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Tuesday

6/1/2010

For the 40 miles ride with Pourou, all I can tell you is that he has a little truck where I suppose he will stack his ger and equipement but the herd will walk for about 3 days to get to destination.


Each ger in the steppes has a solar panel charging a 12V car battery
used for the light, the TV or for chargning the batteries of the cell phones.


Sunday

5/30/2010

After I dropped Shalimar yesterday morning very early, I came back to the guesthouse and needed to re-learn to be alone and it did not took me long. I enjoyed spending the day not talking to anybody, and not doing too much either.

Today, the normality is coming back and I started doing my web site.


Saturday

5/29/2010

Shalimar took her plane early this morning, I had great pleasure to share my travel with her the last few weeks.

I go on my computer to do the photos stories and Shalimar will do her own story with her photos in a couple of weeks.


Friday

5/28/2010

I did my tires management and got an 80% avon on the front, a 70% Heideneau at the rear, a 50% Avon on the sidecar wheel and a 40% Heideneau at the spare wheel. I still have with me in Ulaanbaatar a new Duro HF308 excellent tire for the road, expect 10,000km that Heindl Engineering, a Ural dealer in the state of Ohio gave me for Christmas, and a new Russian road tire that the Ural factory gave me in Irbit last winter.

Tomorrow morning Shalimar is flying to Paris and I will work on my stories during the weekend.


The bag on the front of the sidecar destroyed the sticker map...
I had a spare and with Shalimar, we were able to put it straight and without bubles !


I found the needed 63mm tube to extend the air intake of my air filter that I put only to cross deeper river.


Thursday

5/27/2010

Shalimar flight to Paris was cancelled due to a strike at of the Mongolian's pilots. She is booked now to fly on Saturday. Yesterday, we did shopping for Shalimar's sister and we are now starting to sort out the photos...


Tuesday

5/25/2010

We are back in Ulaanbaatar. Our ride in the Gobi desert and the Altaï mounrtains was fantastic. Shalimar is taking her plane to return to Paris thursday morning and I will stay a few days in Ulaanbaatar to do the many photo stories I have and to recuperate before going back in the Mongolian steppes.


Riding the wild steppes of Mongolia, we tried to share with the nomades we met the same hospitality they offer us.


Saturday

5/22/2010

I failed to pass the little river no deeper than 2 feet you saw on the front page by my own arrogance due to my excessive self confidence!

I did not put my boots and was more worry not to wet my feet than anything else. I put the 2WD and stayed on my knees on my seat, I enter the water too slow and stoll the engine on my way out with not enough rpm. All I had to do was to pull the clutch and reaccelerate, but I was in shock of what was happening and I let it stoll ! Then it was too late, when the clutch is immerge in water, it become only slippery. Shalimar went to get help from a nomade not too far and 33 minutes aftert I enter the water, he pulled me out of the water with his car !

The engine was still running well, I put the bike on the center stand and started to spill the rear wheel. 30 minutes after I was out of the water, the clutch was back to normal. In the next days, we passed river worst than that without any problem.

We ride the Altaï mountains, but on this time of the year, many rivers cut the roads.

We are in Arvaikheer, Shalimar will fly back to France at the of the week, we have a few more days to enjoy the Mongolian steppes.


When that sand storm hit us with a wind of 55 mph, I was hoping of 2 things:
1 - that I don't break down there and 2 - that we don't have to set-up the tent tonight !


Tuesday

5/18/2010

We rode the Gobi desert down to the "Singing dunes" and went north to Bayankhongor at the begining of the Altaï mountains.

Riding the Gobi desert is an experience I should not have wait so long in my life to do , it is a phenomenal feeling !

It rained one day with a little hail, we had very strong wind, 2 flats, hit a rock badly but the protective aluminium pan under the motor did its job and moved 2" backword - thank you Giorgio. The bike is running very well and Shalimar is getting used to her seat and stopped looking at my seat with envie.


That was a rehearsal... just for in case !


Thursday

5/13/2010

Last night we slept in a nomad's ger on our way to Dalanzagdad. We met them by leaving the main trail to see the herd of camels closer (see the opening photo). Their ger was 6 km from the trail, we were happy to sleep there vs setting the tente because it rained during the night.

After 400 miles of desert road, we arrived at Dalanzagdad, the capital of the Gobi desert.


Far away from the world in the comfort of the nomad's ger.


Wednesday

5/12/2010

The reinforcement of the welding is done, we are going back on the road in direction of the south from ger to ger.


