shecyclesolo

Day 157 574 days to go. Distance today 85km total 8538km. It’s 9pm Saturday 5/5/2012 15km west Erdenesant. I’m sitting here on the tent bag in front of our campsite looking at an incredibly full yellow moon. The goats from the ger we found have just come in from the day and the noise of hungry babies trying to find their mother and the herd settling is soo wonderfully loud!! Farmers keep the babies aside as the rest of the herd go and graze for the day. By the time they return in the evening it’s on!! Demanding baby goats by the dozens are just the best sound so amplified in the valley. It’s a wide huge expanse of country and we’ve been spoilt by its blue skies and challenged by its open plains and hills. The ger folk welcomes us with warmed cows milk and a soft cheese that tasted like parmesan yum. The family have each visited over the course of the last hours checking us out and sharing friendly conversation about ‘who knows but it doesn’t matter.’ There’s three boofy dogs that look so vicious but are just big puppies happy to hang out with us in the campsite. In the cool of the evening folk put on a colored over dress pulled in the waist with a sash and leather outer ugg boots. The goats all paired now with their mothers are being led closer to the ger. The women were so busy when the herd first arrived carrying babies under each arm helping them find their mother. The mix of cries and sneezes are hilarious. They are so busy and clearly all in a days life here in Mongolia. People can set up the ger anywhere without permission and keep their herd on the land. It’s a true nomadic philosophy in practice. It appears many keep a semi permanent residence. I saw today a group of about 5 golden eagles soaring overhead as we headed out of Erdenesant. I tried to get a photo but was too busy squealing and enjoying the moment. What an incredible sight and these birds are every bit as huge as yo imagine so a group of them was overwhelming. By the amount of goat pellets around out campsite we’re in a clearing where they like to graze. By the amount of protesting sneezes they’re not impressed. Of course it’s a nice grassy patch good for grazing and camping so tonight they have to share. Today was again beautiful but tough going and mentally soo hard. I had a good dose of electrolyte at lunch to get through the arv but very tidey wides tonight. I could even be cranky except there’s nothing to be cranky about J The country so far has blown me away for its remote beauty and wild open expanse. I am very fortunate to be here and feel every bit how special this place is. Blue dog and Miss J joined me today on Rube and despite getting a bit sunburnt they loved it!! J More sunblock for all of us tomorrow. My new hat with the face and neck cover is working a total treat despite looking like a dick. Camo of all colors!!!!! J Talk soon x

Day 156 575 days to go. Distance today 73km yesterday 91km total 8453km. It’s 9pm Friday 4/5/2012 70km east Erdenesant. Im sitting in front of the tent at our campsite looking out at the nearly full moon and the first evening star. Twilight lasts for about an hour so I can still still see out over the grassy plains and hills down into the valley where there’s a river. The summer grass is starting to peep through the brown of winter across the hills the plains. Makes for very happy cows, sheep, horses, goats, birds and marmots (ground squirrels). Our campsite is by the ger where we stopped and asked if we could pitch our tent which they generously obliged. They have shared their store of water and have just brought us some of their dinner which is noodles and cooked lamb and onions. We exchanged it for some noodles and bars and candy. It’s a husband and wife about 60 years old and their son lives in another ger about 100m away. He tends to the herd while the father looks on and checks all is good. They have 4 dogs I have nicknamed Mrs, Mr, Grandad and baby Marley as their thick coats are shedding and matted in the best dreads. The dogs have dined on sheeps heads and our left overs so very happy puppies. Kang said that Mongolian dogs are ‘all bark no bite’ and so far he’s been spot on yay!! Dogs here are built for the wild conditions my waist height and weight. There are so many birds mostly tweet tweet birds so active in the grass plains. Yesterday we camped at a ger where Kang stayed last year . He was so happy to see the family still lived there. I saw a mated pair of blue grey cranes and one was jumping and flapping his wings dancing. Their call is unique and distinct. I saw a craven bludgeon a pigeon in mid flight then take it to the ground to de-feather and devour it. I also saw a marmot no bigger than a squirrel come out of its hole, check me out and scamper about a bit before disappearing safe into his borrow. The lady from the ger has just come out and is enjoying watching me type and telling me a story about the dogs and sheep. She is so friendly with a weathered but happy face and beautiful smile. She keeps muttering Mongolian all the while sounding more like amazement than anything and always smiling. Their skin is so weathered but they look really healthy and happy. And no wonder. This place is beautiful, it’s wild and such an expanse of grass and hills and nothing much elseness. Pure raw and wondrous beauty. It was great meeting the family last night that Kang had stayed with last year. I played kicking shuttle cock with the children christening the one I bought in Beijing.  I also got to ride one of their horses. The man has won a place at the Nadaam festival the last years and has photos of his win on the wall of the ger pride of place. They loved sharing the photos kang took last year. Rural folk here must be so tought living simply as they do in the harshest of winter and summer conditions. Gers are a wooden frame round structure with wool lining and a marquee cover and hard padded door. Inside the are a simple affair of beds and some cupboard space with a cast iron cooker and chimney to let out the smoke from the burning animal dung. Gers all face the south to protect the entrance from the wicked northerly that blows. The man last night told us to pitch our tent the same. They served us a bowl of fresh cow’s milk yogurt when we arrived and left this morning. They also gave us a bowl of cow’s milk to heat up and have with coffee. It made the best latte that even my poppy would be happy with (x) On dusk it gets very cold quick and a chill bill breeze blows up. We’ve cycled headwinds over the two days and long ascents. It’s been tough cycling particularly given the month off from anything too much but I’ve loved every moment. We’re at about 1200m. I feel like there’s so much to share so tonight’s just a snippet and start to a wonderful journey ahead. Besides he hills and headwind we’re also battling the heat-Can you believe it? I am so prepared for a change in weather but will be very happy if it never comes!! Tomorrow’s another day!! Talk soon x

