Trans Sibir eXpedition 2012

[EtronX]

We got the news from Walter in the morning. He and Terry would not ride with us to Tynda. They were both knackered and Walters subframe had cracked again. They would wait a day and then put themselves and the bikes on a train. We would then all meet in Tynda in two days time. We bid goodbye and saddled up.

PS! Not the best quality on the pictures from this day. It was raining like crazy and almost all of the pictures are frames taken from the GoPro.

First we needed to get some gas. No gas in Novaya Chara so we headed over to Chara to refill. About 15 clicks north.




We got our gas and headed East. It was raining steadily. After about 150 k's we came to the Olongdo river. The bridge was U/S, as is normal on the BAM




This is actually a nice crossing. You have to enter the river and then follow it for a while before you can cross over to the other side. It is not technically difficult as long as you pick the right line We got the XC's over easily, but in places like this the weight of the 800GS is noticeable. Steve got stuck a bit in the middle, but with the help of some locals we got the show back on the road.




We pressed on, but just outside Hani my GPS started to get blurry. I stopped to check if the mount was loose. Then I noticed something on the subframe. "Fhat the Wuck" :splat The thing had cracked again :huh

In Zhigalovo I only had a minor crack in the subframe and the weld that was done there was just at the crack. I tried to get them to weld some more in order to strengthen it, but due to language problems that did not happen. Now I got to pay the price. Nothing more to do than use some TT straps and tie the thing up as good as I could.

We had only gotten a few kilometers after this when my engine started to misfire. It was raining heavily now and I was getting severely pissed issed The engine sounded like a two cylinder engine running on one cylinder. No power. I stopped the bike and checked. Nothing found. I put it to neutral and started it again. It did run fine, but as soon as I put it into first gear it stopped. It had to be the kill switch on the side stand that was causing this. It is a known problem on the XC.

I remembered from when I did the rebuild of the bikes in Holland Erik of HotRod Welding told me about this. He also said it is the brown and white cable you have to cut. I got my Leatherman out and found the cables. It was a bit narrow, but I managed to cut the brown and white. Then I tied them together. The bike started, but as soon as I took it out of neutral it stopped :huh There was one more cable. I cut that one to and tied the whole bunch together. Now it started and it did run in all gears. Problem solved :clap The only thing was that I had no protection if I tried to start the bike in gear or if the side stand came down while I drove. Well, you win some and you loose some. The main thing was that I could ride the bike again.

[EtronX]

We pressed on. The rain was pouring down. In Khani we had stopped for some food. A lot of locals came and talked with us. Most of them drunk, but friendly. A friend of Walters also showed up and asked us to stay. We thanked him, but said we would drive on. Lots of people warned us about the rivers running high due to all the rain. Again we thanked them, but said we would try. If we couldn't make it we would come back and drink Vodka with them :1drink

20 k's from Khani was the firs big river with no bridge. The Yus-Kyuel, a side river from the mighty Khani. We checked the river out and decided we could not cross at the normal place.




It was now in the afternoon. We followed a track along the river a few hundred meters in order to find a better place to cross. Then we came to the rail road bridge and there was a small hut there. We were wet and tired and decided to check out the hut. If it was OK we would spend the night there. A quick look was all it took. We would continue. It was almost raining as much on the inside as the outside :huh

For us to continue it dawned on us that we only had but one option left. The rail road bridge. We had only done this once before with Walter and Terry. Then we had walked the bridge first and put out lookouts at both ends in order to see if a train was coming. We figured out that this we could do ourselves

We did some scouting and found an embarkment that would put us up by the tracks. We drove the bikes up and parked. We did all the Indian tricks and both felt and listened on the tracks. Nothing. Then we decided that this was not quite the way to do it. We had to walk and use the old Eyeball 20/20. Erik walked over the bridge to the first turn. Steve walked back to the first turn. When they both gave me the OK signal I crossed. Then I went to the far end where Erik had been staying while Erik went back for his bike. New thumbs up and Erik crossed. Then Erik swapped places with Steve and Steve finally crossed, and Erik came back across the bridge for the fifth time :huh I hoped we wouldn't need to cross to many bridges because this took forever. If we would use the same amount of time for each bridge it would be snowing by the time we got to Tynda :eek1




It was a fairly long bridge, but we succeeded :clap Crossing this bridge on our own gave us confidence and new energy. This was fun :clap We would continue as far as we could that day. The initial goal of the day was Yuktali. A stretch of 330 km. All proper off road and the few road bridges we crossed were very slippery.




We did ride beside the rail road for some stretches, but the missing bridges and high water level forced us up on the embarkment.




