Govi Desert

Arrived in Choir, the start of the Gobi. The sun is hot, the wind is strong, and I am constantly drying out. This is making up for the years I spent rotting and growing mold in the Northwest. Terelj park was a wonderful break from cycling. I thought it would be too touristy, which it was - but not where I ended up staying. The place was called Eco-Ger-Village or something in that vain. It was owned by a dutchman, who made dutch cheese, and spoke a shouting Mongolian as well as English. Rode a horse and can confidently say that I have galloped. It was amazing, no doubt. Forget a dog, I want a horse. After some good conversation and food shared with two Brit.'s, and two Austrians, I came back on the road, sadly, and headed for China. About 400 km from the border now, where the roads turn to dirt, and the days become longer. I am riding about 50-70 km / day now on tread tires. Carrying 13 liters of water for 100 km. One big town, and three small between Choir and the Chinese border. Excited / Nervous / a little bored.

Details: Ulan Bataar - Choir
225 KM

Route is completely paved, with beautiful, flat scenery. Leaving UB was a bit of a rodeo, but the highway was easily found. KM markers the entire route. You finally get out of UB 15 KM from the city center, then it is another 20 until you arrive in a town named Naliak (or something similar). From Naliak, it is about 60 KM until the village of Bayan. From Bayan, there are no commodities until Choir, about 120 KM away. The wind is strong out of the west, and depending on the day, it rotates southerly or northerly, depending on my Karma.