July 3 - "Tibet Closed"

The highlight of our trip (to cycle the friendship hwy from Lhasa, Tibet to Kathmandu, Nepal) has been quashed today when I stumbled across a news article stating that Tibet will be closed from July 1 to 26.  It has been closed due to the 90th anniversary of the Communist Party in China and is an effort to head off possible trouble around the sensitive anniversary.  Turns out it is the absolute worst timing for us as we were planning to enter Tibet next week via train from Beijing.  Our Mongolian visas will run out soon and our China visa is only good for 30 days so we have to make some serious changes to our travel plans and and I am definitely going to try and send home all of my winter weather gear (down jacket, thermals, goggles, camp booties, etc) as they were all for the cold 4000-5000m passes of our 3 week bike trip in Tibet.  Until now I have reasoned with the extra weight due to the harsh elements that we were going to encounter....but now!  China will be sweltering hot this time of year and heat exhaustion will be more of an imminent threat!  Msg me if you've been to China and know of some good cycling routes.

June 29th "We Made It" - Bayandchandmani to Ulaanbaatar

Rained on us for the better part of the day, which was actually a blessing in disguise as for the first time cycling in Mongolia I didn't feel like I was in the process of getting heat stroke at some crazy 38C temp!  Met up with a big, vicious dog mid morning that Ali stirred first and put him into a crazy attack mode for when I cycled past.  Ended up having to go side saddle so that it couldn't bit my leg off - and it was a successful tactic I will have to remember.  We decided it was time for lunch after this incident and just as we sat down in this empty restaurant in an unknown town a bus load of people showed up.  We ended up dining with 20 or so Mongolian Border Protection Service workers and the boss man of the group even ended up serenading us on his Mongolian style guitar.  After our obligatory group pic we were off on the road again toward the most populous city of Mongolia - Ulaanbaatar.  Upon entering the city we encountered the worst roads yet and there was even a free for all dirt hwy that was wild!  It took us 25 long kms to actually reach the center of town and by that stage we were over it as we were at 72kms for the day - exacerbated when we found hotels with no space for us.  In the end we checked into a suite at the "Elegance Hotel" mostly because I was about to pass out and the hotel had rooms available.  For $50 a night I think we can handle a bit of luxury for a bit and we are also celebrating the fact that we made it 350km on our bicycles through Northern Mongolia!!!!

June 28th - "Jagargalant to Bayandchandmani"

Today was one of those perfect riding days where the scenery is exciting, the weather is calm: not too hot and not too cold, the terrain is varied and friendly people are encountered all along the way.  It was hard to leave our Ger this morning as it was such a cozy atmosphere, but we both felt that the show must go on.  So we filled up on a huge brunch in our VIP 10 person dining room and after packing up set off at a sprightly 1pm.  Throughout the afternoon we went through valley after valley filled with a motley crew of animals: yaks, goats, sheep, cows and hundreds of horses - all seemingly tending themselves.  Somewhere in that time an old man wearing a turquoise traditional Mongolian outfit rode up beside me on a red motorcycle sporting the radest aviators and cap - then he smiled and gave me the peace sign before riding off!  In the evening we came across the only guesthouse in Bayandchandmani and decided to call it a day.  Again, no running water with an outhouse in the backyard, but it does come with a cute puppy - all for 20,000 Togrogs.  Dined on an instant noodle and cookie dinner and hit the hay.

June 27th "Ger Camp" - Bayongol to Jargalant

The km's were hard won today.  We climbed over 500m in elevation from 800m to 1300m and the flies were relentless on the slow uphills.  The weather averaged 38C during the day, which certainly made us sluggish, but we were still able to clock back 50km at least.  We had decided to set up camp when we came to the 50km marker and as our luck would have it we came around a bend at 46km and saw a sign for a Guest Ger Camp 4km up a dirt road in this beautiful setting on the mountainside.  Eerie.  We ended up with this amazing ger all to ourselves that had sine crafted wood furniture and an authentic wood burning stove in the middle of the room - all for 44,000 Togrogs (approx. $34).  Ali and I are also the only guests, which always makes for an interesting time.

June 26th - "Bayangol"

Ali and I decided to stick around Bayangol for another day as our room is very peaceful (when the karaoke machine is off) and the town is surrounded by amazing views and there are pleasant, happy people living in gers on the outskirts of town.  A leathery faced man tried to help us order food today by pointing to things on the menu and giving them a thumbs up as I suppose it was clear that our translation sheets weren't working.  So we took his advice and ended up with a teeny tiny plate of rice and a marginally bigger plate of potatoes with gravy on them?? Then his meal came out and it was exactly what we wanted to order - a huge plate full of yummy items!  Then we tried to order what he had and ended up with fried egg over a gigantic helping of meat.  Not sure how things went so terribly wrong there.

June 25th - "Darkhan to Bayangol"

The scenery became even more awe inspiring today as we covered 73kms through mountainous terrain.  We were able to find a roadside truck stop for a lunch of rice and eggs, which really helped our stamina.  The wind became a force to be reckoned with around 2pm and continued to get stronger as the day wore on.  Going over the last pass before Bayongol around 8pm the wind was so fierce it blew me off the road!  As it was getting dark and Ali and I were both wiped out we found a hotel in town and checked into our deluxe suite with ample space for our bikes and gear - we even have a hot water heater for showering! (Last warm shower was about a month ago in Irkutsk).  The room cost 35,000 Togrogs - about $27 and it even comes with a karaoke bar directly beneath the room that pumps extremely loud music and bad singers!

June 24th "Food Day" - Darkhan

My only goals for today were to change money and eat as much food as I possibly could.  Mission Accomplished!  We were even shown into a different VIP room with wrap around couches and a TV to eat lunch in today - this time the wall decor had a cool 1970's deer gazing into a stream.  Oh I forgot to mention the obscene framed photo in our hotel room of two naked people making out on a beach!  To make the story even more hilarious the hotel front desk agent refused to give us a room with a double bed giving us a look of "that wouldn't be right" and then we have this beauty photo to look at all day???