I’d not had any lunch releasing this after I had exchanged all my Kyrgyzstan money there were a few fast food outlets on the border but I was getting harassed by taxi drivers shouting Almaty? Almaty? Almaty? at me whilst I just pointed at the bike I was astride so thought it best to get to the town which was just down the road.
Having conquered the Pamir Highway to Osh and them cycled across Kyrgyzstan I now popped back into Kazakhstan to the north of Bishkek. I would then turn right to Almaty.
It was here that the route that Tom Bruce had followed and mine would diverge.
He pushed on into China and headed east from there I was going to get a flight to New Delhi and then cycle from there on to Singapore.
Reading Tom's book he had a hard time in China especially in early inland sections where they had not much contact with western visitors.
He was treated with suspicion and if I entered China here I would be there for a long time as I would have to ride around the Himalayas to the south. So I decided when route planning that was not for me and so to experience more and welcoming cultures and also for more variety I would take the flight as cycling through Afghanistan and Pakistan was not safe.
I didn’t find anything that looked inviting in the town and was also on the lookout for a cashpoint as I could be on the road for the next three days before I reached the next big town, no joy with that either was I was suddenly in the countryside with no food or money.
I backtracked and it was a beautiful sight to see the wall of snow covered mountains in the background but the sun was hard on them and I knew a photo would not do them justice.
On the way back I soon came to a currency exchange where I was able to swap some dollars especially the small denomination notes which had been refused a few times which was great.
I then stopped at a cafeteria place like the motorway services where the food is laid out and got a sort of moussaka which was dinked in the microwave and onto my tray.
After this it was about 4.30 so I decided that was enough for today and found another convenient corn field which I set up camp next to and read for a bit until the sun went down.
The next morning I didn’t fancy porridge and relied on the fruit I had amassed from the hotel buffet and hoped to re-stock at a store which was shown15 miles away. As I was on route to the store I man pulled in along side me and gave me a pre packed sandwich I thanked him very much and he was on his way. I never cease to be blown away by the generosity of strangers!
I got to the shop it was closed but there was a bell next to the door but it looked pretty basic and didn’t I think looked like it would have much of what I was looking for and anyway I had a free sandwich from the kind motorist which I opened up which is when things took a sinister turn it had egg in it! Fortunately I discovered the evil filling before I bit into it and was able to remove this with my fingers which I then disinfected with wet wipes before I could eventually enjoy my morning snack.
The road then started to climb and I found myself on a sort of moorland environment of rolling hills and low cloud.
Brrr this was all a far cry from the last time I was in Kazakhstan and met Cyril the well dressed Camel in the desert!
I descended onto a relatively flat plane and hit roadworks being forced onto what was left of a worn out poorly maintained road which a new one was being built alongside.
I was up to my old tricks again and at the first opportunity rode through the barrier and had a new road all to myself. This was another concrete road which I had seen in Uzbekistan no doubt like there to deal with the extremes of temperature they get.
Today there was no danger of tarmac melting it was very overcast and hazy but the temperature was nice, although there was an increasing headwind as the day went on.
I managed to stay on my own personal road for 5-6 miles which was great and it was raised 2-3 feet above the old one so I was able to exchange smiles at eye level with the lorry drivers as they went past waving. Eventually my luck ran out and I came to a huge road laying machine that took up the whole width of the carriageway so had to backtrack a bit to where I could reluctantly drop down to the old road and continue on my way.
All these roadworks had played havoc with my breaks as a couple of the cafes which were shown on the map were now cut off and closed down so it was another late lunch today eventually arriving at another cafeteria. This one had nothing laid out to point at so I ended up with a couple of pasties a pot of tea after which I was back on the road.
The headwind was stronger now and I took stock of where I was and decided another 10 miles would do. I found a store at a petrol station which was at about that distance where I was able to buy some crisps and chocolate plus water. Then with just open plains beyond I pushed the bike past some roadside trees and set up camp.
I had just started getting my tent out when I heard a cry and span round to see a cattle herder on horseback who swerved through the trees and shook my hand I gesticulated by sign language that I was going to stay here tonight which he gave the thumbs up to and he was gone.
The next day it was about 45 miles to a reasonable sized town and then another 35 miles to Almaty. This could be done in one big day but with it only getting light at 7 am it would be a stretch and I was not under pressure so settled for two half days and planned to stay in a hotel that evening.
I was lucky with my camp site choice yesterday as not far on the road works started again and all the trees had been ripped out in preparation.
I was not having any luck with cafes either having missed the one I was aiming for whilst cycled passed some yapping dogs on the other side of the road so didn't fancy back tracking.
I carried on to a shop and raised the freezer for a good solid eastern bloc of ice cream but with a thin chocolate coating.
The road continued and I soon came across a roadside café which was not shown on my map so I took the opportunity to pulled over.
