Lee-Ann and Dave's Epic Eurasia Motorcycle Adventure: September 1, 2015 Ulan Bator to Sainshand

Today we traveled 490km (306 miles) from a 5 star hotel to a desert ger (known as a yurt in much of the world).

But first we went to see our friend, Gengis Khan.

We said our final goodbyes this morning to Svetlana. She's going to be missed. Svetlana has gotten us out of many jams with the police, and worked hard to make the trip enjoyable. Her friend, Cheburashka, will be traveling on with us.

Our furry friend currently in the care of our medic/guide, Mike Meyers. We hope Mike is a good influence on our young friend, and doesn't leave him stuffed in the saddle bags too long.

We left early because the Genghis Khan memorial is a side trip from our route.

John, Boz and David were in high spirits and took off at a very fast pace...

until horses and...

gravel roads slowed David down a bit. He's careful on the gravel and sand roads riding two-up, and makes sure we get through in an upright position. I have started riding rough sections standing up on the motorcycle, behind Dave, who always gets up on the footpegs in loose and rough sections. This lowers the center of gravity and allows the bike to move independently, soaking up bumps and self-routing through sand and gravel. This is the hardest part of adventure motorcycle riding, and always a challenge. Several riders have gone down on this trip, and it is particularly dangerous for our group, as we have limited replacement parts, no spare bikes, and any major injury probably means early return home, or treatment in remote medical facilites.

We were told to watch the left side of the road, and the memorial would rise up to greet us. We were not disappointed.

We got there a few minutes before the site opened at 9am.

So Dave rode to a nearby statue - and we visited a new Buddhist shrine - down the road within sight. It's still under construction.

When the gates opened we walked up the stairway to the most massive monument I've ever seen - 250 tons of stainless steel.

With the 7,000 tughrik admission price ($3.50) we took an elevator and stairs to the horse's shoulders.

This statue is massive! - 131 feet tall plus the huge base.

Ghengis Khan's kingdom was history's largest contiguous territorial empire. He faces east towards his Mongolian birthplace...

As do all the cemetaries we saw during our travels in Mongolia.

The route today mostly parrelled the Trans Mongolian railway. The immenseness of the country is overwhelming at times. I look around and see only scrub grass, sand and maybe a ger in the distance.

Today's ride seemed even more remote than any we have done so far. The small herds of sheep, goats, cows and horses were far apart. We traveled miles without seeing anyone or anything.

Small outpost cafes can be found. The workers at this stop were very excited to see us. They lined up at the windows to get a good view.

In Mongolia traditional ways intermingle with more modern ways. I often noticed horseback riders with cell phones. This guy thinks we are photo-worthy material.

The ability to see for a long way in the distance proved to be tempting to David.

It's hard to see, but we were going over 180 km/hr (111 mph) for most of the afternoon, sometimes a bit slower, but generally about 170 (106 mph). This sounds dangerous, but absent a tire blowout, there are no sideroads, few animals, no vegetatin to block anything invisible, and no turns, so even I am okay at these speeds. Dave did regularly check the bike's digital tire pressure and engine readings while under way to make sure nothing was heating up.

Our destination tonight was Sainshand, Mongolia. It is a ger resort, located about 5 miles from the paved road.

For 3,000 years steppe people have led a nomadic existence, seeking the best pastures for livestock. Thirty percent of Mongolians still live this way. They live in gers, which can be set up or dismantled in less than 2 hours, and transported easily by horse, camel or yak, but now mostly on small trucks. The ger consists of an expanding circular frame with a felt covering. The felt is made from the sheeps wool from their flocks. The timber to make the interior cannot be found on the steppe and is obtained by trade in the valleys below. We saw thousands of gers on our route.

Our GPS couldn't lead us to the exact destination because there is no road. So by putting together the endpoint flag, and being able to see some gers out in the distance, we were able to find jeep tracks into the hotel compound. We hit very short sections of soft sand, but had no real difficulty in getting to the place. Due to our speed today, we had one ahead of the group with Alain trailing, so our two bikes were the first to arrive.

As we were the first bikes there, we sat in the restaurant ger and relished a cold beer.

Little did we know of the difficulties one of our fellow riders faced. Boz (Mike Bozarth) had also ridden independentlly today, but alone. He chose a different desert route to the gers, about 30 miles of untracked empty desert, down a river wash. When trying to crest the dry sand bank, the bike crashed down, and sunk the front wheel in deep sand, launching Boz about 30 feet. His right leg popped, probably a tendon and muscle injury, and with three good limbs, he couldn't unbury the bike, so texted for assistance. With the sun going down, theere was no reply to the weal signal, so after considering spending the night with camels, he made a last valiant effort and was able to unload the luggage, free the bike with his three usable limbs, and get it over the embankment. He rode in, and luckily the injury is to his right leg, the least important limb for riding, as the shifter is on the left foot. Boz is bound up and limping, but expects to be able to continue.

When everyone else arrived, the baggage was delivered to our individual gers. While ensuite gers were not built in the traditional style, as they have internal bathrooms, we still got the flavor of nomadic life.

The room was quite spacious and surprisingly cool. A nice breeze blew through the small window and the thick walls kept the ger cool.

Some in our group slept in the traditional gers and used a communal bathroom.

As we exited the restaurant ger at sunset, we saw Janis coming back from a test drive after replacing the chain on his motorcycle. The guides try to keep a close eye on all the bikes and fluid levels for us.