Horizons Unlimited - The HUBB - Finding Freedom...World Wide Ride

Horizons Unlimited - The HUBB (https://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hubb/)

- Ride Tales (https://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hubb/ride-tales/)

- - Finding Freedom...World Wide Ride (https://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hubb/ride-tales/finding-freedom-world-wide-ride-65365)

July 13 Dekh to Khorog 118 km

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4312/...91a90b97ff.jpg Screen Shot 2017-07-17 at 17.20.19 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

We were up several times in the night and eventually got up at 730 when the room started to fill with smoke from the fire they had lit outside. This was all topped off by the guy demanding 200 somoni (23 USD) a person for food, the non room, no shower, no hot water, no bathroom, and certainly no wifi. We had all this for 80 (9 USD) in Tavildara and this place should be 50 at most. Dan said you must think I am crazy and paid him 100 a person which he accepted. I hate being ripped off.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4298/...a031c187_b.jpg Tajik Pamir-86 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

We set out at 830 and the road is pot holed and surfaced about 70%. There are a few sections with good pavement that last a km and we were in 5 th gear! We only planned to go 118 km to Khorog today and get a hotel and rest up for the next few days of camping.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4315/...1825e18c_b.jpg Tajikistan khorong by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4319/...dd7c3907_b.jpg Tajik Pamir-87 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4296/...b4a2ea9f_b.jpg Tajik Pamir-88 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4302/...6f87b9aa_b.jpg Tajik Pamir-89 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

It is 56 km to Rushon and as we arrived there Trevor had a front flat. Long story short 3 hours in the heat to get out. The first tube had a tiny hole and the patch was good, but we could not set the bead and it did not seem to hold air. This tube out again and no evidence of anther hole or patch leak. New tube in and still could not set the bead. We have never had this issue before with Dan’s 6 flats using our pump. In the end we put it back on the bike and left and so far so good. The Heidenau are so stiff and this may be the issue.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4315/...cba48209_b.jpg Tajik Pamir-91 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

Yet another check point. We found they call ahead since when we arrived before the other 2 the guard asked us where they were.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4326/...8425dc91_b.jpg Tajikistan khorong-2 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4306/...981b7dba_b.jpg Tajikistan khorong-3 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4301/...6926be85_b.jpg Tajikistan khorong-4 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4325/...cd906786_b.jpg Tajik Pamir-92 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4304/...46b30985_b.jpg Tajik Pamir-93 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4302/...85e6c9c1_b.jpg Tajik Pamir-94 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

We had just 67 km to go to Khorog and arrived about 2. We gassed up with some 95 and then check out the hotels on offer and it is pretty bad. Just out of town is the Pamir lodge frequented by foreigners and we headed there just in time as at 3 pm the town was shutting down and closing the roads to access here for the “Diamond Jubilee”. This is several venues around town open only to residents and there is loudspeakers blaring. They really had guards blocking off the roads. One Swiss couple had to park their car on the back street of the lodge because the guards would not let them drive it 20 meters to the lodge gate. We did walk the 2 km into town and went to the Indian restaurant. Both Orvar and Sara have bad colds and were in bed by 6. The party outside went on until midnight.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4296/...485cff48_b.jpg Tajikistan khorong-5 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4310/...065c8b79_b.jpg Tajik Pamir-95 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

July 14 Khorog to across the river from Pagol Afganistan
We were off to a bit of a late start today and finally got out of town at almost 10. The plan was to get at least 150 km or about 1/3 of the way to Murgab on the Wakhan valley road. The direct route is on the 41 for 317 km, which is a paved road and the second highest road in the world (this is a days ride) . The views on the valley road, which is not surfaced for the most part are said to be much better and the route is about 100 km longer and will take at 2-3 days.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4297/...40fb088f39.jpg Screen Shot 2017-07-17 at 17.11.12 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4328/...4872743e64.jpg Screen Shot 2017-07-17 at 17.23.35 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4312/...728b9315_z.jpg Screen Shot 2017-07-17 at 17.27.21 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

We did keep going as we did not find anywhere to camp with any shelter. Finally at about 4 we came across a homes tay with a walled yard that was across the river from Pagol Afganistan. We could camp here with breakfast for 5$. The toilet in a long drop, but odour free. The “douche” was awesome. They have a huge metal barrel filled with water on a electric burner device and it was glorious. You stood in the tub and poured clean hot water over yourself! The tents and gear set up done it was time to cook our pasta and sauce with mars bars for dessert. The camp is at 3000 m, which is a bit high for us as we were at 2500 m last night and with the head colds Sara and Orvar did suffer. We are glad to be inside the walls as the evening thermal wind is brisk and gusting.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4291/...65489abf_b.jpg Tajikistan Pagol-22 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4301/...ba4e108b_b.jpg Tajik Pamir-127 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4325/...056b003f_b.jpg Tajik Pamir-128 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4313/...422881e4_b.jpg Tajik Pamir-129 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4319/...2296b039_b.jpg Tajik Pamir-130 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4316/...a2f3d61b_b.jpg Tajik Pamir-131 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

July 15 “Pagol" to Murgab

Today the plan was to get another 1/3 of the way to Murgab at least. We were up at 6 as we were in bed at asleep at 830. But first some breakfast and we hit the road just before 9.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4311/...c0e2fc30_b.jpg Tajik Pamir-132 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4323/...0b7cdcd4_b.jpg Tajik Pamir-133 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

The more we think about it the more we think we can make it all the way to Murgab today. Google will not route that way so here is the SPOT map. It is about 300 km and all but the last 130 km is unpaved.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4310/...0aabc950_b.jpg Screen Shot 2017-07-17 at 17.11.53 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

It is 30 km more along the river before the road heads north. Almost all of this is unpaved and there are long stretches of deep gravel they have dumped on the road and a fair amount of sand. The rest is terrible wrist breaking wash board.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4293/...480c3d76_b.jpg Tajikistan Murgab by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4321/...605701b1_b.jpg Tajik Pamir-134 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4311/...de001e35_b.jpg Tajik Pamir-135 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4321/...a20aa79a_b.jpg Tajik Pamir-136 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4304/...9ae74016_b.jpg Tajik Pamir-137 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

We came upon a huge waterfall and there were 8 cyclists and Jo in a truck. We had a nice rest and talked to the other traveler. We gave 2 of the girls some candy bars and food as they had run out of food except pasta and ketchup. (There is nothing for at least 40 km where there is a small village and then nowhere else until you reach Murgab in 200 km).

