Barnaul, Russia

There were two reasons for coming to Barnaul - firstly to book into a hotel so that they can register my visa and secondly to find a bike shop to buy some oil and fit a new tyre. At the fourth attempt I found a reasonably priced hotel with decent rooms and parking . Whilst unloading a local biker spotted the bike and stopped. He's going to come back and meet me tomorrow morning to take me to a bike shop. Result.

It turns out the hotel I'm staying in has an in-house marriage agency, so I could pick up a Russian bride whilst I'm here. The only problem is where would I put her - the bike's overloaded as it is.

Quiz Time:
10 points to the first person who can tell me who said Russia is "a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma"

Semey, Kazakhstan

Between 1949 and 1989 the Soviets exploded 460 nuclear bombs just to the west of Semey, so I don't think I'll be hanging around for long. The town isn't very photogenic so here's one of last night's camping spot instead.

The first puncture

And then there was one.....

Unfortunately Dave, who I've been riding with, came off his bike 2 days ago and has chipped a bone in his leg. As a result his leg's in plaster for a month and so he's flying home. So from now on I'll be riding alone.

Charyn Canyon

4 - 0

I think its fair to say we are the only two Brits in Almaty who aren't here for the football. But I did make the effort and watch the match in a bar with a beer and a Kazakh brandy chaser.

Almaty is roughly the halfway point between London and Vladivostok, which makes me realise just how far I've still got to go.

Kazakhstan

After more than 6,000 miles of blatently ignoring speed limits I got pulled over today for doing 69kph in a 50 zone. The Kazakh policeman's opening offer was a 50 dollar fine, which I politely refused. It then came down to about 30, but after watching the locals who were also being stopped it became clear that all was required was 2 pound bribe. The bribe duely handed over and I was on my way again. I think its an example the British police would do well to follow.

Later that day and I was stopped again. This time for a failed headlight bulb. You have to have your lights on all the time in Kazakhstan and I didn't realise mine wasn't working. Here we go again, I thought, another 2 pound bribe. But this time they obviously thought it wasn't worth wasting their time trying to get money out of me and sent me on my way.

I replaced the bulb in the evening but it turned out that wasn't the only problem - still no headlights. Six thousand miles and my first problem with the bike. So there was nothing else for it but to take the switch and connectors apart, douse them in WD40 and put it back together again. Result - working headlight. It just adds to my belief that all you need to fix a bike is WD40, duck tape and cable ties.

The idea was to camp near the border this evening but the land was very agricultural and all cultivated so there was nothing else for it but to knock on someone's door and ask to camp in their garden. The house we chose didn't have a garden but did have a veranda so we were offered that, although we were lated upgraded to the living room floor. The village didn't have a pub so we were taken by one of the extended family (who all seemed to be called Borat) to the local shop where we sat and had a cold beer whilst being quized by the locals.

The good news is I have a fresh Kazakhstan visa. The bad news is the border with Kyrgyzstan is definitely closed, so leaving Tashkent this morning and heading for Almaty.

Tashkent

In Tashkent for 2 days waiting for another Kazakh visa.
Nasty rumour of the day: the border of Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan is closed due to a bomb attack. If that is true it'll mean missing out on Kyrgyzstan and heading north straight into Kazakhstan. On the plus side though, I've found a brew-pub that does a very reasonable pint and an Italian restaurant that does a half decent cappucino - and when its the only one this side of the Bosphorus half decent is good enough.