Day 45. Friday. July 8.

     Almaty to Malybai Bush Camp 28.   

Distance:  135 km

Cumulative Distance: 4972 km

Time: 6 hrs 24 min

Speed:  21.1 km/hr

Feet Climbed today: 2475

Cumulative Climb: 97,122  ft 

AHR (Average Heart Rate) 115 bpm

Punctures so far: 2.     

Altitude tonight: 2739 ft.

Off on the road again after an extended rest period. This is a short 3 day stint that will bring us into Kyrgyzstan. Later than usual rising this morning and Riders Meeting outside the hotel at 6.45.

Four new riders join us. I introduced the two with Irish connections, Robert Gex and Richard Hull. Also joined by Nick, a young man from the Netherlands and Philip Mumford from Livermore, California. So our contingent stays at 24 cyclists.

From the hotel we cycled in convoy for 10 km to clear the morning traffic in the centre. When the convoy ended everyone wanted to get in the shade as it was so warm and sunny. Rob actually checked if he could fill up with gas to speed up progress.

From here, Frieder and I cycled on (Mike is on a flight to Istanbul) through the morning traffic, but most of it was coming against us as we headed east out of the city. We haven't cycled east before but from Almaty we need to go east for almost 200 km before swinging south into Kyrgyzstan.

It was a steady pull from 10 to the town of Talgar at 28 km. The centre looked calm and normal (except for a certain bus driver) but the small road we turned onto was just setting up stall for market.

At 40 km we turned onto a quiet road and spent the day on this (to 135 km). It ran parallel to the highway in the distance to the left, and alongside the Big Almaty Canal immediately on the right. A few cars and farm traffic at the start but it petered out after 20 km. some non-motorised slow-moving also came against us. I’m not sure of the exact purpose of this canal.

Streams and rivers from the mountains came against it at right angles and passed under it. It had a strong flow with a few cascades and was heading for Almaty. Will enquire about it tomorrow. Plenty of apples, vines, blueberries and other fruit on the left and these irrigated by the mountain streams.

Surface was generally favourable all day, excellent for the first 28 km out of town but spots of broken pavement just very occasionally on that quiet road and one broken section of a bridge.

I set out along this quiet road with Frieder and Par joined in. Both of them were immediately behind me chatting away; the next minute they were nowhere to be seen. I slowed down and waited but no sign and so I cycled on to lunch at 70 km. very warm at this stage. Apparently Par had a seat-post problem and they pulled in to address it. From lunch I cycled along to camp on my own. Temperatures up around 27 deg by now and I was getting low on water, in spite of that rushing canal right beside me.

Got into camp at 2 pm just before the water disappeared and erected tent - hasn't been in use since last Sunday. There's a mountain river nearby and had a way down there, cutting my finger on a broken bottle on the bottom. Nothing serious, just a bit of a slice. Glad it wasn't my foot that got it.

Camp has invested in a new set of chairs with backs to replace the fold up stools. Makes it more comfortable for writing up this.

By the end of tomorrow we'll be facing south and ready to cross the border.

A good warm day’s cycling setting us up for a new country.

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

Rest Day 2. 10/11. July 7.

Rest Day 2.       10/11.   Almaty.

Nice to have two consecutive days to chill out.

As usual this morning after breakfast the storage area was busy with the cleaning and oiling of bikes. All got very grimy coming into Almaty on the highway on Tuesday with the rain and parts of construction. The four leaving busied themselves packing their machines into boxes for the long journey home.

And then we have four new riders joining the tour and two have Irish connections. Just a short chat with each of them; will find out more later. Robert Gix (Ireland) doesn't actually live in Ireland but carries an Irish passport, less complications with that. He was born and bred in USA and now resides in Hungary. But his grandfather (on his mother’s side) came from Puckane up by Lough Derg and he still has relations around Nenagh. Robert cycles with the tour from here till they arrive in Tehran on Sept 6 i.e almost 40 days cycling.

The second is another Richard, a native of Bangor, Co Down but resident in England for the last number of years. He’s cycling for 10 days as far as Osh (like myself). How will the group refer to the two Richards? We’ll see.

I wandered off down to The pedestrianised section of Zhibek Zholy (or Jibek Joly) i.e Silk Road with the city back to normal, offices open after yesterday’s holiday. All the usual pavement activities along here. Spotted one familiar trademark offering storage solutions.I notice the streets patrolled by parking attendants (official or not?) busy calling motorists to a vacant spot and directing the parking....”lock hard, sir”.

Nearby, is the gold-domed Central Mosque built in 1999 and one of the biggest in the country with space for 3000 worshippers in the main prayer hall. As I was in shorts, I couldn't enter (in Istanbul they provided a wrap to cover the bare legs in that situation). As I was there mid-day prayer was just finishing and mostly men were emerging.