At first we didn't know what to do when a train came. Should we hide or just stay? Every time a train passed it honked its horn. We soon noticed though that they just saluted us and waved from the loc :clap No angry faces. Just friendly waving. I love Russia :clap




After we noticed this we all relaxed more and enjoyed the riding. In Europe we would have been arrested for doing this, but here we even raced the train :rofl

[EtronX]

After Chara there are a lot of rail road bridges going East. We crossed one after another. Some small and some big. We soon decided that we couldn't stop and walk every bridge. It would take ages. In the beginning we stopped and looked very carefully. Then rode over.




Then after a while we just checked our mirrors and went for it. Here Steve and I have crossed and we hear the train coming. Erik didn't




Erik after the crossing He just got off...




Then things went pear shaped For the record; there is room between a bike and a train in these small booths. We know...




Then the spring that holds up the side stand of Steve's bike fell off. On the middle of a bridge :huh Erik rushes in and ties the side stand up with a TT strap




Then it got dark :[-o<

[KawaKjetil]

Really impressive

[RuneMC]

Flott tur, har lest halvveis gjennom tråden til Steve (?) på Advrider også...
Det slår meg dog at jeg foretrekker å kjøre nærmere sivilisasjonens komfort

Men flott innstilling til hele følget da, der har vi nok noe å lære av "mindset" når det gjelder å fortsette ufortrødent og ikke la seg stoppe av større og mindre problem.

[EtronX]

Finally after a hard days ride we got to the Olyokma river at about 2300. We drove down to the bridge to take a look, but decided against crossing due to it being so late. We knew there was a guard on the other end and we didn't want to alarm him by crossing at night.

We headed back to find a place to put up our tents. Everything we had on was wet and it would be nice to dry something out. Just before the bridge on the West side there is a rail road station. We took a look around and then found this big house placed on poles. Maybe we could fit the tents below the house. We checked and there was enough room :clap We just put up our inner tents and hang everything we had around for drying. There was a good breeze blowing under the house. We had great hopes that everything should be dry in the morning We hit the sack and soon ZZZZZZ's were the only sound heard, except for the occasionally train that comes every five minutes during the whole night :ear

[EtronX]

Got wood?

What's up with the boards I see behind your luggage? Oh, and tell us about your bags. This is really getting good!!!


This is what our bikes looked like on the start of the trip.




What we have here is the following:

One Giant loop Great Basin Saddlebag. This was our primary luggage.

On top of the air intake we all had tank bags. I had the Touratech one, Erik the BMW one and Steve the Giant Loop one. Here we all stored our photo and video equipment.

But we quickly realized we needed more room for the trip.

We then bought three Biltema Pakksekk. They only cost around $ 22 each and are fully waterproof.

In the Biltema bags on the right hand side I had tools, spare inner tube, sprockets, new chain and oil. On the left hand side I had my camping equipment and sleeping bag. On the top one I had my daily clothes and my MacBook. On top of this you see our new tires We drove like this to Krasnoyarsk. No heavy off roading so weight was not an issue. In Krasnoyarsk we changed tires, oil, sprockets etc...

The piece of wood on the left hand side we had to put on due to the heat from the exhaust pipe. We melted two Biltema bags and one sleeping mat pre wood installation

Due to occupational hazard and me being an old military man I brought a pretty extensive medical kit. This included a Kendrick Traction Splint, a Sam Splint, a full suture kit and a dental kit. I had medication that made me able to put you to sleep, wake you up etc. etc... I also had a dry kit of wool underwear stuffed in the GL.

Was all this necessary you might ask Well in retrospect I would change a few things:

Firstly I would take less equipment. I think this whole trip could have been made without changing tires. Our Mefo Super Explorer saw no significant wear when we arrived in Krasnoyarsk. That was after 9.000 km's. Same with the chain and sprockets. We could hav used the same for the whole trip. Next time the medical equipment stays at home, Oh you gotta have a little faith

As a tank bag I would use the Giant Loop Fandango It is small and don't get in the way when you stand up. It is also easy to take off using a zipper. One thing to remember with the Giant Loop stuff is that it is not waterproof from the factory. You get the sealing with the bag. Use great caution when you seal the bags. That makes life a lot more easy. I didn't :huh But fortunately I had packed all my gear in small waterproof bags.

The Giant Loop Great Basin is a great saddlebag if you have a bike with no rear baggage frame. On our bikes we had a very light and solid frame built by Hotrod Erik. This protected the Xtank and supported the rear fender. The frame was a bit to wide for the GL Great Basin. We didn't get it to fit properly over the saddle. On a bike with a wide frame in the back you are better off with the new Giant Loop Siskiyou Panniers or Adventure Specs Magadan Panniers

And one more thing, bring lots of rear brake pads. When it rains you can go through a set in a day or two

[EtronX]

We got up in the morning after an interesting nights sleep. Just by the station where we slept there was a side track that the trains used to wait at in order to pass each other. Especially one of the trains made a very special noise. The engine must have been a big turbine engine. I know the sound of one, and this one did not have a diesel engine. I thought about checking, but I was to tired.




