Samarqand

The two rest days in Samarkand can be described using any of the following words – glorious, awesome, so good, great, beautiful, wonderful, heavenly, necessary, lovely, ideal, fantastic, really good, relaxing – and probably a few others. We were charmed by the beautiful mosques, minarets and madrassahs of Registan Square (a world heritage site) and the surrounding areas, the museum and the observatory. The riders ate at the delicious restaurants and cafes in the downtown area and throughout the city parks, slept, read, did laundry, internet, phoned home, slept, read, ate and, of course, visited the local shopping areas, art galleries, and the large bazaar. Some just walked for hours exploring. If you are from Australia, New Zealand, South Africa or England then you looked for somewhere to watch the World Cup Rugby! The riders had a whole 48 hours to enjoy themselves and relax a bit. Not to mention normal biking things like cleaning, degreasing and repairs now that the wear and tear problems have begun. Red boxes and paper work were given out to the two new riders Jean and Michiel. The support trucks were cleaned. Spare parts as well as brooms were purchased. A few riders may be missing Miles’s cooking but one cannot dispute the value and the fun a couple of rest days can do for you as part of biking heaven!