Of Lawrence of Arabia, Snow and Edelweiss

Since the last rest day we have cycled two last days through Mongolia, crossed the border into Russia and cycled four days through South Western Siberia.

The last days in Mongolia was as tough as ever on existing and non existing dirt roads. One river crossing became impossible because of flooding so we had to cross a 2500m mountain instead. This become a walk rather than a ride with a gradient of 20% on loose gravel. Next time I go hiking I will leave my bicycle at home.

Still smiling but only just.

Erwin and I at 2500m playing in the snow.

All of the tough things that happened in Mongolia happened once more in the last two days. Bad roads, rain, cold, winds and steep mountains. One time I had to pull a survival skill out of my sleeve. It was bitterly cold and I was losing the feeling in my hands again. The only thing I could do was to wee on my hands to get a bit of warmth. It worked very well and I could change gears and brake again. Luckily I was on my own so no one would ever know.

At the end of the day a big surprise came. Instead of a bush camp we could stay in a ger. No electricity  or toilets though. Only a long drop where one could squat on wooden planks. I didn't use it because I could vision my iPhone ending up at the bottom of the pit and me following straight after.

Traditional ger on the left and modern version on the right.

The Mongolian support team cooked us a farewell dinner consisting of huge chunks of lamb meat barbecued on hot stones. No flavour added. Only airag which is the fermented milk of female horses. This was washed down with a latte made of instant coffee and a choice of the milk of either five of the domestic animals in the country: sheep, cattle, goats, camels and horses. 

More camels than in Lawrence of Arabia

A typical view from my tent.

Another typical view from my tent

Another camel

More sand

Even more sand

Then it was time for border crossing number two of the trip. One would predict a quick stamp in the passport and then goodbye Mongolia. But time showed that it would probably be easier to check out of the Hotel California.

We arrived at the border at opening time, 10 am to find a long queue of trucks waiting to exodus the promised land. This happened at the flow rate of about 3 trucks per hour. When we got to the gate it was of course time to close for lunch. This probably included a siesta and the weekly poetry reading session. All we could do was sit in the truck on the non reclining chairs and watch the flies buzzing on the ceiling.

Nine hours later we finally stood on the Russian side where things moved considerably faster. This time the quick stamp materialized followed by an inventory of my bag. The narcotics dog was not interested in my dirty laundry and seven pairs of shoes so I entered Russia seamlessly and stood with both feet in Siberia.

After 30km of no mans land on smooth asphalt we found ourself in the border town. We also found that we crossed from the 17th century to the 19th century. Not quite the 20th yet. This  I could clearly see in the border town where I bought some emergency snacks and other survival stuff like nail varnish.

Our first camp was in a sage meadow next to a fast flowing river. It was full moon. One could not get too comfortable though on account of the man eating mosquitos which left us all looking like Dalmatians the next day. The morning dawned on us with strong winds which almost blew my tent into the river. I managed to save it in the last second but my helmet which was in the vestibule flew into the river never to be seen again.

The four day journey to Gorno Altaysk, capital city of Southern Siberia began with heavy rains and a wind which was so strong it blew the river in the opposite direction. When the clouds and fog opened up a bit we could see that Siberia is nothing like one ever imagined it to be. None of the empty flats, salt mines and prisons. And no naked prisoners tied to trees waiting for death by mosquitos.

Instead we found valleys and mountains just like the Alps. It was like cycling through Austria in the summer. The slopes covered in Edelweiss. No yodeling though.

The cycling have been much easier although still a significant amount of climbing. Very strange to deal with traffic again. The camping has been wonderful with a sauna always round the corner and the possibility to rent a log cabin. 

Typical valley in Siberia

Just now it's wonderful to sit in a real bed with wifi that's almost functional and to pee in a real toilet instead of on my hands. And it's raining like hell outside. But who cares?