Except for some flattish stretches and a few short, steep uphills when there was no room for the road along the river, it was downhill (about 84k) all the way to Gul'cha. My speed however didn't benefit from this advantage as I once again faced a +40 k/h headwind no matter what direction I was riding (S, E or N). The wind might have been from the same direction but when pushed through the fairly narrow gorges, it's either a tailwind or headwind - and for me of course the latter....