From the steppe into the two-million-person metropolis

The second night in the tent was quite okay. I wouldn’t say I slept especially well, because I woke up several times. But after going to the toilet at seven in the morning — when I still felt half exhausted — I somehow managed to completely relax again and slept peacefully for another hour before getting up. Earplugs and a sleep mask were essential equipment for me.

Feeling reasonably refreshed, I had breakfast and then packed up all my belongings — which took quite a while, since this was only my second time camping and I’m still far from experienced. By 10:15 I was finally ready for today’s stage. Before leaving, I took a selfie with the incredibly kind gas station attendant — many thanks again for everything. By the way, I even had a positive dog experience: one dog slept quite close to my tent but didn’t bark at me a single time and behaved completely peacefully. Only when it seemed to sense some kind of danger did it stand between my tent and the supposed threat and bark as if it wanted to protect me. So apparently that can happen with unfamiliar dogs too.

Today’s stage began just as calmly as yesterday had ended: steppe stretching almost flat to the horizon, fortunately with only very weak wind. After a few kilometers, entire hillsides were colored purple, with flowers blooming everywhere — almost unreal in their beauty.

After 30 kilometers, I finally caught up on something I had neglected and put on sunscreen. Even though the temperature was a pleasant 21 to 22 degrees Celsius, the sun was still very strong.

After several more kilometers of ups and downs — though today I never descended below about 750 meters above sea level — I reached the border of the Almaty region. Until then, traffic had been relatively light, but from that point onward it noticeably increased, even though I was still 45 kilometers away from the city center.

About 25 kilometers before reaching my hostel, traffic jams into the two-million-person metropolis began. My concentration started to fade a little, so I took another break just to be safe.

After that, things went quite smoothly until the end of the stage. The only thing I noticed all day was a slight soreness in my thighs, probably from yesterday. Still, I managed to ride in a very relaxed way today without any noticeable strain — active recovery, as they call it. Even so, I made good progress and arrived at the hostel by 4:45 p.m. despite the rather late start.

I tried fixing my handlebar again, and this time it worked a bit better than last time. Let’s see how long it lasts this time.

I spent the rest of the day planning the next part of my journey and going to an Indian restaurant. They had a huge selection of vegan dishes. The waiter even commented that I had ordered a lot of food — which was true. But I finished everything completely and enjoyed it immensely.