Stopping on the Steppe

Three months might not seem like a long time to you, but it feels like a lifetime to me. Everyday is an adventure, everyday is different. Last week I was sweltering in 38 c desert heat, now I am shivering in 8 c on the Kazak steppe.
When I was camping in the desert there some cold mornings when a chill wind told me that winter was approaching. I want to get to the Himalayas  before snow blocks the roads, so I kept rolling eastwards.
In cities I try and stay in hostels. They are cheap, the home cooked local food is lovely  and you meet an interesting mix of fellow travellers. All the stereotypes are there - laid back Aussies, travel bores, couples where only one of them speaks.
The kindness of people always lifts my spirits. At random times kazak drivers would stop for a selfie, or press money into my hands - to buy dinner. A couple of days ago I was caught in a thunderstorm on the flat plains. I had been told there was a hotel a few miles down the road, but couldn't find it. I asked and asked, sodden wet and shivering in the cold darkness I queued  at a petrol station to ask the cashier when the manager  tapped me on the shoulder  and simply said "coffee?" Saved; he fed me and let me sleep on a sofa in a warm office.
Shepherds have a knack of finding me when I am wild camping. The last one told me I should sleep in his stable, it rained overnight so I glad I did. He gave me dinner - meat stew  (his goats), milk, butter, yoghurt from his cows, and bread baked in his clay oven. Their self sufficiency was eye opening.
When I do stay in a hostel or hotel I try and check the weather forecast. When I saw it said rain and 8 c for two days, I decided to stop cycling. I went to the train station but the next service to Bishkek (capital of Kyrgyzstan) was at 9 the next evening, so I squeezed my bike and gear into a minibus with the locals and did the pretty dreary  250 km across the rain swept Steppe in a dry 4 hours rather than a wet 2 days.
From here I want to ride to Lake Issyk, the forecast is for a few bright autumnal days, it should be beautiful. Then I will loop around to Almaty to fly to the Himalayas.

Breakfast at the dhepherd's house

Wonderful scenery  on the Kazak / Kyrgyzstan  border

Samarkland looks the set of a Raiders of the Lost Ark film