We got our kit together and fortunately everything had dried during the night This was a good start of the day. We saddled up and headed for the Olyokma bridge a few hundred meters away. The bridge was long and it was guarded on the far side. We had a quick Council of War about how we should do the crossing. Should we walk over and ask permission first, or should we just go and ask forgiveness after? We decided on the last option. I got ready, and to make sure we had no problems, I had 3.000 Rubles ready in my hand. I would give this to the guard when on the other side.

We had a quick lookout for trains and off I went. Due to a turn of the rail road immediately after the bridge the trains go very slow here. That's a good thing Due to the turn immediately after the bridge you can't see the trains before they are on the bridge. That's a bad thing :huh



It took me a very long two minutes and fifteen seconds to cross the bridge :eek1 When I got over a man came smiling towards me. I got of my bike, took of my helmet and greeted him with a 3.000 Rubles handshake. If it weren't for his ears his smile would have gone all around his head I told him two others were coming and asked if that was OK. "Nje prablema". I waved at the guys and they set course across the bridge.




Now I can't remember the name of this fine man , but he was really friendly and invited us in for something to eat and drink. Note, this was around 0800 in the morning :rofl




He was very talkative and wanted us to stay. He spend four weeks here in his little cabin and then a few days at home. We had some tea and biscuits with him and he also offered us Cognac to celebrate. This was the first one along the BAM that we saw drinking something else than Vodka. He had style :1drink We politely said No and took the tea.

We spent maybe 30 minutes with him. It was a good 30 minutes. It is very nice when you meet a man like him. Friendly to his heart. I start to believe in the human race again We took our farewell pictures and drove the short distance into Yuktali.

[EtronX]

First off in Yuktali was to get gas. The "station" is not in the centre of the place as you would expect, but rather in a rural area outside the centre. Well, rural might not be the correct word here We followed the instructions from Mr. Zumo. He led us to some typical old Russian houses with fences around and a small garden where they grew vegetables. Didn't look like no gas station to me. Then a guy came over to us. We asked and he confirmed that this was indeed the gas station :huh We just had to drive around the estate. So we did and there we met Yura. Waiting for us with a big smile




We got our gas and Steve got his side stand fixed. Yura's friend scooted off and came back with a spring. Put it on the bike and Voilà side stand OK again




After getting gas, not a hair over 72 octane, Yura jumped on his scooter and led the way to the local Supermarcado.




We bought some food and new dry thick socks. What a luxury We were now ready for the last stretch in towards Tynda and the finnish of the BAM :clap

[EtronX]

So here we are. In the middle of Siberia. Miles from the civilization. Then I can go into a store and buy bananas. Maybe from Ecuador. Probably they were shipped by boat initially. Then by truck to the train station. Reloaded to a train and off they went to Yuktali. Where I could buy them. Isn't that pretty amazing? I mean, we are in the middle of Siberia

[EtronX]

After the refill of food, socks and gas we were now ready to twist the throttles again. For a long time we followed the Nyukzha river. The road was nice and we could keep a good pace.




We hit the occasional iffy bridge, but nothing to serious




Some we checked a bit :huh




Then we rode it




We had some lunch :lurk




After a while we traveled a bit North East of the rail road tracks. Going up and down over the mountain ranges. It was especially fun going up the steep hills. You could really crank it open going up. Letting the bike dance below you. The only issue was if you pressed the engine to hard it started knocking. Probably due to the low octane gas we got in Yuktali


Suddenly we came to this bridge in the middle of nowhere i guess that someone had a great idea at one time, or at least the guy in charge of the road was from the district




The road got better and better. After the settlement of Loptsa we could steadily do 100 to 110 without problems sitting down. We made good distance and Tynda was within easy reach that day.

As we rode I felt my luggage was a bit loose. I stopped and retightened it. Letting the guys ride ahead. I got back in the saddle again, but rode a bit slower. No rush catching up with the guys. On a fairly straight stretch of the road I saw a Lada 4X4 coming against me. It was an elderly couple in the car and they flagged me down. I stopped and both got out pretty excited. Then they explained that they had sen the flag on my bike and that last year two Swedes had stopped by their house while they needed some help with their bikes. I asked if that was Staffan and Victor. Their jaws dropped and they said yes. It's a small worl

Before I left, in addition to Walter, I also made contact with Staffan who rode from Sweden to Magadan and back in 2011.

[video]http://vimeo.com/30032234[/video]


After this little meeting I revved it and caught up with the guys. We stopped and had a little discussion. Should we go all the way to Tynda or should we camp one last time along the BAM. The decision was unanimously. We would camp We found a great camp place by the river Larbi.