 

Day 152 579 days to go. Distance: today/yesterday 0km total 8267 km. Its 10.00pm Monday 30/4/2012 Ulaanbaatar. Yay we’re all good to go. Kangshinbai has the all clear from his girlfriend and has asked we leave Wednesday so 2 more sleeps yayayayayaya. I’m so excited. It is really special to be starting what has been a long time in the planning given the logistics needed to cycle Mongolia, Russia and the Stans. I must also add it’s been an axious time with a huge leap forward in wild adventure, challenge and a big chunk of unknown. It’s time and I feel as ready as I’m going to be. The anx has been so eased knowing I’ll be sharing the first days with Kangshinbai who has become a good friend and who has a head full of all good stuff for what’s down the road. It’s going to be my first real GPS experience. We have spent a good part of today entering in the coordinates and tomorrow practice hopping between waypoints. I have a few final things to do tomorrow like refueling and cleaning Rube. I also hope to be able to download the Lonely Planets for the next countries to Turkey using iCloud. It’ll be good if it works not to have to cary the weight of the books. Otherwise it’s all thumbs up and a nice feeling. Today I went back to the bike shop and my buddy there who gave me some Mongolian pronunciation lessons much to his amusement and my frustration. Poor bugga I think I spittled all over him trying to get the ‘hacking’ sounds out. The sounds are really difficult for my mouth to make much like Asians trying to sound our ‘th. ‘He exchanged a few tubes I had bought extra which was great. I have been trying to cull my gear and weight so also posted back home some clothes and a Mongolian postcard for Robbie C (x). This afternoon I went to the internet cafe and read up on the registration requirement for Russia. I also downloaded the photos from the last posts and checked out the lonely planet PDFs. This evening I took Kangshinbai out to dinner to say ‘thankyou’ much to his discomfort and my persistence. We went to another Korean restaurant and the food is truly fabulous. If you haven’t had Korean before treat yourself. I could just eat all the side dishes. The assortment of tastes are fun and fabulous. Last night was just nuts. The guesthouse folk had told me there was a party of folk arriving after 10pm. This ‘party’ ended up being about 14 drunken, singing, card playing, cheering men on some city jaunt to UB. OMG it was entertaining but nuts as they partied on until after 4am when I think I passed out. I woke at 6am and they were back into it or maybe they didn’t go to bed who knows. The room was full of cigarette butts and vodka bottles and food scraps and very eeeeeeeeek. I went back to sleep and woke after 9am to my folks calling me on Skype. Sorry darlings but at least you know the earplugs you gave me back in Hue work a treat. They weren’t near enough to muffle the raucous last night but. Every now and again a fella would come over and slap me a hello and a thumbs up. I’d smile and cheer back then put my head back under the doona. They were to leave today but are staying another night so Kangshinbai and I have moved into a double room to get some zzzz’s. It’s about 20000 each but worth it to have a good night sleep. So tomorrow’s my last day in UB and what seems like an eternity since I cycled into Beijing. It’ll be a month since then and I have a very healthy winter layer to fuel the next stint. As much as it keeps me warmer I’m looking forward to waving it goodbye and welcoming some decent activity again. We work better when we’re physically working hard for the money honey!! All that aside it’s one peddle and post at a time ending the day safe and sound with everything extra a bonus. Who knows what bonuses lay ahead hey? Are you ready to take the plunge? Yay!!! It’s very nice knowing you are there to share stage 2 in the adventure. Talk soon x

