Tentative Route in Central Asia and Russia

I have reviewed maps of Central Asia and Kazakhstan, as well as other sources, and I think the best entry point is via Baku and the ferry to Turkmenbashi.  I'm not interested in seeing a lot of Turkmenistan, although Mary and Merv would be good to see.  However, I think I would rather see Urgench and Khiva in Uzbekistan.  That means it looks like I ride the M37 to Ashgabat (553km), then north on A381 to Nukus (573km) in Uzbekistan.  From there I can travel southeast to see Urgench and Khiva, then back on to A380 to Bukhara, then the M37 or similar to Samarqand.

Khiva (for a brief stop), Bukhara and Samarqand are on the must see list, and the latter two deserve a couple of days at least to take them in.  After that, I am uncertain where to go, and solicit any input from you and others who have recently been on the ground there.

From Samarqand, I could take the A377 to M34 and down to Dushanbe (266km), with the goal of getting to Osh.  If it is possible to get a permit for the Pamir Highway, I want to do that.  

After I get to Osh, by whichever route, then I think it is just up M41 through Jalal-Abad and Kara-Kol to Kara-Balta and M39, then in to Bishkek.  From Bishkek M33 to Almaty.  I'm not interested in seeing Astana, the new capitol, so I want to get into Russia and east to Mongolia.  It looks like the A350 to Semey and from there the A349 to Barnaul is the best bet, and then M52 through the Altai Mountains and into Mongolia.  There are tracks then that will take me south and east to the area of the Flaming Cliffs at Byanzag and Yolyn Am Canyon. If permits are needed to see the dinosaur fossils at Byanzang, I would like to obtain those, or a tour.

From there I will ride north to Ulaanbaatar (maybe a side trip to Karakorum), A165 to Ulan-Ude, and then the M55 to Irkutsk.  Then it is the M55 to Krasnoyarsk and Novosibirsk.  From there I will head east through Russia and on to Northern Europe to Antwerp.