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Now it was time to enjoy the view and for some “noodle soups” and canned fruit salad for us and lunch for the bikes.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4354/...e3cf56fe_b.jpgGobi Loop-57 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4420/...17a8fda1_b.jpgGobi Loop-55 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4408/...16b0540d_b.jpgGobi Loop-56 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4496/...6c2af5d0_b.jpgYolyn Am-16 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4363/...dc1638db_b.jpgYolyn Am-15 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
We wanted to make it as far and the flaming cliffs tonight and this was about 105 km.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4403/...83646a35_b.jpgScreen Shot 2017-09-10 at 18.19.57 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr It is nice to have the local driver as he knows the best tracks and routes that would be the most fun to ride. We set off north east and back into the national park. The track is nice and firm and quite curvy. This cairn is piled with Ibek horns. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4427/...646242ab_b.jpgGobi Loop-61 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4394/...184d18ce_b.jpgGobi Loop-59 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4356/...8294eaee_b.jpgGobi Loop-62 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4416/...8d4a95a4_b.jpgGobi Loop-58 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
After the National park you are back our in the semi desert with so many options!!! We stopped at this animal water station to clean up our pasta dishes from last night. There are a few Ger camp along the way.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4423/...3c71ba40_b.jpgGobi Loop-64 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4386/...f433d8d9_b.jpgGobi Loop-65 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4429/...d1c3d9be_b.jpgGobi Loop-60 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr We stopped in Bulgan town for gas as it was easier than the jerry in the truck, diesel, cold beer, and a bit more water. It is 14 km more to Bayanzag or the Flaming Cliffs. There have been a huge number of dinosaur bones and eggs found here ( most are in the Museum of Natural History in NYC) . We had been told it was windy there and the driver had called someone who spoke English to see if we really wanted to go there or just back to DZ and shorten the tour to 2 days. We said we wanted to at least check it out. The guys are pretty tired and another 100 km off road at this point would be a challenge. We blasted across the very flat steppe and in the distance you could see these small red formations. We thought is this it. It is not until you arrive there that you can appreciate the beauty and geology. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4432/...9de27920_b.jpgGobi Loop-66 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4426/...b7193f9b_b.jpgGobi Loop-67 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4414/...a2bfaf28_b.jpgGobi Loop-69 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
It was very windy up on the ridge, but the driver suggested we go around and down to the base of the cliffs. We did this down a steep hard mud road and around the base of the cliffs, but the best spot seamed to be near the place where we entered.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4352/...469ffea9_b.jpgGobi Loop-89 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4345/...4ddec07c_b.jpgGobi Loop-90 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4345/...4028540b_b.jpgGobi Loop-70 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr It was still gusting and since there was mostly sand it was a challenge to find a spot to peg the tents. In fact our tent was secured with rocks on each peg we thought until a bit gust tried to blow it away. We moved to more solid ground and the pegs held much better. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4437/...f76c20dd_b.jpgGobi Loop-73 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr We cooked up a big beef stew with couscous. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4345/...05c90a3e_b.jpgGobi Loop-74 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
As soon as the sun went down the wind died down. This was except for about 5 min of hard gusting wind and heavy rain just as we were getting ready for bed. This meant a hasty retreat to the tents, but it was literally over in minutes and there was no wind for the rest of the night. We had a calm nights rest in the silence and a beautiful sunny morning for a leisurely breakfast.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4405/...0aa6f971_b.jpgGobi Loop-86 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr We set off back around the cliffs and then up the less steep slope to get back up to the plain. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4422/...0d5cf479_b.jpgGobi Loop-85 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4366/...eb71f9f9_b.jpgGobi Loop-91 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4405/...32f90313_b.jpgGobi Loop-92 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
It is 90 km to town and this is directly across the steppe. There are literally dozens of parallel tracks at times. We came across a few ger camps too.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4377/...f1a3fde1a1.jpgScreen Shot 2017-09-10 at 18.20.19 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4414/...f848424b_b.jpgGobi Loop-98 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4336/...2aa08d23_b.jpgGobi Loop-93 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4417/...81bb88ce_b.jpgGobi Loop-96 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4372/...0d22d127_b.jpgGobi Loop-97 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr Three day tour of the Gobi https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4354/...588c9d70_b.jpgScreen Shot 2017-09-10 at 18.17.47 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
Arriving back to the hotel we were very happy to have a long hot shower as we has sand everywhere. We even had some camel races in the dining room.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4489/...b3193daa_b.jpgIMG_9674 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4508/...2b2ebab4_b.jpgIMG_9677 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr It is Sept 10 and we have 4 days to be at the Chinese border. There are 2 choices 650 km on a track north east to the nearest pavement at Shainsand on which it will be sandy and washboard when not. This could take 3-4 days. This is still 214 km from the border. The other option is 1010 km on the paved road north then south to Sainshand and this will be an easy 2 days. Orvar is still not well either. We all opted for the easy route as no one wants to risk the time line for China. This means we have a day here and the guys decided to go out and do the loop thru Dungany Canyon again. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4412/...05e293e1_b.jpgScreen Shot 2017-09-14 at 17.30.30 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4466/...f65eb0cd_b.jpgScreen Shot 2017-10-09 at 18.43.03 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4491/...3df552f7_z.jpgScreen Shot 2017-10-09 at 18.43.38 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4513/...a5c2d748_b.jpgMongolia to border by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
Today is a warm sunny day for making miles! We headed out just after 930, gassed up, and aired up the tires. Then it was 300 km north to Mandalgovi and with a very flat boring view.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4350/...4b69d8f2_b.jpgFILE0635 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4371/...1ca4cde0_b.jpgFILE0644 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4461/...e1d95978_b.jpgFILE0662 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr We saw a lot of camels along the way. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4474/...fae2b121_b.jpgFILE0640 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4423/...ff222dee_b.jpgMongolia to border-2 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr Speed control Mongolian style. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4510/...74e0e67b_b.jpgMongolia to border-4 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4332/...86c5d9d2_b.jpgMongolia to border-5 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
We stopped here to cook up some lunch and then rode another 230 km to Zuunmod, which is where the UB bypass road cuts over to the south bound road. It is then 25 km across. The only issue was the train crossing was blocked off just before the south road and there were dozens of trucks waiting. They had a detour on the dirt along the train tracks back 5 km to the next under pass and then another 2 across to the highway.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4335/...4840f1d6_b.jpgFILE0668 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr We arrived back to the highway at 415 and we had 185 km south to the next town of Choir. Sunset was at 710 so we had to press. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4486/...5850799b_b.jpgFILE0673 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
There are a few “hotels” here on the GPS, but several do not exist, one looks like a by the hour place, and one though 2.50$ a person is just too dirty. Riding around in circles in a shitty town after a very long day in failing light sucks!
