golian crown”, Khovsguul Nuur, the
weather had remained stunning and
Mongolia basked under its legendary
blue skies, quickly drying the sodden
landscape. To this point we had most-
ly been on paved roads however, the
following days would be all on dirt
and we were worried.
Bikes put aside for a day we enjoyed
the superb landscapes around Khovs-
guul Nuur; towering granite peaks,
pine forests, intense rainbows and a
breathtaking full moon as it rose si-
lently over the still waters of the lake,
the day left us in awe of the endless
beauty of Mongolia.
Riding the Mongolian dirt is an ex-
perience within itself as there is al-
ways dozens of tracks to choose from,
all going, generally, in the same direc-
tion but the rule of thumb is always
to follow the single powerline, that
will lead you to the next village. The
3-day dirt track ride from Khovsguul
Nuur to Tsaguun Nuur was, for some,
the greatest days riding of their lives
and a huge challenge. The tracks var-
ied wildly from easy, fast single tracks
that were barely discernible across
endless grassy steppe to challenging
rocky tracks that wound their way
over lofty mountain passes.
The rains returned, and we slid
and scrambled our way up muddy
fog shrouded 2500 metre mountain
passes and crossed waist deep rivers
averaging around 20kph. More bikes
were drowned, riders were wet and
exhausted, but as we shared a beer
at the Tsaguun Nuur yurt camp after
an epic 10-hour day we all agreed ev-
ery moment was worth it, we all felt
a huge sense of achievement remem-
bering some had never ridden off
road before.
After three days of dirt we finally
hit the pavement again and welcomed
the chance to soak up the endlessly
beautiful surrounds as we rode east
toward the legendary Fairfield Hotel,
run by Australian expat Malcom and
his wife, legendary for its food includ-
ing “Aussie burgers” and curries. We
had been in the “bush” for nearly 2
weeks and we savoured familiar food
again.
Our final run in Ulaan Baatar
saw another itinerary change as the
planned 230km of dirt was now 230km
of deep mud, where even the local 4x4
guides were refusing to venture.
We visited the former capital,
established by Chinngis Khan, of
Erdene Zuu Khid, at Kharhorin before
riding back into the chaos of Ulaan
Baatar, well anything would seem like
chaos after two weeks in some of the
most empty and remote landscapes
TRAVERSE 80
on earth, we all wished we could have
turned around and ridden back out
into the country.
I had never seen Mongolia so wet
and the rivers so high, never, and
talking to locals neither had they, in
their lifetime. The ride had proven
to be a huge challenge for some, but
all came away with a real sense of
achievement and vowed to return to
what must be some of the finest riding
on earth, it was as the names suggest
Mongolian Magic.
This ride had proven to be the big-
gest challenge for me in over a decade
of visiting Mongolia, three weeks ear-
lier, on the previous Mongolian ride
I led, Mongolia was in the grip of a
drought, I had never seen it so dry!
MM
Mick McDonald is the founder of Compass
Expeditions, created after he rode through
Russia before it became the thing to do. His
book, "The Biggest Mistake Of Our Lives", was
just the start of the great adventure.
Mick now shares his adventures through
his business and his stories. If you're inspired
by Mick's stories, check out www.compassex-
peditions.com and join one of their rides.