Got the fire going and made some food. Here Erik is enjoying himself




And Steve




Me, I felt happy and a bit sad. Two years ago I had gotten the idea of riding the BAM. Now it was done. It was an anticlimax. I had waited so much for this moment. Planned for so long and now I had done it. The trip had been an adventure and I had loved every second of it. But now the BAM was over.

We ate the food. Had a few beers and just enjoyed the beautiful night. It was a great ending of the BAM :wave

[dag-zzr]

Virkelig en topp reiseskildring.

Har vert "mye" om reiser i Russland ulike tvkanaler i vinter som jeg har fulgt med på. Blir helt syk av ønsket om å kjenne lukten og føle vinden fra de stedene som vises på bilder og film. Både fra både bygd og by.

Til dere litt yngre.. Det er bedre å angre på det man har gjort, enn det man ikke har gjort

Mulig anledningen byr seg til en tur. Kansje ikke på MC, men hvem vet? Så på tvn at norges eldste mann (105 år) ikke hadde begynt med trening før han var 80 år. Da er det vel sikkert ikke for seint for meg ennå???

Lurer på hva krav til veistandard og sikkerhet er i Russland??

[EtronX]

Lurer på hva krav til veistandard og sikkerhet er i Russland??

Jeg har nå reist to turer til Russland. En kort tur til Kola og en lang tur til Magadan. Her er mine inntrykk fra turene med hensyn til veistandard og sikkerhet :-)

I Russland får du alt med hensyn til vei. De har de bredeste og flotteste motorveier, og de har dette:




Alt kommer an på hva du ønsker. Fra Kirkenes til Murmansk er det greie veier. Samme sydover fra Murmansk mot St.Petersburg. Det er noen småhull i veien, men ikke verre enn det man kan oppleve i Telemark Skal man innom småplasser, og det vil jeg anbefale på det sterkeste, treffer man ofte på grusveier. Disse kan ha varierende kvalitet. Er det nedbør blir noen av disse småkrevende. Poenget her er at man kan kjøre rundt i Russland på en R-sykkel, om man ønsker det, uten problemer.

Når det gjelder sikkerhet, og følelsen av den, kan følgende sies om Russland; Jeg har aldri følt meg bedre mottatt og tryggere enn i Russland. Russerene er utrolig gjestfrie og stolte av landet sitt. Du blir ofte invitert inn på mat og drikke. Du får aldri lov til å betale for det. Det ville fornærme verten og samtidig sette deres gjestfrihet under tvil.

Det kan til tider drikkes litt mye der borte, men igjen så opplevde vi at folk var høflige og greie. Om enn noe snøvlete

De gangene vi hadde tekniske problemer fikk vi all den hjelpen vi trengte. På de rareste plasser. Folk er vant til å klare seg selv, og de reparerer det meste med enkle midler.

Jeg vil anbefale alle å ta en tur i Russland. Som biker vil du bli veldig godt tatt i mot, og kanskje noen av fordommene vi alle er utstyrte med vil bli plukket bort

[Bikeridr]

Når det gjelder sikkerhet, og følelsen av den, kan følgende sies om Russland; Jeg har aldri følt meg bedre mottatt og tryggere enn i Russland. Russerene er utrolig gjestfrie og stolte av landet sitt. Du blir ofte invitert inn på mat og drikke. Du får aldri lov til å betale for det. Det ville fornærme verten og samtidig sette deres gjestfrihet under tvil.

Det kan til tider drikkes litt mye der borte, men igjen så opplevde vi at folk var høflige og greie. Om enn noe snøvlete

De gangene vi hadde tekniske problemer fikk vi all den hjelpen vi trengte. På de rareste plasser. Folk er vant til å klare seg selv, og de reparerer det meste med enkle midler.

Jeg vil anbefale alle å ta en tur i Russland. Som biker vil du bli veldig godt tatt i mot, og kanskje noen av fordommene vi alle er utstyrte med vil bli plukket bort

Jeg er vel inhabil siden jeg har russisk kone. :-)
Men, det du summerer her er vel den mest korrekte beskrivelsen jeg har sett.

Jeg har også kjørt endel (med bil) i Russland, og trafikken kan være tildels "aktiv", men ikke noe verre enn at med litt trening så klarer man fint å bli like "aktiv" selv.