Day 151 580 days to go. Distance: today/yesterday 0km total 8267 km. Its 12.20pm Sunday 29/4/2012 Ulaanbaatar. I’ve just checked the weather report for UB from today to Thursday 3/5/12 when I head off singing ‘into the wild blue yonder rain or snow zippitty-ay’. This is a song my Dad sings and very appropriate for Mongolia don’t you think Poppy 🙂 Today 13 degrees then 14, 19, 23, 26, 27 (Fri). Can you believe it? On Friday that will be a temperature difference of 40 degrees in the last week crazy stuff!! I more more happy now knowing I have better gear to swing with mother nature’s good and bad days in between seasons. God bless her mittens and bikinis. And all in the one day if she so chooses 🙂 I do have the best news!!! Kangshinbai asked yesterday if he could cycle with me for the first 5 days then he will turn back to UB. How bloody good is this? ‘That would be great my friend!!’ He has checked out and moved to his apartment this morning and has also invited me to stay with him from tomorrow to when we head on Thursday. This is as long as it’s ok with his female friend here in UB which he’s checking today. Hopefully it’ll be all good but we’ll see. It was a genuine offer to share some adventure and regardless I’ll head on Thursday. I am as best prepared as I can be in the circumstances with my GPS route coordinates and PDF Lonely Planets and warm gear and tires sorted and new speedometer and washed clean tent, and Kazakh visa, and mongolian visa registration/extension, and Rubels/USD/Torog and an Australian and Mongolia flag for Rube and and and and……. No wonder my head was spinning when I first arrived. That’s when it wasn’t frozen. Holy Mr Freeze Batman……. 🙂 Kangshaibai helped me with the tires. As it turns out I was fully inflating the tubes without centering them properly. This was forcing the valve up the rim socket on an angle. With the right pressure at the wrong angle the rim was slicing the valve at it’s base. So now Ive had a ‘changing tyre’ lesson 101 and all sorted big yay. Thank you Scotty and Marcus for your tips. As it turns out it wasn’t a complex issue but the tube and me that needed re alignment 🙂 xx I head off now to do the last bit of shopping including an Aussie and Mongolian flag. Kangshaibai told me about a souvenir shop nearby that sells all flags from around the world. He has a Korean one he flies off his trailer. Mum has sewn me and Rube a flag to record where we cycle as we go. So between this and the other I should be able to put something cool together to hang off my girl. Rube’s very excited. Anything for attention I think. When our adventure is done I know she has a future on the stage 🙂 Yesterday was a full logistics day which included unpacking and checking the tent that all was in order. OMG thank goodness I did. You may recall the last time we tented was in Vietnam over 2 1/2 months ago. Apparently it was wet the morning we packed up and that bit of info fell out of my head on the way out of the National Park. So after recovering from my dry reach, I jumped into the shower with the tent and washed his moldy bits to a state less eeeek. He got hung out in the afternoon air and sun and warmed in front of the central heating in the evening. Last night he flashed me a huge grin knowing how spunky he smells. Double yay I say. The tent’s our home for the next weeks so it’s nice to have it looking every bit a cool pace to nest and visit. We’ve got jobs us Aussie ambassadors so got to look the part 🙂 We can’t have folk running off into the Gobi to escape our Mouldy pong. That won’t do at all 🙂 I had the most beautiful skype with my folks this morning. I introduced Kangshaibai to them. He had my ear phones on but I could see Mum was wishing him well and thanking him in details for helping their baby. Unfortunately he didn’t understand a word but knew they meant well. I do the same forgetting in his good company that his English does not include colorful Australian. Our conversations are slow and deliberate with drawings and translators and acting out. He laughs at me and enjoys these butterfly moments. I apologize and we pick up where I left 🙂 I cracked up this morning as I caught us both humming the tune played by the rubbish truck man. It’s much like Mr Whippy and the ice cream van back home. They cruse the streets playing their tune to let folks know they’re about. In this case it lets people know to bring out their rubbish for him to collect. He said they also have these singing rubbish trucks in Korea. I’m picturing our mucho garbo’s back home and don’t think they quite fit the idea. It may not accessorize well with their blue singlet and stubby persona. It’s after 2pm and time now to get into my list for the day. I’m happy with an edge of anx taken off given my list of to-do’s are nearly done. With the help from by buddy Rube and I can hear the Mongolian steppe beckoning. I haven’t given you my itinerary as yet so I’ll include it below. I also got an email from home that our pooches have had a camping holiday with friends. They had their own tent and lots of swims and treats finished with a hyrdo bath on the way home. Pretty soon it’ll be Mummy Who? Just joking!!! I love the photos my partner forwarded on, so I have included them in the post. Do you think they had fun? It’s the best comfort knowing they’re safe and well and being cared for and spoilt and into all sorts of naughtiness given every opportunity. How wretchedly perfect! I also want to send a special thank you for your comments and email contact and to let you know just how much they mean to me. It is so NOT shecyclesolo but shecyclesupported. So from the tip of my my toasty toes …… I send as many thank you’s as there are kind folk in this world.. By the way that’s a fair few and then some as I’m discovering !!! Talk soon x

