Date: September 2nd, 2016
Distance: 102 kilometers
Song of the Day: You Ain't Goin' Nowhere – Bob Dylan

I was really excited to get back on the road today, but boy did it suck. I started out with a nasty headwind. That brought in a bunch of rain, so I was just miserable. Soaking wet and cold. It had been so nice the last few weeks.

For an hour it seemed like the weather and the road were toying with me. The wind would change and I would come out of the rain for a bit. Shortly after, the road would go a different direction, sending me right back into the teeth of the storm. Urgh. It was super annoying.

The people with me on the road were great, though. There were not that many of them, but it did seem like there was a bond between everyone who was out on the highway. Most of the people were also riding motorcycles, and almost always as a pair, each one draped in various types of plastic to keep the rain off. Without fail the guys who saw me would break out in a big grin, and almost always the guy on the back would give me a wave. My favorite was the pair who saw me and started chanting "Go, go, go!"



-Dravis

Date: September 1st, 2016
Distance: Rest day

More boring logistical stuff today. So much, especially with winter coming up. Tomorrow I will get back to doing stuff that is fun to read about.



-Dravis

Date: August 31st, 2016
Distance: Rest day

I've got nothing interesting from today. I spent most of my time writing on my blog and trying to arrange things for this winter. Boring. The only interesting thing from the day is that I found a great place to eat. It's called "And Restaurant". I spent about two minutes staring at that sign trying to figure out what else it was. Then I realized it was just "And Restaurant". Well, I had to try it. Good food actually.



-Dravis

Date: August 30th, 2016
Distance: 83 kilometers
Song of the Day: At the Hundredth Meridian – The Tragically Hip

Starting at the top of the pass today was kind of nice. It was a long, and unfortunately very bumpy, cruise down into the valley below. From there it was just another long ride through the day. There is a whole lot of Mongolia, but it doesn't change that much. Lots of grass, lots of dirt roads. Not much else.

I was happy to finally see the town of Murun come into view in the distance. Not just because I wanted to get some wifi and check in with family and friends, but also because I knew that that is where the paved road begins. I won't miss the dirt roads around here. It also made the last few kilometers that much more painful. Well, that and the roads right outside of town are all used up and worn out. Washboards, gravel, sand, pot holes, you name it. If there is a way to screw up a dirt road, this one had it. I am going to be enjoying the paved roads for the next few days, I am sure.

-Dravis

Date: August 29th, 2016
Distance: 115 kilometers
Song of the Day: Terrapin Station Part 1 - Grateful Dead

Today was good. Still lots of bad roads. I like the roads here, though. They often branch out across a wide valley and that gives me a lot of paths to choose from. Something without washboards or sand. I was actually able to find a lot of tracks like that. It made the day enjoyable. That, and the tail wind wasn't bad.

There were a lot of hills to climb. Nothing much exciting there. That's usually where the paths all converge again. The last part up to the summit is the worst, as it's usually the most worn out, the most sandy, the least even. Also, it's the steepest part of the road. Ah well. At least I get a lot of great views.

I should mention at some point, Buddhism. This is the first, and only, country on this trip where it is the major religion. There isn't much different about it because of that, most towns just have a monastery instead of a church or a mosque. However, there are all these little shrines around the country. On top of each major, and even some of the minor, mountain passes is a shrine of some kind. Usually this is a pile of rocks. Often there are some sticks or logs stuck into the top. It's all tied up with blue cloth, and it's a place where people leave offerings. I saw one that was covered in crutches for some reason. I have also seen bowls for food and other offerings.

If any of this sounds like Tibetan Buddhism, you aren't far off. There is a relationship between the two countries. Both seceded from Quin dynasty China at the same time and agreed to help the other in times of crisis. The Dalai Lama is also big here. His picture is up in a lot of homes and businesses. I never would have expected that.

In the evening I stopped at the top of one of the big passes. There was another big shrine up there. This one was more noteworthy than usual. Sure, there was the big pile of rocks and sticks wrapped up in blue cloth. There was also a stupa and a couple of prayer wheels. It seemed like a good place to pass the evening.



-Dravis

Date: August 28th, 2016
Distance: 89 kilometers
Song of the Day: Belly of the Bird / Valentina - Lost Lander

I was having another good day here. Nothing much to write about, just lots of long, lonely miles in a beautiful place. Long rides through broad green valleys.

I don't think more than five cars passed me by the whole day, though I went by probably a dozen motorcycles. It's interesting to see how the motorcycle has replaced the horse here. Not completely, but many people do their herding on the back of a motorcycle these days. It seems like horses are mostly for young boys. The

The only other things of note today were the bridges. I might have mentioned a time or two that these roads are not much more than tracks in the grass. Even so, today there were half a dozen bridges to cross. It shows that these routes had some planning at one point, even if most of the bridges are broken down these days. The streams are so narrow the cars find it easier to ford the creek rather than risk crossing on worn out logs.



-Dravis

Date: August 27th, 2016
Distance: 58 kilometers
Song of the Day: Ain't Wastin' Time No More - The Allman Brothers Band

This moring went pretty well. I quickly found a ride to Bayantes. They said they had to make one stop, though. One stop turned into about four. That's the way these things go here. We got on the road about 11:00. It's only about 120 kilometers, but on these roads the trip took almost four hours.

