Dusty trail to China - 20 June 2008
Stage number: 9
Stage date: 20/06/2008
Start and arrival city: AYAGUZ to KARAMAY
Special: Beketay to Blagodatnoye
Total distance (special): 528km (82km)
Result on stage: 10th
Position overall: 14th (TBC)
G'day! I'll need to be quick as I'm nearly out of battery and god knows when I'll be able to recharge it!
Last night we had another night of sleeping in our riding kit, which was as comfortable and warm as ever! Because the road yesterday was so bad the assistance vehicles and support trucks struggled along very slowly through the night and only made it to camp this morning. They arrived at first light just as we left. Not that there was a great deal of time to sleep anyway. We only a couple of hours kip before we cracked on again to a short special stage and then the Chinese border.
It was a short special today, only 82km, but awesome all the same. The landscape is beautiful, it's similar to Wales but like someone has grabbed the edges and pulled it a bit flatter. Some great gravel tracks through the mountains. It's really dusty though, so it's hard to make up time and get past people. You have to hang back from their dust cloud, wait until you think it's safe, and ride through it almost blind, to pass them. It does take a long time and you have to be patient.
It only took us about an hour to get through customs at the Chinese border and once we got through the reception from the people was amazing. There were hundreds of them lining the route cheering and waving flags. It was a real big surprise and very cool.
The route in China is really good too. We've been scratching on some stunning twisty tarmac roads that run through the mountains, which was a right laugh until we got hit by a big thunderstorm. But it is quite warm so once I got through it I dried out quickly. I'm still riding with a flappy bash plate too. I'm hoping Linley and Bernie will get to the camp tonight in time to fix it.
I've just arrived at the bivouac and there's no one here again. I've heard that it's taking a while for the support vehicles to get through the Chinese border controls. Hopefully the organiser's truck with my sleeping bag will turn up soon, though I'm not holding my breath!
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