills and arid plains.

We stopped for lunch in a small town. They didn't have a restaurant, but the lady running the one store in town was happy enough to fry up some eggs and tomatoes for us. I was worried that we were going to be slow after lunch. It was a hot day, with the sun beating down all around. Even worse, while I was eating I couldn't help but notice a strong wind blowing from the direction we were going.

Once we started riding, the land changed again. The road was following a small river along a line of rugged hills. I couldn't help but look up at the cliffs above the road in amazement. The stone showed orange and tan in the afternoon sunlight. I ended up stopping frequently to take pictures and just enjoy the view. It was gorgeous. And, it turns out that I was right. Things went pretty slow after lunch, but not because of the heat or the wind, but because the land was spectacular. At least I wasn't alone. When I would stop Darius would pass me, but I would find him half a kilometer down the road looking at some other amazing topographical feature. The main truck route followed a different path, so there were very few cars. We could stop anywhere and take time just enjoying being among the jagged hills.

That was just what was on the right side of the road. In the flood plain to the left were bright green fields and stands of trees. There were a few houses dotting the valley, many appeared abandoned. The mud brick construction was in the slow process of eroding away. I enjoy looking at the ruins of buildings. It's a reminder that nothing lasts forever, we're all here for a brief period of time before fading away. I think about who built these places and why they might have abandoned them. The ruins also reveal more about the construction methods. I can see where timbers were used and how the bricks were laid. These buildings were made in a style that dates back thousands of years. The ancient technique is no less beautiful for its age.

Just when I didn't think it could get any better, the road made a sharp right turn and disappeared into a narrow gap in the rocks. The stream here had carved an amazing canyon out of the limestone. The way swept around bends of the river as the river swirled through the rocks. It was so incredible that I had to stop. Darius and I scrambled down to the river and walked on the boulders along the banks. It was so hot and the waters looked incredibly inviting. There wasn't enough water to swim, but I was happy to take my shoes off and let my feet cool off in the stream. I could have stayed for hours. Traveling by human power alone forces you along routes you have never imagined. It is a journey into the unknown, and sometimes that takes you to a wonderful, hidden place like this. Being on a bike allows you to slow down enough to really enjoy it.

After the canyon, I thought the road was going to follow the river all the way down to the border, but that isn't my luck. Instead, the road took a turn up a different valley. Just because I was now heading uphill didn't diminsh the beauty of the place. More rugged hills along the right, all the way up the valley. What a spectacular place. This road isn't the main route across the border to Turkmenistan, so the road had no trucks on it. There weren't very many cars along the road either, and for most of the climb it was just Darius and me. It felt like this amazing place was preserved just for us. Looking up at the rocks towering above, feeling like the only people on earth, I found it hard not to think about how small we really are. There must be so many lonely and beautiful places like this around the world. It reminds me of how massive the earth really is, that this spot is lost and almost abandoned on the border between two countries most people will never get to see. I may be tiny compared with the world around me, but I do feel grateful for this life, as well as the opportunities to travel the remote and magical places in the world.

I was having a great time, but I thought the climb might continue all the way to the top of the valley. Instead it bent around the shoulder of one of the hills and into a dark tunnel. And I mean dark. Most of the tunnels I have been through on this trip are lit up with electric lights. Nothing close to daylight, but enough to see the ground in front of you. Not this one. It was just a hole bored into the mountain. I was glad to have lights on my bike.

After the tunnel, the last 10 kilometers into Bajgiran were at the perfect pitch. Steep enough to hit 65kph, but the road was smooth enough and the curves wide enough that I didn't need to touch my brakes. Instead I just screamed down into the valley below the tunnel. Racing down hill as fast as your bike will go is so fantastic. I felt on top of the world.

When Darius and I arrived in Bajgiran, the place seemed like a ghost town. The streets were bereft of cars, almost no one on the streets. There were a few policemen and army officers hanging around their barracks. I don't suppose there is much else to do here. Other than that, it was just three old men sitting at a bus stop. I was wondering how long they would be waiting there for the bus to come. Even Darius noted the silence of the place. Still, we had made it. I have been planning this for more than six months. There was a lot of effort into planning the route, processing the visa, and arranging the trip. In the end I arrived at the border exactly when I had expected to. I love it when a plan comes together.



-Dravis