Sibirsky Extreme 2012 - The Toughest Ride of Them All

[Colebatch]

Originally Posted by elias

Am i the only one here that believes that Yana is really hot woman? .

Do the trail ... Her lodge is down as one of the stops. She will still be there

She is pretty frisky too

[igormortis]

Have you posted the trail in its entirety somewhere, or does that happen at the end of the report?

[lukeman]

Originally Posted by Colebatch

Totally agree ... Big difference.

GregMo : Russian vodka is brutal ... it makes you wince when you slam it down. Even the super expensive top of the line Russian stuff.

Polish vodka is smooth as silk. A mid tier Polish vodka trumps a top tier Russian vodka any day. You slam one down and you wait for your throat to jump out and slap you in the face (as it does with Russian vodka) but it doesnt.

Try a Zubrowka bison grass vodka from Poland.... chill it in the freezer, and take a shot. Its as good as vodka gets

Well its settled, I'm going to have a couple of bottles of Zubrowka sent to me. I normally drink Sobieski, but I have a feeling that Colebatch's vodka advice is second only to his ADVing advice.

[catweasel67]

Originally Posted by Colebatch

Totally agree ... Big difference.

GregMo : Russian vodka is brutal ... it makes you wince when you slam it down. Even the super expensive top of the line Russian stuff.

Polish vodka is smooth as silk. A mid tier Polish vodka trumps a top tier Russian vodka any day. You slam one down and you wait for your throat to jump out and slap you in the face (as it does with Russian vodka) but it doesnt.

Try a Zubrowka bison grass vodka from Poland.... chill it in the freezer, and take a shot. Its as good as vodka gets

weird, I've had the exact opposite experience. The worst vodka I've ever had was in Warsaw (the whole day moving between meetings in the board room and meetings in the bathroom) whilst the best I've had was in Moscow (Russian Standard) - brought to the table in a wine cooler, chilled to perfection, smoother than Sean Connory's 007. The trouble I found is that it changes - Russian Standard was awesome from 2000 to about 2007 and then something changed...for the worse. Now I need to find something else :(

[InTheMuck]

Originally Posted by lukeman

Well its settled, I'm going to have a couple of bottles of Zubrowka sent to me. I normally drink Sobieski, but I have a feeling that Colebatch's vodka advice is second only to his ADVing advice.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000...026203578.html

Excerpts:
Now, after nearly a decade of work on two continents to formulate and brand a legal version of the alcohol, its producers are taking a shot at the American market.

...

Żubrówka has been a Polish national drink for centuries and a cult favorite internationally for decades. But in the U.S., it's taboo because the Food and Drug Administration prohibits a potentially toxic chemical that occurs naturally in bison grass, coumarin. Until recently, only a few black-market bottles were available, mainly in the Polish neighborhoods of Brooklyn and Chicago.

[sandalscout]

Still REALLY digging this report, thanks for bringing it guys!

Originally Posted by gregMo

You've got to love it: Guns & Vodka (speaking of the Vodka, Walter had his word here before and mentioned Polish Vodka as far supreme to others... is that true? Please elaborate on your experiences, and that goes to all the gang members...

I don't drink, so I can't say anything personally, but I watched this a few months ago and found it very interesting. The history, culture and art of making alcohol is very fascinating to me.

http://www.vice.com/the-vice-guide-to-travel/wodka-wars

[gsd4me]

Originally Posted by 6USMC6

That's supposed to be a Smith & Wesson 686.

More like a copy of a couple of brands. Note the slots on the top of the barrel, like a Colt or Taurus, but it has a cylinder release button like a Smith or Taurus, not a Colt. Just being pedantic.

[BK.RD.RNR]

Originally Posted by Colebatch

Totally agree ... Big difference.

GregMo : Russian vodka is brutal ... it makes you wince when you slam it down. Even the super expensive top of the line Russian stuff.

Polish vodka is smooth as silk. A mid tier Polish vodka trumps a top tier Russian vodka any day. You slam one down and you wait for your throat to jump out and slap you in the face (as it does with Russian vodka) but it doesnt.

