Sibirsky Extreme 2012 - The Toughest Ride of Them All

[Putts]

Originally Posted by Colebatch

She is pretty frisky too

The shot that launched a thousand motorcycles.

[Louisdut]

Originally Posted by Colebatch

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.

Cool

Louis

[Prutser]

Originally Posted by bigdon

After watching this vid I would prefer the Russian Mud and Water to the pavement.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AXz4P6EpX3s&feature=player_

We have seen some of those Russian driving skills.
When we were walking back to our hotel from a restaurant in Zmeinogorsk .
There was a HIGH speed police chase trough the town. With some cops in a Lada chasing a Lada !!!
This was so funny to see, both with roaring engines and screaming tires going 45km/h MAX

[sigmund freud]

How many days is the total trip and what is cost of this kind of trip?

[Prutser]

Originally Posted by Colebatch

My memory has faded now ... maybe it was the vodka the previous night ... but I sorta kinda think Rod left early in the morning with his bike in Hassan's van, heading north to Barnaul 600 km (400 miles) away ... or maybe he was still with us and my memory has turned into cheese.
Let me help you here mate. I checked Beamster's note book: We left at about 16:00 in the afternoon.
I wasn't of much help to Rod here. After we checked all the options and tried all Rod's spare parts we had.There were only a few things left to try but for that we needed parts.
I think Hassan was still trying to get a cheaper option to get Rod's bike to Barnaul the next morning. Because of the good weather we decided to still get on the bikes and do some km's that day.
In any case ...

There would be no more of this scene that had dominated the trip since Astana ... Rod playing with the ass end of his bike, and Prutser lending his mechanical expertise.





We were down to 4 riders now ... But we knew we had to cross the Mongolian border as 5. Rod was prepared to go to extreme lengths to make that happen. In the meantime, the plan was the rest of us would head towards that border and do some riding around that area (the Altai Republic) until Rod rejoins us. I couldnt help but feel very sorry for Rod because when I outlined this ride to Rod back in 2011, the area he was most enthusiastic about was the Russian Altai. This was the bit he wanted the most, and now he would have to miss it.

We had a last lunch with Yana



And said our farewells to the cozy lodge that had been our home for two nights ... a find of gold after the cold wet miserable day that brought us here.



And Yana ran around taking pictures of her new motorcycling friends.



Terry was packed up and ready to go ...

Here we are reorganizing our stuff while Terry was making one of his hilarious video diaries....

[DesertDigger]

Hi Walter and team,
Thanks and respect to you all for this great RR, it reads like a book, only the reader is not in control here
If you would happen to be in London this weekend, I would be more than happy to buy you a beer.
But I see I am not the only guy saying that here

How many miles are on the odometer so far? I can almost smell Mongolia here also!

Regarding the river crossings, what about a drain button in the fuel tank like smaller planes have to drain the condensation water or what is the best way now to drain the water from the fuel?

Little_hijack:
For me this is all very inspiring and learning, as I am planning a similar trip for 2013. I am thinking small group like 3-5. I am still alone at this point so if others would be interested, pls PM me! EOHJ


DD

[bigdon]

This picture cracks me up.
The completely opposite looks on their faces.
One knows Walter, the other one want's to know him!

[levain]

Originally Posted by bigdon

This picture cracks me up.
The completely opposite looks on their faces.
One knows Walter, the other one want's to know him!

yeah, but that's Rod's knee in the bottom right

[ROD CURRIE]

Originally Posted by kahlgryndiger

Yes ... she really is ...

Guys, the photos actually don't do her justice. She was a knockout girl with a great sense of fun and mischief and REALLY liked to have people there and party.
I would say additionally that Hassan, her husband is a Chechen and you REALLY don't want to tread on a Chechen's toes so the complications of romantic entanglementswere never even considered as an option. When we were not too tired we were too drunk anyway..

[ROD CURRIE]

Originally Posted by Teeds

Walter:

I'm likely past the age where I could realistically complete this ride, but reading this tread has take me to parts of the world and introduced me to the people and countryside in a way that cannot be measured.

In that I bleed orange I cannot wait to hear the end of the saga with Rod's bike. My gut tells me we are close to learning the solution to the problem and it has nothing to do with a funeral pyre or a signal fire like the Husky in OAS.

Hi Teeds. Terry and I are both 57 so unless you're considerably older or have other health issues , there's honestly no reason not to consider the trip.
As W has stated, he's far from the most techie rider and myself and T are exactly the same. It's about attitude more than ability-bloody-mindedness more than anything I suppose...and of course the availability of the time-but even then the trips breaks down into 3 logical parts. Don't write it off as a possibility. Enjoy the thread ...

