Gonabad

I had a bad night due to the stomach bug. I hadn't been able to eat anything the night before & didn't feel like anything in the morning. I forced myself to eat something in order to be able to turn the pedals to get me away.

It was hard & slow going in the morning with frequent rest breaks. The road climbed over a mountain pass before dropping down onto a plain & the city of Gonabad. I'd decided that if I found a hotel there that I'd stop for the day & rest up. When I asked in town I was directed to the Hotel Pasargad, a faded '70s construction. For the sake of my pride I made an attempt at bargaining the price down, but it wasn't expensive so wasn't disappointed when it failed. My first shower since Yazd (7 days) felt quite nice.

Since before the mountain it seemed that the land was becoming marginally more green. I hope this trend continues as I've had quite enough of the desert for the moment though I know I have a quite a lot more to cross in Turkmenistan & Uzbekistan.

I cycled 54 km in 4 hours & 1 minute
Total so far 5424 km in 74 days