Try a Zubrowka bison grass vodka from Poland.... chill it in the freezer, and take a shot. Its as good as vodka gets

Originally Posted by InTheMuck

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000...026203578.html

Excerpts:
Now, after nearly a decade of work on two continents to formulate and brand a legal version of the alcohol, its producers are taking a shot at the American market.

...

Żubrówka has been a Polish national drink for centuries and a cult favorite internationally for decades. But in the U.S., it's taboo because the Food and Drug Administration prohibits a potentially toxic chemical that occurs naturally in bison grass, coumarin. Until recently, only a few black-market bottles were available, mainly in the Polish neighborhoods of Brooklyn and Chicago.

Bison Grass Vodka is as good as I've had. I think my wife brought it back for us returning from a business trip to Finland.

Great report Walter and crew.

[NAVIGATOR]

Originally Posted by max384

Fantastic ride report!


It's always a bad idea to point a gun at one's own head... Especially while drinking... and in the second picture of Colebatch's last post, it looks like there are rounds in the chamber! Glad no one caught a bullet that night. Crazy Russians! (no offense to any Russians reading this, of course )

An original Russian Roulette

[4D GRIT]

The first place to start is with BMR (Body Mass Ratio), strength and overall riding fitness.

The bottom line is, it's a total weight package which includes CofG (Center of Gravity) and Neutral Point for stability management and this includes the rider too as they are the largest weight load component..


Had lengthy discussion with friend about if it was worth spending the money to shed 10lbs off our bikes.....after several beers we decide it would be cheaper and better to just lose the weight from our mid-sections.

[achesley]

Originally Posted by 4D GRIT

The first place to start is with BMR (Body Mass Ratio), strength and overall riding fitness.

The bottom line is, it's a total weight package which includes CofG (Center of Gravity) and Neutral Point for stability management and this includes the rider too as they are the largest weight load component..


Had lengthy discussion with friend about if it was worth spending the money to shed 10lbs off our bikes.....after several beers we decide it would be cheaper and better to just lose the weight from our mid-sections.

You just can't believe how much faster my two bikes are since I lost 40 lbs in the past year.
Nuff said! Mo report time.

[max384]

Originally Posted by 6USMC6

That's supposed to be a Smith & Wesson 686.

It was made in China and if it is real, it is a horrendously cheap copy. You can see the mold marks on the trigger guide and along the underlug. In addition, there isn't a gap at the crane - indicating that it is probably a fake. What you see as cartridges may well be a sloppy plating job (it is chromed, rather than nickle plated) and if you look closely at the barrel, it appears to have a plug in it.

It may in fact be real - but I doubt it.

You may be right. Truthfully I didn't look all that closely at it.

Walter, Terry, anyone? Was it real?

[Colebatch]

Originally Posted by InTheMuck

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000...026203578.html

Well spotted ... so there you go, if you want to taste the real Zubrowka in the US, you need to get "Zu". Anything else is probably a knock off, since the name Zubrowka is not a protected trademark in the US. And therefore not covered by my recommendation

http://www.zuvodka.com/

[Colebatch]

Originally Posted by max384

You may be right. Truthfully I didn't look all that closely at it.

Walter, Terry, anyone? Was it real?

None of us looked at it closely, but I doubt it. Owning of handguns by the public in Russia is as rare and as difficult as it is in Western Europe. Rifles can be common, but handguns seem rare.

[Colebatch]

Originally Posted by igormortis

Have you posted the trail in its entirety somewhere, or does that happen at the end of the report?

I will do it like the Trans Am Trail ... make it available for purchase - bearing in mind the 4 years that have gone into making it. It will be in digital format rather than a roll book - a Garmin compatible GPS track. The trail route will be available in 3 parts ... each part will come with notes and video in the form of a DVD.

I will also do a general mainstream DVD of this year's actual ride. (possibly a blueray version is there is demand for blueray HD version)

I think thats the easiest way to do it. That way I can put together a DVD for entertainment, and yet put 3 times more detailed footage together for people preparing to do the trail (or parts of it), along with commentary on what to expect for upcoming sections in terms of riding. Potential areas to avoid if the weather is bad etc.

I am supposed to be starting it all now, but am still doing this ride report