Sibirsky Extreme 2012 - The Toughest Ride of Them All

Been around this board a long time, and I can't recall a multi-party ride report like this. Sure, there were some reports, one guy wrote, a buddy would chime in with some details, but none with a multi-POV like this.

It's really interesting to watch it unfold, and to this point, it's been an awesome job by all the participants.

Except for teebee. Bongo truck for 3 inches of water??? And let's not forget that Rod was on that truck with him, afraid to get his boots wet. Shame...


Kidding aside, this has been a great story so far, well done to all.

It is really fun to share a trip like this. Especially with an audience like you [/QUOTE]

Etronx and the rest of the gang: I'm lurking ever since the start of the RR and am not that much of a commenter/replier but you just made me realize that lurking is not enough. So here's my first post: I too let you know how I really enjoy and appreciate the way you all tell us your stories with lots of humor and wise words! Checking every day for new posts...

He just mentioned 30-odd crossings of the railway... I wonder if he'll need a Bongo van for those?

Out of Krasnoyarsk we passed this old relic. A reminder of long gone and sometimes tense days.




We were now cruising towards Irkutsk on the M53. The stretch between Krasnoyarsk and Irkutsk is pretty boring. It is a straight transport stretch. You cross the Trans Siberian Railway lots of times. Spending time waiting at the rail road gates.




You also notice that you are entering areas where in the wintertime it gets pretty cold. The stock of firewood were steadily increasing outside the houses.




The road is pretty good all the way. There is only a short stretch of about 50 k's where there is gravel road. The problem here is all the heavy traffic and the dust. When you overtake one of these trucks you don't see diddley squat until you have passed them. There are a few seconds of pure terror when you open up the throttle, go IMC and commit




Just before Kansk we stopped for gas. As we pulled to a stop we saw another bike there. It was a BMW R1150 GS with funny plates. We got our helmets of and said hello. Then we met Jacob.




Jacob was on his way to Vladivostok and then USA. He came from Israel and had just retired from what used to be called Mossad. He was a man of many words and now on his way around the world. We asked if he would ride with us to Irkutsk. That he would. The Trans Sibir eXpedition 2012 now counted four bikes for a short time.

On hard sunny days like this, when the riding gets tough we try to interact with the locals. Spread the word of peace Steve is stepping up to do the deeds here...




What I love being on the road is the different and untraditional people you meet. You learn about the local people and their traditions. You meet fellow travelers, like Jacob, going on their "once in a lifetime trip", and you meet your occasional Swede. This dude was on his way from Stockholm to Tokyo




We pressed on. Driving like this is solitude. Even if you ride with a group you are riding in solitude. You get a lot of time to think. I was thinking about BAM and not going there. It pissed me off :dog

When the dusk started to set in we got close to our hotel of choice. Right before Alzamay, it was on the right hand side of the road. Just like our friend in Krasnoyarsk told us. We headed of the M53 and parked outside. Steve went in to get rooms, but came out with the look of a teenager ditched by his girlfriend on prom night No rooms available. No worries. We saw another hotel on the other side of the road. We saddled up and crossed the road.

As we reached the parking lot we noticed a KTM parked there. It had english plates on. Cool Someone to talk to and maybe get some info from. By the look of the bike this guy had been out a cold winter night before. We kicked the dog and went inside

The hotel was full. ***FH*** We had to rough it tonight. We looked around to see if we could see something that resembled and english guy. No joy.

The restaurant was full, but we decided to get some food anyway. We ordered in our near fluent russian. "Shashlik". "Njet". "Ohhh", switched to english. "Food, hungry" pointing at stomach. Got a menu with pictures. Low on blood sugar we were now saved. Getting a table would not be hard. I would just stand beside one and stare :eek1 Us vikings do have a reputation also...

As we looked for a table we heard a voice in a lower than normal tone . "Hey guys. Over here" .We had found our englishman We got introduced and Rod bid us to sit down. We exchanged stories and Rod told us that he had just come out of Mongolia. Coming from Kazakhstan. A bell started ringing in my head.
"You rode with Walter and Terry?" I asked. The answer was yes.
"Where are they now?" I continued.
"Well, Walter is in Moscow getting shagged and Terry is in Irkutsk. I think Walter is coming to Irkutsk tomorrow night".
"They still doing BAM?" I continued.
"Affirmative" Rod said.

What are the odds? We had traveled 10.000 k's. The hotel we were supposed to stay in was full. We crossed the street and there was Rod smiling I now saw a way of getting the Trans Sibir eXpedition 2012 back on its tracks

I texted Walter on FB. This is the transcript:

EtronX
Hola. Can you do me a favour and ask Terry to reserve four beds at Ninas tonight? We'll be there around 1800. So we will meet in Irkutsk after all

06:23
Walter J Colebatch
Ok

08:17
Walter J Colebatch
Done -
I will be there about 1 am

That was it. I asked Erik and Steve if they were still keen on doing BAM and going to Magadan. They were. Then I told them I would ask Walter tomorrow if we could tag along. Here we had two legends who had done BAM before. Now they are doing it again at the same time as us.