I ordered some chai and bought some cookies from the shop which were very dry so the tea helped me to eat them.
I guess they do not get many westerners here as I soon had three faces at the kitchen window watching me. One of the girls must have taken a shine to me as she moved over and sat opposite me whilst seductively eating a hard boiled egg.
Somehow that wasn't doing it for me so I put on hold any plans to be a short order chef tried to pay for my tea but she would not take any money so pedalled on and reached the town by early afternoon. There was no Wi-Fi at the hotel so I rode into the town centre for a haircut and picked up a new Kazakhstan sim card.
Right time for my final day on the road in The Stans I chose to take the back road into Almaty which was still pretty busy with rush hour traffic which was whizzing past me as I tried to make progress.
I had not had breakfast so decided to pull in at the side of the road and eat an apple and some biscuits to keep me going.
As I continued the road climbed up into more of a resort area with a number of resorts and hotels thankfully the traffic died down as well.
Many were closed down but I did eventually find a nice café attached to a hotel which was opened with a more cakes than I had seen in the last month so I filled my boots!
Another random act of kindness was that as I was climbing the last hill into Almaty a woman stopped her car got out and waited at the side of the road to give me these as I went past.
I was strapped into my pedals and it was a busy road so I thanked her as I rode past and had a quick re-fuel at the top of what was a type of flat bread with cheese.
I had one then which was enough and save the other two for later on.
Soon I was on the outskirts of the city where I hoped to be able to pick up some materials to help me wrap my bike up.
I think this must be the up market area of the city as I was straight into high fashion and coffee shops. I can't remember the last time I saw a Starbucks, Baku maybe? As I was taking this photo the security man asked where I was from and then called me a crazy man!
I also found found some welcome cycle lanes and was making good progress through the city.
I was thinking I'd better keep my bike handy for transport for the next few days as this place was very spread out and there was no extensive metro or tram system which I could use.
Eventually I made it to the bar Mad Murphy's I had chosen for an end point as I was too early to check into the hostel. I locked my bike in the beer garden and celebrated the end of the Stans with a cool pint of Guinness. Strangely they did not serve or even know what Murphys was! It also looks like I have found a place to watch the rugby tomorrow!
After dropping my bike off at the hostel I would be staying at I headed off into the city on a successful scavenging mission.
The bike box cost me a couple of quid but given the difficulty we had finding cardboard in Osh I thought it was money well spent.
The next morning it was off the the bazaar where I was able to buy all the other things I needed to wrap up the bike for transit tape, straps, insulation for padding and visqueen sheeting.
With this all done I was able to relax and headed back to Mad Murphy's to watch England v USA in the Rugby as catching games might become a challenge going forward but we will see!
A convincing win and at least I will be in New Delhi for the next game so should be able to see that.
The next day I took a cycle tour of the city as this is a pretty spread out urban sprawl with some significant monuments and buildings but not rich pickings compared with other cities I have visited on my travels.
I was back to the rugby the next day and found a special magnum in preparation for the Ireland v Japan game!
Alas it was not to be as the bar advertising they are showing all the games could not find the match on the TV and 20 minutes in.
Having not seen the coverage advertised elsewhere I gave up and decided to have a massage instead! A pity because it turned out to be thrilling game with the hosts Japan running out the unexpected victors.
My massage took up most of the afternoon as the first place I found could not fit me in and it was a long walk to the next but was able to be seen.
This was the most painful massage yet with a lot of knots in my legs and a continuing problem with my right shoulder which was not improving. Fortunately I have a friend Brian who is a physio coming out soon to ride with me in India for a couple of weeks so hopefully he will be able to improve this.
Walking back to the hostel I stumbled across The Dublin Bar which had the rugby on so decided this would be my destination on my last day to watch the Wales v Australia heavyweight clash but would still need my bike to get there as it was on the wrong side of the city.
I had mixed feelings watching the game. I can never warm to the welsh as I remember all the times a Twickenham with my Dad when I was in my early teens and the Welsh turned up like they owned the game and rubbed our noses in it!
In the end I think the hemisphere rivalry won the day and I was glad of the Welsh victory as I cycled to the hostel and set about packing my bike. This was a close run thing as this had to be done outside and I was racing against the sun set and oncoming rain but just got it done in time!
After a restless half night's sleep disturbed by driving rain and the noise of other guests I was up at 2.30 am and off to the airport.
My bike was sticking half out of the taxi's boot and so it was a good job I had decided on the visqueen covering as the heavy rain was continuing to fall throughout the morning and without it my cardboard bike box would surely have disintegrated!
My ride across The Stans had been a wonderful experience with such a variety of landscapes and cultures but it was time to be migrating south for the winter and the new challenge of India and the road to Kathmandu!
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