2

Left at 9.20 after a very long queue for petrol, those stupid teapots really slow things down, from there it was a very straight boring road through the desert. The dunes were cool but the novelty wore off pretty quickly and I stopped for lunch and fuel after 200 kms. The guys in the service area were pretty mean looking and the stares ice cold, maybe something to do with spending you life in the middle of the Taklamakan Desert! I stopped again for a piss after another 50 clicks and was taking in the endless dunes and thinking about what a terrible place this would be to break down, and when I got back on the bike it wouldn’t move!! The front brakes had probably got sand and dust in them and had seized up. I released some fluid and did the next 400 kms with very little brakes! I stopped again for fuel and the teapot was filthy, I pointed this out and they said they clean it sometimes but the sand just keeps getting blown in. Filling up from the pump wasn’t an option either so I used my jerrycan, that’s actually a major reason to carry one in itself.


I stopped at a bike shop in Nu'erbakexiang to bleed the brakes and add fluid. The boss was a nice guy, all for free and free fuses! He couldn’t believe how far I'd ridden. Later, on the gaosu past Kuqa there had been a huge truck fire that had even melted the barriers. I rode to the front of the queue of cars and was forced to pull up next to a traffic cop, I played it cool and had a chat about the accident then he waved me through way before anyone else so I had the gaosu all to myself for a while. 50 kms down the road there was yet another police stop, these guys had blocked off the road and were stopping everyone in a lay-by. The main guy must’ve been worried that I’d try and skip past because he levelled his AK at me, new underwear required! The vibe changed as soon as he saw I was a laowai and after a quick look at my passport I was out of there.


It was one of the most boring days ever on a bike, I don’t think there was one interesting corner! I arrived in Luntai at 7.30, 820 kms, 3940 total. I checked into the very posh sanbao hotel for 300 quai.