For anyone who has experienced travel in outer Mongolia.
Once you visit and travel outer Mongolia, you will know that some experiences can change you in ways that others destinations on holidays cannot. The Earth in it’s organic form, mixed with domesticated horses, sheep, goats, yaks and camels and the people, Nomadic and living in tents on the surface of the arid grassland Steppe – is all an incredible and raw world of experience -is Mongolia.
From a mountain bike [photos below] I gained valuable insights into life far outside my comfort zone. While Nomad Mongolians have existed for centuries on these pasture lands located between Russia, China and outer Mongolia’s western Kazakh populations living just hundreds of kilometers from Kazakhstan [photo 1] their land is deeply connected to their daily life survival.
Through a collection of videos, I hope to share more of the experiences others shared while in this geographical and culturally rich landscape. I hope to return one day, but for now – I have lasting memories that have already began to change the way I see contrasts throughout the world around me.
End of the journey. A felt a huge sigh of relief completing the solo expedition in Mongolia this summer. After visiting with Mongol Rally drivers, motorcyclists, and other overland travellers like Dimitri the Russian American from New York putting down a cup of Ghenghis Gold Vodka (half way), I refilled my spirits in Olgii with more travellers after a few days recovering just before completing the expedition in Bayan-Olgii Province.
I made it. With a mountain bike, a few bags of equipment, a tent, a sleeping bag, a sleeping mat, water bottles with 9L capacity (taking on two 1.5L bottles on the front panniers) and at the end, I had run out of nearly everything I was carrying, at times it was water, antibiotics, powered protein for two months, multivitamin mega-packs, dried Mongolian “arroz” cheese shared by Nomad families and returned to a family with 6 children much without their own provisions, and the Nutella I scraped clean with my bare fingers, even my knife which I gave to a Dörvöd Mongolian on the final stretch to Altai Mountains wedged between Russia’s Siberia and China’s western frontiers. I had been ill from some contaminated streams that all the local children were using between sits with boiled (and healthier) chai-woo, their salted milk tea made from local stream water, goat or yaks milk and herbs. The days 8-12 hours grew longer with the bike, either ridden or trekked while pushing the cycle alongside me.
I made it. With a mountain bike, a few bags of equipment, a tent, a sleeping bag, a sleeping mat, water bottles with 9L capacity (taking on two 1.5L bottles on the front panniers) and at the end, I had run out of nearly everything I was carrying, at times it was water, antibiotics, powered protein for two months, multivitamin mega-packs, dried Mongolian “arroz” cheese shared by Nomad families and returned to a family with 6 children much without their own provisions, and the Nutella I scraped clean with my bare fingers, even my knife which I gave to a Dörvöd Mongolian on the final stretch to Altai Mountains wedged between Russia’s Siberia and China’s western frontiers. I had been ill from some contaminated streams that all the local children were using between sits with boiled (and healthier) chai-woo, their salted milk tea made from local stream water, goat or yaks milk and herbs. The days 8-12 hours grew longer with the bike, either ridden or trekked while pushing the cycle alongside me.
At times, it felt like an increasingly difficult journey alone with a mountain bike.
Not that it ever felt impossible because I was always too close to the land, near to the Mongolian people and their flocks of animals. The organic lands, the distant dirt tracks that end at Altai Taven-Bogd National Park 2499km distant from my start in the capital of Ulaanbaatar was overwhelming and inviting at the same time.
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The MongoliaX2012 expedition completed was 4 times as long as the Mongolian Bike Challenge, MBC 2012
2499km of expedition mountain bike touring is probably XXX times more difficult carrying all my own supplies (50 kilogram mountain bike, camping and repair/spare equipment, powder supplements, medicine, clothing, electronics) without support vehicles or riding partners to share the experience and difficulties with. It was an “up at dawn, get your pants on and ride, walk or trek today’ kind of expedition, time not critical but distances on off road terrain and jeep track conditions completely variable in different weather and topographic conditions. I am a believer in adventure touring, and adventure racing too,both styles are incredible adventures.More about adventure MTB endurance events, Mt. Nandadevi Expedition Race is set to launch in November of 2012, and the registration is currently open – more info here.
Indian Himalayan 2012 Mt. Nandadevi Expedition Race is coming up November 24-December 1, 2012, details at the links provided and a great event to get started – it’s fresh and new, cheaper by the dozens of global adventure races available today (I will share a list soon). Mt. Nandavevi Mountain Bike Expedition is a multi-staged endurance race crossing 635 Kilometers located along the Himalayas of northern India. Since the first annual Mt. Nandadevi race event is set to launch in November of this year, it’s also one of the least expensive of global endurance MTB events and is set to launch with over $25,000 in prize money and new sponsors coming forward (including Ambrosio wheels, Oakley eyewear, and others joining the race movements). Looks exciting and inviting too!
We name the event 1st Mt. NANDADEVI INTERNATIONAL MOUNTAIN BIKING EXPEDITION and dedicated to India’s Second highest mountain NANDADEVI. This will be a bi annual expedition starting this November.