Tuesday

5/11/2010

We spend the first night at Dondov's ger. We were all very happy to be together again. Next day, we went south to find Pourou. He moved his ger and herd, but we finally found him. It was magnificient, him riding his camel with his friend and us on the sidecar. He saw us during the whole afternoon turning in circle looking for him. His herd went from 700 this winter to 500 now due do to the harsh winter. On our way to Mandalgovi, riding on wash board, we broke the rear part of the hood supporting the shock of the sidecar. We put a split with a few serflex and were able to ride 60 miles to the next village were we got it welded.

Waking up in Mandalgovi, the capital of the province, I would like to find someone to weld a reinforcement.


At the Closerie des Lilas, somebody gave me several pack of M&M,
I want to tell you that this one made this little girl, Naraltsinkel, very happy, thank you very much !


Sunday

5/9/2010

AM, we are gone !


Saturday

5/8/2010

Resting saturday was the right thing to do. I had a very long night sleep and I feel much better now. We are ready to go on the road tomorrow, we will pass by my nomad friends Dondov and Pourou.


Friday

5/7/2010

Shalimar arrived on schedule. We are thinking to settled today and take the road tomorrow.

 

9:00 pm: We did all our chores today and just came back to the ger - we now sleep in a ger at the Oasis guesthouse where I have been the last couple of weeks.

After 2 days of diarhea, this morning, my tong and ovula was swollen and irritated, doctor Lorraine told me on skype to look at the color of my throat, if it is white, I have an infection and need antibiothic. I was white and I started the antibiothic over the counter - we don't need a prescription in Mongolia to buy antibiothic.

We are both exhausted, Shalimar by the jet lag and me feeling dizzy, we decided to take it easy and rest tomorrow while finishing our preparation.


We went to meet Muunguru at the airport when she came back from one year a broad at Lorraine's university.
She brought me a replacement jacket of my blue one. "Lorraine is an amazing woman !" - Muunguru.


Now that winter is over, I could install Franck's GPS on my handel bar. Thank's again Franck.


The crowbar we borrowed for lake Baïkal saved our ass once, I thought I bought one, just for in case !!!


Tuesday

5/4/2010

I met Yan, my best friend ever, in 1964 at school. He was the 1st of the class, I was the last ! We connected immediately and I learned a lot of life with him, like independence, challenge, freedom... Together, we raced car, sailed the Mediterranean, motorcycle Japan and many things like that. He becomes an architect, lived 5 years in Japan and back in France raised a family of 4 daughters. He died in 1994 when a car crossed the freeway and hit him from the front !

I still carry Yan with me everyday in my travel, we would have love sharing that experience together.

Yan oldest daughter is Shalimar - Director & screenwriter short movie - , she came at the Closerie des Lilas with one of her sister Thanaële - mechanical engineer and own a motorcycler Yamaha Ténéré. On July 20, 2008, Shalimar wrote me an email "I wanted to ask you if, sometime, you were taking passenger with you and if yes what are the conditions ? I am very interested with Mongolia"

I told her simply, that the main condition is that she had to be comfortable to riding behind me on the sidecar what ever the weather condition, sleeping on the ground or eating what ever there is knowing that it may not always be easy but i could garanty her meeting amazing people and that nothing would pleased me more than sharing my travel with her for a while.

I am very happy that Shalimar will arrive at Ulaanbaatar in a couple of day for 3 weeks, even if she missed winter, the most beautiful season of the year, she is going to enjoy it. We are going to ride to the Gobi desert and go East from there through the Altaï mountains.

I am finishing the preparation of the sidecar, taking my time and relaxing.


1970, Yan and me flew to Japan, bought 2 Yamaha trail 125cc motorcycle and toured the country for 2 months


Sunday

5/2/2010

I am done on the electrique, it all works great. I still have to lower the windshield for the summer set up - change a couple of gas line and I will be done by the end of the day.

Tomorrow I will re-print my booklet Mongol-French and meet a guy to get a piee of isolation to make a protection on the gas exhaust et the rear and sort all my stuff again. I know I will came back to Ulaanbatar so I will take only what I really need.

 

It was a close call: I went to the Naraantul Market with my sidecar. Seeing it was too crowded, I U-turn to get out. A group of 5 homeless guys half drunk took this oportunity to pretend I rode on the feet of one of them ! They saw the oportunity to make a few $ out of me. When they grab my handle bar, I realize I was in trouble.

I told them I was moving to stop a little bit further out of the traffic. And there I went full speed through the slowly moving traffic driving my sidecar like a maniac  like I was used to do in Paris in the 70's. It's amazing what your instinct of survival makes you do, I was flying.
My lesson is that I was foolish to go to the market with my sidecar on a sunday, the busiest day of the week.


