As I prepared the breakfast and the coffee the next morning a guy on a horse came up to our camp site. We got one of the spare cups out that we carry just for this reason and made another coffee. I was keen to chat but it was frustrating as our languages were different and even sign language did not seem to work. Despite this he seemed happy just to be sitting there drinking coffee.
Liz and Chris, both from the UK, met in Wanaka, New Zealand in August 2005. Chris was on his second gap year and Liz was on holiday. When they first met, Chris mentioned that he would like to cycle around the world, Liz didn’t really think he was serious. Turns out he was.
You can read about their cycle journey from New Zealand back to the UK on their website: www.bikeaboutuk.co.uk. If you are interested in cycling through the Gobi Desert, they have written a useful guide here.
They are also on Facebook and Twitter
The next morning it was still windy but the sky was no longer a yellow haze of sand, we had to at least try. As we were packing up a couple of Mongolians came past our camp site on their motorbikes. Liz prepared coffee for us all and we managed to have a basic conversation about the weather using sign language. The guys were friendly and smiley, but did not stay for long, it was too cold sitting around.
Despite the constant head wind we managed a reasonable day, by evening the wind had died down and we found a good camp spot. The following day we were due to pass a small town to resupply. We had sort of got used to the wind now, our pace was slow but so long as we kept at it we made progress. We passed quite a few vehicles during the day and always asked the way to the next town. Based on our understanding of their reply it seemed we were still going in the right direction. However, just before sunset we saw no sign of the town. A shiny car stopped, some young guys got out and started chatting with us, the town was not far. They gave us some water and we continued up the hill towards the setting sun.
Things did not seem quite right. Based on our understanding of where the town was we should have passed it hours ago. It was late now so we set up camp by some rocks on the ridge admiring the small groups of camels that we had almost grown accustomed to seeing.
Daylight meant that we could see a lot further. Using the monocular we spied a group of yurts and buildings in the distance - this had to be the town. We still had a way to go to get to the big town of Sainshand where there would be a hotel and shower so it was important that we got water here at least. The closer we got the less likely this seemed to be our little town. The collection of a few fallen down wooden buildings and yurts had an eerie feel to it. We called out Sain baina uu - Hello to the people in the yurt. They did not seem that surprised to see us. After some creative sign language and drawing in the sand we managed to work out that this was not the town. The town was 18 kms away to the east.
It was not worth going back, we still had plenty of food left, enough to get to Sainshand. We managed to fill up our water bladders from a large water tank near the yurts and we were on our way again. We soon realised our mistake, from Zamyn Uud to Sainshand was pretty much a straight line, this small town was slightly to the east. For most cars or trucks, it would not be worth taking this extra detour.
We pushed on that day keen to cover ground, so long as we did not get trapped in the tent again we would make it. During our snack stops we collected camel poo and by dinner time we had plenty to make a good fire to cook with. After dinner we carried on cycling until late evening. Exhausted, we put up the tent and collapsed into our sleeping bags. It had been our longest desert day so far and we were completely shattered.
As I prepared the breakfast and the coffee the next morning a guy on a horse came up to our camp site. We got one of the spare cups out that we carry just for this reason and made another coffee. It turned out that he was one of the two men that had come over to the tent the night before as we were setting up. I was keen to chat but it was frustrating as our languages were different and even sign language did not seem to work. Despite this he seemed happy just to be sitting there drinking coffee.
Another day of head wind awaited us but an unexpected stretch of asphalt road that lasted for just over 20 kms made up for it. At 15 km/h it felt like we were flying. In places the sand had been flattened just enough by some cars that we could cycle in unison over them, following the tyre tracks. As the day progressed the mounds of sand got bigger, eventually we conceded and got back to the gravel and sand.
Towards the end of the day we approached the base of a large ridge. Liz was convinced that just over this hill would be the large town of Sainshand. I was not so sure, I had expected to be able to see a large town stuck in the middle of the desert from some distance. Either way it was not going to be far. We agreed that if the town was there it was also not worth turning up at night.
We set up camp to an amazing sunset, I turned on the phone and got really excited when the signal bars started to appear. Using google maps we checked our position, we were right where Liz thought we should be and it was only 10 km to the town.
Mid-morning the next day we were eating ice cream and drinking cold coke outside a small shop surrounded by interested people. We had made it and were awash with a mixture of joy and relief. Liz somehow managed to find the best Hotel in town - I could hardly say no.
We rested here for a few days then continued our journey to Ulaanbaatar. It took us another 13 days of cycling to reach the capital, by the time we arrived there we had cycle 650 km over 21 days with an almost constant head wind.
Liz is glad and proud to have made this crossing but would never do it again. It's going to take a lot of beach holidays apparently to make sand appealing again.
I found a sort of comfort in the Gobi despite the hardships of the wind. The open space, lack of people and remoteness has a strange draw. I will return.
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