Departure from Toulouse

Marc takes us to the airport with the big bike boxes. We’re quite a bit ahead of schedule, but everything’s going smoothly everywhere. The Turkish plane that’s due to take us to Istanbul to catch the flight to Tashkent is running quite late : a little worry, but in the end we won’t have to walk much in Istanbul’s immense airport, and we’re wide.

Arrival in Tashkent

The bikes are the last to leave the luggage conveyor. We’d asked for a transfer to the hotel but ... it’s not there, so we fall back on one of the airport offers and a “cab” puts our two boxes on the roof and off we go. Driving in Tashkent...
We set up the bikes in the hotel, a bit of damage to the mudguards, which we straighten as best we can.

Tashkent

Well tired from the journey, we begin our visit to Tashkent on a very hot day, with temperatures approaching 38°. That plus the fatigue of a night’s travel with little sleep made it difficult to find a bank to change money. But we eventually found one.
The next day, more rested, we visit the chorus bazaar, a huge market where we can get lost... and we have trouble finding the place where we left our bikes.
We’re also having trouble with the ex5 lanes that criss-cross the city, as everything in Tashkent is designed for cars. Fortunately, there are some beautiful parks where the locals come to take a breather.

Tomorrow’s first cycling stage is the road to Chinaz.