After an awesome stay with Sergey and Xenia (Baikal Extreme) in Ulan Ude and a bad adventure at the most important Russian Buddhist monastery nearby (which is our first encounter with Buddhism and therefore we are very disappointed) we leave Russia at the end of February 2006 because our visa expire soon.

At the Russian boarder we don’t have any problems although we only have one registration for our 10 months stay and thus expected trouble, but the border guard has never seen biketravelers in the cold season before and therefore is very friendly and curious. At the Mongolian boarder one officer tries to get the rest of our Russian Rubles. We argue a long time until he leaves us keep the money. Fortunately this will be the only galling situation in Mongolia.

After the boarder the landscape changes radically. Soon there are no forests anymore. Instead of a thick snowcover we now see the sparse grass of the steppe which is really beautiful after months of snow. It is still cold, but for us the actual temperature of about minus 20° C seems quite warm after minus 40° C for such a long period. Sometimes it is very windy but the wind often comes from the North and during daytime we can feel the power of the sun for the first time in ages. This is really great for body and soul. It is not possible to describe this feeling but it is a very special time on our journey. Every day we take off another layer of clothes. At first it is rather strange to work without gloves and we are still afraid of our metal spoons even if there is no danger of sticking to them anymore .

At a temperature of minus 10° C we feel like in late spring and cycle in our underwear .

Many times we are invited to sleep in gers (yurts) which is very interesting (and different to the ones in Tuva, Russia). Not only the family sleeps there but also the small baby sheep, goats, and cows since it is still too cold for them outdoors.

In Ulan Bator we have a great time with Joergi and his friends. For many hours we use his sewing-machine to tailor new cycling panniers due to the fact that we are utterly dissatisfied with the Ortliebs we have.

With our neat new bags we ride our bikes through the Gobi Dessert because we can’t extend the visa and unfortunately the remaining time is too short to explore more of the country. Typically for the season we have to endure many sandstorms so we don’t see much of the dessert except of all the sand around us. One time a nomad let us ride on his camel which is much faster and more fun then pushing the bike through the sometimes deep soft sand.

End of April we cross the boarder to China. This country seems to be a paradise for us: Thanks to well constructed roads and favourable winds we leave the sand behind us very fast (the disadvantage of such roads is that it’s not possible to “feel” the dessert). Shortly after we are in the civilisation again - perhaps to much civilisation because we are surrounded by crowds of curious people at every stop which is fun at first. There are many shops and cheap restaurants and the Chinese food is really tasty. The temperature gets increasingly warmer - soon we have summer weather which is good for our bodies since they still need to recover from the cold.

We stay for a long time in Beijing because my familiy comes for a short visit. These days are certainly a highlight of our trip.

After Beijing we go on to Shanghai. En route we visit some sights and take up much time to enjoy the good life which cyclists can have in China. It is a pity that we don’t understand the language. Therefore it is sometimes strenuous to be crowded by people especially because we appreciate silence and lonesomeness very much (but for these we have to visit other countries).

Until then we try to accept and learn from and about the Chinese culture and to “keep face” whenever the cultural differences are to big to understand.