Kazakhstan ( Kaz ) used to be part of Russia, big open land not much going on. Stinking hot in the summer, -40ish in the winter with 90 kph cross winds, about 1400k’s from top to bottom and a couple of ,000k’s across, only a couple of tracks to cross it. I used to go that way to get to China in the 90’s. There are a few other guys on here have done it as well.
Have a a look at Dave Mackies site Long Haul Trucking, but be warned it’ll cost you about half a day, there’s also a thread on here somewhere Off to Almaty, Almaty is in the south east corner of Kaz.
Or you could go to Google images and have a look at the M 32 which was the Track of Happiness ( main road ) across Kaz.
Thanks for that interesting bit of info Jeff, no wonder I had never come across it, I never made Russia although I fancied a crack at, I will look into the other sites that you mentioned - Thanks - Regards Fred
Hi Fred
Took your advice on checking out photos you had previously posted. It has taken two weeks and more than one bottle of wine …but some great posts by a lot of ex middle east truckers that don’t seem to be on here any more. There has been a few spats on here in the past but I hope that isn’t the reason that this thread seems to be petering out… Keep taking the tablets and keep up the good work.
Mick
Jelliot, you probably ran across my mate Derek Garrard who was running abnormal loads out to mines near the Chinese border, it must have been bad enough on those roads with a tilt but a lowloader…
chazzer:
Jelliot, you probably ran across my mate Derek Garrard who was running abnormal loads out to mines near the Chinese border, it must have been bad enough on those roads with a tilt but a lowloader…
Derek Garrard, AKA The Bear, not heard any mention of him for a long time. I wonder what he is doing now ■■?
I knew him back in the Laural days when i was working for Mervyn King, that was some years ago now…
Hi Steve, I got Derek involved in Formula 1 back in 05 at Renault driving the race trucks and he currently works for the Force India F1 team and is known up and down the pit lane as Baghdad Billy and he also does a lot of event work for Red Bull Racing.
chazzer:
Jelliot, you probably ran across my mate Derek Garrard who was running abnormal loads out to mines near the Chinese border, it must have been bad enough on those roads with a tilt but a lowloader…
I got to know Derek Garrard when he was driving for John Wischussen,an o/d that worked for Chapman and Ball in about '77.
We did a couple of runs down to Dhahran together on the Saudi Air Force contract that C&B were doing.
chazzer:
Jelliot, you probably ran across my mate Derek Garrard who was running abnormal loads out to mines near the Chinese border, it must have been bad enough on those roads with a tilt but a lowloader…
I can remember seeing a few abnormal loads getting about, most were on Russian and Kaz registered trucks. Some of the low loaders weren’t as low as you would normally see in Western Europe, more a sort of military tank transporter sort of thing, which is probably what they were.
Because of what were were hauling we never used to socialize much on route, I mainly did it with a fridge, but tilts as well as I wasn’t as fussy as the posers that got around in their crisp white t shirts.
The road that runs along the bottom ( the A 2 ) from Almaty as far west as the turn for the M32 isn’t to bad by local standards as there are a few big cities that direction, but once you are of that the choice for good roads is minimal. I’m not to sure what the mine policy is in that region, but I know the mines here in Australia have a fairly good infrastructure round the main activity area.
Do you know what area he was working in? was it along the bottom Uzbek, Kyrgyzstan, or up the sided China Mongolia way. Kyrgyzstan has more in you face mountains, where as the China, Mongolia area has more sort of sneaky caught of guard never ending descents. It’s not quite as high as eastern Turkey, but similar enough that if your not watching it can go wrong very quick.
chazzer:
Hi Steve, I got Derek involved in Formula 1 back in 05 at Renault driving the race trucks and he currently works for the Force India F1 team and is known up and down the pit lane as Baghdad Billy and he also does a lot of event work for Red Bull Racing.
The Red Bull bit may be the link to what i was told last year by Archie Paice. It seemed that Derek was with the Force India mob here in Thailand for some testing or something ■■ As Red Bull is owned by a family in Bangkok then that could explain why ■■
It would be great to meet up with hairy man again ( dunno if he still is ■■ )
If you are still in contact then please pass on my details.
Hi Steve, He,s definitely still hairy, he was in Thailand earlier this year with Red Bull on a showcar event but RB is owned by an Austrian or Alpine Turk to us by the name of Deitrich Mateschitz, a very wealthy but down to earth man who loves his motorsport. If you watch the F1 you sometimes catch a glimpse of Derek in the pits at the european races. I did mention you to him a few months ago when he stayed with us while he was doing a RBR event for the inaugural Austin GP but if you have Skype then he is on there occasionally under Derek Garrard and I speak to him and Archie for that matter on it when I can.
Regards
Charlie.
chazzer:
Hi Steve, He,s definitely still hairy, he was in Thailand earlier this year with Red Bull on a showcar event but RB is owned by an Austrian or Alpine Turk to us by the name of Deitrich Mateschitz, a very wealthy but down to earth man who loves his motorsport. If you watch the F1 you sometimes catch a glimpse of Derek in the pits at the european races. I did mention you to him a few months ago when he stayed with us while he was doing a RBR event for the inaugural Austin GP but if you have Skype then he is on there occasionally under Derek Garrard and I speak to him and Archie for that matter on it when I can.
