Friday, August 7, 2009

Aug 2 - 4: Ondorhangai to Kosh-Agach

Well rested after a day of eating, reading, laundry and bike tuning, we set out from Ondorhangai to a continuation of the idyllic scenery we had just left a couple days before. Our first day was another long one, with 112 km and the Chike-Tamen pass at the beginning (only half as big as the last one, though...)

A tiny little Jen (sorry, we only downloaded smaller pics so it would be faster) climing up the pass...


The life-sized version, still climbing...


The view from the top...


And back down we go...


More beautiful scenery, as the road met back up with the Katun river.



On the other side of the pass around lunchtime, the scenery all of a sudden changed. Instead of the rolling green hillsides, now around every new corner there was a new snow-capped peak. It made for a beautiful ride, which we ended in the evening at a beautiful (though INCREDIBLY buggy) campsite, just 5km past a very touristy rafting and horseriding spot.

First views of the snow-capped peaks...




The beautiful but buggy campsite...


The morning of the second day was a perfect experiment in the effects of lactic acid buildup (source of that "burning feeling" in your thighs after many hours of uphill biking.) My theory is that it has a kind of emotional amplifying effect. The day before, when a curve in the road led to an even more beautiful landscape at the almost exact same time as the Paul Simon I was listening to transitioned to a new key, the effect of the lactic acid seemed to amplify these emotions and make me almost delirious with pure happiness at how fun this all was.

The next day, the amplification seemed to happen in the other direction as, going uphill all morning in the sun in still great but unchanging scenery listening to the same songs for the 15th time on my MP3 player, I was literally brought to tears by what I can only assume was boredom and exhaustion. Clearly time for a break, we stopped in Aktash for a nice long lunch and some reading over tea, to give the mind some food for thought for the afternoon.

That afternoon proved much more successful, as the landscape again transformed into something even more dramatic. As we entered the Kosh-Agach region/county, we kept the snow-capped peaks in the distance but got some new reddish-purple sandy-looking mountains in the foreground instead of the lush greenery we had been travelling through the whole time in Russia. The next campsite we stopped at was absolutely perfect... no bugs, a river perfect for bathing and the most delicious meal of Ichiban noodles and cucumber-kielbasa sandwiches you could imagine (never thought I'd be saying that!! :)

Us entering the Kosh-Agach region...

This picture had special significance for me.... we've been "cyber-stalking" two fellow cycle tourists, Sam and Erin , who have followed a similar route but a year before us and as a result have been an amazing source of info and help. (Check out their Guestbook if you're looking for some great km-by-km guides through Mongolia.) Anyway, I remember seeing a picture of them at this spot when we were still in Montreal, researching our route, still skeptical as to whether or not this trip would actually happen, and how foreign and far away it all felt! And now we're here! It was definitely a funny feeling....

Mike at our campsite...


Our next and final day of biking in Russia saw the landscape get even more and more other-worldly atmosphere by the second... steppes at high altitudes, snow-capped mountains in the distance, all the green fading from vibrant to pastels and the hills getting more red and purple with each kilometer. We both felt so fresh and were so entertained by the scenery that we went almost straight through all the ~75km to Kosh Agach with very little stopping, only to visit with some French & German tourists at the side of the road or for a quick chocolate or sandwich break. The last 25km into Kosh-Agach we had an amazing tailwind, almost pushinhg us up the hills, as the numerous Mongol Rally participants on their way to Mongolia snapped photos of us as they zoomed on by. (We've also seen and met tonnes of them during our time here in Olgii - if you've got the time and money, seems like it'd be an awesome trip!)

First thing in the morning, picking up some supplies in town...


There are many war memorials here, all very elaborate, at least one in every town, regardless how small. This little fellow in front of it followed us all around town as we picked up some supplies, though he was too shy to say anything when we said hello...


The winding lush vallies of previous days were now gone, replaced by misty steppes between the mountains...


This picture doesn't do it justice, but the colours here were actually much more impressive than it looks, with hues of purple and reddish-brown and faded pastel greens...


Cycling on our first bit of gravel so far....


Descending into Kosh-Agach, with a lovely tailwind pushing us in...


Anyway, these made for three days of amazing cycling, capping off a fantastic experience in Russia. As you've seen, the scenery, the weather and the roads have made it just perfect cycle touring. To top it off, despite what we heard about the "grouchy Russians" we could expect along the way, our experience with the people here was absolutely fantastic. We met so many friendly people along the way, between our long conversations with shopkeepers (one lady once kept a line of people waiting for almost twenty minutes as she asked us a litany of questions about the trip, where we're from, where we'll go next), the helpful friends we met along the way offering their advice, phone numbers and time to help us with whatever they could, or the quick and friendly little visits with random drivers who stopped in the middle of the road to wish us good luck up a big hill or honked their encouragement as they passed by. All that to say, Russia has been very good to us and we are a little sad to leave, though excited for the next chapter. Da svidania Russii!

-Jen

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