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4315/...bcced924_b.jpg Tajikistan Murgab-14 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4292/...6d5837ac_b.jpg Tajik Pamir-147 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4308/...fa89ae2b_b.jpg Tajikistan Murgab-15 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4315/...1506a305_b.jpg Tajik Pamir-144 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

We finally used our spare gas to top us up, but Trevor did not have any and the only village we have seen all day is 160 km from Murgab was at 4000m and he drove around and asked for Benzene. While we were waiting for him some local ladies came to talk to us. They asked where we had come from and when we said the Wakhan valley. They said that road is terrible! They then of course offered us tea. There are a lot of very cool looking yurts. Trevor did not have to look very hard for gas as the first guy he asked said i will take you to the gas guy. He siphoned out 4 litres from a big drum for 32 Somoni (3.60$US).

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4297/...3a0be5a1_b.jpg Tajik Pamir-181 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4309/...a313ecd2_b.jpg Tajik Pamir-179 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4324/...60edaa15_b.jpg Tajik Pamir-178 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4292/...6078c9d7_b.jpg Tajik Pamir-180 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4320/...c4b424b5_b.jpg Tajik Pamir-182 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4302/...6f42f71a_b.jpg Tajik Pamir-183 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

Leaving the mountain again there was another plain about 30 km from the 41. It was very painful washboard and sandy road. Orvar managed to keep upright, but Sara had one spectacular crash in some very deep sand. This unfortunately did torque the lid of her right pannier. We managed to force it back and get the locks closed and the seal signed up, but it will need some professional help. The rest of the box is perfect and there is no problems with the welds or rivets. The last 15 km to the 41 mentally took forever with the washboard and sand.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4303/...d749a94c_b.jpg

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4323/...85788b52_b.jpg
It was awesome to finally hit the paved road after 4 days and this particularly challenging one.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4294/...03c1d494_b.jpg Tajik Pamir-174 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4292/...2047d306_b.jpg

It is a paved road, but very bumpy with dips and heaves. We have 130 km to Murgab and we finally arrived there after 6. The views on the way are incredible and you are at 4000 m until the town, which is at 3600. Just after we hit the pavement we met this Korean guy who had ridden across Russia and to Tajikistan. We warned him that his bike was not for the Wakhan Valley road.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4299/...6753494c_b.jpg Tajik Pamir-175 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4300/...357b1e78_b.jpg Tajik Pamir-176 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4315/...fdb81a97_b.jpg Tajik Pamir-177 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4306/...cfff7264_b.jpg Tajikistan Murgab-29 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4296/...87ba4a54_b.jpg Tajikistan Murgab-30 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4326/...e3b167a5_b.jpg Tajikistan Murgab-31 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4297/...b0ecf280_b.jpg Tajikistan Murgab-32 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4330/...a0f0bf8d_b.jpg Tajikistan Murgab-34 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

The last part we just booked it as the sun was very low. There is a military check point 5 km from the hotel. Murgab town is really in the middle of nowhere.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4321/...72f1f65c_b.jpg Tajik Pamir-199 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4328/...899f752c_b.jpg Tajikistan Murgab-35 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4294/...692f1a05_b.jpg Tajik Pamir-200 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4321/...792a46b2_b.jpg Tajik Pamir-202 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4314/...ec359b44_b.jpg Tajik Pamir-201 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4299/...4dae9a18_b.jpg Tajik Pamir-203 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

Murgab looks like something you would see in Star wars. There is of course no wifi and there is power only by generator from 7 am to 11. We pulled into the only hotel in town and got rooms for 30$ including breakfast. We are all bagged and suffering a bit from the altitude as last night were at 2500 m and today at 3600. There are shared cooed showers, which makes things interesting. They have a restaurant here and luckily a local guide translated for us. There is lots of beer but none is cold and so we settled on a bottle on Tajik “Cognac” for 4$. Its for shooting only and was terrible.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4313/...14646457_b.jpg Tajikistan Murgab-36 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

July 16 Murgab, Tajikistan to Sary-Tash, Krygyzstan 227 km

Today we will go to just 25 km inside the Kyrgyzstan border. There is nothing at all except nature and the border posts between the towns of Murgab and Sary-Tash.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4330/...8ea06b0a_o.png Screen Shot 2017-07-17 at 17.31.56 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4291/...98cd5dc4_o.png Screen Shot 2017-07-17 at 17.12.16 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

Dan was up early to work on the bikes (clean the chains, tighten all the bits shaken loose this week, and inspect in general). This is when we find 4 inch nail #2 in Sara’s rear tire!!! Unreal no flats in 5 years and 2 in 2 weeks. We plugged it and hoped for the best. We will need to take the tire off and patch it/vulcanize when we get back to civilization.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4310/...c21f0d73_b.jpg Tajik Pamir-204 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4317/...3599d6a0_b.jpg Tajik Pamir-211 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4312/...3042cb02_b.jpg Tajik Pamir-209 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

