Day 35. Friday. June 24.

  Rubtsovsk (Russia) to Semey (Kazakhstan)

Distance:  158 km

Cumulative Distance: 3667 km

Time: 7 hrs 12 min

Speed:  21.6 km/hr

Feet Climbed today: 2259

Cumulative Climb: 76,357  ft 

AHR (Average Heart Rate) 108 bpm

Punctures so far: 2.     

Altitude tonight: 744 ft

Friday and today marks the end of the Leaving Cert. Hope all students of Leaving and Junior get the results according to their wishes and efforts. Enjoy the summer now and stay safe.

 Because of the border crossing today, breakfast was earlier than usual at 5 am. Thought we’d beat the mossies but failed. But they weren't as violent as other mornings. All out on the road shortly after that.

The early kilometres brought us through a quiet Rubtsovsk. It has a population of 150 thousand (with a university) and is a centre for the manufacture of tractors and agricultural machinery and also the production of flour. It also boasts an electric tram system but the road we took through the accommodation section was rough and potholed.

Once out of town I came across a sight I hadn't seen since Ulaanbaatar in Mongolia, a train and rail tracks. This particular train driver gave a toot in response to my wave. Nice.  Crossing these tracks could be disastrous - a very wide gap beside the rail, could wreck a wheel.

I cycled today on my own and moved along briskly with just the minimum of stops. Road surface out of town was perfect and when not running by the railway, it passed greenery.

The border crossing appeared ahead after 38 km at 7 am, both Russia out and Kazakhstan in very close to each other. There were nine of us there more or less at the same time and were cleared right through in an hour. Much more efficient than Mongolia to Russia and possible to go through as cyclist or pedestrian even.

After the crossing, I expected the road surface to be excellent for a stretch (it usually is just after a crossing) but we were now on roughish tar and chippings  that demanded that extra bit of energy output. This road all the way to Semey (110 km) had its share of large potholes (and plenty of smaller ones) in the centre and along the edge. Where they had been repaired it meant a clunk going up and a clunk coming off. Also each 10 metres or so a weather caused crack right across also gave the bike a rattle. I expected a better surface along here from the border to a major city. Not complaining; I have been on worse roads !!!

After the border, I spotted Paul (Neth) and Erwin, (Ger) two of the stronger riders, far ahead and set about reeling them in (not much interesting scenery along here to distract). Caught up and drafted behind them till 56 km when I was due to take on more fuel - I had a sandwich and egg from the breakfast table and stop to eat every 2 hours or so.

Today's route was flat and featureless. No hill of note and the small ring (of three) had a day off. It alternated between grass steppe and forestry. Plenty of trucks passed towards the city with logs and cut timber. So the 110 km after the border was a bit of a drag and wearisome and I wasn't the only one who thought so.

We’ll be in Kazakhstan for 15 more days (11 cycling days) a country with a population of only 17 million (70% Muslim) but the size of Western Europe (before Brexit). It's the 9th largest state in the world and the largest land-locked one. It’ll be interesting to see how it differs from Russia and Mongolia as we move further south. Our route moves down the eastern flank of the country......check your map.

But some things never change....cows and horses on the road and dogs. Also lots of broken-down large production units as seen in Russia also. Some of the usual crops along the way but taking second place to grass.

Watches put back an hour when we reached Semey so now just 5 hours ahead of Ireland. At first glance Semey looks like the first ’normal’ city since Beijing (with the exception of parts of Ulaanbaatar).

Arrived safely into the central hotel (cycled the last 30 km with Mike (NZ) and William (Eng)) and got a single room again. Hadn't been expecting a repeat of that.

After a good shower and scrub, it was off to the bank to arrange currencies. No big fuss like the last time and now loaded with Tenge (KZT) getting 374 for the Euro.

SIM card ; into a shopping mall across the road and all fixed up (and installed in 5 minutes. 15 Gig data for a month for the cost of 4.80 Euro. Pity can't get that at home. So, blog updates should be up on a daily basis while here.

Tomorrow morning we need to go to the police station to register our presence in the country. That's a first. Then bike and I’ll see what's of interest about but don't intend to venture too far.

Thank God for the health and thank God for the energy.