[ROD CURRIE]

"My memory has faded now ... maybe it was the vodka the previous night ... but I sorta kinda think Rod left early in the morning with his bike in Hassan's van, heading north to Barnaul 600 km (400 miles) away ... or maybe he was still with us and my memory has turned into cheese.
Let me help you here mate. I checked Beamster's note book: We left at about 16:00 in the afternoon."


P is right. We had torn the bike down rebuilt it, tried routing the filters externally as changing filters SEEMED to have provided some reliability hitherto, However, this time it made no difference, the old bag wasn't going to play ball. And I'd wasted enough of the guys holiday whilst they hung around waiting for me so it was a no-brainer-they'd push on and I'd get the bike north to Barnaul one way or another and see what I could make happen.

This is where the great generosity and open-ness of these people again shone through.

Hassan had left the night before and after W had a talk with Yana, she called him up and from Barnaul he arranged a truck to take the bike north at 0600 the next morning.
During the late afternoon she came to me and told me that the truck was on its way, would be here at 9-ish (evening) and would turn round straight away with me and the bike on board.
Thye driver and truck arrived about that time with a drivers mate on board, and I wheeled the bike out whilst the guys screwed about trying to make a ramp out of planks they found lying around. I didn't want to bike to end up on top of someone having fallen off a plank 4ft in the air so I stopped them and told one to grab the bottom of the fork leg whilst I did the same on the other side, his mate steadied the rear and we tossed it up onto the truck. Try that with a GS anyone!
They tied it down and I said goodbye to Yana who truly had a tear in her eye-I think she just loved having a gang of people there-and we set off into the unknown on the next part of The Great Adventure.

[ROD CURRIE]

So began the journey north with a driver that only knew one speed...as fst as it will go-to Barnaul across what seemed the bounciest road surface I've ever encountered..we'd be riding along, both guys chain smoking and us all bouncing nearly out of our seats every few seconds.....it was like The Seventh Wave...bounce bouncebounce bouncebouncebounce BOUNCE )( repeat to fade)and I just couldn't get any sleep.
As the guys wound down they decided to stay wake with EUROPOP!!
FFS am I not suffering enough!! , I'm absolutely bolloxed, and cramped in a tiny cab traveling at Warp factor 9 on the Washboard Express with two chain smoking guys that don't understand a word I say-and now it's feckin' Europop.
The truck stopped during the night and one of the guys just got out and wandered away. We were nowhere near a town so I can only assume someone was coming to pick him up. At least now I had a bit more room.
We got into Barnaul about 7 in the morning, unloaded the bike and the after calling Hassan the driver left.


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. Within 10 minues H arrived in a big Toyota V8 4WD and we went the few hundred yards where Viktor had his repair shop.
Hard to describe the building as it seemed to be in a tunnel with a couple of windowless units off, and he wan't at work yet so we left the bike there ( if it gets stolen so feckin' what..the thieves can have the grief ) and went to get some breakfast and a hotel.

Sorry guys I'm up in Yorkshire on a slow connection and can't load the pics-if no one sorts it I'll reload on Sunday

[norseV4force]

[ROD CURRIE]

If anyone has a pic of Viktor please upload-I have none alas. He's without doubt the best regarded motorcylce mechanic for a thousand miles and although a little tacturn, once you get past that he's a true gem.
He arrived about 8.30, screaming up and leaping off a supermoto, and I explained what the problem was -amazing what you can get across with a wet phrase book and 10 words...

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"KAZAHKPETROLSHIT.....VaDA", he bellowed after I mimed the symptoms . ..telling me that Kaz gas was full of water. I had some doubts as the rest of the bikes has used the same gas but hey-it was his gaff and I had to defer tto his experience. I took the bike to bits and down to a point he could access pretty uch anything he needed. he dropped the fuel out ( P and I had done this already-more than once ) and showed me some water in the bottom of the receptacle he'd put it in.
Hassan meanwhile was getting hungry and I needed a hotel, I asked him if he'd call me one and he was emphatic .." NO!...you stay at my home!" and he wouldn't be moved from that. We then went to a restaurant for breakfast and we collected when we wanted from the counter and queued up to pay. Least I can do is buy his breakfast. "NO....I buy!" and put himself between me and the till girl.
I'm thinkin' "Ok..I'll buy dinner tonight"
There's a sort of aggressive hospitality culture in this part of the world, and I think it's something like this ..if you're their guest they see it as part of being your host to supply all food and drink. Maybe Walter will explain better than I as he spends so much time there. But when one's used to repaying in a like manner it's quite difficult to deal with. You just need to go with it and wait for an opportunity to do something for them.

[norseV4force]

I suppose this is one way to get your post count up without actually having to to do a lot....