Timeframe: 30 days
Total 1853km Ave 62km @ day
Alternative travel options exist by van, jeep or trucks. Using the GPS I will enter the coordinates every 25km or as needed at intersecting roads etc. We will then bunny hop between coordinates keeping to the route. Once the roads become unpaved road finding is tricky and the GPS is a very useful bit of kit to stay on track.

Stage 1 – Ulaanbaatar to Tsetserleg (485km)
Road: International road AH32 (state roads A0301, AO601, A0602)
Route: Ulaanbaatar, Lun (135km) , Erdenesant (83km), Rashant (43km), Harhorin (105km), Holton (35km), Tsenher (59km), kTsetserleg (25km)

Stage 2 – Tsetserleg to Uliastay (546km)
Road: International road AH32 (state roads A0603, A1102)
Route: Tsetserleg, Intamir (26km), Tariat (135km), Tsahir (62km), In Uul (94km), Tosontsengel (43km), Telmen (61km), Uliastay (124km).

Stage 3 – Uliastay to Hovd (503km).
Road International road AH32 (state roads A28, A1701)
Route: Uliastay, Dorgan (455km), Myangati, Buyant to Hovd (48km).

Note: This section is mapped in part as sandune desert and sparsley populated. The next town mapped from Uliastay is Dorgon.

Stage 4 – Hovd to Tsagaannuur (319km)
Road: International road AH4 (State roads AO305, AO306, A16)
Route: Hovd, Tolbo (152km), Olgiy (70km), Tsagaannuur (68km), Border (29km)

