Into The Steppe: Bikepacking Across Kazakhstan

For two weesk, I explored Kazakhstan by bike, crossing endless steppe, climbing into the mountains beyond Almaty, and discovering a country far more diverse than I'd imagined.

Bikepacking has become my favourite way to experience a place because it demands presence. There are no shortcuts to the landscape or the culture. Every meal, every conversation, every climb, and every wrong turn becomes part of the story. Travelling under my own power meant slowing down enough to notice the details that are so easily missed.

The trip wasn't about ticking off destinations. It was about embracing uncertainty, adapting to whatever each day brought, and learning from a place that was completely unfamiliar. Some days were defined by vast, empty landscapes, others by welcoming strangers, mountain roads, and moments that couldn't have been planned.

The further I rode, the more I realised that the greatest reward wasn't reaching the next destination it was everything that happened along the way.

Watch the full journey in late-July.