Garry McGivern’s cycling around the world, Monday, 24th-September-2012, Eski Talap to Tortkol. 94 miles. I had a bit of a trek first thing this morning. The landscape is, so baron at the moment that I had to venture about half a mile off the road to pitch my tent last night, so I was out of sight. I pitched it behind a big oil pipe they seem to be laying across the country. I’ve come across it on and off for much of the time I’ve been here.
The scenery changed once I got peddling, and I was soon cycling through cotton fields. I did wonder if these were remnants from the cotton fields that the Russians created. They drained the Aral sea, trying to get these cotton fields to work. Apparently, the Aral sea was once the fourth-largest inland sea in the world and was about the size Of Ireland.
I bumped into a familiar face today. I’d met this driver on my second or third day of cycling in Kazakhstan. He’d marked on my map where the really bad stretches of road were, and I must say he’s been pretty spot on. But then I suppose he would be. The only route he drives is between Atyrau and Almaty; this is the third time I’ve bumped into him. I wonder if I’ll see him again.
Please Donate
Don’t forget the main reason behind my ride. I want to raise as much money for cancer research charities as possible. After my wife, Josie, died of breast cancer in 2007, aged only 42. Even the smallest donation helps. You can donate to Cancer Research UK or the Australian National Breast Cancer Foundation. Click on either one to donate. Every little bit helps to rid the world of this cruel disease.
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