Our First Puncture 😱

Yesterday was set up to be the perfect cycling day! We got up in good time, bikes were already loaded with water and food. The temperatures were perfect at around 24c and there was a welcome headwind.⁣
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The smooth tarmac of the Azerbaijani roads are a real treat after Georgia and yesterday’s bike ride was a perfect mix of gentle climbs and long descents. The mountains in the background are a beautiful sight.⁣
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In these conditions we were on track to cycle a speedy 60 miles (100km) to Sheki and arrive in good time at a hotel for rest…however…the hospitality of Azerbaijan is very much like Turkey.⁣
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After our meeting with Lapazz we ended up drinking tea with the gas station attendants as we needed a little WiFi. The tea kept coming and so did the delicious blackberries! After this we left and just a few kms down the road we met Barbara and Balthasar, @novosti_na_vostok – a couple of cyclists from Switzerland. They started their journey in Singapore and they were on their way home. They’d been on the road for 7 months so far. We exchanged SIM cards and a little currency from Georgia before parting ways.⁣
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Almost straight away Stew got a puncture 😱 the first one so far! He was happy with the time it took him to change it, around 20 minutes to unload the bike, change the tube, locate the metal, put the tire back on and load the bike again. ⁣
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We had to keep our heads down and pedals turning in Azerbaijan because if we had stopped for every offer of tea we wouldn’t have made any distance at all! ⁣
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Our final stop for tea was in a gas station. I nipped in to quickly use their facilities, they offered us tea, we declined, they protested and we caved! It was a real giggle drinking tea with these guys. For some reason we can’t download the language on google translate so without WiFi all we have is body language or if we’re lucky we find an English speaker ⁣
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We finally got to our hotel at 20:30. The sun was already well on its way down. It turned out to be a perfect cycle touring day. ⁣
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I wonder what today will bring…
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#aroundtheworld #worldcyclingtour
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#cycleazerbijan #rtw #roundth @ Sheki, Şəki, Azerbaijan