It is an hour later here with the time change and with all the things we needed to do we did not get rolling until 1030. The first stop was the gas station. Here you tell the guy how many liters you want and he has vessels of various volumes and very large funnels.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4299/...15dc68d1_b.jpg Tajikistan Sary-Tash by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4297/...50fd0a40_b.jpg Tajik Pamir-205 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4303/...aac6b2c5_b.jpg Tajik Pamir-206 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4310/...d95c40fe_b.jpg Tajik Pamir-208 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

Here the road goes to dirt and rises to the pass at 4655 m.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4325/...e5b8f7ca_b.jpg Tajik Pamir-223 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

On the down side of the summit the road gets pretty bad. The washboard is horrible and bone shattering. It was so bad Trevor’s mirror actually broke off while he was riding.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4307/...df310dbc_b.jpg Tajik Pamir-224 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4328/...3f27311f_b.jpg Tajik Pamir-225 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4295/...d0736521_b.jpg Tajikistan Sary-Tash-7 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

In fact cars have left the road and created a side road which though muddy in spots is much smoother. There is some deeper gravel to contend with too.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4326/...c89c4fe0_b.jpg Tajikistan Sary-Tash-8 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

A little slide show of the Pamir and Wakhan Valley.

Video link as I can not get the HU embed button to work.

The approach to the Tajikistan border is huge mud ruts from trucks. It would be a nightmare here in the rain. You stop at the first gate and hand your customs declaration to the agent and then “you can go”. We figured we needed an exit passport stamp so we kept going past the construction site to a small office to get it. Then they raise the gate to “no man’s land”.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4308/...d704c41f_b.jpg Tajikistan Sary-Tash-13 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4318/...ea074108_b.jpg Tajikistan Sary-Tash-12 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4291/...5bfe01b2_b.jpg Tajik Kyrgy Border-9 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

Quote:

Originally Posted by saralou (Post 568245)

On the down side of the summit the road gets pretty bad. The washboard is horrible and bone shattering. It was so bad Trevor’s mirror actually broke off while he was riding.

Does that count as a breakdown for the Honda? :rofl:

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rondelli (Post 568339)

Does that count as a breakdown for the Honda? :rofl:

Damn Honda Quality it will probably be the only one. They were cheap Chinese after market mirrors!!

Here you stop at passport control and the agent asks for your passport and registration. Very friendly and professional. After this you go 200 m to customs. Here they want the same info and 10$ for customs clearance. Krygyzstan , Kazakstan, and Russia are a customs zone and we are now cleared for all 3 and we have 2 months.

The road from the border is paved is a bit pot holed and we have just 25 km to Sary-Tash. Some kids had blocked the road with donkeys and clearly wanted a toll to pass, but there were one donkey short of a barricade.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4313/...134d80fe_b.jpg Tajikistan Sary-Tash-18 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4291/...c5726031_b.jpg Kyrgy_ by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

We rolled into the “town” at about 5 and there arrived to the one hotel in the GPS.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4305/...71256749_b.jpg Kyrgy_-10 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4311/...d506b85f_b.jpg Kyrgy_-9 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4327/...be3b700b_b.jpg Kyrgy_-8 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

Hotel is a loose term it is one room with a dais and you supply your own bedding. There is an outhouse and no shower. While Trevor was inside checking it out a couple walked up and asked if he was travelling with Dan and Sara! This is Graham and Katrina Perkins who we have been following as they came west across Asia on their Africa twin. There had seen the bikes come into town from their hostel nearby.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4330/...78c7e2d5_b.jpg Tajikistan Sary-Tash-19 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4324/...ebc8ed0c_b.jpg Kyrgy_-6 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4308/...dc048e3d_b.jpg Kyrgy_-5 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

We were not keen on either of these 2 options. A guy rolled up in a car and said he was a tour operator and had a house for rent. We followed him out of town, across a cow field to a house with no running water, an outhouse and a single room again. Ah NO.

We then wound our way father thru the fields and the village back roads to the main highway where we had seen a restaurant and hotel. Very nice family. There had room with no beds, but they sleep on several layers of mats and gave us pillows and duvets. There is of course only outhouses, but they have running water. The owner is the chef and his wife the manager and she speaks English. She arranged for me to have a shower at a friends house about 150 m away. This was a hot steamy tiled room with a cement floor and a drain. There is a huge boiler at one side and a barrel of cold water to mix in for the best pour over shower ever! The price was right too. 15$ each for room, dinner, and breakfast. They also had wifi at least to check in after 4 days off line.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4330/...de97071e_b.jpg Kyrgy_-7 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4307/...78636380_b.jpg Kyrgy_-4 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4312/...77bee6e5_b.jpg Kyrgy_-3 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4301/...289137da_b.jpg Kyrgy_-2 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

The total SPOT of the Pamir and Wakhan Valley route! The dots are 15 minute intervals!

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4309/...748f3dc5_b.jpg Screen Shot 2017-07-17 at 16.51.12 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

July 17 Sary-Tash to Osh July 17-19

Despite sleeping on mats on the floor we actually all did well. We were up about 9 and after breakfast packed to go by 11. Our host (and chef) and his son.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4322/...99221c33_b.jpg Kyrgy_-13 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

We had a short 185 km to Osh on a silky paved road.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4311/...5e9bfd7a_z.jpg Screen Shot 2017-07-17 at 17.32.22 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

We are still at 3600 m and cross one more pass to 4200 and then its down down down! Finally adequate O2. At the top of the pass there were a few kids selling milk and this one 12 year old boy spoke and read English perfectly. Drivers here are courteous and there is little traffic. We had no issues with the police despite what we had been told.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4302/...1c6bd949_b.jpg Kyrgy_-20 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4305/...90cd4f8f_b.jpg Kyrgy_-19 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4318/...6b31eae9_b.jpg Kyrgy_-11 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4328/...330136e6_b.jpg Kyrgy_-12 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

It did start to rain mid way and we took shelter and made coffee in a bus top. This drew quite a crowd of curious kids.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4324/...9cd31d84_b.jpg Kyrgyzstan Osh-4 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4308/...9d905c1c_b.jpg Kyrgy_-21 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4315/...bf4a7571_b.jpg Kyrgy_-22 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

Arriving to the city it was 28 degrees and there was some traffic to deal with, but the hotel was easy access off the 41.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4326/...743f6618_b.jpg Kyrgyzstan Osh-5 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4324/...4628188a_b.jpg Kyrgy_-24 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

We had booked into a 4* hotel for 2 nights to really relax and get caught up on bike maintenance and RR. To be honest we wanted good wifi and a big TV so we could watch the first episode of Game of Thrones!!!

