It's day 5 of our tour and were all settling into the drum of get-up, breakfast and ride. Another warm morning greeted us as we headed off into the green steppes that Mongolia is known for. But it wasn't long before Onion sheepishly pulled up with a considerable amount of mud on the side of his bike and down the side of his pants!
He'd had an off (albeit a little one) and tradition dictated that it was time to transfer the yellow jersey of shame across to him. So in true form, Andy added a bit of personal filth onto the shirt and the ceremony commenced
Resplendent in his new riding top, we continued on. Through more country side, water crossings and livestock traffic jams until we pulled up, waiting for the truck to arrive for morning tea.
When the truck finally arrived, the support crew got out, shaking their collective heads. The engine was making a funny noise and the dash looked like a disco with all the warning lights coming on and off. the bonnet was lifted and the engine bay examined and eventually the problem was found. The bearing on the fan belt tensioning roller had collapsed and the belt was getting ground away on the fan housing. it took quite a while to pull the assembly out, but only seconds to replace the bearing. And although the vehicle was American and put together with AF bolts, the bearing was metric and the same size as an XR wheel bearing, which the support crew had in spare! So, eventually the whole thing was put back together, but it took nearly 4 hours to do the job, so we were considerably behind time.
We got moving on into the next town for an un-scheduled lunch stop. Once again, as soon as we pulled up in front of a restaurant, locals came out to have a look and kids climbed all over the bikes.
After lunch, we grabbed some more beer and supplies at a supermarket. Onion wanted to get some more cash, so he used a local ATM, but it swallowed his card! Not something you want to happen in a foreign country. One of the support crew ran around to the affiliated bank and a bank representative open the machine, found Onion's card and returned it. What great service. I can't imagine that happening in Australia!
So after this extra set-back, we hightailed it back to the main road and tried to make up some time. We stopped to have a break and take some more pics of the Tamir River and waited for the truck again.
Although the truck was 'fixed', it was overheating as the now damaged fan belt had worn to half its original size and was slipping on the pulleys. Nothing to do for it now other than to nurse it along, so we continued on our merry way, stopping for increasing longer periods to wait for the limping truck.
The plan was to stop at an extinct volcano at Khorgo, a popular tourist spot. On arrival, we noted that it was starting to edge toward twilight. Our guide said that was a good time, as it meant the CLIMB to the top would not be so hot. CLIMB, no one said anything about a CLIMB! But off we went and it wasn't long before we were all, heaving from the exertion. I passed a lung about half way up, but I noted where it was so I could pick it up on the way down. The path was covered in volcanic scree and was very slippery but we eventually made our way to the top.
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After spending a half hour or so, checking out the views and allowing our heart rates to return to normal, the call was made to head down as it was starting to get quite dull. looking around, we noticed that two of the guys were missing and we eventually noticed them INSIDE the crater and making their way down to its core. our guide was less than impressed and this would take them the better part of an hour to return. The rest of us headed back to the bikes and when we got their, our guide and ride leader were in hot debate as to what to do. We decided to wait for them and by the time they returned, it was dark.
So, under dirt-bike headlights, we made our way into camp. We still had an hour or so to travel, so this was gonna be interesting. now, I'm not a big fan of riding off-road in the dark, but I must admit, the ride was a blast, easily one of MY highlight of the trip! And considering Bruce hadn't done much trailriding before this trip, he handled it rather well. The video I posted earlier in this report will show a little of what the run was like, but it was better in person.
so we finally made our way into camp and headed strait for the (cold) showers before a late dinner. we'd arrived around 10:00 and the water heaters had been switched off at 9:00. Still, dinner was hot and the vodka that the crew had bought us (as thank you for helping with the truck) helped to warm our bodies.
I know I slept well that night!