I took the metro back to the general location of the hotel. Almaty’s new underground system was opened in 2011 and has just one 7 km line in a L shape. To travel any distance on the line just costs 80 Tenge (about 23 cent). It wasn't overcrowded as I took it around 2pm.

Now back at the hotel, it's a matter of repacking for the final 10 day (3+7) section to Osh.

The board has gone up with an overview of the next 3 days to the next Rest Day in Karakol (Kyrgyzstan). As one can see, as we move away from Almaty (beyond the Red Cow Roundabout) the road conditions deteriorate. And a good bit of climbing to be done on day 2 into the bargain. Looking forward to it.

Thank God for a lovely day.

Rest Day 1. 9/11. Wednesday. July 6.

Rest Day 1.      9 / 11.    Almaty.

Great to have a sleep in till 8 o’clock and then sit down to a breakfast and not have to rush away.

After breakfast, it was back to the washing for me although the laundry in this hotel isn't near as expensive as the one in Semey. And the bathroom has a bathtub to allow for a big wash. And my double balcony eases the erection of a clothes line. All done now and drying.

After lunch (around mid-day as is proper) I walked off in the opposite direction from yesterday. Streets were very quiet as today is a national holiday, Capital City Day commemorating the decision to move the capital to Astana. Originally fixed for June 10 each year, it was switched to July 6 now which happens to be the birthday of President Naserbaev also.It's a national holiday since 2008.

Streets form a rectangular grid and all major onesie are lined with trees, some even have a green linear park running along the centre. Could be anywhere in the western world.

My first visit was to the Green Market, one of the must-visit places in the city. This two-level market grew up around the vegetable trade and that is still there with stalls and shelves of vegetables, fresh and dried fruit and nuts. All very colourful.

The rest of it (inside and outside) gives lie to the European feel of the city and is your standard Asian bazaar with everything from hardware, plumbing, clothes and accessories. In one large tech store, there were as many assistants behind the counter (all active as there were customers. The mobile phone is big here even with stalls on the side of quiet streets selling SIM cards and packages. I spent a couple of hours wandering about this maze of merchandising.

On the way back uphill I passed through Panfilov Park, a popular strolling facility right in the heart of the city. At its centre is Zenkov Cathedral, a candy coloured building from 1904. It's constructed entirely from timber including the nails. During Soviet times it was used as a museum and concert hall but in 1995 it was returned to the Russian Orthodox Church.

When I dropped in the daily 5 pm service was just commencing with the incensing of altar, all the icons and pictures around the church, the people (all standing, no seats). That took a while. Those present covered all age groups, all very devout with much bowing and blessing themselves. I had to be very discreet with the camera.

Just east of the Zenkov Cathedral is the fearsome black War Memorial commemorating some Almaty infantry who died fighting Nazi tanks near Moscow in 1941. It depicts soldiers from all Soviet republics bursting out of a map of the USSR. And an eternal flame burns in honour of these and also of those who died in WW2 (1941-1945) and in their Civil War (1917-1920).

Just a stone’s throw from the hotel is Harat’s Irish Pub and I dropped in for a bit to eat and possibly more. Not crowded and neither owner or staff have any Irish connection. Harat’s is a chain of more than 80 Irish pubs throughout Russia, Eastern Europe and Asia. It is originally a Russian pub group and they sell 20% of all the Guinness in Russia.

Ordered the fish and chips and a pint of Guinness (draught). The whole process didn't take as long as last evening. I arrived in as the Wales and Belgian teams walked out onto the field (replayed on local TV) it arrived just before the Belgian goal and I had just finished when Wales scored the equaliser.

The Guinness was a bit light, not the same body as at home. But I did justice to the meal.

Back at base before 7 and no tent to put up. And yet another down day tomorrow but I’ll spend a while cleaning the bike.

Thank God for a lovely day.

Day 44 / 54. Tuesday. July 5

Day 44.   Kapchagay to Almaty.

Distance:  93 km

Cumulative Distance: 4837 km

Time: 4 hrs 09 min

Speed:  22.4 km/hr

Feet Climbed today: 468

Cumulative Climb: 94,647  ft 

AHR (Average Heart Rate) 109 bpm

Punctures so far: 2.     

Altitude tonight: 2400 ft.

Another short day and the prospect of a double Rest Day in Almaty. No wind to contend with but had light rain towards the end of the ride.

Enjoyed the meals provided in the hotel last night and the comfortable bed. But the alarm sounded at 4am as usual so as to report down to camp for breakfast at 5. Got annoyed with the receptionist when checking out as she insisted she gave me my change yesterday (1000 tenge, less than 3 euro). Her computer said I had received it and the computer is always correct! All others got their change on checking out. I pointed out to her that I would never stay in this hotel again. And I won't backtrack on that!!