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4305/...9f793082_b.jpg Kyrgyzstan Osh-6 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4316/...56cbec1e_b.jpg Kyrgy Osh by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

Dan pulled the wheel off the 650 and took it around the corner to the tire shop for proper patching. We also noted earlier in the week that there was a small oil leak from the stator gasket and when we checked the oil it was fine, but when we checked today it was down. Orvar luckily has a later of oil and we topped up. We also sealed the leak with some high temp sealant, but we will keep an eye on the stator for a failure in the near future.

We had been in contact with Janet and Charlie Russel since we were in South America and now we find we are finally in the same spot. They delayed their departure to meet with us and exchange info on our respective routes. They are deciding how they will get to Dushanbe after hearing the lower route is now blocked. We had the opportunity to hear about their experience in Russia and Mongolia.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4311/...29d58c31_b.jpg Kyrgy Osh-2 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

brilliant report as always,good that Dan found his razor :rofl:

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rondelli (Post 568409)

brilliant report as always,good that Dan found his razor :rofl:

Thanks for reading it Gino. Clean shaven is best!

July 19 To Kazarman 257 Km

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4312/...89c2004c_b.jpg Screen Shot 2017-07-21 at 20.38.00 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4292/...0f8d9813_b.jpg Kyrgyzstan Kazarman by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

Leaving Osh and all the way to Jal- Alabama there is a lot of traffic and some aggressive driving. there were also a huge number of police speed traps. We did the limit and they ignored us completely.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4304/...4cc53042_b.jpg Kyrgy Kazarman by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4295/...f7fb2cb3_b.jpg Kyrgyzstan Kazarman-2 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

The last bit was pretty badly wash boarded. There is brand new pavement for the last 5 km to town. This place is pretty sad looking and none of the guest houses on map.me or the GPS exist. We did have a B&B listed and we showed up there. We have a pull out bed in the dining room.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4293/...e4341b3a_b.jpg IMG_8957 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

The very good dinner was served in a yurt. There are a lot of other travelers here including a family form Slovenia. There is one bathroom for 12 guests so you had to be strategic.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4313/...2070276b_b.jpg Kyrgy Kazarman-8 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4312/...0400b94d_b.jpg Kyrgy Kazarman-9 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

July 20 To Song kul lake 175 km.

Despite sleeping on the pull out we actually slept pretty well. The breakfast of rice porridge was a little hard to stomach. You always seem to be just a bit nauseated here. There was a small shop in town to get some supplies for camping. We set off for the alpine lake Song-Kul, which is 175 km on gravel/dirt road that is on the GPS.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4295/...f660699f_z.jpg Screen Shot 2017-07-21 at 20.43.09 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

The first 20 km were a bit of a drag with washboard and deeper gravel, but then you start to rise up on the mountain road, which is mush firmer.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4303/...df97c558_b.jpg Kyrgyzstan Song-kul by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4319/...475d44a6_b.jpg Kyrgyzstan Song-kul-2 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

We turned north near Ak Tal and stopped at the village to get some snacks. Dan was riding to the shop and a kid about 6 hurled a fair sized rock at him and hit the pannier….Dan hit the breaks and got off. The kid started running and screaming and Dan (looks 9 feet tall in his boots suit and helmet) chased him down. The kid was screaming so loud he had to stop running, which is a good thing since running at altitude for sea level dwellers is a challenge. The other adults nearby also yelled at the kid.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4291/...6be9acc8_b.jpg Screen Shot 2017-07-21 at 21.04.34 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

Initially the road is flat and pretty good.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4330/...88f1623c_b.jpg Kyrgyzstan Song-kul-13 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4326/...c3c2ee18_b.jpg Kyrgyzstan Song-kul-14 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4304/...7776a1ab_b.jpg Kyrgyzstan Song-kul-15 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

We pulled onto the grass and set up our camp. It was sunny and warm, but black could were looming. We managed to get the dinner cooked and eaten before the rain. We all had to hide in the tents, but only for 20 minutes and then the sun was shining again.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4293/...24d50718_b.jpg Kyrgy Song-Kul-22 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4292/...f1bcbd34_b.jpg Kyrgy Song-Kul-23 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

We had a few curious visitors and quite a few horses drop by.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4310/...43fd88d7_b.jpg Kyrgy Song-Kul-18 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4321/...8618cb03_b.jpg Kyrgy Song-Kul-21 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

Once the sun was down the temperature plummeted to I need to be in my long johns and in my -10 c bag now! We are at 3000 m and you can feel it. Dan and I were warm and toasty, but the other 2 not so much.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4307/...150a1167_b.jpg Kyrgy Song-Kul-24 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4306/...fdbc285c_b.jpg Kyrgy Song-Kul-26 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4323/...90cf12d9_b.jpg Kyrgy Song-Kul-25 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

We set the alarm for 1 am so we could see the stars and WOW it was amazing. Sara was only out for 3 min (it was about 2-3 degrees) and back to the Marmot bag. There was frost on the grass at 5 am.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4309/...632f79db_b.jpg Kyrgy Song-Kul-31 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4300/...ff3e5b2c_b.jpg Kyrgy Song-Kul-27 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4320/...b7ce2f93_b.jpg Kyrgy Song-Kul-28 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

Big Dipper and shooting stars!

