August 6, 2016
to Kara-Kol: hot and hilly
“Around every corner is hope or despair” Jo says as we are relaxing by a stream trying to cool off toward the end of the cycling day. Just back a kilometer, we had stopped for a food break under the shade of a few small trees. We will be starting to look for a campsite. Today has been tough, like climbing a never ending pass with the constant undulating climbs and no reward of a long downhill.
It's quite a push back to the main road, but our campsite worked out well. Right out of the gate we start climbing, and that sets the tone for most of the day. The Naryn River is dammed up most of the way; the road constantly climbs and descends along it, often steeply. The terrain is a lot more mountainous with large barren rock faces. The trees mostly disappear.
Today it will be important again to find a campsite with shade, it is very hot. Again we stop for ice cream and cold drinks, but the second part of the day there are no more towns and no cold drinks. The campsite we spotted on the satellite photos turns out to be a very good one, a little peninsula extends into the reservoir.
There are about a dozen local men swimming as well, they are fine with us joining them though and after a while they all go home. We swim, wash and do some laundry. Just as we finish up dinner a group of six Korean cyclists shows up. The site is a bit cramped for that many tents but it works out.
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Today's ride: 65 km (40 miles)
Total: 20,138 km (12,506 miles)
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