Today we made it to Lake Baikal after spending Saturday laying over in Ulan-Ude. I really needed the day off the bike after the long tough day on Friday. We took advantage of the day off and did bathtub laundry. You really get to see how dirty the clothes get doing laundry by hand. It was pretty disgusting actually. The laundry water turned to mud instantly. We strung up cam straps and turned the secure parking area of the guest house into a gypsy camp. Not sure if the owner cared - he didn't say anything but we got some interesting looks from the staff. We also went to a cash and carry superstore just down the street to load up on supplies for Mongolia. It was kind of a cross between a Costco and a Walmart - with much less variety. We all got our usual mix of freeze dried items to boil up at camp.
The ride to the lake was excellent - beautiful sunny cool day and a perfect mountain road with little traffic. We chose to go to a more remote area of the lake - most travelers we read about hit the more mainstream spot further west. I'm glad we chose the eastern part. The beach area is quite nice and the lake is beautiful. We all went for a swim in the cool clear water. The surf was pretty big and the lake bottom was very rocky so getting out there was a bit of a challenge. Once out there a ways you could relax and enjoy the rolling waves. There were still quite a few locals around as it was Sunday afternoon - but many were already packing up and heading out so we grabbed a great camp right at the beach line. We even had a campfire while enjoying the stunning sunset.
It is a full moon tonight - Ken and Mark have gone to bed but I am still by the glowing embers listening to Steely Dan waiting for the moon to come up over the hillside. It's a bit after 11pm and I really want to sleep so hopefully it will come up soon. It is a clear night and the stars are just starting to come out - it didn't really get dark until about 10:45pm.
Tomorrow we will ride the 400 km to the Mongolia boarder and spend the night. We want get to the boarder crossing on Tuesday morning - it could take half a day or more to go through the process. I'm looking forward to seeing Mongolia but am a bit nervous about the riding. It will be the most challenging section of the trip as most of the riding will be off-road. My body and back was pretty beat up from the Russian paved roads on Friday - if you can even call them that. Tonight will be cold and I have all the gear out - including my ski cap to sleep in. The full moon is out and it is a magnificent sight lighting up the lake and beach.
NOT a vacation. Ok, maybe today feels like vacation...
The ride to the lake was excellent - beautiful sunny cool day and a perfect mountain road with little traffic. We chose to go to a more remote area of the lake - most travelers we read about hit the more mainstream spot further west. I'm glad we chose the eastern part. The beach area is quite nice and the lake is beautiful. We all went for a swim in the cool clear water. The surf was pretty big and the lake bottom was very rocky so getting out there was a bit of a challenge. Once out there a ways you could relax and enjoy the rolling waves. There were still quite a few locals around as it was Sunday afternoon - but many were already packing up and heading out so we grabbed a great camp right at the beach line. We even had a campfire while enjoying the stunning sunset.
It is a full moon tonight - Ken and Mark have gone to bed but I am still by the glowing embers listening to Steely Dan waiting for the moon to come up over the hillside. It's a bit after 11pm and I really want to sleep so hopefully it will come up soon. It is a clear night and the stars are just starting to come out - it didn't really get dark until about 10:45pm.
Tomorrow we will ride the 400 km to the Mongolia boarder and spend the night. We want get to the boarder crossing on Tuesday morning - it could take half a day or more to go through the process. I'm looking forward to seeing Mongolia but am a bit nervous about the riding. It will be the most challenging section of the trip as most of the riding will be off-road. My body and back was pretty beat up from the Russian paved roads on Friday - if you can even call them that. Tonight will be cold and I have all the gear out - including my ski cap to sleep in. The full moon is out and it is a magnificent sight lighting up the lake and beach.
Beautiful sunset.
Just arrived at the lake - It's a beautiful day!
First campfire of the trip. It got cool in a hurry at sunset.
Clothes get very dirty when you spend 90% of your time outside.
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