I changed my speedometer that was not doing too well.
Thank you Madina from Ural Seatle who send it to Jessica in California and gave it to me in Martinique.


None of the electrical contacts on my bike had corrosion after 2 nasty winters. Thank's to the silicone grease !


Saturday

5/1/2010

I worked until 4 am to remodel my Mongol-French dictionary I lost in Lake Baikal. It is beautiful, I go print it this afternoon.

When I wake up, I went to look with a fresh head for my electrical problem. It took me 30 minutes to find it and it is very reassuring that it was a clear cut wire. So far I saw no traces of corrosion on all the contacts. I did put Silicone grease to all of them with Giorgio during my preparation and after 2 hard winter, it is a succes.

Note: My 2008 Ural has a blinker relay that is made for 4 bulbs. I installed a simple switch between the left and the righ blinker so when the swicth is on and I activated either left or right blinker, I have now "Hazard lights". The broken wire you see on the photo below is the cable going to the switch from the left to the righ blinker.


STOP SEARCHING !!!   I found the problem, a clear cut wire.


Friday

4/30/2010

I am almost done on my electric trouble shooting, just one more bad contact to find tomorrow morning. In Ulaanbaatar I cannot find motor oil above 10W40 !!!


If you have an idea on where is my bad contact, don't hesitate to write me !!!


Thursday

4/29/2010

I have good progress on the sidecar, the starter is repaired, the rear saddle seat is repaired and we did a new mount directly on the frame, mounted the new little digital voltmeter that I bought in Paris - the one I had never worked, replace the Harley Davidson Police saddle by the same one - it was all cracked, Jean-Louis bought a new one for me in New York, he send it to Jessica in California, she bring it in Martinique and I bring it back her.

Tomorrow, I will trouble shoot all my little electric problem that occured at the end of the winter.


The new bar supporting the rear of the saddle seat is welded directly on the rear subframe.
Note the rear light from the 1972 Geneva busses, mounted on toilet pipes by GIorgio is like new after 2 winters !!!


Wednesday

4/28/2010

My starter need more work, it was not the coper contact , it's in the bobine element, the spokes are all good and that is very exciting news for me after what the sidecar endured during the winter, I changed my oil, and spark plug, I went from the winter spark plug NGK #4 to  #6. I still have to trouble shoot electrical problems and a few other things. Did not find a welder yet !

 

PS: Lately, since I am in Ulaanbaatar, I have been changing daily the photo of the opening page of my web site, just so you know.


I don't know if you noticed, but it did not took long for me to get my weight down again !!!


Tuesday

4/27/2010

I am running across town to get things done. Like the extention of my visa for 90 days, finding a welder to fix the seat on my rear fender, getting a moden for my computer, printing my Mongol booklet I lost, meeting my Australian friends and Chinzo...


"When I came back from Lake Baïkal with you, everything was easy by compare of what we did together, but now,
I just came back from 2 weeks vacation in Bali with my wife and it's hard to go back to work after that !" - Chinzo


Monday

4/26/2010

Pick up my bag from Aeroflot, drop my starter to Chinzo to un-weld the backelite cover $ clean the coper contacts inside, drop by my favorite dentiste, and back at the guesthouse. Traffic is very dense in Ulaanbaatar, Chinzo was not at his office.


Sunday

4/25/2010

I am in a new guesthouse for me "Oasis". It was recommended by Chinzo as the prefered guesthouse for the bikers. The first bikers will arrive here in June only. It is far from the center, and has no internet @#$%&! but it's very clean and comfortable, the sidecar is safely inside the garden where I can do my maintenance from outside. Yesterday, I dismounted the starter to clean the coper contacts inside.

I slept 15 hours and I feel great.

 


Saturday

4/24/2010

8:00 am, just landed in Ulaanbaatar. My bag missed the connection in Moscow.
It snowed a little during the night. Trying to call Batbold to get my sidecar.

 


10:30am, I got the sidecar, it started at the first shot, feels good to be back on the sidecar after this long break !


Friday

4/23/2010

I had a great few days in Paris under a shiny sky, just walking around, going to the movie theater and seeing a few friends.

I will take my plane to Ulaanbaatar this afternoon and will arrive there tomorrow Saturday.

 

From Paris airport, going to Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia:

 

I want to see the stars at night when I wake up,

I want to be there at sunrise and sunset,

I want to breath the fresh air of the wood, the mountains and the steppes,

I want to meet people I don't know who are not like me,

and share with them a space of time,

everything I missed in my life everyday

 

Laurent (going to Kyrgyzstan in May)

 


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