Month: June 2010

Ellen sent me a text with the below

300 kms from the Russian border at 扎兰屯。 I saw a baby goat walking along a mud fence. Got a Photo. It was weird that it was up 5 feet climbing on the fence.

Climbing a mountain all day, a very slow 80 km – but I expected this as China uses mountains to separate Mongolia from the rest of the folks. It’s a pity because in Inner Mongolia it’s cleaner and the people are helpful yet mind their own business – if you’ve lived in China you know what I mean by not bothering you. Also, I enjoy going up the mountains because there are less people, communities, and there is always a beautiful view – and the ride down is pretty awesome.

Beginning to sleep more than 5 hours. Got roughly 9 last night minus the waking up confused “where am I?” and sweating.

So tired of the food selection. Everything is either loaded with sugar, swimming in oil, or deep fried. God, all I want is a salad with blue cheese, cranberries, and walnuts – and a Dr. Pepper Big Gulp with extra ice. Lots of ice. Ice for days.

The sun rises very early in the north of China. Ellen says that sunrise starts at 3 am and has been setting lately at around 8. She usually starts riding around 4-5 am, stops when she can no longer see her shadow and takes a break for lunch and a nap under a tree or somewhere else suitable. Then continues on to her destination, often not arriving until just after sunset. This does not leave a lot of time for sleeping at night, after you budget in the time it takes to look for a place to sleep and finding something to eat. But last night she successfully got 7.5 hours of sleep, which is was really excited about. She’s taking it easy in Chichihar until Sunday, got a hotel room with only a small window (little light to come into the room, which is a plus for Ellen), and is eating some junk food. Ed is right, Ellen does deserve some downtime.

Prior to getting to Chichihar, Ellen says that just before the sun started to set, there were dragon flys everywhere. It was the most she’s ever seen. But the at dusk, the dragon flys were replaced by mosquitoes. Ellen stopped for a second to drink some water and the next thing she knew, there were 20 mosquitoes on her shirt. She proceeded to ride fast the rest of the way to Chichihar to keep the bugs off.

For those who don’t know, Ellen just had a birthday. When I asked her if she was going to take it easy that day, she said “No, I’m riding. I wouldn’t have it any other way.” That’s Ellen for you.

She rode about 90 kms today in the blazing hot heat of Inner Mongolia. She said the heat was brutal, but thankfully the road was flat as a pancake and there was a bit of a tailwind. She is now in Song Yuan.