Back in Bayantes I went to see the family that had my bike. They were happy to see me. I started right away, getting the rear wheel switched out, moving over the tire, disc brake, and cassette. It didn't take long, but there was a good pause for lunch. The guys here were nice enough to give me some food. After that I said my goodbyes and thank yous. It has been great but I am so ready to be back on the bicycle. It's been almost a week without it. More than that, if you consider the days I was pushing the bike.

The road was pretty much as I had left it, dirt tracks through the grass. I did at least know the right way to go this time, so that was a plus. There wasn't anything overly exciting to say about the day. I was just happy to be back riding. Even on the dirt roads I was glad to be on my own, not crammed in the back of some car with a bunch of strangers. I could go where I wanted, stop when I wanted. Riding in cars made me appreciate being here on a bicycle so much more. It's really a pretty good way to get around in Mongolia. Not quite as fast as a car, though. I never did make it back to Tsetserleg.

I found yet another good spot along the river to camp. I think I'm going to enjoy the last week or two I have here in Mongolia.



-Dravis

Date: August 26th, 2016
Distance: Parts run
Song of the Day: Hitchhiker - Pearl Jam

The sun was up by the time the bus arrived in Murun. This is the town where the paved road ends. Most of the tourists head up north to ger camps on Khovskol lake and the locals usually had some other ride, so there was no regular transportation to Bayantes. That left me hitchhiking along the roads here. It wasn't so bad, but it did take a while. There is a lot more hiking in hitchhiking than I imagined. The good part is that people are generally happy to pick up a stranger and take them along. So that is good.

I caught a ride with a fisherman who was heading to the river. Then I got in with an older couple going to Burentogtok. From there I took a ride with a couple guys in a truck. They stopped near the top of one of the hills to fix a telephone pole that had fallen down. They said it was the "internet". After that I got a ride all the way into Tsetserleg with a family. The roads were slow, though. Really rough, so just 80 kilometers took almost three hours.

It was almost sunset when we reached Tsetserleg. The family there was very concerned about me. I would have been happy trying to get another ride to Bayantes right then, but they were worried that I would get stuck in the wilderness. Instead they helped me find a small guesthouse to stay at. They even found some fresh milk for me. It's amazing how much people can come to care for a compelete stranger. I don't really even speak Mongolian. I wish I had a better way to thank them.



-Dravis

Date: August 25th, 2016
Distance: Parts run

I went back out to the bus station this morning. Inside, it was a mess. There were lots of windows for getting a bus ticket, each with a line. Some of the queues were long, others had just a few people in them. Each one seemed to be doing the exact same thing, though. I got in the shortest line and was able to book a bus to Murun at 6:00 pm. I could have gone for an earlier bus, but there would be no sense in arriving after dark. I didn't want to get stuck in town overnight.

That meant I had the afternoon to see a little bit of the city. This trip to get a new wheel has taken so much time I probably won't be coming back through it on my bike. I went to see the giant statue of Chengis Khaan. Nearby is the National Museum. It was pretty good, though I must admit I am a fan of museums. It went over the history of the peoples of Mongolia pretty well. Not just the Mongols under Chengis Khaan, but also the earlier Kazakh and Turkic peoples. There was even a cool section devoted to the end of communism. It didn't seem to get as much press as the fall of the Berlin wall or the collapse of the Soviet Union, but Mongolia went through a fairly peaceful transition to democracy. It was cool to see a country coming together to make positive changes.

I had a little time to mail some postcards. I am no philatelist, but Mongolia has some really beautiful stamps. They have lots of pictures of nature, landscapes, birds, animals, and the like. They also have pictures of the Beatles and Bob Marley, for some reason. I wondered if people get paid for having their likeness put on a stamp?

I made it to my bus right on time. It reminded me a bit of buses in Africa. People would come on board selling food and drinks, though in Africa most of the goods were passed in through the windows. The windows here didn't open, so I guess they made do. The trip itself was thankfully boring and I was able to get a few hours of something like sleep.



-Dravis

Date: August 24th, 2016
Distance: Parts run

The van pulled into Ulaan Bataar about 8:00 AM. Coming in to town, everything felt weird and unnatural. The rest of the country is so pastoral and quaint. The towns are small with whitewashed plaster and colorful metal roofs. U.B., as the locals say, is big, modern, and industrial. The streets are crowded with people and cars. I've spent the last few weeks alone so much of the time. A busy day was one where a dozen cars would pass by. Here, a dozen cars passed by a minute. It felt very jarring.

Plus, the first thing that happened to me was being accosted by a very drunk man on the street. I should mention that drunkenness is very common here. If you spend an hour walking around any town in Mongolia you will see a drunk man. (It's always a man too, never a woman.) Sure, America has a similar issue with homeless alcoholics, but this isn't the same. It seems like the drunk men aren't homeless, they're just an accepted part of life here. Anyway, as I was walking down the street from the bus station I was grabbed by a super drunk guy. His wife or girlfriend was just laughing about it. It took me a minute to push him off of me, and for a moment I thought we were going to get into a fight. In the end the guy seemed very angry and confused that I didn't want him grabbing on to me. Just bizarre. It isn't even 9:00 AM man, get it together.

From there, thankfully, the day went smoothly. I found a hostel to stay at and there were two other cyclists there already. One Russian, and one Korean. I was able to get a recommendation for a good bike shop, though it took most of the afternoon to find it. U.B. is a huge city and I probably should have grabbed a map from the hostel. The bike shop had just what I needed. I was able to get a new cheap rear wheel. What I got isn't nearly as good as the one I was using, but at least the hub wasn't shot. The new hub is some cheap Chinese thing, but it should at least get me to Yakutsk.



-Dravis