Spakur: Mongolia is wonderful. I wish I was going back!

Weather: While it can get quite cold at night, the days are very likely to be on the warmer side. That means you won't be riding in very cold temps, so the lighter riding gear is better. It doesn't rain too often but you need the rain gear as you can get hypothermic quickly if you get soaked.

Trips: If you are doing 2-3 multi-day trips out of UB I would recommend one trip to the west, out to White Lake (Terkhiin Tsagaan Nuur). You can stop on the way in the old capital of Kharkhorin and also in the provincial capital of Tsetserleg. Don't miss the Fairview restaurant. The hot springs about 1 hour outside of Tsetserleg are also worth a visit to soothe your bones on the way back to UB.

For a second trip I recommend heading south to the Gobi. Head to Dalanzagad, the capital of South Gobi province. You can make it there in a couple of long days. Then spend a few days riding in the area: Yolin Am, flaming cliffs, etc. If you have the funds spend your last night in the Three Camel Lodge. Expensive, but wonderful luxury in the middle of the Gobi.

If you have time for a third trip you can go east from UB to the vast steppe. You'll see lots of antelope and can explore the provinces where Ghengis Khan grew up. Lots of ancient monasteries and beautiful grasslands. Swing by Choir and see the spooky, empty remains of a huge Russian air base.

Laurent is right, Amarbayscalant Monastery is lovely and well worth a visit. If you enter Mongolia from the north you can stop there fairly easily as it is a couple of hours from Darkhan. Take the sealed road from Darkhan to Erdenet and look for a small sign pointing to the right (north) and just follow the dirt track from there.

GPS: I disagree a little with Laurent. I found my Garmin GPS quite useful. Most of the large tracks are on the Garmin World Map and I used it all the time. The Garmin map is much better than the Magellan one. It is especially useful when leaving towns as you are often faced with 10-20 different tracks leading off and you don't know which one to take. You can survive without GPS, but it will take a lot longer as you will have to ask for directions more often. And bring a compass as a backup! You don't need a very new GPS as you only need enough memory for the WorldMap Mongolia portion, which uses very little memory. I was able to get all of it into my old Garmin GPS V.

Laurent is also very correct about asking directions: Not very useful, as most rural Mongolians have not been very far from their homes and have only the most vague idea of where other towns are. They know their local area very well, but not much beyond 20-30 km away. Ask drivers, especially the minibus/jeep drivers, as they are much more likely to know the tracks. And of course very few speak English, so unless you speak Mongolian or Russian you will have to use a lot of improvised sign language.

25 liters is plenty for Mongolia as long as you are sure to top up at every chance.

Hope this helps. Let me know if you have any specific questions.

Scott