Mobile update from the Steppe

Well this is my first mobile update as it were coming straight from the heart of the boiling hot Kazak steppe.

I just thought I'd check in as some people tend to worry when they haven't seen an entry up for a while.

I'll put more detailed blogs up when I can find an Internet cafe but that is easier said than done in this neck of the woods.

I've ridden some 430km since my last blog in Turkistan. The roads are a real mixed bag. The whole of the M32 road is under construction which means huge trucks, dust and more unbuilt roads than built.

I'm actually ahead of schedule as I now have about 1459km to Ural near the Russian border and 1700km to Samara in Russia. As my Russian visa doesn't start until the 20th July I need to slow down. To be fair I've been doing so for a while now but I'm rationing myself to about 100km a day and plan some rest days in and around Aral, Aktobe and Ural itself.

I'm now a little short of Josali (Dzhusaly) and will perhaps be in Bayqongir (Baikonur) site of the former Soviet cosmodrome tomoorow.

Qizilorda was supposed to be a rest stop but turned out to be a major let down, just another large town with overpriced hotels. So I passed on the chance to stay there last night and headed back out to camp in the steppe. I don't mind this at all, as I've previously mentioned I tend to sleep better outside.

Well that is all for now but I've a an interesting story about wolves and storms to tell you all about but that will have to wait until I have a proper keyboard to write on.

Most importantly I'm safe and well.

Alas no photos........ See you next time.