Date: July 23rd, 2016
Distance: Rest Day

Well, after rushing through Kazakhstan I could finally take a day to rest. It was well deserved and much needed.



-Dravis

Date: July 23rd, 2016
Distance: 137 km
Song of the Day: Sunflower - Tonic

When I got up this morning the mosquitoes were mercifully absent. I still itch from the bites I received the previous night, but at least I wasn't getting new ones taking the tent down.

I was only 10 kilometers from the border. Checking out of Kazakhstan was easy. One of the border guards was so excited that he wanted to ride my bike for a bit. Sure, dude.

The Russian side wasn't bad either. They had a bunch of questions about my beard, though. Like, why is it not in my passport photo? How long have I been growing it? Did I start growing it in Iran? I know they were serious, but I thought their concern was funny. In the end they let me through.

So I have made it. I am in Russia. How cool is that? It really has been a dream of mine for a while. I studied Russian for a year in college. (How I wish I remember more of that.) It's a very interesting place, and has a fascinating history. I just never thought I was coming here. I always thought my first trip to Russia would be to visit the Hermitage in St. Petersburg, or walking through Red Square in Moscow. Not the Altai Krai region that basically no one who doesn't live here has ever heard of. This really isn't a complaint, just a note on how funny life can be sometimes.

The land here hasn't changed much from Kazakhstan, but it isn't open pasture lands. The area is now wheat or sunflower fields. The whole place has a strange midwest vibe to it, except this is Russia. I wonder if Russians think of this place like their Oklahoma?

I arrived outside of the town of Pospelikha and found a good place to stay. It's like a truck stop and motel all in one. The beds are cheap, but showers cost extra. Either way, it's worth it. While I was getting checked in I started talking with a few folks eating in the restaurant. A couple of truckers wanted to take me to Mongolia with them. They were going there and didn't understand why I didn't want to just go with them. The idea that I might actually want to bicycle all the way seemed strange to them. I also met a young man named Michael. He lives in Barnaul, my next stop, and offered to show me around town. It's amazing how many people you meet on the road who want to help you out.



-Dravis

Date: July 22nd, 2016
Distance: 98 km
Song of the Day: You Kill Bugs Good, Man - Minus the Bear

I said goodbye to Sasha this morning. (Tanya had already left for work by the time I got up.) They are awesome and I couldn't thank them enough.

Things continued like that all day. You might recall that I have said countries save their best for last. Kazakhstan did that, but not like other places. It wasn't the best views or landscapes, it was the people. I stopped for supplies on my way out of Semey. The owner of the shop wouldn't let me pay, though. She liked my bike trip and wanted to help. When I stopped for lunch, the same thing happened. I ordered some food at a restaurant and got into a conversation with some of the locals. The guys were very impressed with how far I had come and where I was going. They ended up paying for my lunch.

Then that afternoon I was invited to have tea with a family. Sure, I could stop for tea. Well, tea turned out to be a whole meal. This included meat, vegetables, sweets, bread with cream and jam. Oh, and not to mention half a dozen cups of tea. I was almost overwhelmed with hospitality.

With all this meeting people and sharing a meal, I didn't get as far as I wanted to. I was close to the border with Russia but didn't make it. In fact I think I camped in Kazakhstan's restricted border zone. Whoops. Actually, the worst part of that was the mosquitoes. As soon as I stepped off the road and into the woods I was getting swarmed. I stopped to slap one mosquito and ten more landed. I rushed to put my tent up and get inside. I didn't even bother to put on the rain fly because the extra mosquito bites weren't worth it. It was so hot in any case that, if it did rain in the night, I figured my bags are waterproof and a few cooling drops would be welcome.

-Dravis

Date: July 21st, 2016
Distance: 192 km
Song of the Day: Rainfall - Hey Marseilles

I woke up to realize that where I had camped was kinda close to what I think is a military airbase. Whoops. I'm glad no one saw me. I'm also glad my tent is a nice green color that blends into the landscape pretty well.

My first task today was to get to Kalbatay. That was where I would make the turn toward Semey. It was also the last town of any size, so if I wanted water or supplies that would be the best place to get them. As it turns out, though, the turn was well before the town. I didn't feel like making my day any longer, so I decided to press on and hope to find something else along the way. It was a good choice. Just a few klicks after the turn was a little cafe. I could get water and even some fried eggs for breakfast. Protein, yum.

