I discovered over breakfast with Daniela and Ondrej that she knows a good friend of my son. A very small world, considering I know less than a handful of people from the Czech Republic.
I packed up, left the yurt and took the double track skirting the lake. It was nice and easy, but I soon had to join the same bumpy, rocky road that I’d been on two days prior.
Today was windless and cloudless and the lake was an amazing blue. It was a pity to be leaving on a day like this, but further adventure awaited.
I’d be ascending only a few hundred metres to the Moldo-Ashuu Pass before a long downhill. It was gentle at first, but the last 800 metres were much steeper and rocky, meaning that I got off and walked. Even that was exhausting.
When I made it to the top, I took the obligatory top-of-the-pass shots, had a bite to eat, and got going. I had a fox for company. He stayed about 100 metres away but was always looking up, checking things out.
Normally, I’d be salivating at the prospect of a 35km downhill but these roads mean it’s full concentration with lots of braking. Often you can’t go more than 10-15km/hr and that’s unbelievably frustrating. Of course, the views and ever changing landscape more than compensates.
As I rolled away from the pass, the descent unfolded. Wow. Lots of switchbacks, long at first but shortening as the road approached the narrow valley. The road was dry, dusty and rocky and I stopped often just to breathe in the magnificent vistas. As much as I complain about the roads, building them must have been hell.
Finally, I made it through the switchbacks and I could hear my brakes sigh with relief, or was it my wrists. Either way, every part of me, This Moment and my gear, had been shaken to bits and covered in dust.
There were a few yurts and holiday cabins further down, and the valley opened up to reveal superb pastures that were filling up with nomads and their livestock.
Traffic appeared as well. Less magnificent but always interesting. Some cars and vans flew past and covered me in even more dust, while the odd one or two slowed down for me – very nice of them too.
One old car went past blowing smoke and groaning under the weight of a trailer load of soil. I had to leave the road as he wasn’t going around me – or that’s how I interpreted the horn blasting.
About 5kms later one of his wheels had fallen off and someone had stopped to help. He’d need a very strong jack to lift that load off the ground though.
I soon rolled into Jangy-Talap where I’d booked a guesthouse. I contacted them about any local food shops, found them and got some supplies for the next few days before heading to the guesthouse.
It’s an oasis surrounded by dusty bumpy roads. Later, I met some young french travellers and we talked for an hour or so.
The host here is lovely. They gave me an afternoon snack that resembled a meal (a fillet of fish with salad), served fermented horse milk and dressed me up in the traditional headwear from this country. It’s not my style, really.
I later had some pasta and got organised for the next three days over Torguz Toro Pass without resupply.