Jeg har nå lest loggen deres og fulgt med på bloggen deres og jeg kan bare si FY F..N! Dette har jeg også vanvittig lyst til å gjøre selv

Takk for en skikkelig leseverdig blogg og takk for at jeg/vi har fått "tatt del" i turen. :-)

[EtronX]

After a good nights sleep we woke up to a nice day. The night had been dry and all was jolly




We got some breakfast down our throats and collected our kit. The Heater Meals are great. Everything is included in the package. You open, take the pack of saline solution and put on a designated piece of paper and the whole lot heats up. It gets very hot, so be a bit careful. I had a few of these with me on the trip. They weigh a bit, but when you are cold and hungry and need something hot without to much hassle, they are perfect :thumb




The 120 or so kilometers into Tynda were uneventful. The roads were good and there was almost no traffic. Maybe because it was an idle tuesday in Siberia. The plan of today was to get a hotel room, hook up with the Sibersky team coming in on a train and do some maintenance on the bikes.

As we got into Tynda I called a number I'd gotten from Walter. In the other end Max answered.




Max was a really friendly and helpful guy. He was the Commander in Chief of the local Kamaz shop. He came to meet us and guided us to a hotel in the city. He was also the one that had ridden Eastern BAM with the girl from St.Petersburg

On the ride from Chara, Eriks subframe had also cracked again. We both needed some welding to be done. This time properly and with reinforcements. Steve's front rim didn't look to good either. If it had been drawn in a cartoon, like say Donald Duck, the rim would have been drawn like a figure eight :rofl We asked Max if he knew any place we could have this done. "No problem", he said. There was a guy specializing in aluminum welding next to Max's shop. He called him and the guy was available in the afternoon :clap




In the meanwhile we got our stuff into the hotel room... As you all see, travel light is a mantra for us :eek1




After getting properly installed at the hotel, we headed over to Max's place and started demounting the bikes. When we'd gotten the subframes off and elderly guy came over. He took a quick look at the subframes and at Steve's front rim. "Nje prablema", he said and took my subframe into his shop. I looked around in his shop and saw several severely cracked and damaged aluminum car rims. This was his niche. He welded them back together. That was a first for me. I didn't think that could be done :huh




After my subframe was done, he started on Erik's, and I put my bike back together again. Properly welded and with proper reinforcements this time. Just as I was finishing up my bike I got a SMS from Walter. They were to arrive at the train station around 1600 and needed help to get the bike off. Max and I went over to meet them.




Walter had to weld his subframe also. That meant we needed on more day in Tynda. We would have tomorrow off. Max told us to put the bikes in the garages at his work place. It was secure parking guarded by a vicious dog and a night guard.

The average age of the team I won't calculate. I just get depressed But when you look at this picture you might wonder... The smart phone generation :rofl I think Walter is ordering a lot of parts from Boris :deal

[EtronX]

The road from Tynda to Yakutsk took its toll on everyone. It was raining hard. The road was shait and it was cold. Maybe 6 C. It was slippery as h**l and the bike was all over the place. Fortunately I had brought with me my Klin electric heated vest. That was a winner. At least I wan't freezing my nuts off. The mud got everywhere and the engine got hot.




But Terry, Terry was smiling as always. What was going on inside of him he didn't show. He was just smiling and being a great motivator :clap I admire him for that.




As said before, this is one of those days you question yourself "fhat the wuck am I doing here..."

[EtronX]

It was quite a shock for us that Walter and Terry decided to call it a day in Yakutsk. Walter announced this on the ferry crossing the Lena river. We did understand it though. They had been on the road for a long time and they drive hard. No vacation pace and time to smell the flowers there.

We tried our best to persuade them to join us to Magadan. Walter had been there before and lots of parts to pick up at Boris' place in Moscow He definitively wouldn't go.




Terry really wanted to go, but was pretty knackered from the trip and tired off the handlebars falling off all the time :becca




We did though have a plan to try to turn Terry around. A few days of R&R would just maybe do it How could we motivate the old warrior? We figured that a night on the town would do it :1drink I will get back to this matter later...

The hotel was nice



And on Saturday the 11th of August we met Bolot. Bolot is a local guy from Yakutsk. He is very friendly and really helpful. He took the day of from the wife and kids and helped us get stuff. When he doesn't help foreigners on tour, he runs the Ask Yakutia web page. There you can find lots of info about the area.

We rented a cab and went shopping By the look on Adrian's face I don't think he quite realized what kind of a gang he joined :happay




We got the stuff we'd set out to get. The better part of the day we did this.
Bolot, Erik, Terry and Adrian at the Chinese market in Yakutsk

[Bimma]

Dette var fantastisk spennende lesning Geir :-)å

Helt utrolig at dere kom dere velberget igjennom denne turen . Speseielt jernbanebroene med alle togene som passerte, må til tider ha vært svært nervepirrende.... :-)å I tillegg til alle de andre utfordringene som sto i kø...

Veldig hyggelig å stifte bekjentskap med deg på helgens mc-messe, og tusen takk for at du viste meg noen videosnutter og tipset meg om denne fantastiske turen!
Gleder meg til flere spennende historier fra deg og dine turkamerater!


