Tasboget – III Internatsional 100km

My campsite for the previous night was behind a large pile of sand and rocks. I once again slept very well and my alarm call this morning was that of a herd of horses that had come to graze on the nearby grass. It’s not a bad way to wake up let me tell you. I boiled up some coffee and just spent a good half an hour watching the horses.

I’m beginning to learn how to slow down. It’s incredible in life how we run around at one hundred miles an hour and very rarely just take the time to sit and enjoy what is around us. It’s not easy to do and I’m far from being an expert on it myself. Despite the incredible sense of freedom I feel from riding the bike I still find it hard to detach myself from the planning side of it and my mind is constantly awash of things I need to do and places I need to be at certain times; I’m trying though to change this. Like I said I’ve slowed down the pace of my ride but am really now trying to savour those more peaceful times of the day when I have little else to do but sit back, and simply relax.

Move along now, nothing to see here

How often do we in our daily lives really take the time to do this? Why is it in the society we live in we feel the need to constantly busy ourselves and then occasionally ‘reward’ ourselves with a five minute break. Surely we deserve more than this?

The buses are always late in Kazakhstan!

It was another hot and dusty day on the bike. People keep stopping and wanting to talk which is fine every now and then but means breaking the rhythm of riding and it’s hard to keep stopping and then starting again. I’ve now taken to not stopping all the time, I’m not being rude it’s just necessary to keep going sometimes.

This is part of the road by the way

There are a lack of rest stops now along the way. I miss my afternoon tea in the shade. I managed to find one just before the end of the day as I approached 100km and was able to restock my water supply.

None shall pass......

except that is for the bike......a whole road just for me and the bike

It was camping once again but also the chance to practice what I preached about earlier and having cooked I spent the evening simply sitting and watching the sun go down, no thinking, no worrying just peaceful relaxing contemplation

bones