Quick breakfast at camp as we looked across Kapchagay Lake to the mountains just south of Almaty, our destination for today.

I set out with Mike (his last day) and Frieder up the 8 km of rough road to join the highway. It was dull and overcast and all the signs that rain might be in store for us at some stage.

On the completed highway we motored along at 27 km/hr with little traffic. After 15 km there was a detour for construction and I think we missed a flagging here that threw my written directions out for the rest of the day. We actually returned onto the highway after this 200 m detour and passed umpteen casinos with appropriate titles - El Dorado, Victoria and my own favourite, the Bellagio.

Again new ramps for oil-change etc are part of new road construction.

At times we had the recently completed, but not opened, side of the road to ourselves. At one point when crossing over the median, Mike picked up a large screw in his tyre giving him his first puncture on his very last day. Cruel. I was unaware of this at the time and when I noticed they weren't behind me I pulled in also. I saw them way back in the distance thinking they were just stopped for nature call. I went on slowly but didn't meet up with them for the rest of the day.

Ahead of me at one point I spotted 6 dogs out on the road following the group of 4 riders up ahead. They went to come down the bank at me also but I adopted my usual verbal tactic and they retreated under the onslaught. No dog has got within 30 m of me yet. Fingers crossed, touch wood.

Rain started at this stage, not heavy, but just sufficient to warrant the rain gear. Along this part apparently I missed flagging for a turn, but 5 other riders also missed it also, and so missed lunch and the meeting point for the convoy into the hotel. We joined up, pulled in and considered our options. We had the hotel’s address and Joan had a Garmin with mapping and so we decided to head straight for the hotel about 30 km ahead.

It was a pretty direct route with just 2 turns and we duly arrived at the Almaty Hotel just after 11 o’clock. Word had been sent back to the convoy meeting point but they didn't arrive till well after noon (with our bags).

Steve and I were to share but we pooled to book a second room for that extra space. Took a while to explain what we were doing to the receptionist. “So, you want a single room?” No, no. (Single room at 12 sq m, twin at 40 sq m). Not my day with hotel receptionists! So, I have a twin room with separate sitting room (including a third bed).great to have this for the double Rest Day, virtually 3 days. The rooms facilities is jaded especially the bathroom.

From my balcony, I’m looking out at those mountains that occupy the very south of Kazakhstan. Just across the road is the Abay Theatre, (“Abbey Theatre”) the state operatic and ballet theatre opened in 1934. 

After showering and lunch, I walked about 1 km up to Republika Alany (Republic Square) with its tall Independence Monument surmounted by a replica of the Golden Man on a winged snow-leopard. Around the base are 10 bronze low-relief sculptures depicting Kazakh history over the centuries with the final one dominated by Nazarbaev, the current President.

Nazarbaev has been in power since the break-up of the Soviet Union (1991), a break-up that he did not favour. Kazakhstan was the last Soviet Republic to declare independence. At that point he was the First Secretary of the Communist Party. He has been re-elected many times for extended terms with over 90% of the vote after rival politicians are barred from standing, sacked, jailed or worse. Kazakhstan has posted 9 and 10% economic growth for the last decade (thanks to oil and minerals) which keeps him popular but all signs of modernity seems centred on the big cities.

In 1997, he moved the capital from Almaty to Astana citing it as less prone to earthquakes, more central and its proximity to Moscow.

His Presedential Residence is at the top of Republika Alany fronted by colourful flower beds. Didn't check if he was at home or if he wanted to meet the real Golden Man himself!

Figures and pictures of apples abound throughout this very European city. Almaty, formerly Alma Ata means ’father of apples’ so a twinning with Oola might be on the cards!

On the way back to the hotel (still in Republika Alany) I passed the Dawn of Freedom Monument honouring those 250 killed here in 1986 during protests, the first in Central Asia unleashed by the glasnost of Gorbachev. They were protesting over the appointment of a Russian as head of the Kazakhstan Communist Party.

Back in the hotel I sat down and ordered dinner at 6.30, it arrived at 7.20. The T-bone steak looked lovely (“Well done please”). However the centre was rarer than rare. Pity, as the veg, potatoes and French wine were so tasty.

Mike

Rhys's

Paul,     and  Bernice.

As a result of dinner going on so long I missed out on most of the festivities for the 4 riders finishing here in Almaty. Caught the tail end of it and we resorted to a local Italian restaurant for a light snack.

A full day of cycling and sightseeing. Still resting is top priority but will explore Almaty a bit more tomorrow.

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