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4319/...7d140107_b.jpg Kyrgy Song-Kul-29 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4292/...3e4cc283_b.jpg Kyrgy Song-Kul-30 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

Off to Mongolia tomorrow and likely off line for a week or so. Wish us luck!!

Awesome shots of the stars folks, what camera did you use for those?
Cheers

Quote:

Originally Posted by troppy (Post 568634)

Awesome shots of the stars folks, what camera did you use for those?
Cheers

Dan has a Sony A6500 with a Sanyang 12mmF2 lens. We will catch the Persied Meteor shower in Mongolia!

Outstanding, Dan's getting the hang of it now ha ha

Good luck guys, look forward to the report

Gino & Fiona

Here we made some miles. We stopped at a road side place for some lunch and when we were leaving we saw this Korean rider and his son across the road. They are headed to the Pamir.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4300/...1283f52b_b.jpg Kyrgyzstan Kaji-Say-10 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4293/...eaa6ab34_b.jpg Kyrgyzstan Kaji-Say-11 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4291/...3b722f21_b.jpg Kyrgy Kaji-Say-6 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

??93

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4303/...60a04e22_b.jpg Kyrgyzstan Kaji-Say-12 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

We motored on and ended up on the south side of the lake. A communist era monument.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4301/...d428e848_b.jpg Kyrgyzstan Kaji-Say-13 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4295/...2d0a672e_b.jpg Kyrgy Kaji-Say-13 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4310/...9d65d56c_b.jpg Kyrgy Kaji-Say-14 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4299/...4dc8bcb3_b.jpg Kyrgy Kaji-Say-15 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

The town of Kaji-Say is small and there are not too many options, but the Art hotel was in the GPS. It did not look like much from the outside, but inside the gate was a very nice courtyard for us to put the bikes. The price included dinner and breakfast so that was a no brainier. The rooms were simple but comfortable and the water hot and plentiful. The bonus was great internet.

July 22 Orn’ok
We were divided about the plan today some of us wanted to “go around the lake” and others did not…Around the lake it is.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4293/...8cb084f0_b.jpg Screen Shot 2017-07-27 at 19.31.31 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

Nothing to see and in fact Dan did not take 1 photo all the way. At Cholpon Alta there is about 10 km of dirt, on which they are spraying water from tankers in the construction zone= mud. The town of Cholpon is a mad house of Russian tourist there for a beach holiday. It is crazy and we could not get out of there fast enough. Further down the road we came to Orn’ok and found a “resort” that actually had space as most were full. It is a bit like a summer camp. You check in and the rooms and in 2 story blocks and meals are served at given hours. The beach is clean and the water clear. The food is very marginal at best. It was the best we could do in the heat when we did not want to camp. It was a bit like communist era family camp.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4381/...8c5be3fa_b.jpg Ornek Bishkek-3 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4332/...73dab9e4_b.jpg Ornek Bishkek by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4403/...aa1ff840_b.jpg Ornek Bishkek-2 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

July 23 Bishkek

The original plan today was to take a mountain road towards the capital. Stating up the “road” from Orn’ok it is more like a track and very rocky and sandy. This “road” up the first pass is 23 km and after this the route is marked as a track for a further 70. After 3-4 km we decided that it was not worth the time and effort for a scenic detour. The second reason is the shock on Dan’s 800 is making a disturbing squeak and all we need today is to blow that out in the mountains. So we decided to turn back and go on the main route to the city. We had booked into a guest house for 3 nights to get some rest. Orvar had decided to stay one more night at the beach.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4294/...c96bfda2_b.jpg Screen Shot 2017-07-27 at 19.32.43 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

The ride into the capital is right along the Kazakhstan border. We had again no trouble with police despite constant warnings by other riders. Bishkek apparently has strict rules regarding which streets motorcycles can ride on. We tried to stay on the main roads and the few police we passed ignored us. The fine is apparently 2000 Com (30$usd).

We had planned to meet up with ADV inmate Allen here in the city. He has lived here and in Uzbekistan for almost 2 decades. They run an orphanage for over 20 kids. He was kind enough to meet us at “the container mall”. This is where Dema and his wife have the only motorcycle “shop” in the city. Dema had gloves for Trevor, some full synthetic oil for us, and a connection to a guy to work on my pannier. I was also able to buy another tubeless repair kit for my bike. The mushroom kit we have has come with the wrong tip and this is why we can not get the plug device to work. Back to old school with the goo ropes. The crash I had in the deep sand torqued the box and the top so the lid closure was a challenge. The Bumot did great as far and the metal, rivets, and welds. Dan and Allen rode over to a mechanic shop where the owner was “one of the biggest humans” Dan had ever seen. He looked at the box for a few minutes and then got out a jack and some 2x4’s and voila perfectly back to square.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4393/...3a7a5549_b.jpg Ornek Bishkek-8 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4417/...7f091c4b_b.jpg Ornek Bishkek-10 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4427/...1e9ef351_b.jpg Ornek Bishkek-7 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4439/...022a2b3a_b.jpg Ornek Bishkek-9 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

Hostels can be a bit sketchy and several of the kids where ill here and it is probably from the food. We ended up here 4 days as several of us were sick especially Daniel. He was well enough to go by July 27, which is good as we need to get across Kazakhstan for our Russian Visas. The rear shock on the 800 has been squeaking and we are worried it will blow. There is a KTM shop in Almaty and so we will make a detour there.