Mvh.
Wenche Hornbøll

[EtronX]

At the next fuel stop I noticed that my front rim had got some new dents in them. I had now been riding slower and more taken it more easy than on the BAM road and it seemed like it were weaker than before. Maybe the heat treatment in Yakutsk had made it even softer than it was. A borrowed a large hammer from a truck driver at the gas station. I banged it as hard as I could to try to straighten it. (Any footage here Geir?). Not that I care to much about the looks of the RIM or that it is a little bit bent, but it is a good idea to keep the edge of the rim to seal against the tyre to avoid sand, water and dirt to enter. That will only give punctures and troubles.

Pictures

Trying to fix the rim.




I need tools...




I use tools...

[EtronX]

It was a strange day when we left Walter and Terry in Yakutsk. Their bikes had been loaded on a lorry and sent to Moscow. They would leave soon after.




We bid our farewells in the morning and left.




The night before we all had a nice time with a few beers. Walter gave us a lot of tips for the road ahead and Terry was smiling as always.




I will now talk a little about Walter and Terry. I will start with Terry

I think Terry is the ideal riding buddy. Alway smiling He has a ton of experience and his mood is always top ten. Not a foul word did ever come out of his mouth. "I just love to ride my bike", he often said. Nothing more, nothing less I admire him for that.
If there is a tiny itsy bitsy Vodka around, he is always up for it :1drink And Terry moves the dance floor :rilla
In short, Terry is just a great guy to be around and I hope I will have the honor of riding with him again.




Walter is a walking encyclopedia of the region. Most people with his kind of knowledge usually feel they are a bit above the rest. Not so with Walter. He willingly shares all his information and wisdom to those who asks. With great patience :clap When I contacted him a couple of years ago he was there right away dispensing his advise and thoughts. He really wanted to share his love for the region and to encourage other people to go there. I admire him for that and he is a role model for others to follow

Just like Terry, Walter is always positive. When things broke down or we had a bad hair day, "No problem". Walter is also very creative. Always looking for ways to improve his bike and new areas of the world to explore

In short, Walter is a great guy and I hope I will have the honor of riding with him again.




Again, thank you both, from the bottom of my heart, for being the wonderful human beings you are :clap

[EtronX]

We rode out of Yakutsk after saying goodbye to the guys. Along the way there were some nice monuments honoring "The Great Patriotic War". Always great photo opportunities




The stretch today was about 420 km's with two major river crossings. First was the Lena River in Yakutsk. As always a lot of locals came to talk.




We made sure to get our sticker up on the barge. If you ever come across one of these, please take a picture with you in it and send it along




The roads were good, but a bit dusty. We could keep a good pace. I'll take dust any day of the week compared to mud and rain :huh I figure it is Genghis Khan standing here.




Not much exciting happened that day with regards to the riding. This was basically a transport stretch for us to do in order to start on the Old Summer Road. We got to the Aldan River where we jumped on a new barge. This trip is upstream and it takes almost two hours, but it is a beautiful voyage

Preparing for departure.




Steve is enjoying the scenery




It was a nice day.




We all caught some Zzzz's :bubba




Just as we got of the barge I saw a guy on a bicycle. That was Christian, the Swiss guy we had met in Yakutsk, on his way to Magadan. We waved and set course for Khandyga, about 35 click's away. Just as we left the settlement of Keskil there were road works going on. They had filled up the road with loose gravel and it was pretty horrendous to drive there. The bikes were all over the place :eek1 This went on for about 25 km's.

Finally we got into Khandyga at around 2230. Among Walter's GPS points there is a B&B marked in Khandyga. After a little while we found the place. It was in the middle of a housing estate. We looked around if there was a secure place to park the bikes when this lovely young lady came along in a pimped Land Cruiser. She and her boyfriend had a container outside which they used as a garage for stuff. She opened up and told us to put the bikes inside :clap




We got installed in our rooms and then went out for some chow. Stocking up for the next days. Tomorrow the plan for us was to reach Kyubyume. There we would leave the M56 and got to Tomtor. The start of the Old Summer Road

[EtronX]

We left Khandygan in the morning. The roads were nice, but the scenery a bit dull. This was for us another transport stretch. We got our heads down and twisted the throttles as good as we could. Then we literarily came around a bend and we had the most magnificent mountains ahead of us.




We were now following the river Vostochnaya and the scenery was beautiful.




There were quite a bit of road work in the area. This is the main road to Magadan, via Ust Nera, and there are a lot big trucks using the road.




Since the M56 is gravel you also have the dust when it is dry. That said, I'll take the dust any given day compared to the mud :huh




We had a really great time riding now. Everyone set their own pace and just enjoyed the moment.