Day 149 582 days to go. Distance: today 12km total 8267 km. Its 11.00pm Friday 27/4/2012 Ulaanbaatar. We have had such a great day!!!! Rube and I have a new buddy. Kangshinbai is the Korean fella I met on the road last Wednesday. He not only turned up for our lunch date today he’s staying at the guesthouse until his apartment becomes free next week. So him and I hung out together today yayayayyaa. Rube and I went out this morning to do some shopping. It was a beautiful day and nice to be out in it. We went back to the outdoor shop and bought some fine coolmax socks for my tootsies and a new cappy that has a face scarf you can pull up to protect the face from whatever elements. Unfortunately somewhere along our travels Rube’s speedometer has slipped out of its holder and we lost it bugga big. Not just that I had to buy another but it had our total km recorded. Oh well at least I got a photo of it at the 7999 as a momento and we certainly have lots of awesome memories of all those k’s. Time to start again. Kangshinbai and I went to the bike shop late this arv where I got more tubes and another speedometre fitted so we’re good to start clicking over again. Kangshinbai arrived about midday and while he got unpacked I went to the bank and got some Russian Rubel, USD and Torog for the trip ahead. We then went out to luch to a local Korean restaurant where I got treated to some traditional food and it was soooo delish. Korean food is on the right side of spicy. The main dish he ordered was pork and vegitables in a fabulous spicy sate sauce. I picked out the vegies yum. The main dish is then served up with all these complimentary cold side dishes of pickled spiced vegies, salads, tofu soup, a skewered mix of something, and omlet slices. Oh dear super yum. The conversatioon was jam packed with his cycling stories from the last ten years in Mongolia, Tibet, China and Nepal with me oooo’ing and ahhhh’ing like some school girl with a new hero 🙂 He’s 49 years old and a fisherman back home. Kangshinbai’s on a cycing holiday for five months, three in Mongolia and two cycling the mountains of Kyrgyzstan. He’s got the best gear and electronics. I watched a slide show of his trip last year in Mongolia cycling Ulaanbaatar to Khovsgol Nuur. Then I watched it again much to his amusement. The photos are beautiful and I can’t wait to get amongst it. I’m definately a month early but I figure I’ll be in the best season for the Russian Altai and the Stans so it’s all good. He checked out my gear and toys including the GPS. Now I have the Mongolian map downloaded onto it so how lucky am I. Like really !!!!! Understatement 101. He also has the PDFs for a bunch of lonely planets which he’s shared. Talk about all my Christmases rolled into one very generous and clever man. His said I should try to camp where possible near gers and that the big puppies bark but don’t bite. if I come across a particulalrly persistent one apparently by the time I pick up a rock, the pooch will be long gone. All great tips!!! The GPS will be a lifesaver. I will waypoint my route from the road map, every 40kms or so and bunny hop from point to point to stay on the right road. Apparently once on dirt roads it’s particularly tricky to know which road is which and the GPS is relied on heavilly to stay on track. What a comforter and again an understatement 🙂 So that’s one of my main jobs tomorrow to enter the waypoints from Ulaanbaatar to Tsagaannuur along the route I have already picked out. Even though I’m following the ‘international road’ it’s unmistakably rural once out of Ulaanbaatar. This isn’t surprising given the roads I’ve checked out and the start of open stepp plains only k’s out of town. We hung around for ages at the bikeshop talking to Nyampurev while he fitted the speedometer and adjusted the rear brake cable. It’s a cool space being amongst bike minded folk. I even got to meet Joel who popped into the shop. he’s very much the businessman and was keenly chatting to all the customers. He’s from belgium and can speak a bagful of languages. At one stage he was talking to a customer from Lebanon in Russian and I was fixated. This Lebanese fella was also very interesting in the short chat I had with him. His wife is from the Ukraine, hence the fluent Russian, and they live and work in UB. Today I got a very cool email today from a girl called Beth who’s working for an NGO with a bunch of other Australians in select Aimags acros Mongolia. She’s based in the East about 20hrs away which is a bugga because it would have been great to catch up. She’s a keen cyclist and had bought gear from the bikeshop in UB before heading out to her posting. Nyampurev had mentioned me to her and she checked out my blog and sent me an email to say hi. How cool’s that!! We’ve too’d and fro’d a few emails today and it’s been nice to have that contact. Late this evening I did a bit of have-to shopping for the trip ahead. I left Kangshinbai my head torch as he was looking for some more light to do some computer work. When I got back he had set up this amazing lighting system using two fluro USB attachments into his computer. It made my head torch look like it belonged in a museum but I love it nonetheless. So now it’s late o’clock and time for beddy byes so as to have a fresh head tomorrow for the GPS session. Did I mention how incredibly lucky I am to have met this Korean angel. I told him so just before and he said he was the lucky one 🙂 Talk soon x

