Olgii – Tsambagarav – Olgii
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 have a go at crossing. I walked it first, marking out with rocks where I wanted to cross. It was a bit trecherous, as the number and size of the rocks pushed me around alot, and of course I ended up with wet boots. I made it across the first and second sections, before I reached a part that was just too deep. I didn’t bother to walk the last part, as it looked to be above the middle of my thigh, so would have been pointless trying. Which meant I had to turn around and ride back through the previous sections all again. Thankfully I made it without dropping the bike, as it would have been a disaster if I had dunked it in the deeper spots.
Video of the crossing below
Holy shit Luke! That is some serious heart-in-you-mouth stuff. Almost enough to convince me to try getting off the tarmac sometimes. (almost!). I am loving reading and watching your journey. It is both entertaining and inspiring – thanks so much for sharing!
Kris, come over to the dirty side… You’ll love it! Although you might want to put some knobbies on the Gixxer. Or maybe a more off-road appropriate set of wheels :-). Let me know what more I need to do to convince you. :-p. And thanks for the encouragement!