We are all leaving Kyrgyzstan today and are headed to Kazakhstan. We are going to Almaty to the KTM. It is 240 km and mostly a back track. The other guys will start heading north directly to Astana as Orvar has a service booked there July 31.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4319/...88fefaf8_b.jpg Screen Shot 2017-07-27 at 19.33.13 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr 

The ride to the border is 26 km. We left just before 8 and it was 29 degrees. It was 34 by the time we reached the border. You pull up to the control gate and they let 3-4 vehicles in at a time. When you go thru the gate you pull up to passport control and they give you an exit stamp. One guy asked us to open the luggage, but his colleague told him to forget it. Done in 15 min.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4408/...c59f1e20_b.jpg Almaty by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

You then proceed 200 m to the next control gate. here they also let a few people in at a time. You ride ahead 200 m to the border zone. Here there are dogs sniffing. You hand over your passport, and bike registration and they want you to fill in a tourist “card” and a small slip of paper with your bike brand, model, and Plate number. All of these get stamps. Then you ride 100 metres and turn left and then 200 meters to “the scanner”. Basically you ride into the customs building. here they stamp your small scrap of paper after looking at your papers and passport. They sort of looked in Dan’s luggage. They were more interested in how long we were married and why we had no children. All done out and in in under an hour.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4385/...776b751a_b.jpg Almaty-2 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

We then had 209 km to go and it was 39 degrees. There is nothing to see but flatness and haze.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4421/...f32f1f15_b.jpg Almaty-3 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

We were about 70 km from Almaty when 2 bikes pulled up beside us and singled to pull over ahead. They had Alberta plates!! Turns out it is Kevin and Carey from Calgary. Kevin is our friend Francis Walsh’s brother. Small world as they are actually also going to the KTM shop for work and then they will store the bikes until next year for Mongolia.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4431/...9dc0b0cf_b.jpg Kazakstan Almaty by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

The guys at KTM were awesome and put the bike right into the shop when we arrived.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4357/...65ea9819_b.jpg Almaty-5 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4389/...986afff4_b.jpg Kazakstan Almaty-2 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4351/...c397e363_b.jpg Almaty-4 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

Getting help with the menu from the girl at the next table!
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4348/...93070b9b_b.jpg[/url]Kazakstan Almaty-3 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4375/...ed14d9b0_b.jpg Almaty-6 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

We got a call at 9 pm to say Dan’s bike was all done and good as new. They changed the oil and recharged the gas. The shop did not open until 10 and so we got to sleep and and have breakfast with the guys. Luckily the breakfast menu was translated.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4362/...0eea0ab8_b.jpg Almaty-7 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4398/...68cd6e5a_b.jpg Kazakstan Almaty-7 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4410/...f60995eb_b.jpg Kazakstan Almaty-6 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4436/...f4c17977_b.jpg Kazakstan Almaty-5 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4353/...7e2b2333_b.jpg Kazakstan Almaty-4 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

Sara’s 650 just does not seem quite right for the last day or so, but we can not put a finger on it. Seems lacklustre..….We had a long hot day planned, but how long we are not sure since looking at the map there is nothing for at least 350 km from Almaty.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4340/...4060903c_b.jpg Screen Shot 2017-07-29 at 20.34.39 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

There is nothing to see except a straight road, flat land and haze. There were several camel herds. The road was advertised to be horrible and potholed!!! It is not we managed 100 km/ h most of the day.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4440/...156cfcd2_b.jpg Priozersk by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4435/...b5c1f1ff_b.jpg Priozersk-2 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4355/...90c69245_b.jpg Priozersk-3 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

There are some rough sections and deep grooves occasionally. On one of these sections the 650s speed sensor warning light was on again! We checked seems intact. It is not mission critical so we pressed on. It was 38-40 all day and we had the wind against us, which made for terrible gas milage. Also we had been told how the police here were the worst and pulled you over for any excuse. We did the speed limit especially when signed to be 40-50. We saw some police, but none paid us any attention.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4350/...bdb9a731_b.jpg Priozersk-5 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4425/...eec272f3_b.jpg Priozersk-4 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4439/...0a401e7d_b.jpg Priozersk-6 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

Salt lakes

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4340/...421c4942_b.jpg Priozersk-7 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

By 4 pm it was gusting crosswind and very strong. There was a gas station with 95 after 300 km and so we filled up. The GPS had a place listed there, but it looked sketch. The next one in 47 km did not look mush better. We know the guys stayed in Priozersk last night by their spot and we did see one guest house on bookings there. So we had another 80 km in strong wind to deal with. We checked the maps.me for the guest house, but it did not look like much when we got there so we headed down the main road. The main square was blocked off and so we pulled over to the right to ask a taxi driver parked there where we could find a hotel. The police pulled in next and asked if they could help. They escorted us to the hotel! Great secure parking. Small apartment with aircon and wifi for 24$. SCORE!! It is the 61 st birthday of this army town and there is a carnival on. There are all sorts of vendors, bouncy castles, singers and dancers. The evening was capped off with a fire works display.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4417/...b1899ec7_b.jpg Priozersk-8 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4396/...626fa58b_b.jpg Kazakstan_-2 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4411/...56466309_b.jpg Kazakstan_-3 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4350/...fcc9bb31_b.jpg Kazakstan_-4 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4395/...d137c31c_b.jpg Kazakstan_-5 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4408/...48ff4e00_b.jpg Kazakstan_-7 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4391/...71d6f895_b.jpg Kazakstan_-6 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

We had heard from Trevor and Orvar that yesterday they were in this same town and arrived at 8 pm. They had then only gone 161 km today to Balkhash. This is mostly because there is a town at 140 km and the next is another 380km. Trevor resorted to white tape on his helmet to beat the heat!

