To the Border

If yesterday was an incredible ride then today was an incredibly amazing ride! There were four mountain passes, clear blue skies and snow capped peaks. It began with a crisp, clear and icy morning and a touch of Dixie Chicks. Then a bumpy and rocky ride that went up and down all the way through to the border checkpoint. After that, joy of all joys, there were paved roads all the way through to the campsite (only 3 kms worth but after 54km of bumps it was heaven!). Along the way the riders saw ranges of snow covered mountains and rugged rocky crags dotting both sides of the road. No one could have asked for a better ride than this one today. Pure bliss, pure heaven, pure joy and for those without shocks, pure agony, but the views were oh so worth it! Our campsite tonight has a 360 degree view of the mountains and although it is a wee bit chilly, a huge bonfire makes life a bit easier. It is the views that cap the day off as one of the best we have had yet! Riders spent the afternoon walking the rolling hills towards the 7000m ranges, sitting and admiring the views, cleaning their bikes (after a day of dirt, the bikes are rattling and squeaking like never before), hunting for their passports (tomorrow is our border crossing into China), writing in their journals, drying out damp gear and generally just hanging out and enjoying the mountain air and mountain sunshine. Tomorrow, another border crossing into yet another country, our last for the trip.