Mt. NANDADEVI INTERNATIONAL MOUNTAIN BIKING EXPEDITION is all set unveil on coming 23rd November 2012 in Uttrakhand (www.uk.gov.in). This event will start from Dehradun the capital of Uttrakhand and will end at Auli.
Starting on 23rd Nov 2012 to till 1st of December this stage race of 9 great days will criss cross Gharwal area of Uttrkhand State. 12365 feet is the highest point you will touch en-route where you can take a close view of great Nandadevi Mountain. Each night of the event will showcases different Gharwali Cultural performances by local village and a dance performance by a noted Odissi dancer on the day of closing ceremony.
Mt. Nandadevi International Mountain Biking Expedition (MNIMBE) is an endurance mountain bike race during which each athlete will be able to put their abilities to the maximum test. The race is designed for teams of two or individual in which each team or participant must pass through each checkpoint (CP) together and in a certain amount of time to be determined. If team members fail to stay together or reach the CP in the designated cut-off time, they will be removed from the official ranking but will be permitted to continue in the race.
Get a taste of adventure racing in the Mongolia Bike Challenge (MBC 2012) Promo video here, it looks awesome too. Other events worldwide are taking the MTB race endurance participants to more amazing destinations as the sport’s attention continues to grow.
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Mountain biking expedition touring across Mongolia, what’s it like on the ground?
Everything from muddy ruts in rain (I’ve never fallen so much in my life), corrugated dirt that bone shakes the body and stone-laiden tracks that are difficult to pick a line and ride smoothly. The off road conditions are either a paradise – or a the greatest challenge when riding through on a hardtail mountain bike carrying all the equipment you need to ride, camp and continue through internals and it took much of the entire summer to be completed. 38 of 45 days spent traveling across a country without connections setup ahead, no couch surfing.com or warm showers.org hosts waiting ahead, only night to punctuate the long summer days, probably the best time to travel across Mongolia, not necessarily the easiest though.
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In most areas – the Mongolians were always on the horizon, somewhere dotting the landscapes, but in the northwest where tracks turned to sinking sand and fields of dust surrounding the abandoned wheat fields (post-Russian occupation), there wasn’t an animal, a person, a ger tent, or a river to be seen anywhere. Although, a few jeeps flew past along the deserted sections, where farm houses were boarded and bolted shut, they didn’t stop when I waved, instead they waved in return, or slowed and hesitated to open up and then drove off while I flailed my arms and pointed at my empty bottles where water should have been stored, I should have had enough (7 liters capacity, 3 additional liters in extra bottles, and 2 bottles were taken from the bike while camping at night-they are sought after in Mongolia, where the herders on horses didn’t carry bottles at all for their own hydration). It definitely got tough and tougher with injuries. The road is hard, stony, rock laiden or steep straight up and over every mountain range. There are no paved roads outside of the 100km stretch leaving Ulaanbaatar to the west until Bayarkhangai, except 100km paved around Bulgan to Unit, and then nothing until the tarmac airplane-runway landing into Moron.
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The steppe grasslands are immense and the tracks lead everywhere, some places where people used to live, where the spot is left on the grassless steppe, a few stakes remain in the ground but nobody was there, no animals and no water. I had to recheck the GPS and find the tracks, return to them before I was too far off course to return. And so the summer went past, 45 days weaving in and out of the deserts, the steppe grasslands, the Nomad ger tents, the flocks of sheep and bands of horses dancing alongside the dirt where I roamed. I couldn’t capture so much of these experiences in film or video like I wanted, I was too beat up by the terrain to bother. I captured a great deal, the rest will arrive in text being sewn together now as I look back – the experiences are close, the toughest, the ones that either break you, or recharge your imagination clarifying what an adventure could be like.
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Over 45 days of the journey, I had time alone, time with nature (winning and losing) with Nomadic Mongolians who always shared their chai tea, bread and butter – and lovely “arroz” cheese with me.
When you are out alone into the wild world on a bicycle, you don’t have to image what an adventure would be like if you ‘just had enough time to experience it’, you actually will spend your days -riding and trekking 10-12 hours a day to survive, to get water, to meet locals somewhere -on a route decided but outcomes unplanned and unanticipated – for exploring, this is as close as I have ever come to life.
I rode a Lynskey M240S titanium frame (1.2kg) which saved on weight, pushing the 45 kg dry weight of the bicycle, camping accessories, and powder (without 7-9 liters of water capacity). The rest of this update is built from a collection of photography and video created using time lapse techniques (I want to learn this myself). Amazing is different, enjoy them all. Namaste.
Time Lapse Photography, a collection of shorts to enjoy on exploring Mongolia, and getting to Mongolia from Denmark. Pretty amazing world is opened, explored, with challenges to overcome.
Denmark to Mongolia – Road movie, summer 2010 from Robin Skytte on Vimeo.
Road trips to and through Mongolia
Road trips to and through Mongolia
weather was cool, clear and incredibly relaxing. I suffered from altitude sickness below 3000 meters, but will fight to the top to rest and relax by a stoked campfire -brilliant luck in northern Yunnan!
ONE - Arctic to Argentina A2A 
picture of how do you pack
saddlebags and that
order and what all
wear them, will mean a lot
to me now before the
trip … ;))