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4374/...8bb9e217_b.jpg Kazakstan_-8 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

We got up early and it was a lovely 23 degrees. This meant we could arrive to Balkhash by the time the other two were on the road and we met at the turn off. It remained cooler all day and under 26. The ride is maybe slightly more scenic near to Karagandy, but it is mostly just 500 + km of a straight bumpy road thru pretty much nothing.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4438/...f317cab91b.jpg Screen Shot 2017-07-29 at 20.42.38 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4416/...26124cd5_b.jpg Karagandy-2 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4344/...83bcd59f_b.jpg Karagandy-3 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4331/...5d09bea8_b.jpg Karagandy-4 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

There is the odd gas station or truck stop. We did stop at an abandoned station to hide in the shade. Trevor left the station and turned left, when we were going right….it took him 8 km to stop and wait for us before he realized he had gone the wrong way…too funny. Just goes to tell you it is a lot of nothing out here. We stopped for some food about 120 km from Karagandy, but none of us really feels all that hungry in general. Karagandy is a surprisingly big place in the middle of no where. The hotel we had in the GPS and saw on bookings was the Ozz. This turns out to be a very chic. The town itself is nothing to see, but we did a bit of a walk to find something to eat…Donar as usual.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4438/...ee5153db_b.jpg Kazakstan_-9 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4416/...4eaba068_b.jpg Kazakstan_-10 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4377/...1e7cc3e8_b.jpg Kazakstan_-11 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4436/...d5379be7_b.jpg Kazakstan_-12 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

Astana is the capital and it is only 213 Km. It is still over the mostly flat steppe with little of interest.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4332/...af21dc2a_z.jpg Screen Shot 2017-07-29 at 20.43.23 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4351/...2109910c_b.jpg Astana by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

The road the whole way is 4 lanes under construction and they are for unknown reason mostly only using 2 lanes on one side and you switch sides every 30-40 km. It is humid and 29 as well and so we are all not feeling that great.

Today Orvar headed over to “BMW” where they said they were ready for his service. This is not a motored dealer, they do not service bikes, and they do not have any parts. HMMMM. Well I guess it is a day at the Astana Expo 2017 for us. We grabbed a cab over there since the supposed free shuttle never arrived here. In fact the guys at the desk despite the huge banner sign in the lobby were a bit stunned when we asked about it (the sign was gone the next morning). Well 45 min ride was 3$ in a cab. The entry was 4000 T (12USD). The huge ball in the centre that looks like the death star is the Kazakstan pavilion.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4386/...88519fc6_b.jpg Kazakstan_-13 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4407/...96073801_b.jpg Kazakstan_-18 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4351/...464ff2c4_b.jpg Kazakstan_-17 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4342/...9cc7c206_b.jpg Astana-18 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

The Kazakstan pavilion is 8 floors of interactive and educational fun. There was a crazy circus act too.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4426/...5c14fecf_b.jpg Astana-22 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4353/...c67c65ae_b.jpg Astana-23 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4402/...94e467aa_b.jpg Astana-24 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4354/...cacbe490_b.jpg Astana-25 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4399/...08e9a4f9_b.jpg Kazakstan_-15 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4389/...96cc3fea_b.jpg Astana-21 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4426/...cbf59c3c_b.jpg Astana-27 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4343/...fe35cfe8_b.jpg Astana-28 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

Leaving the park we set out for the taxi stand. There are very few real taxi’s here as most are regular people with a “uber-like” app. The guys at the stand told us the price was 3 times what we paid to get there and we only planned to go 1/2 way back. A local women overheard our conversation with the drivers and she came over to us. She said she would book us a cab on her app and even walked 200 m over to the main road to make sure we got the right car. She took quite a bit of verbal abuse from the drivers, but shook it off. We were headed to the “famous” (not sure why it is just a mall) Khan Shatyr mall. Lots of high end shops and not much else. There is a beach on the top floor with sand from the Maldives. Now back to the hotel for Monday night Game of Thrones fix!

It is August 1 today and we can enter Russia on the second. We are headed to Omsk, but we have to make a detour to Petropavl since the border south of Omsk is open only to Nationals of Russia and Kazakhstan.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4334/...44936e2f_z.jpg Screen Shot 2017-08-01 at 20.25.32 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

So we want to get as far north as possible today. It is 497 km to Petropavl, but if the road is terrible we will get as far as Kokshetau in 310 km.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4426/...de1104a5_z.jpg Screen Shot 2017-08-01 at 20.25.03 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

It turns out the first 200 km are on a perfect 6 lane toll (not for bikes) highway. Just before Kokshetau is turns to 4 lanes, but after it is a good 2 lane road.

As usual we did draw a bit of attention when we stopped for lunch!

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4390/...43384bf3_b.jpg Kazakstan_-19 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

It was stating to get a bit warm at 29 again and about 70 km from Petropavl Sara noted her voltage meter (always at 14.2-14.3) was at 13.4 and dropping steadily. Finally the stator has had it. Well we managed to get to the city, drive around for 45 minutes trying to find a non by the hours hotel, and not have the bike die. I did wait in one spot while 2 of the guys rode about and finally found a nice place with a good spot to work on the bike and I managed to get there without the fan turning on and killing the bike. We let the bike cool off and then hooked up the GS 911 to confirm the issue. Dan is an expert now #7 for stator changes and 2 in the last month. It all went smoothly luckily and on start up charge is 14.2!

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4403/...a767d9a5_b.jpg Petrpavl-2 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4360/...077256eb_b.jpg Petrpavl by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

We found a surprisingly good Chinese place for dinner and then walked the pedestrian zone. It was packed with people on a Tuesday night.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4420/...97f17358_b.jpg Kazakstan_ by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4432/...d9cddc11_b.jpg Kazakstan_-20 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4363/...fd03e804_b.jpg Petrpavl-3 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4407/...7642dfd5_b.jpg Petrpavl-5 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

Tomorrow we leave Kazakhstan and again despite everyone telling us we would be pulled over constantly and hassled by police we did not get pulled over even once and in fact the police we saw never gave us a second look. That said we did follow the posted signs to the letter just like the locals. When it says 30 km/h they ARE going 30. WE were never stopped in Kyrgyzstan either.

