4th July 2014           11-27’C          195km Olgii – Tsambagarav – Olgii I rode out to Tsambagarav mountain today, just to admire the view.  As usual Mongolia showed yet another side of her magnificent beauty. I met a couple of old fellas riding in the opposite direction, Kazakh guys and we stopped for a chat and some photos. On the way back into Olgii, I took a different route and came across this mammoth river crossing, which I thought I would…

5-6th July 2014         0km by bike  (a few by foot) Olgii I spent the today at the Olgii nadaam festival today.  Naadam is a huge celebration in Mongolia and it seemed like the entire town had turned out for the festivities.  Despite it being held in a dusty field, I felt slightly under-dressed in jeans and a t-shirt, as all of the women and most of the men, had obviously put some effort into presenting themselves well! Naadam means “three manly sports” the three…

2nd July 2014      21-30’C       287km  dirt, rocks, gravel & sand Ulaangom – Uureg Nuur – Ulgii I left Ulaangom after a lazy start. The staff in the hotel have been playing the same song over and over for two days, at full volume.  When it reached 11:45pm last night, I’d had enough and pulled on some shorts, grabbing my phone, and walked out to reception to show the girl a translation in Russian that said “can you please turn the music down! it’s…

3rd July 2014             0km Ulgii I was sitting having breakfast when a cold chill ran over me and I got goosebumps all over.  I realised I needed to get out of there, now, right now, and find a toilet pronto!   I don’t know what I ate, could have been anything, I’ve eaten some items of dubious hygiene standards lately.  I made it to the bathroom, just.   But I now have a splitting headache, so decided to stay here for the…

1st July 2014       26’C       0km rest day Ulaangom A day of resting the body, washing clothes and doing administration & planning. Ulaangom is a very small town and there isn’t much going on. I’ve walked around the town a few times, visiting the town square complete with weeds growing between the concrete.  One of the three decent restaurants has closed down, another one has a ‘for sale’ sign hanging from the door. Usually, there are drunks hanging about at any time of…

30th June 2014      15-28’C       201km   Sand, rocks, corrugations Baruuntuurun – Ulaangom I set out at 7:30am from Baruuntuurun, the bike started ok and I was on my way.  Passing through large areas of flat desert, lots of sand, rocks and corrugations that shake everything apart. So far I have not lost a bolt or screw to the desert, only the cap to the spare fuel.  Although I have had a few screws that have shaken loose and I’ve managed to notice and tighten…

29th June 2014     12-26’C       276km (sand, sand & more sand) N49°27.726 E97°38.003 – Baruuntuurun I had a sound nights sleep, with no nocturnal visitors, animal or human. I was up at 430am with the sun, and packed up camp with a group of wild horses watching from nearby, then rode the 6km back to the trail that leads west, in the direction towards Russia. I crossed countless mountain ranges and valleys on the ride, and as I crested each rise, it was always…