Distance: 82.07 km
Ridetime: 3:58:29
Average: 20.6 km/h
Total distance: 3776 km
For the first time on the trip I ran into some real problems with the bicycle today. Or, still just flat tires, but 3 of them in a row. After 3800 km I clearly need a new set of tires. They will arrive from Denmark for Christmas.
I had originally hoped to make it to the Mar Musa monastery for a couple of days of meditation. What I had missed on the map was the fact that today’s route was uphill all day, steadily climbing from 500 to 1300 meters of altitude. With the sun setting and with the flat tires in mind, I didn’t really fancy going into the remote roads heading up to the monastery (apparently 20 km from nearest neighbour).
I ended up in a roadside restaurant that also also rented out rooms and quickly made friends with a couple of guys working there. The cashier guy had a bachelor degree in economics but told it is next to impossible to find good jobs in Syria at the moment.
The weather forecast for tomorrow promises rain even though I am in the middle of a desert.
