My husband and a band of similarly minded, and dressed individuals set forth regularly at the weekends to ride their mountain bikes across the Kazakh Steppe.  This is a vast area of flat, grassland with the occasional marsh.  The camel trails they follow as far as I can gather are in the middle of nowhere.  They have also acquired names like; Glass Top Canal, Fish Farm, Horse Bath, Cow Bridge, Zen Pond, & Pete’s Caspian Villa. This last weekend culminated in the end of the season arduous (due to the strong winds) 100k ride looping around Atyrau, towards the Caspian Sea and back. Blood was spilt once more, but at least this time stitches were not required!