The bitter agony of defeat . . . Anyway, the continuity of the overland bike trip was regrettably interrupted here (but resumed again in Nukus). I felt there was no way to go on with conditions that required pushing the bike where I had no means of buying food and water that would run out. So I had to pack it in, and turn tail for Beyneu. I had reached within 20 kilometers of the Uzbek border at the time of this photograph recording the moment of defeat. Actually, it felt like a moment of divine intervention, because I can tell you that travelling through territory like this is not the most rewarding of travel experiences. The morning after next (I missed the next day's train) I bought my train ticket to Nukus, and rumbled along to the Karakalpakstan capital where I started the bike ride again. Right now I am in Urgench, and should have an Uzbekistan update within a week or so. Kazakhstan . . . what a wierd leg in my now non-contiguous bike journey. (6-07-05)

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The Agony (or perhaps secret joy) of Defeat

From:	Jackpot	(Wed Jun 15 08:22:25 2005)
Don't let it bring you down, man. I certainly don't think any less of you.
From:	shannon	(Wed Jun 15 21:03:04 2005)
Like the Bosphorus, that mud is not crossable by bike. 'tis still contiguous, just spin with those mad lawyering skills you have.
From:	Eileen	(Thu Jun 16 08:48:58 2005)
Agree--don't let it get you down. What can you when the road is like dough.
From:	Lucas Kopp	(Mon Jun 20 17:56:44 2005)
Why does your face look like that? Why do you have that beard? Did that spider scare you? He also wants to say "You are invited to my birthday party." But it's O.K. if you are still gone. Don't be sad that you have to turn around. It's O.K.
From:	Michael Kopp (mk)	(Wed Jun 22 03:25:57 2005)
Lucas - It's difficult for me to explain why my face looks the way it does - although it is not for lack of pondering the question. I've often wondered when looking in the mirror, "who chose this face for me?"; "does this strange countenance correspond to an assigned fate"; or "was this visage a random product of the chaos of the universe, thereby leaving me free to pursue and define my own destiny?" - but now I've run out of face synonyms. The beard question is one that is easier to answer. I have regrown the beard because I have heard that it is customary to grow facial hair during times of unemployment and personal growth. I wish I could be there for your B-day celebration, but I'm afraid I may be somewhere on the other side of the planet at the time. But I'll be sure to catch up with you when I get back. Thanks for the words of encouragement!
From:	Lorilee	(Wed Jun 22 12:04:46 2005)
This is an excellent explaination, but is way over Lucas' head. I think he means why do you look so sad. He sees the emotion on your face. Not that your face is abnormal or anything. I don't think he has ever seen you look so sad. We explained what was happening to you and that you had to turn around and he understood fully. Hence the words of encouragement. We wish you many more adventures before you return home, even if it's not in July. Take care Michael.
From:	Michael Kopp (mk)	(Thu Jun 23 05:47:40 2005)
Lucas - It seems I may have misunderstood one of your questions and neglected to answer another. Don't worry about any appearance of sadness - I may have given the impression of being down at the moment, but I was smiling later when I was clean and sleeping in a hotel rather than a smelly tent. As to the spider, hmmmmm . . . when they were on the road and I was on the bike everything was cool, but when I had to set up the tent in the area where I had seen a lot of them I was a little worried about putting my foot down on one of them. Oh yeah, "personal growth" should read "purported personal growth." I think I have actually regressed in many ways on the trip - but beards are still appropriate for periods of unemployment and regression and/or progression.
From:	Mark	(Wed May 5 02:09:42 2010)
Can't understand why you don't have a water filter to gather as you go- to rely on having to buy water is crazy