The familiar grind of daily travel, the joy of the occasional hot shower, the feel of that clean pair of underwear or socks you were saving for the end of the week, the old aches and pains that remind you of past adventures and mishaps coming back to haunt you (but you never mind too much because they take you back to an old memory), we have left the vacation and the journey has really begun. This adventure, although shorter than my previous long distance endurance fest the PCT, pre "Wild" and 8 million people and their mother on the trail, is far more committing. We are in Mongolia, on bicycles, subject to whatever comes our way with a significant language barrier. All at once scary, enthralling, hard, cathartic, and meditative, this has thus far proven to be one of the harder things I have done. I am glad I am not alone and that this country is so welcoming to strangers. Without the curiosity and the hospitality of the people we, I, would be lost.
Before I left I was gifted a book by a friend in Bishop. "The Way of the World" by Nicholas Bouvier. It is an enthralling read that exemplifies all that is traveling. Although it chronicles a much different journey in a much different time it is still very relateable. One particularly pithy quote struck me.
"Traveling provides occasions for shaking oneself up but not, as people believe, freedom. Indeed it involves a kind of reduction: deprived of one's usual setting, the customary routine stripped away like so much wrapping paper, the traveller finds himself reduced to more modest proportions - but also more open the curiosity, to intuition, to love at first sight."
Good words to live by!
Good words to live by!
The Ger we stayed at with B and Family. An amazing
experience!
Back to the happenings! This week we covered roughly 340K through varying terrain. Did and lot of climbing, a lot of descending, saw some trees, water, vallies, rain, and blistering sun. We covered 110k in a single day, took an unexpected rest day next to a creek due to the "Gobi stomach flu" I luckily managed to avoid that. B, our Mongolian friend said maybe I have a strong stomach, like the wolf, I hope! Everything started with an amazing few days spent with B's family. After resting in Erdenet for a few days we were lucky enough to be invited to the family "ranch" as it were outside of Bulgan. This is where B's parents and her extended family has been spending summers in there Ger for years. See goat picture above. We also had most of our stuff driven there and had the opportunity to ride unloaded bikes the 65k to get there. AWESOME!
Once there we were treated to the most amazing hospitality I have ever experienced. We were fed amazing food, welcomed into their homes and family life, and looked after in every way!
Tsuivan. A traditional Mongolian Dish.
The family was wonderful. They showed us how they heat their ger, with a dung fire in a small iron stove, how to make traditional yogurt, how they then dried that yogurt to make snacks and store it, how the mares are milked to make Arok (a fermented traditional drink), and many many other things. We also had some great soccer games with the kids and good times hanging out!
Milking the mares for Arok. Reminiscent of
kombucha and actually not all that bad!
Kyle mid Arok drink. It is a tradition to
offer it to guests and a sign of respect to accept with the
right hand left under the right elbow. Also offered the same way.
Hanging out inside a ger (yurt).
The kids loved the tents. Everyone else got a kick
out of them too! Asanga in the tent "helping".
After our time in the ger it was time to leave. Luckily the family wanted to hike a volcanic peak about 70k away and once again offered to slack pack us (hiking term for someone shuttling your gear) and we accepted! We cycled a pretty easy 70k, got lost, back tracked were found and then reunited with everyone for one last photo op. It turns out we passed the turn off and went a couple extra k but no big deal. When asking for water at a ger (people seem to be always willing to help) we were given fresh AAruul (the dried yogurt) and fresh butter. It was amazing. And went looking for our gear and friends. The bikes were light so no big deal.
The whole family. Asanga was camera shy this day.
A yak. Seen from the road.
Picture from the road that day.
We continued on the next day and had a great and easy 80+k thanks to a rare tail wind. We stopped at a stream in the shade, then came the sickness. Kyle wasn't feeling well and had gotten a stomach bug. I managed to avoid it thank goodness but it laid us up for a day. The rest day was nice but it was hard to not move, especially with a tail wind all day. I read a lot and we chilled. We were also visited and ignored by herders going about their business, people filling water from the creek, and plenty of live stock.
Spent some time with these guys on our impromptu
rest day.
After the sickness had subsided we hit the road once again. We even had a tailwind and an easy 110 k came that day. It was good cycling, good scenery and things were going great. We would make Moron the next day! We hit our campsite, tired but feeling good. The winds picked up but weren't that bad. We did however share our space with some of the biggest, and loudest grasshoppers I have ever seen. These caused some sleep issues along with the heat.
From the road.
One of our, more quiet, neighbors at the camp after 110k.
One of the less quiet ones.
Leaving the next morning for Moron we were greeted with a head wind and the threat of rain. The clouds kept things cool. The wind kept things slow, and the rain never got bad. It was a long 85+ to town but we made it. En route we met a Turkish couple who had driven from Turkey and an Italian guy on a motor cycle. The Turkish couple didn't speak english but we had a photo op and exchanged pleasantries as best we could. The Italian guy was great! He spoke great english and was excited to talk to us.
A new friend!
Then we made it! To Moron, in the weather, and in time to get a guest house room and a huge dinner. We nursed our tired limbs, celebrated the 4th with a few beers, and relaxed. We even met another cyclist, a rather cantankerous old Australian guy who pontificated about life to us. We launch for Kovsgal Nuur (lake) today sometime. We will then catch the Nadaam festival somewhere and take in some traditional Mongolian party. So far so good.
Oh yeah, to explain the title. Everyone here is very well connected. SIM cards with data are ridiculously cheap, about $12 for 5 gigs of data, and it is all pay as you go. Everyone seems to have a facebook page and a cell phone but still many people prefer to live a more traditional life. People in the cities still spend summers in gers, still maintain herds of animals, and produce and eat traditional foods. It is a crazy mix of old and new. You can see the westernization of somethings (like the shitty American hip hop you can hear from our hostel room right now) but many other things remain the same as they have been for generations. The horsemen/women are amazing, the food is still made the traditional way, and even with solar panels and satellite t.v.'s gers are still inhabited in the same way and the nomadic lifestyle still lives on strong. It is a pretty interesting and crazy thing to witness. I hope that tradition still stays strong here because it is a beautiful thing.
I think I can get used to this cycle touring thing. The familiar strong scent of dung fires is starting to be comforting, it means people. The reality of being kept awake by the sour smell of my own stink after 6 days and hundred of miles is starting to get easy again. The daily soreness, and the nomadic life. It is all coming back to me, but this time I am on a bike rather than just my feet. We shall see what the next 2 months brings.
Stay tuned for more! I hope you are all well!
