First Steppe: Mongolia

That's just the way it is ...

What a mint deluxe report!
Well done everyone - very enjoyable read of a thoroughly excellent adventure.
Big thanks.

What a great trip!

Great report Joe. Looks like you had another memorable trip.

David

Reading this report had been on my To-do list for a while, but coming across it again in the Sibirsky Extreme thread I decided I would go ahead and read it right now. Great read, and my kind of ride :) Thanks for sharing!

Just read this. Great RR, got the link from the Sibersky Extreme thread.
Looks like a blast.. I think the tent is great (even for a minimalist).
Mosquitos and rain.. Just not fun with out the tent.
We used to roll the pigs when caught in the rain. We had a pop-up trailer with the three kids, and took it all over MT, WY, and CO. My older son had a gift for leaning jowlers..

Two other comments about the rants.. I'd think a comfortable 650 would be a good choice. A GS is great, but mud is a killer for it. (In my opinion.)
As far as the price of the bike, and what the folks you meet think, do you think they would even know the cost of a foreign bike? Do you think they would even care.. They seem pretty generous, and just plain nice. Something makes me think the price of the bike wouldn't be held against you.. Once again, just my $.02..

Great RR, thanks for putting the link over in the other thread.

Jeff

VERY INSPIRATIONAL! Thank you for sharing!

Awesome RR!

Loved the casual laidback approach.
Dig how you adventure by going with the flow.

Thanks for sharing.
Cheers!

Dave.

A very enjoyable ride report. Great job. I'll be looking into your older ones for sure.

I travel light to return loaded. (or the home front wouldn't let me back in).
Hence approve your approach, and kudos to both rides and reports (India & Mongolia).

About the rant on the brand and rental office. You were way too knowledgeable about bikes. Its condition was likely due to the previous renter and the one after you will have had a blast, and the one thereafter possibly too, courtesy of you. Here's to you:

See, going to a country, renting a 10 year old bike (and many are even older) that goes up and down the Himalayas several times a year and has been doing this for all of its life does not give you the right to denounce the brand as crap. In your mindset: RTWDoug rode oldtimers around the world and has proven them to be the crappiest most worthless motorcycle brands ever. Huh, that doesn't add up, don't ya?

The bullet is immortal and humans are jealous
Millions of Indians can't be wrong, and Elvis is alive.

Sorry to all. My justice gland is swollen and my heart has a weak spot for the wronged ones.
Now return to your rides. I know the Minsk to be popular in Vietnam and many other places...

Thanks, dude: You all have shown me the real spirit of adventure in motorcycling. SWEEEEEET.

epic!!...and you've got some really great like minded riding partners to share that awesome adventure.

loved it thanks

Awesome, can't say enough about it! That single track was beautiful, the bikes, just what you needed.
Oh and I'll have to find my daughters pigs to take on the next group ride.

Thanks for your efforts in sharing your experiences with all of us. Fantastic and inspirational ride report in many ways.

I would make it, if I had the chance. Great RR! You have Baaaallls!

Really? You just had to didn't ya? Well gee......thanks for all that.....like I really needed another flippin trip to plan and dream about!! serioulsy, Mongolia on $1100 plus airfare.....This so in my future.

All jokes aside, thank you for an amazing RR. The dialogue was top notch along with the pictures. Simply truely Amazing. Thanks for giving all us wanna be super gnarly adventurers a glimmer of hope for an adventure to beat all adventures.

I stumbled onto your RR from Colebatchs latest and couldn't stop reading until finished!!!

Thanks again!! Can't wait to see your next adventure.

Have to give this rr a bump. This is a great inspiration -- showing how to make a very adventurous and fun trip on a minimalist plan. Thanks, Joe and crew for posting this fine RR!

Nice Work! Thanks for taking the time to write it up!

Thanks for the great ride report! I rode ~5,000 miles in Mongolia on a DR650 in 2011 on the Northern and Southern routes and then out east. Took about 2 months. Your pictures brought back a lot of great memories and I recognized several places as well.

Your choice of bike was excellent. Inexpensive, relatively simple, light, nimble, gets the job done, and plenty of local parts and knowledge how to fix them which is great because Mongolia is rough on machines. The good news is Mongolians are adept at keep their machines going even when they're beat.

Smart move spending most of your time off the main routes too. As you mentioned at one point, the main routes are pretty well thrashed by the truck traffic. I found the secondary and tertiary routes were the best. The single track is the stuff.

The stove was a good choice. I'd strongly consider bringing one if I were to do it over again. The Steppe Stew looks delicious!!!

For those looking to do something similar, I put together a potential route highlighting some of the main sites along the way: https://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msi...l=48.400032,101.821289&spn=16.762258,37.96875

Again, great RR. Reminds me of why I'd like to ride in Mongolia all over again... and next time stay off the main routes more often