The goal of the day was Kyubyueme, 330 kilometer's from Khandyga. There is a gas station there, a place to eat (I think the word restaurant is a bit over the top when describing the establishment) and Kyubyueme is also where you will leave the M56 in order to go to Tomtor and the Ols Summer Road.

The first thing we did when we got there was to get some gas.




Then we payed the girl in the "office". One note here. It is the same girl who is part of the "diner" crew. We had to walk over and get her. Between the gas station and the "diner" there are a lot of dogs. They looked ominously at us and circled around us. Not very aggressive, but on a high alert. I think you have to look very confident when you pass dogs like that. They will smell fear. While we were eating the dogs attacked a truck driver and he had to fight the dogs off with his Vodka bottle...

We got the girl and got the gas (no pun intended . New note. She is really friendly and she collects coins from all over the world. If you happen to pass buy, remember to bring some change from home

After we got the gas we had to put up our sticker. Adrian and Walter had also requested us to put up their stickers, which we did :deal




After the feeding frenzy we got ready to cross the Kyubyueme river. This is the first major obstacle you meet when you want to ride the Old Summer Road

[EtronX]

Yes Walter, we followed your advise. After gas and food we crossed the river. We wanted to start the next day dry. The first little bit was OK, but a bit rocky below the surface.




It was a good thing that Steve had water proof Metal Mule panniers :clap




The river proper was a different ballgame. It was wide and the current was strong. We did spend the better part of an hour reccing the river and finding the best route. Then we carried all our stuff over before taking the bikes.




As always when you cross a large river it is good when it is all done and the bikes are on dry surface




There is a deserted village just after the crossing. The gas station there was closed so there was no Snickers that night




After looking around a bit, we found a nice place to stay. There was only one guy living in the village so we could choose the pièce de résistance freely.




We got our tents up inside and went for a walk about.




There were lots of photo opportunities around.




And of course we had to take the obligatory group photo




As we cranked up a fire the one and only inhabitant of the settlement joined us. He had been living there by his lonesome for a long long time. Hunting and catching fish. He invited us to stay in his house, and told us it might get cold during the night. Typical Russian hospitality :clap We thankfully declined the nice offer and told him we had good sleeping bags. We also explained that we already had put up our tents inside one of the houses. He did spend the evening with us sharing food and drink He told us about his life out there in the wilderness and we asked about bears. It was a good evening.

[EtronX]

We stayed two nights in Tomtor. Rain was pouring down and rivers were raising fast. Things could have looked better :huh

In the house we lived there were a few other guys. Polish guys. After we got installed we had a chat and a beer with the guys on the porch. These guys were very experienced expeditioners. They traveled between 250 and 300 days every year. All over the world. The boss was Jerzy Romejko. A Polish finance guy who spent his money traveling. With him he had two guys. One of them was a pretty famous Polish video/photographer, whom I can't remember the name of. Their plan was to trek 160 kilometers from Tomtor to a mountain range to the south. Using horses to carry equipment. Then raft some 300 km's down to Okhotsk :clap Just the three of them. Obviously this has never been done before.




Now, why would you do anything like this? I have taken the liberty of copying some stuff from Jerzy's web page. The story is quite fascinating, just like the people you meet traveling :clap



In 2005 when I was planning an expedition to Kamchatka I read the book titled “Hot Waterfalls” written by Lennart Meri which were describing expedition of young Estonians to the valley of geysers located on Kamchatka. This valley is a unique and only place on earth with such a great number of geysers gushing from mountain slops overgrown with evergreen grass and moss. In one of commentaries to this book, the history of Maurycy August Beniowski was described, after his fight for Polish freedom in Bar Confederation was sent to Kamchatka to Ust Bolshereck at Okhotsk Sea. There he stirred rebellion and hijacked tsarist ship, pride of Russian fleet “Saint Peter and Paul”.

I got so intrigued and interested in this character since I have been personally on Kamchatka I’ve reached Ust Bolshereck looking for traces after Beniowski but in vain.

The Russians busily conceal traces of incidents that in the eyes of the world could ridicule or discredit them in any way. Beniowski had those Russians for his companions – exiles, seaman’s and “free mans” – long inhabitants of Kamchatka. He manage to convince them to rebellion and escaped on tsarist ship to distant waters of Bering Sea. I should add here that among others on of the victims of the rebellion was Nilov – governor of Bolshereck, who – being under influence –wanted to arrest Beniowski. However, he didn’t succeed as he was hit a bit too hard on the head by Khrushchev accompanying Maurycy.