Regards
Charlie.
OK Charlie, that’s grand mate thanks, i will add him on Skype today and hopefully be online one day at the same time.
There has been a story in the papers here recently about a young chap in BKK who killed a policeman whilst driving his Ferrari. It appears he is an heir to the Red Bull empire and as such seems to of had the funds to “buy” himself out of trouble…But maybe that is just the SE Asian side of the business ■■?
freshir:
Interesting reading re: keeping warm in extreme conditions, we all did it but we never considered the Carbonmonoxide Poisoning thing, today we get this hazard mentioned so much and we are well aware of it, makes you wonder how we survived, I never hard of anyone being a victim of CM poisoning - how did we get away with it ? Regards Fred
I believe there was more than one case of CM poisening on the m/e run with drivers having their gas stove on at night,not all English guys,but I’m sure it happened.
Theres a member of the forum who come a cropper with a gas stove leaking a couple of years ago. Ended up in hospital but luckily no ladting damage.
I thought I would put a few photo’s on here as I noticed that my medling with photo bucket has resulted in some pictures being removed.
Kim Belcher resting after Effes…
Anybody put a name to a face, Ned Kelly on for Daysons at the front
Funstons 89 Tipping in the Docks in Istanbul
A slighly better photo of ex Pan Express 111 on internals in Emirates.
John Bull Shipping in the yard in Godalming 1980
Going steady down Death Valley. Interestingly there was a Caterpilla D8 wedged sideways just here for months that had come off a low loader trailer, somehow they must have got it out.
I was at Gaydon on Saturday with Kenny Ward and we were delighted to encounter Gordon Pierce on Ash’s stand. He is fit and well but did not know about this place. Maybe now we will see him here.
I was at Gaydon on Saturday with Kenny Ward and we were delighted to encounter Gordon Pierce on Ash’s stand. He is fit and well but did not know about this place. Maybe now we will see him here.
David[/quote
Hi David. Having been to Gaydon the last three years I missed out this year due to family commitments and to add to the disappointment you mentioned your presence along with Kenny, an absolute choker, I would have loved to have seen you both after all these years even if I would have had to buy you a beer unless I was careful, on my previous visits I found it difficult to identify old M/E drivers I found myself staring at people and trying to take some years off of them and create a younger person and get a bit of a clue as to who they were, well that was a failure as one particular chap remarked who the **** you looking at mate and I thought that he could not have been one of my old buddies co’s they never spoke like that - they were a class crowd were my old muckers - init ? - Be lucky - regards Fred
Hello Fred. Yes, I’m sorry that you missed it too. Actually Ken and I realised that some additional ID was required these days. We met a guy wearing a Fridged Freight T shirt and Gordon was himself wearing an Astran shirt. Solution? Simples; I am getting some shirts done with Grangewood which I could order you one if you wish and I thought that I should get an orange one with the Oryx logo.
At least it may help people who find themselves in the situation that you describe
David Miller:
Hello Fred. Yes, I’m sorry that you missed it too. Actually Ken and I realised that some additional ID was required these days. We met a guy wearing a Fridged Freight T shirt and Gordon was himself wearing an Astran shirt. Solution? Simples; I am getting some shirts done with Grangewood which I could order you one if you wish and I thought that I should get an orange one with the Oryx logo.
At least it may help people who find themselves in the situation that you describe
David[/quot
Hi David. Good on yer, terrific idea no wonder you are rich, yes please order me one and I will send you the cost, I have just spent and hour convincing myself that I am ‘MEDIUM’ but but smallish down under, Fred
Hi All
I just found a really interesting 6 part video on YouTube. It makes Destination Doha look like a Walt Disney film!
It is called Dubai Road Express 1/6 - 6/6
Never mind that its in Norwegian. It’s a Scania promo and its only one truck, a 140 wagon and drag. Boy does he have some fun in the sand between Qatar and UAE !!
Best regards
GS OVERLAND
Yeh that’s a cracker, loads of shovel work going on there and a bit of dreaming of his girl back home as well. There’s a guy by the name of Bodger 69 has done some reviews of truck DVD’s it’s somewhere on this link, I think its about 3 or 4 pages back. Looks like he’s seen a few of Ferdy’s Top Run dvd’s. I have the Rynart one about going to Pakistan with 619 Fiats pro looking film in Dutch, and the one about the Merc going to Pakistan as well which was shot by the driver on for Altrex.
There was a Danish guy on with us when we were doing China in the 90’s, even though it was strictly against company rules he took a video recorder and shot about 4 hours. I only ran with him a couple of times, and knew him as Hal, not sure if that was his first name last mane or nick name though.
Hi Gavin!
You have to learn your launguish (sorry about my spelling) the movie is in swedish;-)
But its a norwiegan company.
I hope everyting is ok in the sun:-)
Here is midsommar coming up so, skål ta me fan;-)
Reg Danne
GS OVERLAND:
Hi All
I just found a really interesting 6 part video on YouTube. It makes Destination Doha look like a Walt Disney film!
It is called Dubai Road Express 1/6 - 6/6
Never mind that its in Norwegian. It’s a Scania promo and its only one truck, a 140 wagon and drag. Boy does he have some fun in the sand between Qatar and UAE !!
Best regards
GS OVERLAND
Fred