A day of high and lows. I started very angry but I got some christmas presents on the way, yay!
When I had packed my stuff and my bike was ready for leaving I wanted to take a small breakfast and get going as soon as possible. I had no time to lose as I wanted to go over 100km by over 1000m altitude today. But the problem was: all the hotel staff was absent. I searched and shouted and searched and shouted. I would have left without paying, but they still had my passport. After half an hour another guest showed me where the hotel guy was sleeping - in a place where he must have heard me shouting. I left unbreakfasted and very angry. Maybe not so bad, as the anger gave me a fast start. My mood brightened when I stopped for a coffee and cooked at a shop and soon received my first christmas present - a guy just gave me a bag with a can of apple syrup and a can of Istak Lemon accompanied by the words, that I should not forget the Iranian people once I get back home. This guy literally made my day!
I cycled on much happier. In Surmaq the road met the main highway between Esfahan and Shiraz - it had a wide shoulder, perfect for cycling (much better than the small road before Surmaq). From here on the big climb started - and as my second christmas gift I received a massive tail wind blowing me up the mountain. However I had not reckoned that there would be nothing (no village, no shop) the next 40km until the top, so halfway I stupidly ran out of water. That plus the exhaustion from the last days made the climb very difficult. I had to stop and rest several times. Fortunately one car driver stopped and offered me my third christmas gift: a cup of tea and some date-like things (my farsi was not comprehensive enough to understand his explanations on what it was) - this really helped a lot. Close to the top the wind got even stronger and more chaotic - one time I was blown of the bike and just fell sidewards, as I could not get out of the click pedals fast enough. I decided to push my bike for some time until the wind became more steady from the back and helped me to finally reach the top. There was a shop and I took a rest and drank a lot of water. The rest of the ride was easy - despite the wind had turned to headwind I could roll downhill. I was not sure if there would be accomodation in Deh Bid, but fortunately I met the right guy at a shop: he is a painter working in a yet-to-be-opened hotel, which already has one more or less finished room. I immediately took possession of it and was very happy to have a warm place to rest.
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