The road from there on was terrible. The nice paved highway just disappeared, and in its place was an awful dirt road. Rutted. Washboards. Loose sand and gravel. Don't forget, this is still a major highway. Cars and trucks were rumbling by and kicking up dust. Even they had trouble on the road. When one lane would get too rough or rutted, the drivers would move out just a little bit. Now the road was twice as wide as it should have been but without a shoulder for me to ride on. Ugh. What an awful mess. I couldn't fathom why this section was left to crumble when everything else had been so nice. I also dreaded that the rest of the day was going to be like this. Thankfully, it wasn't. It was just a twenty kilometer gap in the pavement without any reason that I could see. (Later that night I would hear the inside scoop. The government had paid a company to repave that section of road, but they took the money and then went bankrupt without paving the road. Fantastic.)

The road from there on out was nothing special, the same as pretty much each day in the last two weeks. Lots of open grasslands and not much else. Few villages, no trees to shade me from the sun. That isn't to say it wasn't pretty, just that I am guessing you guys have heard it all before.

The only interesting bit was towards the end of the day. The clouds started to move in ahead of me. There were large storms looming ahead to the left and right. I couldn't tell which was worse. Each was dark grey and occasionally split with lightning. The weird part was, there weren't any storms right ahead of me. I felt like I was threading a needle. I did get sprinkled on a couple of times, but nothing to really call rain. My lucky day I guess.

I arrived in Semey with plenty of time before sunset. I had been riding fast all day and was proud of that. The city is big, and a strange mixture. It seems to have been hit hard by the end of communism. The factories on the south side of the river are mostly shuttered and crumbling. The roads were covered in mud and puddles from the rains that I had missed. There is another part to the city, though. Just a few kilometers on there were new roads and apartment blocks. There is even a giant new suspension bridge in Semey. Riding over it reminded me of the Bosphorous bridge, just lower. What makes it weird is that these two parts of the city seem to intermingle so much. In the heart of town was a giant abandoned brick building, yet the next block was lined with hip nightclubs and classy boutiques. It was strange, but I kind of liked it. Semey is pretty cool.

Oh, and the people are so great, really helpful and friendly. I met a young cyclist who was interested in what I was doing. I gave him the best advice I could on how to get out on tour. Pretty much, just do it. He wanted to tour the mountains of Colorado, but I told him the mountains of Kyrgystan were closer, cheaper, and no less beautiful.

I was still having trouble finding a hotel, though. (After a few days on the road I was looking forward to having a shower.) All of the ones I tried were super expensive. Well, expensive for Kazakhstan at least. While I was bouncing around town looking for a place, one of the drivers in town started trying to help. His first question was if I needed a hotel. He agreed to show me where a cheap hotel was, but when we got there they wanted twice as much as he thought it should be. After arguing with the receptionist for a minute he invited me to stay at his place. How sweet is that? I couldn't refuse.

The house was great, a little bungalow tucked in next to the rail yards. It was just one of a bunch of little houses on crooked, sandy streets. The best part was probably the garden, full of fresh green vegetables. My host, Sasha, and his wife Tanya were great. They fed me a wonderful dinner and kept asking me to eat more. They reminded me of my Sister and Brother-in-law. After dinner, Tanya was making pickles from cucumbers picked from the garden while Sasha was asking if I wanted any more whiskey. They were really sweet. And yes, I did finally get my shower. It feels pretty good after a week on dusty roads.



-Dravis

Date: July 20th, 2016
Distance: 162 km
Song of the Day: Where the Streets Have No Names - U2

As I left the town of Ayagoz today, nothing really has changed. Still lots of grass and rolling hills. It's pretty, but it does start to blend together. It makes me feel pretty good, though. I was worried I would be bored here. Since I imagine Mongolia to be similar, that didn't portent well, but if Mongolia is like this I should be pretty happy. I'm looking forward to it.

The big excitement of the day was a thunderstorm at half past noon. I was glad for the rain cooling everything down. I didn't even mind getting wet. My shirt was getting white and stiff with all the salt from my sweat, and having the rain wash that out didn't seem like such a terrible plan. This wasn't like the last few thunderstorms I have seen around here, though. It didn't pass over in five minutes. This one sat overhead soaking everything. Lighting was flashing all around me, and thunder at close range is really impressive. It was time to get out of the rain. I was fortunate to find a little cafe just down the road. I think it was just the family that ran the place inside. They were very sweet and invited me in for tea. A warm beverage after a cold shower was just what I needed. They even insisted that I have a second cup before I could leave. It was Kazakh custom.

