Blogs

After an almost wholly unsuccessful yet surprisingly enjoyable 4-day camping excursion, it's nearly time to leave Irkutsk. (Our progress was hampered by 100km of dirt track, one high mountain pass, 36 hours of rain, 5 degree nights, one thunderstorm, one lost camp stove part, one broken chain and one giant stray dog.) Tomorrow Nathan, Sally and I begin our ride towards the Mongolian border! We have 9 days to cross 700km, skirting the world's deepest lake and climbing up on to the Mongolian plateau where it apparently drops down to -10 degrees at night. Fun stuff.

After 14 days of non-stop riding, some 1800km, with daily distances of 140 to 200km, and nearly being robbed on the side of the highway, I’ve decided I can no longer keep the pace being set by the rest of the team and still meet my personal travel goals for enjoyment, sanity, and safety (not to mention sanitation.) Therefore, I’ve decided to remain behind in Omsk for a few days. I’ll be taking the train from here to Irkutsk and meeting the team there for the Baikal/Mongolia portion of the trip.