Note to self: Remember to by ticket for the EuroMillions lottery.

Now my only hopes were that they would agree to ride with three complete strangers they knew nothing about. I crossed my fingers.

We finished our meal with Rod, wished each other good luck, bid our farewells and stepped onto our iron horses again. At around midnight we were all snug in our sleeping bags inside our tents by a lake outside Alzamay.

My last thought before I fell asleep was: "I am going to Magadan".

There is something. I don't know what it is, but it's not coincidence. It happens on a regular basis. Things go pear shaped and because of that, you meet the right person or end up in a wonderfull place. Karma?

Bring it on guys, I need my shot of Siberia with my morning coffee.

what a thread! been reading for the last several weeks; decided to finally register!

that is a Kosmos rocket; used for space exploration, and in fact still in service.

Loving everything about this RR. Keep up the awesome work.

To back up a topic or two.....I was 13 and at a nationwide Boy Scout Jamboree with thousands of little snot heads like me. Into camp rides these Mountain Men on horseback with their buckskins, black powder rifles and boy could they tell stories, real whoppers. Of course one of the questions by one of the scouts was.......what do you do for toilet paper? Today, almost 40 years later, I can still hear their response:


Pine cones and River Rock..

Hope it doesn't come to that for the Sibirsky Extreme Team

Rod's story about the waitress/Dragon Lady/porkchop is one of the funnier things I've ever read in a ride report.

I love how we are hearing from so many different POV's. Simply amazing.

I so pity the fool who tries to pick up this RR without starting at the beginning. Forever lost.

Thanks to all of you for taking the time to put this one together.



Dave...

the one I was referring to was the spark plug replacement pump as Pruster carried on his airhead BMW. Not the electric one which I , as you, carry on both of my bikes. Made by Slime. When you would pull the sparkplug to installed the hose and check valve, using your engine as a pump and would have to be turning it over with the starter. I was in wonderment of how that would drain the battery Vs how long it would take to fill up , say , a 4.00 x 18 tubed tire.

As has been mentioned before.....great TR, thanks for sharing.

I have used one of these in a 2litre 4 cylinder 4WD and can confirm they are very quick to inflate a 235/85 R16 tyre. In that case the engine would start but obviously only run on 3 cylinders so no load on the battery.

I noticed that Swedish and Norwegians folks are fluent in English as it's like their native language. Is this what you speak in your country?

.

Battery life aside, its probably better to burn up a cheap aircompressor than an expensive starter! Check out www.cyclepump.com for a quality electric pump.
Regards....justjeff

+1 on the Cyclepump. It took less than 5 minutes to pump up a 180/55 R17.

A structured, meaningful coincidence. A series of seemingly random events that when put together create a definite outcome ... Its called Synchronicity .... thanks to Carl Jung

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synchronicity

There are some nationalities that as an entire nation are fluent in English as non native speakers.

The Dutch are number 1. Best non native english speakers in the world ... Prutser and Beamster were obviously totally fluent.

Followed by Swedes and Norwegians. Older Swedes and Norwegians dont speak much english, the younger ones are almost all fluent. Our boys here are middle aged Nordmenn but all very good with their English.

In Holland everyone leans FOUR languages in school ... Dutch (of course), English, German and French.

These days in Europe, everyone learns English in schools. When a Swede talks to a Norwegian, they will probably speak in English (sometimes Swedish if the Norwegian isnt ashamed to admit he speaks Svensk). When a Italian checks into a hotel in Czech Republic, he will talk in English. When a Dutchman talks to anyone anywhere outside of Holland or Flanders, he will speak English.

I know loads of mixed language couples (like a Frenchman married to Russian living in Poland) and they speak English to each other.

English is just like the common language of Europe.

We native speakers are spoiled ... thats why we are lazy.

OR: serendipity, The occurrence and development of events by chance in a happy or beneficial way-Websters
Regards....justjeff

EtronX: When I came to Krasnoyarsk and met the guys at one of the local biker clubs they had also invited a translator. This was a very nice elderly man who spoke english pretty well. He was still working a bit as a teacher. It turned out that he had been working at one of the missile plants here in Krasnoyarsk. So here I found myself meeting one of the guys who actually made these long distance rockets which we in the west feared in our younger years. He told stories about how it was to live and work here during the Soviet days. It was really fascinating to speak with this guy. I had some really amazing meetings with people here in Krasnoyarsk. The bikers were exceptional and let us stay at their club house, made a barbeque for us and use the garage for preparing the bikes for BAM! I totally agree with EtronX regarding the Russian people - it did really amaze me and I had to put aside a lot of my prejudices. What a journey!

I think it's worse than that Walter. We Brits are shamefully embarrassed anywhere we go and the Dutch and Scandinavians are the best at making us (rightfully) feel that way. I'm constantly, cringingly appalled by the behavious of the Brits and yes, Americans too who expect not to have to put the tiniest effort in to international travel. I'm guilty too as I only learned a few words of Russian and the alphabet before I went.

Nyedalako? nyet..zdyez! Khorosho!!

I have more than enough trouble getting English words out without trying to learn another language.