Day two of off-road riding and it’s a shorter day, with fewer steep hills so I’m sure that people will be into camp in better time. Off with the sun and onto the first of the long steady climbs for…
Shaken not stirred (stage 13)
Today has been our first off-road day which has been great fun – nice to break up the tarmac with some gravel and dirt! A welcome change to our routine this morning – bags not required until 0600, the same…
That’s more like it (stage 12)
Last night’s dinner was somewhat comical when it came time to get the bill as we tried to split shares in a 263,000. The pile of notes at the end was huge! A chilly start this morning with -1 as…
A day in Ulaanbaatar
Today has been a very welcome rest day, and after a late breakfast I spent much of the morning finishing and uploading blog posts and images before heading out for a wander round town. Today has been the festival “Splendor…
This isn’t what I envisioned (stage 11)
Unfortunately camping wasn’t the best option, as there were also two dogs in the compound who didn’t really like us being there. The upshot was a spiral into no sleep – the dogs barked and woke the people, which meant…
Blowing in the wind (stage 10)
The wind continued to blow through the night – I was awake shortly after midnight and it was as strong as it had been at any point until then, but by the time we woke at 0515 it was thankfully…
Onwards towards Ulaanbaater (stage nine)
The day dawned clear, bright and calm – if a little chilly. After rider’s meeting and another great breakfast from the hotel we set off. As you can see below it was a pretty straight forward day ahead, with the…
A day in Sajnsand
Today has been our second rest day, and after the trials and tribulations of the last couple of days riding it’s been very welcome. If only Ivan and I (who I’m currently sharing a room with) had had the good…
Wind and rain and cold (stage eight)
So the rain started about midnight! This was far from a welcome development given that the wind was still blowing strongly across the desert. Knowing we had 146km to ride that day made it even less welcome! The theory went…
Welcome to Mongolia (stage seven)
In the end the border crossing proved to be relatively straight forward and something of a non-event. As planned all our bikes were loaded onto one bus, us and our bags onto the other, and off we went. To leave…