Day 148 583 days to go. Distance: today 42km total 8255 km. Its 7.20pm Thursday 26/4/2012 Ulaanbaatar. I woke this morning and opened my eyes to the biggest snow flakesI have ever seen. When they hit the landing they were the size of a 20c piece. It was beautiful from the cosy comfort of bed. The snow fall didn’t last long but I managed to capture a few pickies to give you a taste of a late spring weather in UB 🙂 All fun and games ahead!! bring it on I say!! That got us up and psyched to test the new jacket and gear in chill bill conditions. It wasn’t snowing or raining but it was full on windy and friggin cold. We cycled out past the airport and to a wee town 21kms out. It was hilly and in the conditions a good workout which I loved. I just had the marino gloves and padded mitts over and they did the trick The balaclava was awesome and the jacket perrrfect. I was standing on this high point on the way back looking out over UB in the distance and the wind was wicked. Do you know how comforting it was not to feel anything through the grapes. That’s what the jacket looks like with its little purple sewn padded squares 🙂 Rubes called me ‘the grape lady’ all morning so I told her I was going back to swop it for the red one and we could be dicky twins. I haven’t hear d agrape joke since 😉 It’s feisty fun a cat fight between virgos. We both give as good as we get. She had another flat this morning – ‘what the…’ Ive emailed my bike guru friend Scotty for tips on what I’m doing wrong as that’s the 3rd flat where the tube has been cut at the base of the valve. It’s got to be something with how Im changing the tyre. Any ideas let me know? Rube nagging me to get my shi# sorted as flats are very uncool!! The only chilly bits left are my feet. I’ve been cycling with cheepy cotton socks which have done the job so fr but my feet sweat in them. Usually this isn’t an issue but in the cold it dampness freezes the tootsies big. So that’ll be my last purchase a set of merino socks. Im kinda liking this whole shopping experience but I’m a tight ar$e first so there’s no chance of succumbing to retail therapy. We got back and planned finances for Mongolia and Russia. There’s nowhere to get Russian Ruble once on the road so that was a good tip in the lonely planet to have some onboard for the first days in the Russian Altai. I’ve been emailing backwards and forward this arv with the tour company that’s helped me with the Stans planning. We’ve got a good plan B in place so that’s ben a good sorting out for now. I don’t have to think about that until Almaty which is way later across the central Asian track. It’s been nice today to email back some close friends of mine and share their news of life back home. I love my friends and family and our contact xxxxxx This afternoon my partner na dI managed a short Skype before the Timor internet shi# itself so we’ll pick that chat up tomorrow where we left it yay 🙂 It’s great to take every opportunity we can over these days in UB with wifi access and we’re both loving the regular contact 🙂 More good news…this afternoon I got a visit at the guesthouse from Kangshinbai, the korean fella I met on the road last Sunday when was cycling out to Teriji NP. We’ve got a lunch date tomorrow at 12midday and I’m soo excited. He is obviously keen to catch up too otherwise he wouldn’t have popped in and that would have been ok but a shame. He seems really lovely and very interesting. I still want to get to the internet cafe tonight before it closes to upload my photos from the last days so I’ll finish up there. Talk soon x PS have I told you lately just how much I love posting you fine folk – thank you for staying tuned in. Only 5 sleeps til take off. Even though I won’t have regular internet access please know that I’ll be posting you each night and will update the blog every chance I get. I’m sure some of those little towns will have dodgy internet cafes to keep the kids amused with their video games. My internet spidey senses are still in tuned from China so we’ll be on the keen look-out 🙂

Day 147 584 days to go. Distance: today 8km total 8213 km. Its 7pm Wednesday 25/4/2012 Ulaanbaatar. Rube and I have found ourselves on top one of hills that surround UB just in time for sunset yay. The hill is to the south of the city with the Zaisan Memorial on it’s peak built by the Russians to commemorate ‘unknown solders and heroes from various wars. It offers the best views of UB and surrounding peaks. To the west is the hill with the ‘Soyombo’ national symbol carved into it’s sloped side. This is the symbol on the Mongolian flag and signifies freedom and independence. The hill has a very clea path up it’s side and a prayer pole ontop so that may be us for tomorrow’s sunset. This is a very cool way indeedy to see the sun set on whats been a fun and productive day. Yesterday we went to the Kazakh embassy and was able to apply for a 30 day single entry visa to pick up this arv. Not quite what we had in mind as we wanted a double entry 60 day visa, but that’s all the consulate fella said he could issue so we took what we could get. I was actually just happy to get inside the compound as they wouldn’t let us in initially. I hung around and eventually this man from the embassy arrived and asked us what we wanted and made a couple of calls to get us on the inside. An hour later we popped out all done yay. The afternoon was spent doing logistics with a skype chat with my partner a particularly delish highlight. I’ve made a list of to-dos and will slowly chip away at that amongst fitting in some cool stuff to share with you over the next days. We aim to leave Tuesday 2/4/2012 westwards towards the Russian border with a whole lot of Mongolian adventures in between. I was hoping to do my post from up here but it’s too cold for the hands so I’ll head back to the guesthouse and continue there a bit more cozier with a coffee num num. be back soon x

