It was the holiday season where millions of Iranians visit Mashhad's Holy Shrine - the holieset place in Iran - so the ring road around town was terribly busy with countles entries/exits to look out for. Heading NW out of town, I had a nice 30+ k/h tailwind and made good progress before I camped behind a small pile of dirt at the roadside after 180k. Along the way I encountered some hostility with people shouting and throwing rocks after me - why I never understood...