Today we want to get half way to Novosibirsk as Orvar has arranged service at BMW there in 2 days time. This means at least 450 km and the border. Our objective was Tatarsk in 461 km as we knew there were a few hotels listed here.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4335/...32646d77_b.jpg Screen Shot 2017-08-02 at 22.37.43 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

We are not sure what to expect for the border crossing as we have heard it can take up to 4 hours. Our friend Wolfgang crossed from Latvia yesterday and he said it was 2 1/2 hours. We do not have to do customs clearance since we did it when we entered the “customs” zone in Kyrgyzstan and this covers us to the Mongolian border. It is 126 km from Petropavl to the border of Kazakhstan on a mostly good paved road.

When you arrive at the gate you pass the line of vehicles and go to the front. Here there is an officer in a booth who wants to see your passport, Kazakhstan tourist card, and customs form. They give you a small piece of paper to get stamped to give to the gate guard on exit. They then let 5-6 vehicles thru the gate at a time to drive 200 m to the border station. Here you park and go inside to get the passport exit stamp. Back outside the officers have dogs and very briefly look in the boxes. Interestingly they have never at any border asked to look in Trevor’s top box or Dan’s Tank bag. Then you are free to go, but first they wanted a photo of us and so we got one too. Now you ride 200 m to the gate and hand over the small scrap with the stamp.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4387/...27132d5e_b.jpg IMG_9399 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

You then pass the “you have crossed the border of the Russian federation” sign and you ride a km to the next gate. Here again you pass the line of vehicles and ride up to the gate. Here the officer wants to see your passport and Russian visa and hands over a tourist card to fill out. (ours was in English, but Wolfgang yesterday had only Russian…Much easier to fill in all the boxes for us). He even helped us to answer a few items that did not translate well. After he checks your work he also hands you the usual small scrap of paper for the exit. We had to wait a few minutes before we got thru the gate to ride 300 m to the border station. Here you go in and hand over your passport, tourist card, and vehicle registration and get an entry stamp. Outside the officers wanted to look thru the luggage and even wanted to look under Dan’s seat ( a first). They asked me if I had a gun or narcotics….UH no. They were all very friendly, warm, and nice…. not as advertised at all. All done in under an hour. You ride 300 m to the exit gate and the young officer was very smiley and friendly taking our small stamped paper and welcoming us to Russia.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4364/...f9328d15_b.jpg Tatarsk-2 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4400/...96b470c5_b.jpg Tatarsk by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

Just outside the gate are several trailers where you can buy your vehicle insurance. This is 15 USD for a month and the 3 of us all had it done in 20 min. Orvar has a green card and it is valid in Russia.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4353/...bb30a8da_b.jpg Tatarsk-4 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4408/...28a1e16b_b.jpg Tatarsk-3 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

Now to make some miles as we have 335 km to go and it is 12 noon. The road is very good and 2 lanes, but there is a lot of truck traffic. We stopped in Marjanowka 110 km from the border and drove 5 km to the town centre as there was a bank there to get Rubles so we could get some lunch.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4363/...126954cf_b.jpg Tatarsk2 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

Gas stations take visa, but sometimes the cashier will not let you use it unless you pray the exact number of liters and so you always have to have cash as back up. You hand them your biggest bill and say full and they usually will turn on the pump. Making friends at the gas station as usual.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4433/...e1f274c9_b.jpg Russia Novosibirsk-2 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4411/...16358af1_b.jpg Russia Novosibirsk-3 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
From here there is several sections with construction stoppages but we managed to time them pretty well to get to the front of the line when it was our directions turn to go. We had to stop for break from the droning monotony about 100 km from Tatarsk and picked ourselves up with an ice cream. The town is off the highway about 8 km and we headed for one of the places listed in the GPS. It had enclosed parking and was clean and pretty cheap. 11$ each with breakfast.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4335/...f11a35ba_b.jpg FILE3722 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

We had a very comfortable night actually and after adjusting all our devices we are all on the correct time now.

Today we have another long, straight, and boring 475 km to Novosibirsk.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4412/...91208e07_b.jpg Screen Shot 2017-08-05 at 18.25.05 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4436/...502923e1_b.jpg Novosibirsk by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

There is a lot of truck traffic and a 2 lane road. There are several stoppages for construction, but we got lucky all day with minimal waits. We found a good truck stop about 2 for a cafeteria lunch.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4442/...06f4c1c2_b.jpg Russia Novosibirsk by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

The ride into the city was remarkably painless even at 5 pm on a Thursday night we only had bad congestion for a very short time. Orvar had booked us a hotel on a quiet dead end street and the parking was a private locked garage inside the underground parking with a locked door. So double secure as requested!! Now to toast with some Vodka of course.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4419/...9e2f550f_b.jpg Novosibirsk-6 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4383/...1bd5632f_b.jpg Novosibirsk-8 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4348/...9f58beb8_b.jpg Novosibirsk-7 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

The other nice thing is there is a very trendy and hip restaurant 1 block away with live music.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4370/...ab0c3989_b.jpg Novosibirsk-9 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4349/...e14fb39f_b.jpg Russia Novosibirsk-4 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4367/...8b443560_b.jpg Novosibirsk-10 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

Today is errand day. Orvar’s 800 was in for “20,000 km BMW Certified service” and the 650 to check out why the new speed sensor is on the fritz. (They said they reset the sensor, but the light was back on 4 blocks later and still is). Yesterday the dash was a Christmas tree with the red Sensor warning, the yellow bulb warning, and the blue high beam warning. The bulb went today, but we got a Bosch one at the gas station to replace it today. There is no way they did anything but change the oil. The plastics were not off for sure. This is the air filter they said they replaced when we took it out 3 days later in Barnaul.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4384/...77f971dd_b.jpg Russia Barnaul-16 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr