Great pictures ...and countryside Serge...enjoying the recount of your adventures. Thanks for sharing.

Thursday morning and now more than half way through out tour.

We woke again, to brilliant sunshine and warm air.  The scenery that eluded us on our night time run-in, now lay before us, and it was gorgeous!  The White Lake truly was a beautiful site and the surrounds around our camp were equally as stunning.









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We had breakfast and geared up for the morning's ride.  A local 'priestess' appeared and blessed our bikes (and us) for a safe journey, which was nice.









We followed the shore-line of the lake for a long time, taking in one 'postcard' view after another, whilst still having fun scooting around the myriad of tracks to choose from.  The shore-line eventually gave way to the rolly-polly hills we'd become accustomed to and we continued on through some dry and some boggy trails.  Still lots of water crossings to contend with and we often skirted around, looking for the most appropriate place to cross.  Sometimes, we looked at the local livestock and used them as a guide for water depth.  If the water was up to a yak's belly, we knew it was deep!



















We stopped at another high-point of a mountain crossing for lunch and paid our respects at another Sharman mound.  Then descended down into a valley for more of the same.





We rode through another small village and stopped at a supermarket for a few more supplies



We soon found that our back-up transport was suffering in the ever growing heat and we had to constantly stop and wait for it to catch up with us.  then we'd wait while it cooled down a bit, then take off again.  this was starting to give us all the sh!ts as we hadn't expected to waste so much time hanging around for this truck



But wait we did!  And whilst waiting, we grumbled about the wait to each other and decided we had to say something to Mir (our interpreter).  We told her that we weren't happy about all the hanging around and she discussed it with the rest of the crew.  The up-shot was, that she'd jump on the back of Mindae's bike and go on with us to the next camp, while the truck limped along.  We were happy with this call, so once reaching the high-point of the next mountain range, our new plan was enacted!



Not surprisingly,  we started to make up some ground.  We stopped for a bit to watch one of the local Russian 'Bongo' vans get pulled out of a bog (that we breezed through) and hightailed it into our camp.



And before long, we caught site of our diggs for the night.







As soon as we arrived, we parked the bikes but Mindae turned around and headed back out to meet up with the truck and make sure all was going OK.  The truck had all our gear, so we couldn't shower and get changed.  instead, we headed to the bar for some (lots) of beers.  It was a great way to spend the afternoon!  About two hours later, the truck arrived and the porters brought our bags to our girs.  We showered and changed and headed to the dining room for dinner, where we were presented with one of the best meals so far.  Lots of bite sized, fried pieces of goodness which I'm telling myself was chicken.  Whatever it was, it was yummy and so abundant that we couldn't eat it all, so Mir made up a doggy bag of trail snacks for tomorrow.

We'd covered around 300ks today and again, everyone was feeling pretty knackered by day's end, so bed time was relatively early (and welcomed).

Thanks for keeping us updated on your trip Serge.

Really good photos of somewhere I'd never have considered as a riding destination...

Hope the 2nd half  of your journey is as enjoyable as this half has been.

It's Friday!

A tradition of the Himalayan Heroes group id 'Fancy Pants Friday' and all riders are encouraged to participate.  As a bit of fun, we're all asked to wear some kind of 'outrageous' covering over our lower half and everyone was happy to join in!



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The morning looked good as we pulled on our 'fancy pants', but there was an ominous chill to the air.  Still. it was bright and sunny so what could go wrong!




Clouds, that's what!





The weather in Mongolia can change about as quickly as it does in the High Country, given that the place is one mass of mountain ranges and valleys, so it wasn't unusual to expect some variation in climatic conditions.  we headed out and traversed the same type of terrain that we have become accustomed to, battling our way through the usual herds of livestock and waving at the nomads.  Somewhere along the way, Gary had an off and when we re-grouped, his mates pointed this out, so the ceremonial shirt hand-over was to take place.  this time however, there wasn't as much mirth and merriment, as Gary had done some serious damage to his shoulder and it showed as he tried to get dressed.





We pulled into a small town for fuel and Gary decided he was hurting too much to continue riding, so we loaded his bike onto the support vehicle (which was enjoying the cooler conditions) and continued on our way. We had a bit of a road stint to contend with, so we pulled over at a wayside stop and everyone clambered into their warm and wets.  Mindae didn't have such gear, so he grabbed a long raincoat and put it on backwards, then sticky-taped it around his arms, legs and waist to make sure it stayed in place.  No sooner had we geared up, then the rain started.  And very soon after, so did the HAIL!  Earlier in this report, I posted a video of the hail and it was treacherous.  Heavy and consistent, it quickly turned to road into a slippery, scary ride with zero visibility.  I rode behind the truck, just to get an idea of where I was going, I'm not sure how the others fared.  the hail lasted for a half hour or more and needless to say, we were soaked through and COLD!

When it eventually subsided, it left ocean size puddles everywhere.  it wasn't safe to pull the camera out so I don't have any evidence, but it was a mess.  Once we got off the bitumen and headed into our camp for the night, the conditions got even worse!  Those puddles turned into bogs, with cars and bikes stopped everywhere, trying to work out how to get through.  We came to a river crossing with vehicles stuck in the middle of the raging torrent, but given we were already so wet, we just poughed in and made it across easily.  Naturally, the locals all got their cameras out to film the crazy white guys!  On our way again and I noticed a rider on my left side.  Assuming it was one of our guys, I took a quick look, and then a double-take as it was a local guy (on his Shineray 150), having a run with the boys!  he was having a whale of a time, bouncing over the rough terrain and grinning like a mad-man.  His wife however, was less that impressed!  She was hanging on for dear life with one hand and beating the shit out of him (to slow down) with the other!  Eventually, he gave up and I'll bet it was a cold old night in the gir for him that night.

Riding into the camp was gonna take a while, as the road was crap and it was a long way around lake Khuvsgul, but we plodded along, cold and wet and by now quite tired.  Suddenly, Mindae lept off his bike and started dancing around, pointing at me and at his legs.  I went to him to try and understand what was going on and in his broken English I finally understood the word 'piss'!  He needed a leak and couldn't get out of his rainwear!  he knew I had a knife and wanted me to cut off the tape so he could do his business.  I did and he was best pleased!

Full steam into the camp now, to fine our girs were actually traditional teepees and the fires were burning brightly inside.  We peeled off our wet gear and hung the stuff as best we could to dry out.





After which we grabbed some beers and headed down to the lake to take in the scenery and relax in the calm-after-the-storm.  It was still quite cool and mounds of hail were still piled up around the place.





A warming shower and then off for dinner was in order.  by the time we got back into out gir, the gear had started to dry out and the air was steamy (and not too pleasant) in the tent.  Still, we were dry and thankful for that.  We'd travelled around 250ks today and were feeling it!

Go Serge - good stuff despite the pants    

Time to get this saga finished!

We were going to be at lake Khuvsgul for two nights, so this morning was planned to be an easy/rest day.  The only riding activity was a scoot up the Khoridol Saridag mountain, so we had a very leisurely morning and geared up for a 10:00 start.  All the guides recommended that Gary sit this ride out, but he wasn't having it and popped some pills in preparation for the run . It was another calm and sunny morning, but there was plenty of evidence of yesterdays storms.  We scooted around the Lake for about 20 mins or so, before we came to a boom gate. 

Now, Lake Khuvsgul is big!  140 kms long and 90 kms and deep, very deep.  It borders Russia on its northern shore and contains something like 5% of the worlds fresh water.  it sits 1600 meters above sea level and is flanked by the Saridag Mountain range, home to deer, bear, lynx, reindeer, moose and several other species.  unfortunately, we saw nothing! the boomgate mentioned earlier is to control visitors to the area, as it is their equivalent of a National Park, which means only Government vehicles are supposed to ascend this particular track, that is of course, unless you grease the appropriate palms! We applied such lubrication and our entry was granted!

