September 29

We started out the day with a fairly steady climb about 100m above the river with great views of the Altai Mountains.  It was overcast and cold all day, if it was above zero it certainly wasn't by much, but at least the rain stayed away.  It was rolling uphill/downhill all day with some of the best alpine scenery we'd both ever seen, the autumn colours gave it that extra touch.  We stopped after about 60km to get some supplies for lunch from the shop and had to deal with another drunk Russian guy chirping questions incessantly even though our body language was telling him to piss off, something we'd become used to over time.  After lunch an 11% climb was definitely not welcome but we could begin to see more huge mountains and glaciers, it's amazing this place was devoid of tourists.  We finally made it to Aktash absolutely wrecked from a combination of the long days of difficult riding, cold weather, head colds and general deteriorating health.  We met an "alpinist" who directed us to the hotel in town which was very modest with no shower again but at least it was warm.  At this point we stank, everything is sweaty, dusty, bloody, dirty and just wreaks - at least we fit in.  We got to the cafe and had some good food and watched a table of old ducks slam vodka and slowly turn the volume of the Russian techno music to levels which almost shook the building down.