Solo Cycling Mongolia | Unsupported Bikepacking Adventure

Mongolia, a place that for me has always been a land of

adventure

because when you are there, alone, in the middle of the steppe, it makes you feel really exposed, insignificant, vulnerable but at the same time it gives you that absolute freedom, it makes you truly feel. feel master of your destiny, captain of your soul in the Mongolian steppe there are no marked paths but only traces of those who have passed, if someone has passed, before you I believe that this makes the steppe like nowhere else in this planet the perfect place to question and search and pursue one's own trajectory in the steppe, like in life a difficult and sometimes uncertain trajectory, sometimes wrong but when you find it even for a moment you know that it is really yours I bought the flight dreaming I woke up, but soon after I realized how unprepared I was for a trip like this, in fact, to go alone to Mongolia it is essential to be prepared in every detail and be ready to do any repair on the bike.

So I spent the 2 months before departure holding my Breathless, focused on this goal after arriving in Mongolia and having gotten back on the bike I take this 8 hour night bus that at 4 in the morning takes me to a point starting point of my trip, Tsetserleg, the track I prepared leaves from Tsetserleg, 400 km from the capital. and it takes place in the middle of nowhere between dirt roads, sand and open steppe in these almost 1100 kilometers and 10,000m of elevation gain I reach Lake Hovsgol, 20 km from the Russian border the nomadic lifestyle is mostly pragmatic outdoors, characterized by small moments the encounters on my path are frequent and of all kinds sometimes I receive, sometimes I try to give sometimes I let people test my bike when a sudden storm comes I knock on the doors of the ghers (yurts) and sometimes I ask for hospitality Even with the best intentions we are not able to communicate but this takes away the joy of being together.

I reached the top of the pass. I meet these 2 characters who present themselves as champions of rock, paper and scissors and they welcome me like a close friend another great meeting with this drunk who after offering me three shots of vodka at 9 a.m. He wants me to buy him 2 bottles of vodka. I am invited to attend the Mongolian hair cutting ceremony it is a rite of passage whose hair is cut for the first time for the 3 year old there are challenges too if sometimes I get into trouble only when I realize in the middle from the steppe that I spilled all the gasoline and that's why I was left without, the situation is tragic.

Since I can no longer use the kitchen, I try to ask people I meet on the road several times about gasoline. I have to fight against the force of gravity and push the bike in the sand while being attacked by a cloud. of mosquitoes that keep biting me relentlessly to get to the Russian border, I have to take this minibus, to which the bicycle is attached with a ceremonial scarf given the road conditions to travel only 180 km it takes 12 hours, so I I have patience and we get into the vehicle 2 hours after departure, we get a flat tire but it's not the worst because in the middle of the night we get stuck in the swamp and even by pushing we are not able to free the vehicle just by entering the forest collecting logs, with which we took advantage of the vehicle, we finally managed to free the vehicle to thank the hospitality.

I brought the material to build small paper rockets with an elastic band. It is a semi-successful experiment because it is undoubtedly a nice toy for children but they couldn't understand what it was really for when some Mongolian boys offered me to ride horses with them in the steppe. I accept it, this makes me understand why the horse, undoubtedly better than the bicycle, is the perfect means of transportation for traveling. the steppe when I return to Italy I think of Giacomo who decided to embark on this great

adventure

: his emotions, his questions, his fears and at the same time what this adventure taught me and how it made me more aware of who I am. and why I do what I do