Day 19. Monday. June 6.

Day 19. Monday  June 6. Sarga Rd Junction Bush to River Bush Camp 9

Distance: 114 km

Cumulative Distance: 2181 km

Time: 7 hrs 11 min

Speed:  15.8 km/hr

Feet Climbed today: 2204

Cumulative Climb: 44,213  ft 

AHR (Average Heart Rate) 103 bpm

Punctures so far: 2.     

Altitude tonight: 5350 ft.

Very cold night last night. Around 3 am I pulled the sleeping bag up tighter and added a jacket to my covering. When the aalarm sounded at 5.30 (we’ve moved all our times forward 30 mins to be more in sync with the sun) I knew it was near freezing outside. In fact it was -5 deg and the flysheet of the tent was covered in light ice. Ditto for everyone else. 

The hot coffee in the breakfast was comforting to just hold it as it was to drink it. We were disappointed that hot porridge and honey wasn't for breakfast, just muesli and milk with the self-made sandwiches.

Mike, Frieder and and I set out together and kept up a good pace in order to warm up the toes and hands. No serious climbs today, just 800m over the complete route just half of yesterday. 

Roads were in good condition till the town of Tsetserleg at 75 km. sometimes a number of tracks to choose from. Flagging at junctions was much improved and quite easy to follow. After Tsetserleg conditions disimproved  and an amount of fine sand on the roads sapped energy and slowed down progress. Apparently the presence of that fine sand will increase as we progress further.

A number of times today the road was blocked by streams. Some of them you could cycle through, others it was possible to jump over up or down stream. One of them today, Mike cycled right through successfully. I took off socks and shoes and walked across. Chance to wash my feet!

We are gradually moving into more and more remote parts of Mongolia. No coverage for phone or iPad here. In fact very little traffic. No vehicle did we see (apart from our own vans) till we sat at lunch after 64 km. For the rest of the day we scarcely met a dozen vehicles but plenty of motorbikes especially around Tsetserleg. I saw one motorbike today going to the mart with a sheep. Not the first time I’ve seen animals being transported in this manner.

On the steppe meadows I saw more yaks today than previous days. And the gers today seem to be those of nomads. So much space here, it's impossible to imagine and so few people about. Gers appear well off the road in the remotest areas. And for the first time mountains in the far distance showed some snow. That is at 2500 m and we are cycling at 200 m altitude today. At the moment we are just 30 km from Russian territory.

Any time we were near a stand of trees today the cuckoo was in full voice.spotted some other birds. Look like herons but not much water about to feed their appetite. Must be some other type. There were some shallow ponds of water in hollows and horses making full use of them as the day warmed up.

Flagging was good in the village of Tsetserleg and I had no issues like yesterday. Main St is in the process of being upgraded - gravel and graded. I didn't stop at any of the shops/cafes here but ploughed on. We had lunch just 10 km earlier.

After that village I followed the directions that kept us close enough to the river. Bridges were of the rudimentary type and the timber on them was more dangerous than the road surface. Both the horses and locals who were passing on motorbikes availed of the cooling qualities of the waters. 

We crisscrossed a number of these bridges before reaching camp here on the bank of that river. Very warm when I pulled in at 3.45 and a chance to dry out the flysheet of the tent. Such a difference in temperatures since this morning.

From lunch on I cycled alone and soaked in the panoramas in front of me. Over a slight hill and another vast expanse appears with our road dividing and merging way into the distance.

Thank God for the health and thank God for the energy. 

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