Mongolia Trail Ride - part 2

 Sunrise in Olgii Mongolia

I didn’t get much sleep that night in my little guesthouse. It was certainly quiet enough around there!


But what kept me awake was the thought that tomorrow I ride through rough dirt tracks by myself. What if I have to cross water, and I fall over. How will I pick the bike up.. Or what if I fall over anywhere for that matter? Will it be too sandy? There’s no traffic out there, will I have enough food if I get stuck? I thought of a million reasons why I can’t do this alone.. tossing and turning, it’s stupid. If I get into trouble, that is exactly what anybody else would say.. “Sherri, that was a really stupid thing to do alone”. My argument with myself on the other hand was.. But this is “Sherri Jo’s BECAUSE I CAN World tour”!!! Of coarse I can do it! Most of this trip has been full of things I don't think I can do, but I manage to do it anyway! But it’s too scary.. but what if it’s not… are you going to be a coward and miss out on one of the main reasons for being in this part of the world??


What finally allowed me to go to sleep was 2 ideas 1) What if I found a tour guide in town in the morning and paid him/her to follow me (silly for sure, but I am trying any idea at this point) OR 2) Maybe I can just try part of the track, and if it’s too much, then I can always turn around and come back. Okay, that did it, I slept until 3 or 4 AM.. then woke up worrying again. Got my head torch out and found my way to the little outside hole in the ground (toilet). Built just barely high enough too..

The track Walter mapped out for me was about 220 kilometers. Not a big trip on a road, but a long day if it’s a bit rough.


So I packed up at first light and went into town.

I was hoping to find a shop open to get some food. The only thing I have is 1 candy bar. It was too early, no shops open and I’m not willing to wait over an hour for them. So I head out on my own, with 1 candy bar. I can see it now, just like in the movies.. Woman is lost in Mongolia and survives for 40 days on a candy bar. Ha!


It really was another stupid thing to do, to go out there with no food.. but I’m good at making bad decisions, and took my bike to the beginning of the dirt track and stopped. Then I go.. and it’s not too bad. So I go a bit farther, and it’s down right gorgeous! (the landscape, not the track)

I get sucked in further and further and it’s just so pretty I forget my worries.

Okay, this track is much easier than I imagined it to be.


I can’t help but to stop and take photos. I have to be careful though if I am to get through this day in time. Would not be nice to be caught out here in the dark and it’s getting dark quite early now.
Good! There is some traffic!! Horses, camels, doesn’t matter to me. It just feels better knowing that there are people out here.. just in case! In my imagination, I had convinced myself that I would be the only person out there. Logically? Silly, but those were my fears making up stories.

(These were women riders going to the creek for a wash or bath). Didn’t even try to be rude enough to ask for a photo when I got close to them. But imagine if that was your lifestyle. Grab the girls, get on a horse and ride to the nearest running water for a clean. Plus that water would be soooo cold! I claim to be a fan of modern plumbing, however I do respect seeing how other people live first hand. This is why I travel around the world. (well one of the reasons)

And then! I came across this guy! Heck, there are plenty of people out here. I spent hours worrying about nothing.

I’m sure they have long days out there with a herd of goats, but I think it’s cool to be able to spend your day with your best mates... an Eagle and your horse. Would be complete for me if he had a dog too…

How do I manage to arrive at the exact part of the road where the cows are crossing, no matter which country I am in! Okay these are the most beautiful cows I have ever seen..Yaks! Was just reading on internet that most Yaks are crossbred with cows..either way, they are very good looking.

Of coarse it's a majestic landscape, but these animals add to that element so much. To watch them slowly walk across the road with that gorgeous fur swaying in the wind.. just beautiful!
I’m seeing it all today!!

Shonky self photo - it's a blogging rule to put in the worst one you can find from time to time ;-)

I’m nearly half way now. Clouds are getting thicker and the cold wind has picked up.. I wonder if it might snow?! Better get a move on..

Mongolia

WELCOME TO MONGOLIA!

This is actually one of the first photos I took in the country.  It's only 80 km from the border to my destination of Olgiy.  Such an amazing change of landscape, I can see the magical mystical draw it has on people.

The beginning of the journey was a typical extremely rigidy road as they are when they have a fair amount of "traffic".  It then turned into little tracks going every which way.. Which one do I follow!?  Tried to keep my eye on the GPS, but it's difficult while standing up and negotiating the changing road.

They were doing road construction can you believe, with absolutely no way to pass and not a single sign as to where to detour.  The few cars (about 4) that came through the border with me this morning were all trying different tracks.  Luckily a young Mongolian boy on a motorcycle came racing up to me on his bike and showed me the way (through a creek!) This put me ahead of the pack - yay!

So, if you can find your way,  the main "highway" has character!

Not much traffic to worry about, so I couldn't help but to get off the bike and take a good look around.  I'm a bit cocky saying that, because after I was shown the way, I was whizzing through on the motorcycle, where the cars behind were needing to go slow with the deep ruts in the road and struggling.

My imagination running wild, I'm also getting used to riding the really rough dirt tracks again.

I loved the Michelin Desert tires we used through Siberia.  Compared to my original tires, they felt really solid and in control. But now I have the 80/20's (80% paved road/20% dirt tire) from Heidenau.. (Another thing organized by Walter before he left!! - thanks Mate!)  I was curious what they would be like on the dirt and gravel, and surprisingly they were great!  I'm not good with motorcycle pieces and parts talk, but I could hardly notice a difference!  This was good news to me.. Logically in my head I would have expected them to be rather slippery on the dirt.. but I felt confident and good with no slipping around. So I had no reason to change my riding habits from before.  You know, those very skilled motorcross riding habits I have acquired... ;-/

As I got closer to Olgiy, I was pleasantly surprised by a patch of bitumen.  It seems really out of place here.  I think it's wonderful... but out of place.  There's nobody using it!

Except these guys!!

Isn't it interesting that even THEY prefer bitumen to dirt??  Please don't call me a cow, but we are on the same page here!! ;-)

The paved road lasted about 30 km.  And then I spotted the thriving city of Olgiy.

Knowing I was going to be facing 220 km of even less used dirt tracks tomorrow, I plan on staying the night here.

Just on the edge of town and little car with a man and woman are flagging me down.  I refuse to stop.  I don't want to be forced off the road for them to sell me something.  Then he gets in front of me putting on his brakes to make me stop.  I just go around him.  I ride through town slowly having a look at what Mongolian culture is like and trying not to notice these crazy people in the car.  I must stop to get some money changed and something to drink at the shop.

They followed me all the way, jumping out of the car when I stopped and by now I'm a bit ticked off. He finds that I speak English, so he gets his notebook out and flips to the "english" page where somebody has hand written his name and a total sales pitch to come and stay at his guesthouse, meal etc etc.  I tell him no.  I had the hotels on my gps from Walter's waypoints, and I wanted to check them out instead.

Long story short, I gave in to his plea for me to at least have a look.  But not until I had sussed out the hotels.  They looked really scary, right in the town and nowhere safe to park the bike.  When I followed the man home, I got a complete little guesthouse to myself, with my bike parked right outside the door.  I  didn't like the pressure from the man, but it did seem the better choice.

His mom and Auntie got to work straight away in the kitchen to make my dinner.

They are such little people!  

I did like having my family experience rather than the hotel.  I hate to admit, but it worked out well the man was persistent.  

My meal is ready..  potato and onion were cooked really well, and meat (not sure, it tastes strange, maybe goat?  I did not want to offend, so I ate best I could)

Morat wants nothing but to watch me eat.. A bit uncomfortable.. but it was really good once I got used to the taste!!