It’s 8.30pm and we’re of the mountain and propped nup at the table to continue the post with a coffee boiled up using the multi-stove. One of my to-dos is to see how long a canister of unleaded fuel lasts so this was out second boil up and not yet dinted. Yesterday I plotted a route with distances between towns. All towns have fuel signs on the map so hopefully the one container will last the 2-3 days in between. I may yet purchase a second fuel bottle to cover the longer distances. I emailed Joal and Khaliun from the UB bike shop my route to get some feedback and haven’t heard back from them as yet but we should be able to meet up this weekend which will be good fun and a good chance to bounce off some questions and get some more info from a local perspective. I had an epiphany before just how much I enjoy and use this posting time to keep me on the sane side of crazy and grounded. Being in Beijing with the folks I got out of the routine of posting while we soaked up every precious bit of time together. Since ariving in UB Ive been very distracted with the Mongolian challenge ahead and keeping myself calm with doing my have-tos. Posting however is definitely not a have-to and its a real comfort for me tonight to acknowledge just how much this time means for me to share my day to day with you. Lots of warm and fuzzies yay 🙂 So after my skype yesterday I wrote up a palm card of the cyrillic alphabet and headed out into town to pay for my visa and do some shopping. I’m slowly getting my head around the alphabet and practicing recognizing the English equivalents. I went through all my gear yesterday in particular my clothes and decided I needed an all purpose jacket to keep me warm and dry when cycling as opposed to layering up with what I have. It does the job but is really bulky and arduous to get on and off so not user friendly for the day to day cycling in this moody wild climate. I tried on a few options and slept on it over night. I had another skype date this morning then went back to the shops and am now the proud owner of a purple Jack Wolfskin all weather coat. It’s very nummy and pretty. It’s stitched down, waterproof to 6000mm much like a tent’s rating and fits snug with a build in hoody. Ive taken a picky to show off the new purchase. It was $130 Aus (T160 000) comparably expensive here but not compared to prices at home so again money well spent yay. Getting me to spend dollars is like pulling teeth and I definitely don’t suffer impulsive shopping. I had the choice of red or purple but it’s very uncool to wear the same colored gear as those you travel with so Rube and I are together in all our individuality glory ready to tackle the dodgy roads and conditions that lay ahead 🙂 I collected my Kazakh visa today hassle free and sent an email off to the travel agency in Almaty who I have been working with during pre-trip planning. I hope to have a few options on how to manage the Kazakh visa once there so I’ll wait to hear from them to see which one is a viable and recommended option. It’s just a relief to know we can cross the Russian/Kazakh border on the 14/6/2012 and take it from there. With my Uzbek visa I’ll have 57 days to plan something awesome for the Stans. Time wise that’s not so far away but what’s happening in between is a huge expanse of unknown and unplanned adventures. The nerves are spiking with excitement now I feel ontop of logistics and can see what I hope will be a safe road ahead starting next Tuesday. I popped into the bike shop today to buy some more tubes and say hi to Nyam Purev. We ended up spending over an hour together using his translator, photos and drawings to share some stories. He had his camera there and I had my little family brag album so there was lots to share over a ‘mongolian cola’ his shout. I gave him the other half of my Gatorade container opting for half to keep the weight down and he thought it was Christmas. Nyam is a real sweatie. He is 27 years old and lives 10km away cycling downhill to work and uphill home each day. He said the picture of our home was his dream house 🙂 Him and his partner and 3 dogs live in the country. Nyam explained that Mongolia is 60% countryside, 25% cities and 15% small townships. They love the fresh air and space of the country but may move to a town in the future when they have enough money. Now they live in a small house with a fence around. I took a photo of his drawing of their home. Before we headed he took Rube for a ride and gave her the thumbs up saying how very cool she is. Rube kept raving about her new boyfriend all the way up the mountain this arv. I carried her up the flight of steps to the monument on the top so we could share the views and it was ‘Nyam this….Nyam that….. 🙂 This was in between her cracking hand bag jokes as I carried her on my shoulder. Love my very cheeky girl!! The photos from the top are great. The views are out over the city and surrounding mountain ranges. There’s a huge golden Buddha statue and landmark which the sun was setting behind on the way down. I got some good photos with the statue looking out over the industrial side of UB. It looked pretty ironic with serenity v’s industry v’s the natural beauty of sunset and made for an interesting picky. I’ve read briefly about some amazing monasteries in town and there’s a walking tour in the Lonely Planet that takes you passed the highlights. That’s definitely on the cards over the next days. It’s after 10pm when the internet place closes so Ill upload the photos tomorrow. The fella who runs the guesthouse just popped in and was very curious about the multi-stove. He was all hands on deck wanting to turn it on and light the petrol eeeeeeek. i jumped in and gave him a demo on how to light it and got the thumbs up without blowing the place up which is always a bonus. One of the students translated as best she could about me trying to find out how long a canister of petrol will last and I think he got it. So that’s me for tonight. I sent some family emails earlier today and still want to reply to emails from friends but I may leave that ’til the morning. Sounds like a pretty nice way to start a Thursday emailing my buddies back home. Time for a late dinner snack. Talk soon x

