Ugtaalsaidam to Ulaanbaatar

During our night camping in the outskirts of Ugtaalsaidam we woke to increasing winds, the slight patter of rain on the tent roof and then the sound of distant thunder. We hoped it was not a sign of the weather to come for our last day of off road riding.

It's happening again!

It was a cold start to the day, but we were lucky enough to have a tail wind. Up the valley you could see dust whipping through a more distant valley, and behind us there were heavy looming clouds that looked like they carried rain. As we proceeded down the valley we made an easterly turn, and from there on we once again found ourselves in the midsts of dust being carried by the wind. This time we were lucky enough that it wasn't a full blown storm, just the dust being lifted from the surface of the sandy landscape. We had been pretty sure that today we would eventually hit sealed road, and we were anticipating this as the road had turned to a mixture of rutted out gravel and rocks, and sand, neither of which make for comfortable riding. The sealed road never came, and after the fresh experience of the sandstorm a couple of days earlier, and the bitter memories of the strong winds of the Gobi, we rode on through a couple of kilometers out of the next town and set up camp in the most sheltered spot we could find. It was 2pm.

Dust Storm vs. tent shelter. Dust Storm wins.

Around 2am we woke to the sound of a barking dog. With a full moon in the sky, a quick look out the tent door showed us it was about 100m away and approaching. Then there were two. Nervous that they would spend all night right beside our tent barking at us, or worse become aggressively territorial as we assumed they belonged to the yurt over the hill, Kate jumped out of the tent, banging two mugs together and slowly walking barefoot over the desert prickles in an attempt to scare them away. About 15m out and she called for back up as she wasn't certain she was scarey enough for two dogs. So out came Calvin, sensible enough to put on shoes, banging two rocks together. It was a great success and the dogs receded back over the hill. No dog attack. No rabies. Phew. The only casualties were the two mugs. Then it was back to sleep.

Hmm, probably no hot chocolate tonight then

Our second to last day of riding saw us hit the sealed road early on and we cruised with the wind at our backs for 75km. It was a nice change from the slower more bumpy riding of the past week, and a welcome relief on the derriere.

Happy to be on the seal. Smooth and quiet.

For our last night camping in Mongolia we decided to head off the main highway and behind some hills to enjoy the serenity of what Mongolia offers one last time. We got a prime spot with a grand view down a generally untouched valley, only one yurt on the other side of the valley and no dogs. In true Mongolian fashion we continued to get battered by the wind until sundown and even lucky enough for it to pick up again during the night and batter us all night as well. You just have to laugh and accept it.

The final 40km back in to Ulaanbaatar was straight forward even though in a biting cold side wind. Once in UB we diverted over to Attila (bike shop) that Antoine had suggested to us to see if we could some new bike pants for Kate and a new helmet for Calvin (as tape probably won't hold in a crash). It was an exciting detour diving through crazy UB traffic and random back streets and we were rewarded with two successful purchases.

Out with the old and in with the new.