In Summer 2015, Ciarán and I spent 40 days cycling across Mongolia. Along the way we encountered lunar landscapes, lazy camels, curious locals, sandy tracks, rolling hills, incredible hosts, idyllic campsites and stunning skies!
*Warning: there is one graphic scene of a goat being turned inside out. We were invited to camp next to some herders who were bringing their goats to the capital. They treated us to khorkhog, a traditional Mongolian dish which involves cooking the goat with hot rocks in the stomach of the animal. It tasted better than it sounds.
Music:
The first track is a snippet from the title track of Melting Cavalry by the Irish band Seti The First. The second track is Excessive Moonlight by Indian Jewelery and the third track is Seagreen Serenade by Silver Apples.
Crank and Cog 
Looks like a very worthwhile adventure trip. Some very nice footage. One pedantic point: As July has 31 days you could not spend 40 days cycling in July.
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Thanks for pointing that out, I’ve changed it to summer.
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What an adventure…Mongolia is now on ‘the list’. Safe traveling
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Hello Laura,
I am planning a bike ride across Mongolia this summer, 2016,
Could you answer a few questions for me? Did you ride East to
West or other direction? What type of bikes did you ride and
how did you find them for the terain? Do you think July is the best month for the ride?
Many other questions but won’t pain you too much:)
Thank you
Robert
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Hi Robert,
We cycled from Ulaanbaatar to Ulgii, East to West. We rode Surly long haul truckers with 2″ tyres. The bikes were great for the trip but we would have used thicker tyres for the sand. We were cycling against the wind most of the way so it might be best to get a bus or fly to Ulgii and cycle back towards UB. July was very hot, but maybe late July, early August would be a good time. There is a big festival in Mongolia in mid July so it was cool to see some of the celebrations. Here is the route we took: https://crankandcog.wordpress.com/mongolian-russian-route/
And info about the bikes: https://crankandcog.wordpress.com/the-bikes/
And gear: https://crankandcog.wordpress.com/camping-gear/
I’m happy to answer any other questions you have!
Laura
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We experienced the Gobi as well. I respectfully declined the honor of slicing our goat’s throat for communal dinner that evening!
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Yep, we’d of preferred noodles for dinner that particular evening!
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What an amazing journey you did.. in one of my favorite countries. It’s so hard to describe to people the vastness of those landscapes, the endless skies, its otherworldliness; but you’ve managed to capture quite a bit of that feel in your video. Wow, thnx for sharing and taking me back to the Gobi, gers & goats 😉
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Ya, it really is one of the most interesting places we’ve ever been! Thanks for the lovely comment!
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This is so neat! What an adventure to cycle through other countries!
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