The climb was a hoot!  about 10 ks long, it afforded brilliant views of the Lake and surrounds, but was quite tricky to navigate, especially for our more 'road oriented' riders.  Onion and I had a blast, although I kept at at the back playing 'tailman'.  We passed lots of walkers (crazy), who were doing what the track was designed for, who all looked at us with envy as we cruised by!



At the top we marveled at the view.











There were lots of Sharman 'prayer' mounds around the top.





Having spent a while there soaking up the view, it was time to descend.  Mindae the guide was quite concerned about going back down, as a rider on a previous ride had an off and did some serious damage to himself.  So we took it easy to start, but I was struggling with the slow downhill pace.  At one point, we stopped to let a group of horse riders pass and Onion and I saw this as our opportunity to break away.  Once clear, we were off and scooted down the track at a more acceptable pace.  Mindae caught up with us and could see that we had some idea of what we were doing, so let us roll.  At the bottom, he came up to me, put his arm around my shoulder, gave me the 'thumbs-up' sign and said, "good!"  I think he was pleased.

We realized we were only about 90ks from the Russian border, so there was debate about going up there and maybe 'sneaking' in.  We then considered (knowing our luck), that some trigger-happy Ruski may fire a couple of warning shots directly at our heads, so we decided not to go.  back around the Lake to camp and the whole ride was done in a bit over an hour.

Back at camp, our guides lit a fire and treated us to a traditional Mongolian BBQ lunch, with plenty of beers and (some) vodka, to signify the end of our trip.  It was a lovely afternoon (I think!)







That evening we had a magnificent sunset, before heading off for dinner.

Last Day of Riding.

Today's ride was simply getting back to civilization(?) and the northern capital of Moron, (yes, the irony of the town's name was not lost on us!)  We followed the same route as our trip in, this time however, we were not hammered by rain.  There were still plenty of puddles around, but we didn't need to traverse the raging river and we could take advantage of the view.

The run back to Moron was pretty uneventful, a bit of dirt, a bit of gravel and a lot of road.  We stopped at 50/100, which was the geographical point of 50 degrees longitude and 100 degrees latitude (or vice versa, I don't remember) and rode into town soon after lunch.  We unloaded our gear, watched as the bikes were packed onto the trailer and bade our farewells to to crew who were driving back.  We. on the other hand, were flying back to UB in the morning, so it was drinky time!



We visited the worlds most un-amusing, amusement park and although it was another public holiday, it was shut!  no problems, like everyone else, we just pushed the gate open and walked in.  It was a hideous place, lots of novelty sculptures made of concrete that were crumbling away, weeds everywhere and a pedal-powered roller coaster that neither rolled or coasted!





We climbed aboard a mini Pirate Swing and managed to get it going just by people power, although as the kiddies came over to join in the fun, we though better of out activity and stopped the motion.   We had a walk around 'Buddha World', then decided it was all too depressing and went in search of more beer.



We dined out at a local restaurant, which was quite pleasant and eventually headed off to our hotel (no more girs), for bed.

The following morning it was time to head to the airport for our return flight to Ulaanbattar.   As we drove into the airport, we could see our plane waiting on the tarmac.



But they couldn't get it started, so they bought in a replacement.



The flight back was also un-eventful and upon arrival, Onion, Bruce and I were transported to our hotel, which was very nice indeed!  Finally, a couple nights of luxury to see out our Mongolian adventure.  We stayed in UB for the next three days, doing a bit more local sightseeing and dining.  Bruce and I ventured out to the Chingis Khan monument (which was an adventure of its own) and marveled at this stainless steel colossus.









Then, before we knew it, it was time to head to the airport and prepare for our long voyage home.  next stop, Hong Kong and the Melbourne.  And so ends another great riding trip.

wow  ... 
thanks Serg

I finally sat down to read about the Adventure, you did a great job Serge. " As Expected"