The Russians looked for Beniowski in the south water but our hero was cruising for over dozen months and he was discovering new lands on North Pacific. After many efforts he reached Portuguese enclave Macao and further he has reach Europe. This history resonated loudly in the whole World of that time among others because of August Friedrich von Kotzuebe, who wrote drama titled “Count Beniowski, conspiracy on Kamchatka”. As a result of that he was sent to Siberia by Catherine II . Beniowski on behalf of French king Louis XV made colonizing expedition to Madagascar. Later on the second expedition without help of France, Great Britain, Austria or the United States, which were not interested in bold plans of Beniowski. Only personal acquaintance with Benjamin Franklin and John H. De Magellan let him organize and make the second expedition to “the red island”. Frenchman formed and sent to Madagascar special expeditionary force to do “order” with inconvenient rebel and usurper. Proclaimed Ampansacabe by the Malagasy people, which is the king, he died defending his fort Mauritania hit by French bullet.

Not so long ago was 200th anniversary since death of Maurycy Beniowski. Unfortunately there are very few traces left after him, a lot of people came into considerable capital on his name, but Beniowski himself was forgotten. In the capital city of Madagascar Antanarivo there is a street called with his name, in town Maroantsetra (Antongil Bay) the Hungarians built an obelisk with plaque near his place of death (peninsula Masoala – Cap Est near the village Ambodirafia) in January 2010 Slovaks founded and placed plaque on completely forgotten and devastated monument.

Beniowski was a citizen of the world, he fought for freedom of several nations. He was traveler and adventurer or a pirate but also a man, who opposed slavery on Madagascar. Because of his rebellion, hijacking the ship and ridiculing Russia in Poland Beniowski was presented as a negative figure. Only few Polish researches had the courage to tell the truth about him. Similar actions discrediting the character of Beniowski were taken by Frenchman. As precursor of abolishing slavery and as the “King of Madagascar” he clearly disturbed them. His activity was inconvenient for them and seriously harmful to “business” run on Madagascar.

Maurycy Beniowski left memories behind. They were translated into various languages. The most objective ones are in English from 1790 edited by William Nicholson. Reading this translation and also monograph of researches based mainly on this source seems to be most reasonable and reliable. In 1995 we have witnessed a full and fair translation into Polish language his “Memories”. This tough and hard work has prosecuted polish writer, journalist and diplomat – Edward Kajdański

In 2009 we made decision about looking for traces of Beniowski on Madagascar and his true story. A Polish symbol of remembrance after Beniowski on Madagascar will be a plaque on his monument near the village Ambodirafia. We will bring it from Poland and place it next to Slovak one. Short content – Maurycy August Bieniowski – King of Madagascar – in 6 languages in his honor and memory. Our expedition begins on 17 april 2010. We hope that will add more supporters to Beniowski – a citizen of the free world.


Now his search had led Jerzy and crew to Tomtor :clap

[EtronX]

As Steve wrote, we'd gotten many warnings about doing the Old Summer Road. Due to the rain the rivers were high and the road was impossible to ride.

"No Kamaz, no Ural, no machine can drive now", one truck driver who stopped us said. Bad news :boid

I did some sms'ing with Walter and finally we all decided to drive back to Kyubyueme and then do the Federal Road via Ust Nera to Magadan. I asked if we could drive to the first river and check. Just to confirm that is was impossible. That was some 60 click's to the first major river. The majority voted no due to the fact that this would add another 120 km's to the already long way around.

We saddled up and set course for Kyubyueme. I felt sick to my stomach. It felt so wrong to turn around now. After god knows how many kilometers and just give in :huh

We drive for three kilometers and then I stopped. I said to the guys that I could not just turn around like that. That I had to see the rivers with my own blue eyes. If it looked to bad then I would turn. If they didn't want come I would meet up with them later. I just had to go and check.

There is a saying that goes something like this: "Similar minds think the same", or "if you think the same, you don't think much". Whatever, the guys had the same gut feeling and both Erik and Steve were keen to give it a look when I stopped and asked. We turned around

We passed a nice bridge and all was "A OK"




Then we passed some old houses of some kind. Still "A OK"




So far, so good. The weather was nice and it was basically a great day for riding motorcycles :clap Then came the first major hurdle. After about 60 k's. The bridge was gone. The sides were steep and it looked like we might run into some problems. Maybe what the locals said was right :ear




The river wasn't that deep, but getting down to the river was the problem. Steve checks the "road". As you can see on his face he looks a bit skeptical



It was muddy and the mud was deep. The XC's might be OK, but Steve's heavy 800 would be hard to get through. We decided to try his bike first. We were all fresh and rested. If push came to shove, we could always drag his bike back on the road again. It would just take some time

Here Steve sets of with great contempt of death :hair




Steve got his bike down to the river OK and Erik and I followed. The crossing was easy, and it was just a little off road in deep mud tracks and we where all back on the road again. 1-0 to the home team :clap