The afternoon was cloudy, but it didn't really rain much after the big storm. Just lots of time for me to be alone with my thoughts.



-Dravis

Date: July 19th, 2016
Distance: 135 km
Song of the Day: Scythian Empires - Andrew Bird

I woke up still out in the empty plains of Kazakhstan. I wish I were better at getting up early and starting the day before things get hot. By this point in my life, though, I know I'm not a morning person. Plus, I've been pushing hard these last few days. I needed as much rest as I could get. The rest didn't help cool me down though, and I was out of water. I drank the last of it with breakfast. So I had to hurry my way along to find something.

It was 20 kilometers before any sign of civilization. The first thing I saw was people selling beer on the side of the road. Lets go over that again. They were selling beer on the side of the road. Nothing fancy, either, just a person sitting on a chair with some large bottles of beer next to them. You drive up and they would pour you a plastic cup full of "pivo" to drink on the spot. Now, I suppose one beer is probably not going to impair a person that much. Still, it struck me as a funny thing to do at 10:00 AM. I almost got one and I don't even like beer. I just thought it would be funny. Also I was still thirsty. While I was contemplating that, I saw what I thought would be a cafe, to get water. It was not. The building might have been used that way at some point, but now it was empty and falling apart. There were a bunch of guys there sitting on the porch in the shade. I think they were using it as a bus stop? Also, they were drinking vodka. They offered me some, but I declined as I thought warm, crappy vodka didn't sound very thirst quenching. They directed me to a cafe 12 kilometers away. Okay, I could make it that far.

Yet somehow I missed. I think they meant go 12 kilometers, then make a turn and go to a small village just off the road. I saw a little village, and another cafe with all the windows boarded up. Maybe that was it? Either way, I never did find the cafe. I found a small pond, though, with some stagnant water in it. It was clear and didn't smell too much. There were little fish, or maybe tadpoles in it so it couldn't be too poisonous right? I'm also really happy I have a filter. I got some nice, clear water out of it, though it didn't get rid of the fish/tadpole taste. Still, I now had at least a little water and could get on with my day.

I had left the flat basin from the day before and come back to more rolling hills, so I was rolling up and down these little valleys. Each one was just little different. Some were green with grass, others just had dry brush. Some almost had sand dunes. A few were dry and rocky. Mostly, though, they were empty and open. Except for a few trucks now and again, I was all alone. Huge clouds billowed overhead. The closer ones were white. As I looked towards the horizon, they faded through a hundred shades of blue until I couldn't tell what was cloud and what was sky. Off to my left, dark clouds dropped rain and lightning on the land below. They never seemed to come any closer, though, always there but off in the distance. It's times like these that I remember how small we humans really are.



-Dravis

Date: July 18th, 2016
Distance: 163 km
Song of the Day: I Can See For Miles - The Who

Today was one of those days that comes in two halves. The first half of the day was much like the day before, lots of rolling hills. A few fields and villages, but not much else. I was happy for the clouds overhead and the occasional light rain. At least it kept me cool. The land reminded me of the Palouse, an area in southeastern Washington State. It was just rolling wheat fields out to the horizon. I'm somewhat surprised there aren't more fields out here. There are lots of places that are just covered in wild scrub brush. I wonder if the land is too dry for agriculture? Or maybe the areas are being kept as open range for herds of cattle and sheep? I don't know.

The second half of the day was a bit different. The sun had come out, and was heating everything up. That was somewhat mitigated by the wind. I had a nice strong breeze at my back which kept me cool and was propelling me along at 20mph. I also climbed over the last hill and came to a vast expanse of flat land. We are talking North Dakota levels of flat. You could look out to the horizon with nothing in the way. It wasn't just the lack of terrain features, but of vegetation as well. There weren't any trees to speak of and not that many bushes either. It was just grass and tough scrub brush as far as the eye could see. There weren't any villages to speak of, either, just one outpost that appeared on the horizon. I wasn't sure if it was a military checkpoint or what. When I arrived I found an abandoned gas station and a couple of buildings, the purpose of which I couldn't guess. One of the buildings had a few wooden boats rotting next to it. I could not, for the life of me, tell you where a body of water for those boats would be.

