Crossing Steppe

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After 3 day sit in Atyrau - Tyre turned up 4pm Thursday, with help from Malina from Victoria Place Hotel.

Load up & ride to Opal in cool evening, actually some light showers.

Camped near Opal, found some woods to rough camp in, move off to cafe for breakfast.

Continue East beyond Aktobe, where cultures are changing, now lo tea tables & mats to lounge on (no snoring).

2nd night stopped in small village cafe or transport hotel, had top double room for £27, bit rough - no WiFi !!, two Romanian bikes dodged in later, returning from Mongolia - very bumpy roads.

Continue to Kostanay, in Northern Kazak. Total 1700km in 3 days

Do need to change rear tyre now, Bat'ry local youth found tyrelace open 8pm Saturday, for 400tng or £4 fitted it.



So 700km to Astana todo, but will stop at Borovoe about halfway, Dmitry promised me some hills and a lake. Dmitry is the Russian biker, who is hopefuly going to join me into China & Pakistan




Dromedary, single hump camel, saw these just outside Atryau - I thought had gone wrong way, as they native to Arab world. Would that be navigation by species of camel. Also saw what looked like Marmot & big bird of prey.



Not much to say, long featureless roads, chase the next horizon, followed by another, straight roads 15km, then 15deg bend and 12km straight again. Bike tyres don't like straight roads. The brief hills I saw were just huge slag heaps - an Emeral mine??

Kazak police (with big hats) bit more mobile, but always a flash of lights helps, also stop & check points at edge of towns. But flash could also mean cows, or a blast on horn is "Hiya yo're on a bike" from trucker.



Some 50km of pot holes this morning or was it during 20km of road works, but on gravelly side track I dropped bike (about 15kph) trashed my Rohan tousers (so the're not tough enough for Kazak!!), also broke lenze RHS indicator unit.



Russian border confused sat nav, kept saying I was on Tyne, is it try to tell me something?

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Photos

no roof!
Many buildings close to Russian border in fair state.
Bit erie feeling, Russia maybe 10km away.

to Horizon
Typical view, just buzz up to end, to rewarded with another straight & distant horizon.

Tea shack Kazak style.
10 big lads would lounge round each table. With bowl of rice, some veg, even less meat for 80p. Drink tea, mix with milk in pot! Maybe 1 in 10 have bit of English.

big bales on move
Extra wide load, for bumpy roads could be tricky.

Subsoiling tool
Only 5 tines but still some width, with big 8 tyre articulated lump on front. With 300+ acre fields will take some kit work ground.

Victoria Palace Hotel
Good place to stop, wanted to help me, unlike next place just wanted more cash. Was another bike parked, rider come unstuck, might return soon.

Love locked in
Bit theem in Europe for couples to secure padlock to bridge throw key in river, nice idea. But so many locks part of bridge fell in river in Prague.

Atyrau terrace
Looks fair new, they certainly have space to spread out on ground, hope insultion is good can be -30C in winter