Ushural to Sarkand Bush Camp 24.
Distance: 142 km
Cumulative Distance: 4375 km
Time: 6 hrs 53 min
Speed: 20.6 km/hr
Feet Climbed today: 3750
Cumulative Climb: 86,622 ft
AHR (Average Heart Rate) 110 bpm
Punctures so far: 2.
Altitude tonight: 2516 ft.
Back in the saddle for a 5 day stretch that will bring us into Almaty. Today was a change for the better with a variety of scenery and road shape. We had mountains to our left hand side all day and high snow-capped ones (Central Tian Shan) far off in the distance ahead. Will become acquainted with them in Kyrgyzstan. Across those to our left is China; tonight we are just 40 km from the Chinese border, a sensitive area that needs a special permit to enter.
We had no long stretches into the far distance except for a few long ones over the last 30 km, just at the point when fatigue begins to rear its ugly head and temperatures tend to rise towards 30C.
We left Usharal later than usual at 6am and retraced 8 km of last Wednesday’s route in an anti-clockwise semi-circle to join up with the road to Almaty at a major roundabout. For this first 8 km the little wind that was there was directly behind us. Situation changed at that roundabout but wind was not an issue all day. We were heading southwest and a light airflow was coming in from the south.
Quite a sizeable ascent over the day with the only long climb coming after 16 km lasting for 3 km over three lifts, the first and last kilometres at 9% gradient. Good to get that out of the way early in the day before it got too warm. As the crest came one wondered what was in store ahead. Mike passed me at this point (he’s strong on the hills) and led me down a nice easy in line with no other major ahead. 
For the rest of the day it was a rolling route with sharp lifts like the hill of Kilfeacle (9% over about 600 metres). Some rose at 12% over shorter distances.
More cultivation visible today of a colourful nature. Off to the left, Frieder points out the ’red’ crop surrounded by the green fields beneath the blue sky. I'm sure Helen will correct him as regards that ’red’! When we got closer (it was well off the road) it appeared to be some type of meadow and looked very like what was growing all along the roadside only in that section.
Out to our right dark threatening clouds hung about and a few drops fell after 50 km but not sufficient to call for the rain gear. I carry the full set every day.....best way to keep rain away! This evening in camp, a thunderstorm is in place over the mountains east of us but we don't seem to be in its path. Fingers crossed! (As I publish, that storm has passed and those mountains are crystal clear again.)
Road surface today for the first 80 km was much improved and I was happy to tell myself that all the potholes were behind us. How wrong I was. First, a construction crew was out with just a grader scraping the tops off the ridges and depositing the result as loose ’gravel’ in the troughs. Hardly an improvement.
Then after swinging left at 86 km I was on what seemed like a road laid down on a bog with no substructure. It was bumpy and wavy and not the thing to be on after a big meal. For long stretches of it I cycled along the gravel edge, much smoother. Cars and trucks were doing the same thing and raising a right cloud of dust. I couldn't but wonder how Kazakhstan with its many oilfields (their off-shore oilfield in the Caspian is the largest oilfield outside the Middle-East) and mineral resources and show of grandeur in Astana the new purpose-built capital, has a third world road system. To look at the map we are traversing down the A3 down the east of the country.
Back in Russia and northern Kazakhstan grain was at an early stage, but after coming over one crest ripe fields appeared. I dropped into the one on the right. Bearded wheat, I suspect but the grains are still soft, not exactly ready for the combine yet. I suppose we are drifting south all the time and we are in July now. Might catch some harvesting within a few days.
At 100 km, not my usual practice, I stopped for a Coke stop thinking it was in a Kazakh yurt by the side of the road. No, that was just empty but I had the Coke anyhow; I arrived just as Mike and Frieder were moving off and standing for a photo.
By 2pm I pulled into the campsite on the bank of a river just beyond Sarkand. I had dropped into a shop in the town and picked up a can of beer (but I’m not showing a picture of that for fear of scandalising some readers!!) and took full pleasure in polishing it off on the bank of the cool looking river.
A day of variety and no wind to contend with.
Thank God for the health and thank God for the energy.
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