Near Turkmenabat

This desert was becoming much more challenging than that from Yazd to Mashhad. The wind started up as soon as the Sun came up & from 8am or so. To attain a speed above 12km/h was bliss. It was also pretty boring cycling, always the same scenery, nothing beyond the same plants & lots of sand. The road hardly veered left or right. Fortunately it was quite quiet as it was in a shocking state, at times being like cobble stones. Though I think I'll worse in Tajikistan. The country's oil & gas wealth could be better spent on the roads than statues & murals of the President Niyazov.

Before coming to Turkmenistan I'd read that it was like North Korea in its personality cult of the leadership. Having never been to North Korea I couldn't say. Even without visiting Ashqabat where I'm told that monuments to him & odd personal projects such as a theme park called 'Turkmenistan World' that the people are affected by the streams of propaganda is taken up by the people. In the few conversations I had with locals 'Turkmenbashi' or 'Father of Turkmen' in Turkmen (a name he gave himself) came up. Clearly the leadership was influenced by the first president of modern Turkey Mustafa Kemal, who was given the name 'Ataturk' (Father of Turks). Both Ataturk & Turkmenbashi were pivotal in the creation of their states, in the aftermath of the First World War & the sudden collapse of the Soviet Union. However Ataturk was, I believe a 'Great Man', a brilliant general (at Gallipoli & during the War of Independence fought against Greece who had the support of the Great Powers, & a great statesman by modernising Turkey & building bridges with Turkey's previous enemies at war. Dispite being called a national hero Turkmenbashi was just a Communist Party official appointed by Gorbacev at the 'right time', the worship & propaganda falls flat for me.

In the afternoon I fell victim to another stomach bug. I found it even more difficult to cycle against the wind. Due to the shortness of duration of my Turkmen transit visa I lacked the luxuary of being able to 'hole up' in a hotel. I slept outside in the desert, too tired to search for the necessary rocks to pitch my tent in sand (my next tent will be free standing). Unable to eat anything I worrie about further weight loss.

I cycled 81 km in 7 hours & 13 minutes
Total so far 6275 km in 87 days
GPS Coordinates of end point - N 38°57.655, E 63°30.133