Barnaul to Western Mongolia

Plot:

Cutting through part of Russia en route to Mongolia, Ewan and Charley are happy to be on tarmac roads all the way up to Barnaul. The stunning landscape of the Altai region is a pleasant surprise. Once across the Mongolian border they quickly realize how much they will need the good-luck sacred scarf they have been presented with, when they discover Mongolia's distinct 'lack of roads'. Ewan and Charley reach a wide and bridge-less river, uncrossable by bike. The result is that they have to take a major detour round a large lake. Conditions worsen in the barren landscape; where petrol must be hand-cranked, but the children they meet along the way keep them upbeat. Ewan and his bike are helped out of mud by some locals. The challenge of sticky mud gives way to deep and unstable sand and they all keep falling off. Mixed fortunes occur in Ulaangom, where a local welder is able to mend Claudio's bike but in doing so fries the ABS. Without brakes, Claudio's bike is out of action. A US government worker helps them ship the bike to Ulaan Baatar for repair. They decide to buy a replacement bike for Claudio and settle on a Russian one. They meet up with the support crew and all stay with local family in a traditional ger. Dinner provides much amusement for the hosts as each guest in turn is given the chance to try boiled animal testicles. The next day, Claudio's new bike breaks down but good fortune has come with the better weather, some locals appear to help him. Meanwhile a hundred miles away, one of the support vehicles finds the other one lying on its side the victim of an accident. The accident and days of horrendous roads behind and in front of them cause Ewan and Charley to review the map and consider other possible routes. Both Ewan and Charley are scared and unsure and the decision to push on or give up is left unmade.