|
|
 |
It's five months since I left Exeter, and I’ve crossed 15,000 km
to reach Ulan Bator, the capital of Mongolia.
"It’s strange not to be in Russia any more – for more than
three months I rode through Russia and in that time it became almost
a second home to me.
"True, I was always on the move, but some things seem fairly
constant across the whole country: the range of groceries available
in village shops; the water pumps on street corners; the warm and
generous hospitality of the people; the tedious but rarely aggressive
drunks; and of course the language.
"I get by fairly well in Russian but in Mongolia I am reduced
to sign language, speaking
|
S
L O W L Y - A N D - L O U D L Y
|
and in
every respect playing the role of the dumb foreigner.
"At
the same time I’m having to adjust to a new diet – bananas are either
unavailable or very expensive in Mongolia, but I still haven’t found
an adequate replacement for a banana sandwich, which has been my
staple breakfast for the past five months.
 |
| Ed
with his worn out shirt - he's got a new one now! |
"After
Novosibirsk things got better, then worse, then better again.
"First of all, the giant horseflies and clouds of mosquitoes,
which made life pretty unbearable across 2000 km of western Siberia,
became much fewer even if they didn’t disappear altogether.
"But then, a couple of days later, having shaken off the pursuing
insects, I was pursued in an action-comedy-farce of a low-speed
chase by a pair of motorbike-mounted muggers.
"They demanded money and, when I refused they rammed their
motorbike repeatedly into my bike. They managed to snap off my front
pannier rack - in fact I was lucky not to have destroyed my whole
front wheel as the rack went through the spokes.
"In the process, though, the muggers fell off their motorbike.
With all of us sent sprawling and my bike and their motorbike damaged,
they decided to call off the attack and head for home.
"I
managed to cobble my bike back into a more-or-less rideable shape
and limp off to hide in the woods for the night in case they’d gone
to fetch reinforcements.
 |
| Ed
celebrated his birthday on the banks of Lake Baikal |
"The
next day, when I was feeling at a low ebb, I met two other cyclists,
Victoria and Daniel, who had (sensibly) taken the train as far as
Novosibirsk but who were planning to ride through Mongolia to China.
"Since we were all heading the same direction, and, as the
Siberians are fond of saying, 'there is only one road', we decided
to ride together for a while.
"It was nice to have company after over three months of solo
riding, and we were able to celebrate my birthday together on the
shore of Lake Baikal with a camp fire, baked potatoes, and a present
for me: a new green T-shirt to replace the one that I’d been wearing
since England, and which had finally disintegrated to the point
that there was more hole than fabric.
"I’ve now got an enforced break in Ulan Bator for a week while
I wait for a Chinese visa. Then it’s south through the Gobi desert
towards China.
"Meanwhile I can rest my knees and reflect on the fact that
I’ve got it easy, really: last week, near Lake Baikal, I met a team
of people who are running round the world. Now that takes serious
knees. 
Take a look at the photo
gallery for more pictures.
 |
Ed's
last diary >>> |
 |
We
hope to hear from Ed again very soon.
|
