Central Asian Steppe Cycling

Kazakhstan · Kazakhstan

Extreme14 daysAsia~£1,500 est.

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Overview

From Almaty, with the snowline of the Tian Shan still filling your mirrors, the road tips north into the largest dry steppe on earth - and for the next fortnight the horizon simply never closes. Almaty to Astana is roughly 1,400 kilometres of grassland, salt-pan depressions and wind: as much a psychological challenge as a physical one, because the land barely changes for days and a headwind can halve your speed without warning or shelter. Detour east early for Charyn Canyon's red hoodoos, then settle into steppe rhythm - 100-kilometre days, six litres of water aboard, camp pitched behind the only bush since lunch. The reward arrives unscripted: shepherds waving you into yurts for tea, fresh bread and kurt, the hospitality of people who measure their neighbours in days of travel. Villages with shops can be 150 kilometres apart, so carry five days of food, and there is no bike shop between the two cities - pack spare spokes, tyres and tools. May, June and September are kindest; July cooks. Around £1,500 covers a self-supported crossing, with a night or two in Astana's surreal glass capital to finish.