I am not exactly sure why I am drawn to big open spaces and harsh environments, but I am. I think it's because being in places like this require more thoughtfulness. More diligence. It is easy to get lost here... In many different ways.

After a quick breakfast, the buildings and coal smoke of Dalanzadgad and headed into the vastness of the Gobi. To our South, snow capped mountains. In every other direction, a barely rolling landscape made up of rock and a few small dried grasses no more than a couple of inches tall. Immediately, we passed several heard a of sheep, goats and then horses. Roaming unattended, they simultaneously ran away from us while trying to stare is down. Beautiful animals.

It took Tim and I a while to get into a good riding rhythm. We had assembled and disassembled our Trek bikes so many times over the past few days that it was hard to know what state of repair, they were in. Both of us stopped several times to properly adjust our seat height.