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4429/...727e0aa8_b.jpgFILE0677 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr Finally we headed in the dusk to the other side of town and found an actual hotel. It is clean, but there is no hot water. There is however a very good restaurant about 5 min walk away just on the highway. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4360/...191d7353_b.jpgMongolia to border-3 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
We had not a bad night in the end despite the questionable comfort of the beds. It was cold and we snugged under 2 duvets. We had bought some fruit, yogurt, and muesli for breakfast and and ate in the room. We had only 227 km to go today to Sainshand, which is the capital of the region and a fairly large town.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4473/...81d7e106_z.jpgScreen Shot 2017-09-14 at 17.28.28 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr We knew there was at least one decent hotel with hot water. This puts us within striking distance of the Chinese border for day after with only 215 km. The road is straight and the scenery unchanging flat desert. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4501/...e9f22252_b.jpgMongolia to border-12 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4427/...52fe8431_b.jpgFILE0687 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
Arriving to the town we can spot the hotel as it is on the hill above everything else. It is full of Taiwanese tourists. They do not serve food from 2-4 and so we walked into the town to the other hotel we considered and we had a very good meal there. There is quite a monument on the hill across from the hotel.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4357/...5f6f2303_b.jpgMongolia to border-6 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4490/...c579be00_b.jpgMongolia to border-11 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4414/...00db3bdf_b.jpgMongolia to border-7 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4491/...006e1617_b.jpgMongolia to border-9 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4413/...1502be60_b.jpgMongolia to border-10 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr We will stay here tonight and then be in Zamin-Uud tomorrow. The plan is to be at the Mongolian border post at 8 am. We hope this gets us to the Chinese side by 9. Here we will meet our guide Tony, driver Mr Tang, and “the fixer” they have hired thru the customs broker to smooth the process of getting the bikes into the country. We were told we may have a medical check up for our Chinese drivers licenses, and we are not sure how long all the other bureaucracy will take. We spoke on Skype to Jah from Ride China today and he personally dropped all our paper work off at the border last week. Tonight we have some cold beers and a few episodes of Fargo session 3! Thanks to Trevor our media director. |
There was howling wind most of the night, but it was fairly calm in the Morning. Mongolian hotel breakfasts are always a challenge. Getting coffee can be impossible and today we had to bring our own Nescafe. The eggs if you are lucky are warm, but the weird hot dogs they serve never are. There is also often a side salad, which is not really a breakfast food. We are slow to get out today since we only had 215 km to go.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4388/...b20bdb93_z.jpgScreen Shot 2017-09-14 at 17.28.48 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4363/...b57653dd_b.jpgFILE0688 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr The wind is a bit gusty, but mostly behind us. The terrain is again desert, but with a few more low hills curves at the end of the day. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4510/...15a425ca_b.jpgMongolia to border-13 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
We arrived to Zamiin-Uud and about 7 km before the town the road is diverted to a deepish sand road for about a km before it turns back into a 4 lane paved road. The hotel choices in this town are all pretty bad. The town itself is a dump. We finally decided on one “on” the train platform for price and a second floor room. Several placed were floor 5 & 6 and stairs only. Since the GPS did not show a road to the hotel we had a nontraditional access as Dan said…thru the parking lot, across the plaza, (Dan thought he could trick us into following him), down the train platform to the front of the hotel. We then rode down the side of the building to find a parking lot and a maze of sand back streets would lead us out to the main street.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4433/...bcb6fe91_b.jpgFILE0723 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4441/...5407b8b4_b.jpgFILE0725 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4444/...9c963033_b.jpgFILE0734 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4459/...d99d34fc_b.jpgFILE0739 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4489/...218c50de_b.jpgFILE0743 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4479/...3e473c01_b.jpgFILE0750 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
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