Mongolia, Day 5 - Baruun Bayan to Arvaikheer and playing in the dunes

Last night was a one-bagger and generally a good sleep was had after staying up late to blog. Last ablutions before bed and a chance to admire that wonderful clear Mongolian sky - do they pay more to get such a generous helping of stars I wonder?  Mongolia has over 250 sunny days per year and is known as the Land of Blue Sky - this extends to night time.

Update on Mark: comfortable but after a day in the jeep, the clinic in Arvaikheer confirmed that he has broken three bones in his right hand and strained a ligament or tendon in his knee. Lucky (?) for him that he's left-handed. His trip is effectively over and he's making plans to return to the UK (further update: Mark travelled with us for the remainder of the tour). 

Matt has caught some kind of bug and is doubled up in pain.  Unlikely to be the excellent food as the rest of us are fine. By the way, today we had caviar! Ok, not beluga; but caviar! On an adventure bike tour!  This trip has reset our food reference point. 

Duff had an off too, after carefully hitting a booby trapped rock left in Mick's wake. Duff says it was a case of target fixation: keep looking at the thing you want to avoid and you're guaranteed to hit it!

Before lunch we ride to the edge of the Gobi sand dunes. The sandy approach trail is lined with tall grass that hits you in the face as you wind your way along it; feels rather like riding through a dried up marsh. 

The 'marsh' ends with a flat sandy area with thin grass trying hard to grow, and then suddenly the dunes start; they just start, like an invisible barrier holds them back, it's weird.  King Mark is carried in his chair from the car to the sand, we remove our hydration packs and jackets, and after posing for a few photos, it's play time! 

King Mark is wheeled out to survey his subjects at play

Biker Dom ready for the Gobi Dakar rally

Sand, our old adversary. We hate it. Mostly. But here it's all sand, fine, yielding, no traction, impossible to ride you'd think. But no. With the right technique it is possible to do the impossible. Third gear, lean back, straighten the arms says the tour boss Mr Gantulga (ex pro racer and class winner of the Paris-Beijing rally) and so we try. And some of us do quite well. Chris seems right at home steaming up and down dune walls; myself, Gerard , Christian and Hugo are also not too shabby. And others also benefit from the advice and plot a steady course through the sand. A few, recognising their limitations, wisely sit and watch the antics. 

Biker Dom and Ducky blaze a trail through the Gobi

I carve a dramatic arc up, along and down a dune slope, with the emphasis on "down" as the bike digs its front wheel in and ejects me in disgust. As usual, I put on a good show for the crowd. Later, without an audience, I crest a ridge and see a steep drop. In panic my braked front wheel digs in again, but this time the bike administers corporal punishment as it topples and whacks my thigh. Ouch, that hurt!  Pride bruised and now the damn bike won't start. I waste at least ten minutes trying to kick start a 650cc single-cylinder engine (kick starters are the invention of a sadist) and in that time the distant sound of barking single cylinder engines dies down. Play time is over and I'm stranded. Finally the bugger comes to life and I limp back to base. Despite the wasted time it was fun, my power slides have come on a treat and falling off in sand doesn't count.

Biker Dom and Gobi Ducky

It occurred to me today that since leaving Ulaan Bataar, we haven't been on a single tarmac road; nor have we crossed or seen one. Even through what you could call small towns, there were only dirt/gravel tracks. And very few cars and no bridges yet, hence why some of us got wet yesterday!  I'm sure there are roads and bridges in Mongolia, we have just managed to avoid them.  Seemingly every house has a horse and every garden/yard has a ger (what Mongolians call a yurt); even then one horse towns are rare, and towns even less common.

After heading away from the dunes the landscape opens up and becomes low craggy hills and wide plains again; it seems familiar because it is, we rode this way to get to the dunes from our campsite.  Further on, the plains become even wider and the single track we're following becomes a multi-lane Mongolian super highway, albeit empty.  We stop for a very windy lunch and cower behind the truck to enjoy our caviar. 

multi-lane Mongolian super-highway

We arrive in Arvaikheer and find our hotel. Solid walls, hot water, toilets, showers,.... and eventually Wifi! Joy of joys, we're connected again. Oh my, how we are all under the digital thumb. But I guess, you wouldn't be reading this were it not for that fact. Tonight will be a no bagger!