Sary Bulak - Ak-Shyrak and back to Barskoon.
A.K.A. "The Pain Junkie Route". 

The Route: 

Ok, this is a hard one. The first day out of Sary Bulak the road conditions are fine. After that it's difficult to find the right track. Mostly horse paths and meter deep grass. Some bigger river crossings. Very little or no food. Ara Bel Pass is probably the hardest I've cycled - good luck in doing that one in one go! Swampy after the pass all the way to the main road. Here you have the choice of going directly towards Barskoon or heading for Ak-Shyrak and probably getting arrested by the military. If choosing the latter alternative, you're in for a hard ride. 26 climbs one way, some are quite long and all are steep, sometimes over 20% on crappy roads. The graph is not correct due to the many short climbs, impossible to keep up with all the changes in altitude. Almost no food along the way. If arrested, ask the military for a meal. As a whole the route is very interesting - if for nothing else to see the facial expressions of the nomads when you arrive on a bike from out of nowhere. Great scenery! 

Photos from this journey.

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