Elsen Tasarkhai to Sangiin Dalai Lake
104km for 1100m climbing
Hamish: 4hrs 30mins. Think 8th overall, and 3rd Masters 2
Leah: 6hrs 15 mins
Strava link: https://www.strava.com/activities/2626236783
Today I paid for my sins of yesterday. Yesterday I went hard and came in 4th equal. Today i got dropped on the king of the mountain climb, and then gave up 10mins over the next 35km, such is the way when you legs are not happy, but that is jumping forward.
The stage today had a unique element, in that we had to cross 2km of soft sand, the edge of the Gobi desert, then skirt around the sliver of desert for 20km. To say people were concerned is an understatement as the last 20km of sand in yesterdays stage were hell! In the end the 2km of sand was a mixture of running and great cyclocross training, as we powered across the sand on mountain bikes. Some was super soft, so you had to walk, and other sections had deep vehicle ruts, but was more hard packed and rideable. Definitely a unique start to the race, and a nasty way to find out the legs were not great first up. The cyclocross experience paid off, and I came out of the sand in the second chase group. To be in the first chase group, I would have to had run some sections, and that did not sound like fun. Fortunately one of the strong Mongolians fell off on at the start, and he came through and pulled us back on the front group, and were seven chasing, once again two Mongolians.
In the end it did not matter, as I knew my legs were not good today, and I popped with about 35km to go. On the positive side I got to take some photos, on the move, and enjoy the scenery more than I would have if I had been holding on to the wheel in front of me for grim death.
The highlight of the day was having a local kid ride his horse with us for about 5 mins. We were going up hill, and he joined us for a stretch which was pretty cool. We also saw a lot more people out today (maybe 20), and the cheered us on, which was also fun. Leah got to see a herd of camels, and I am yet to see a camel. She took some photos as proof!
Tonight we are in the “camp”. We are in a 8 person tent, 4 each side, and it spacious although i hope it does not rain to much as I do not know where the water will go. Let’s see. The organization likes to camp for one night, and sets up the entire camp. Food is brought out from Ulaanbaatar from Rosewood cafe, shower tents are put up, and “short-drop” toilets are dug, all for one night. It looks like a military camp, as all the tents are green and very square! The food today for lunch was very good and we are looking forward to dinner tonight.
Tomorrow is a hard stage. 125km, and 1700m climbing, with maybe some rain, and no doubt more wind. We seem to be riding into a headwind every day, and that is draining. We are back in a Ger camp tomorrow as well, so time for more washing, and maybe, just maybe, another hot shower. Fingers cross.