The road, for the most part, reflected the flat terrain by being as straight as an arrow. (Remember, if you see a road doing squiggles on a map you know there is going to be a crazy elevation change. If it is straight for a long, long time that road is going to be flat.) I'm not used to being in such an empty place. There was nothing around. No people. Cars and trucks were rare, and I could see them coming from a long way off. For the most part it was just me and the hawks. They are beautiful birds and look so marvelous floating on the thermals. There's a reason they are the bird on the Kazakh flag.



-Dravis

Date: July 17th, 2016
Distance: 137 km
Song of the Day: Big Empty - Stone Temple Pilots

Another long day here in Kazakhstan. Today was much flatter. Still rolling hills, but not as steep as yesterday. The morning was thankfully cloudy. Things were still warm, but at least the sun wasn't beating down on me directly. That all changed at half past noon. A thunderstorm passed directly overhead, the kind where the flash and the thunder come at the same time. It's times like these when I ponder what the chances of being struck by lightning are... I wasn't killed by a bolt out of the sky, though. Instead I just got drenched. The sky had opened up and water poured out. It's kind of amazing how much water can be suspended in the air like that. I really didn't mind, the water was amazingly cool and felt great on a hot day. There were other issues, though. Getting struck by lightning may not be all that likely, but getting struck by a car that can't see through the rain is. It was time to get off the road.

Lucky for me, there was a bus shelter not far away. A family was pulled over doing the same thing I was, getting out of the rain. They came prepared, though. The father was cutting up a watermelon, which here is called "arbus". They offered me some, and I gladly accepted. They also had a good laugh about me. The mom and dad thought I was crazy for riding in a thunderstorm. The storm didn't last long, though, just five minutes. I wasn't even done with my arbus when it passed.

Back on the road, there was one major drawback from the storm. It had blown away the clouds. Now the sun was beating down, not just on me, but everywhere. All that water was heating up and turning back into vapor. The whole area was now a muggy mess. I felt like I was riding through a sauna. In the next town I stopped and had three ice cream bars.

The day was less humid after the little break, but still hot and sunny. I made the best of it and pushed on all afternoon. Still nothing that exciting out here. Maybe tomorrow.

-Dravis

Date: July 16th, 2016
Distance: 175 km
Song of the Day: Yellow - Coldplay

It turns out that Kazakhstan has a lot more hills than I thought it would. I spent all day going up and down big rolling hills. Things were great, though. For once I had the wind at my back. For a little while in the morning I had some dark clouds overhead. It wasn't about to rain, but I did appreciate the shade.

By mid-afternoon the clouds were white puffy things that never seemed to provide any respite from the sun. That was unfortunate, as the day got pretty hot again. There aren't many trees, either. So I went to my go-to food for hot days: ice cream. In Thailand there was a village every so often where I could find ice cream. Here, pickings are much more slim. It can be a couple of hours between stops. I'm not sure how Mongolia is going to go.



-Dravis

Date: July 15th, 2016
Distance: 127 km
Song of the Day: I'm a Loner Dottie, a Rebel - The Get Up Kids

It rained most of the night, but with the morning came clear blue sky. It was an easy trip to the main road from my secret camping spot, and the next 20 kilometers were generally pretty good. There is a lot of road construction going on here, and most of it is nearly complete. So in general that meant new, smooth roads. There was even a long section of road that wasn't open to traffic yet. The only ones on it were me and the occasional construction crew.

The road passed through the town of Kapchagay. It was a strange place, like a mini-Las Vegas in Kazakhstan. To the south of the city were a bunch of casinos. They wanted to make sure that everyone knew they were open in spite of the construction going on. Sure, nothing quite as extravagant as Vegas, but the buildings certainly stood out from the more drab structures around them. To the north of the town were all these little beach resorts on the shores of the reservoir. Each hotel had its own little beach set up, and the water was this amazing turquoise color. In the heat, I really wanted to go for a dip. None of the beaches looked like they had any public access, though. I toyed with the idea of ending the day early, checking into one of the resorts, and just swimming all afternoon, but I was glad I didn't. I really need to make up some miles.

While I was looking at the water, a giant storm sneaked up behind me. I really didn't notice until I turned around to see huge black clouds overhead. The wind was pushing me forward so I tried to race the storm as far as I could but eventually it caught up with me. I don't mind getting wet, but a torrential rain is no fun to ride through. As things started to get bad I pulled over at a bus shelter to have some food. By the time I finished eating, the storm had passed.

The rest of the day was less exciting. More hills and scrubland, nothing all that exciting. But I was able to make some fairly good time. Lots of long open roads.



-Dravis