Woke up, had breakfast and made ready for the head winds. It has been confirmed by numerous people that these Northerly headwinds are continuous, varying only in their intensity. They are whipping down from Siberia with an unmistakable Russia gusto, picking up speed through mongolia. I look at my map and the route takes my directly north. So be it.

There are quite a few old walled cities in these parts. Very wise. Stops the draughts going into your living room or up you nightie. The road was brand spanking new. I watched as China's affluent raced up them in equally spanking new 4x4 jeeps and land cruisers. I watched and I watched. The beauty of aerodynamics and raw power, something that wheelie is lacking at the moment. We plodded on at an average of 7.9 km per hour. Marvellous. Maintaining 10km/h recently has been a rare luxury. Something about a hare and tortoise springs to mind.

We crept up a long hill, aiming for a tunnel that would take us to the other side of a large mountain. After smiling at the workmen working on the road, the last one kindly informed me that infact this section of the highway is closed. Brilliant.. could of told me earlier.

Lots of cars were making the same mistake as no one had even thought to put up a sign to let you know. So with a sigh we turned round and indulged in a long bit of down hill racing with a tail wind, turned right and headed off into the unknown. Decided to follow a few farmers which turned out to be a great short cut to the other side. Passing by a reservoir, we linked up with an empty highway and pootled on.

Night fell like a hammer and we searched for a campsite in the twilight. It was in a pine forest so had to be very careful not to burn the place down. Pine needles make great fire starters. The temperature dropped down to -6.

We can do -6 degrees. No problem.