Day 145 586 days to go. Distance: today 32km total 8205 km. Its 4.45pm Monday 23/4/2012 Ulaanbaatar. Hi there fine fine folk. I’ve got 15min before my skype date with my partner so thought I’d make a start on the post to have something to attach the photos to later. It’s been a really successful day for logistics, managing the weather, gear shopping and I heard from the bike shop folk here in UB. They have asked I pop in today so I’m going to try find the shop after our date as it’s open until 9pm awesome!!! I woke this morning to it snowing and lots of it. Rube and I rugged up and headed out to Immigration. It was a chilly ride but beautiful in the countryside all covered in snow and showing off it’s wildness. They registered and extended my visa all in the one visit which was fabulous and relatively hassle free yay. My hands were a bit chill bill (understatement) and I was contemplating how to manage this better when I passed an outdoor shop on the way back into town. They had some great gear and good prices. So after lots of scheming and playing with options I came away with merino base layer gloves and hyde mittens with removable wool lining. I also bought a fitted balaclava which is wonderful. The woman in the shop enjoyed playing with options with me and it was fun to bounce off ideas even though she couldn’t speak English. The universal language of women shopping 🙂 I wore the gear on to ride back into town and it worked a treat and made a huge difference so I’m all happiness with what Ive got for $ spent. I checked emails when I got back and there was a very excited email from the fella at the bike shop. He leaves for China tomorrow and asked if I could come today so he could meet me. How cool’s that. I asked the guesthouse folk where to find the shop and have a basic idea so that’s me this evening. Time for my date. Talk soon x

It’s 10.50pm and Im propped up in bed to update the post. The students are on the floor playing cards very cute. They wouldn’t be any more than 16 y/o and haven’t asked me any more English help. Maybe my tips were a bit dodge 🙂 More cool stuff happened this arv so thought I’d add some more to the post. I ended up grabbing a decent map of UB and went to the travel agency where the UB guesthouse man told be to go. They were really helpful and showed me where the bike shop was and the Kazakh embassy for tomorrow. I then headed out to the shop and had no probs finding it yay. The Mongolian fella in the shop was the only one in but called the owner who had emailed me. ‘He’ ended up being a ‘she,’ Khaliun pronounced with a silent K. She had already left for Beijing but we had a goof chat on the phone and have tee’d up a dinner date for Saturday. I’m so excited to meet her and her husband who’s from Belgium. She’s back in a few days time and really keen to catch up which is awesome. The shop called The Cycling World’ is really impressive stocking brands like Giant and Trek and lots of accessories for the intrepid Mt Biker. I had read that UB had no decent bike gear outlets but clearly this was out of date. They have a kick arse set up good as anywhere I’ve seen and offer sales, servicing. rentals and tours. Check them out on http://www.mongoliaprocycling.com The potential for Mt Biking in Mongolia is unlimited and unparalleled. Khaliun and crew see this potential and are taking Mongolian cycling to new Mt bike heights 🙂 The lad at the shop couldnt speak much English but we got talking anyway. His name is Nyam Purev which translates in English to Sunday Tuesday. He seemed like a good fellow and I would have liked to have spoken more with him. We did our best and I got a photo on the way out. I told him I’ll be back Wednesday to have a look around the shop and pick up a few things like tubes etc. So todays’s been a good day all round. When I uploaded the photos I saw first hand the extreme in weather over the last three days and it looks great on the blog. 21st was beautifully blue, 22nd dusty brown and today snow white 🙂 Sending all my love and cuddles to the family in Ingham. Talk soon x