This stage called for a cross-country trek. We came upon an endless herd of Mongolian gazelles.
Feeling stable on mantis tricycles, as thousands of gazelles passed us by, our worry of being knocked over went away with the gazelles.
We were taking precautions not to scare them. With quiet bicycles, if you startle unaware gazelles, there can be a flight response. We had visions of tens or hundreds of thousands of gazelles dashing away from us.
It is the summer. The energy lost in a flight response is less damaging for the herd, while energy sources are abundant. Still, we have our image of good travelers to uphold.
Keith and Hyung were ahead and notified us that we were approaching the herd. After giving Jack a quick spray to dilute his canine smell, we slowly approached them.
Our approach was relatively successful. A few hundred gazelles close to us dashed away. (Just the pregnant image of Jack and Slate would do this). Jack was not at all helpful either, sticking his head out of the fairing.
Mostly it was calm, a family picnic on the Mongolian steppes.