Granny on the Road of Bones, Old Summer Road, Siberia

[Mide]

We set off early the next day and arrived just in time to see the ferry leave so we got on the next one. It pulled off almost immediately and moved about 400m down the bank and there were Thomas and Felix waiting!!
So we all got on the ferry and waited for more vehicles.

We got chatting to some wrestlers and they showed the boys some videos of them fighting

Then we were told to get off the ferry as the other one 400m away was leaving first. So we rode up to the other one but it just took 2 lorries and left! So we waited some more!

https://vimeo.com/188353386

We eventually got on a ferry but it was past 1 o clock so we were running very late. It was a lovely day but still hard going on the rutted, gravel road. At least there were shops and cafes en route today

We were really tired and the combination of the very low sun and the dust plumes made it very hard to see where we were going!
I was sooooo happy to see the ferry port for the ferry to Yakutsk

We met some great kids in the ferry and took millions of selfies with them

David Zimmerman, whose pouch we'd found with all his documents was waiting at the other side for us. He had a hotel organised for us.
This is the handing over of the documents

That's a very happy David

He brought us all out for dinner that evening

You see that picture back there of me with the statue of the guy on the horse?!
This is the road very close to where that photo of me was taken, this one taken less than a fortnight later

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Nutty]

What a great report, keep it coming.

 

[Mide]

We got word from Gary and Fritz too. They had left the previous morning from Tomtor to go back 178kms with the fixed drawbar to collect the trailer. They had many obstacles to overcome on the way back to Tomtor. At least they knew what lay ahead. They reached the trailer, fixed the drawbar back on and hooked it up and started to head back to Tomtor. 118kms from Tomtor the half shaft broke and the wheel fell off
They were totally up shit creek! There's no phone coverage or 3G. Luckily, Thomas surprise package/2 wheel drive bike was on the trailer, and also luckily the fuel bladder we had forgotten was also on the trailer and so they had a way out. Albeit not a very comfy way out

They actually had quite a shitty time even though we laugh now they had a tent but no ground mats or sleeping bags. It is a one seater bike with no suspension and a top speed of about 10 miles an hour. Fritz drove and Gary sat on a bag on the back holding his feet up by the bottom of his trouser legs!!! Demonstrated by them at a later date

So they made it back to Tomtor and the next day Fritz left Tomtor on his bike to join us in Yakutsk. Gary had to order in new parts and then find someone to bring him to the jeep and help him fix it and then come back to Tomtor.

We were visiting some friends that Kev had made in 2012 when he first came to Siberia. Kev and I stayed with Ann and Nick and the boys stayed in the hotel. David had left for Mongolia and Fritz had arrived from Tomtor.

I was flying home the next day so we were all going out for a meal that night and it was Nick's birthday. The boys had made a new friend and this is how they rocked up that night!

We had a nice meal and had organised a cake for Nick

I'm in my leaba now so will finish the story tomorrow



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Mide]

Well, I flew home the next day so my part in the story is over, but the boys still had a way to go. Kev's plan all along was to head to Tynda from Yakutsk and do the western BAM again to the top of lake Baikal. Then do the 110, the adventure road that runs down the eastern side of Lake Baikal. Then go to Ulan Ude and down to Ulaan Bataar in Mongolia. The plan was to leave the bikes there for next year's trip.
Gary was still in Tomtor. He was really having a tough time. The part that he had ordered for the jeep had arrived. There was a group of Aussies/kiwis who were doing an organised trip on the OSR and because of them there was a helicopter based in Tomtor as back up in case they needed it. The pilot had agreed to fly Gary and the part to the jeep and wait with him to be sure it all worked before leaving him there. But the weather had turned and there was a lot of heavy rain so the helicopter couldn't fly. Even when the bad weather subsided the rivers were now high so it caused another difficulty for the jeep. So they flew to the jeep, and fixed the broken bits, but because he was using the compressor for so long to do the repairs, the battery was now dead so the pilot flew Gary and the battery back to Tomtor. In the meantime, Kev, Fritz and Felix left Yakutsk and headed to Tynda. It should take 2 days, 3 at a push, but Kev was having problems with his injector again and so his bike ended up in the back of a lorry that day. Thomas waited in Yakutsk for Gary. He had no way of carrying luggage and a lot of his stuff including all his bike spares, were in the trailer. The others had ordered new tyres because they'd need them before started the western BAM and their spare tyres where on the trailer too
Kev changed his injector that night and they headed off again the next day but the bike still wasn't running well. They had to stop off in Andrei's village (Andrei who drove the jeep to Magadan) they stayed there that night, then the next day limped to Tynda. Luckily, Kev has good friends in Tynda. He met Slava in 2012 and again in 2014. Slava and his family really looked after the boys again this time. He had ordered the tyres for the bikes, he organised bbq's. Felix's wheel rim had split and they found an aluminium welder but when he was finished, the wheel was egg shaped so Slava found a new wheel Gary had eventually got back to the jeep with the battery and drove it back to Tomtor. He stayed another night there and headed for Yakutsk and picked up Thomas, his bike and my bike. Then they drove to Tynda. The others had been in Tynda 5 days by the time Gary and Thomas got there. More trouble! The wheel had fallen off the trailer! So it arrived in the back of a lorry!
Kev, Fritz and Felix left on the western BAM. Gary and Thomas headed for Ulan Ude on the Trans Siberian Highway. This is a much better road, it's mostly Tarmac.
The weather was overcast but they had a fairly uneventful first day. On the second day, Felix's rear shock went on his bike. Kev rang me from where they stopped that night. As it happened they were staying in a hospital. There are no hotels along the western BAM as there are usually no visitors. He was very disappointed as they wouldnt be able to do the 110 now so Felix was going to put his bike (and himself) on a train back to Tynda. Kev and Fritz would continue on the western BAM to Baikal. At the end of the conversation he told me that he's hurt his foot and he was going to see if he could get a painkiller from one of the nurses. All of the first aid stuff was on the trailer
He sent me a message shortly afterwards saying his leg was broken

So the three boys and the three bikes went on a train back to Tynda.

Only the train stopped 180kms from Tynda so they had to get the bikes off, wrap some plastic bags around the cast, sellotape a flip flop to the bottom of his foot and ride back to Tynda!

Again, Slava went above and beyond helping out. He organised a lorry to take the 3 bikes to Ulan Ude. There was a 48 hour train to Ulan Ude the next day, but there was a 37 hour one 200kms away, so Slava drove the boys to the other train. The kindness and friendliness and hospitality of the Siberians was incredible, and they expect and accept nothing in return.

Kev had a miserable journey, lying on a bed for the best part of 37 hours, he was in pain and couldn't get off and walk about when the train stopped. They got to Ulan Ude on the Thursday night. Gary and Thomas were already there, they had to go to the Mongolian embassy to try and get a visa first thing on Friday morning. Luckily, they were told they could pick up the visa that afternoon. Then they went to the hospital and got a better cast put on Kev's leg and some crutches

They had to wait in Ulan Ude for another few days for the bikes to arrive and then they headed for Ulaan Bataar. The rules regarding leaving bikes in Mongolia have changed. We were going to leave them in Oasis, a hostel famous for minding bikes for travellers.
There were some interesting moments!

Due to new rules, Kev organised to leave our bikes in a bonded warehouse for €360 for 9 months cheaper than it would've been in Oasis.

Then, eventually, Kev came home Gary too

So, we're waiting for next July, so we can head back out to Mongolia and continue our trip


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Tinytim]

Wow!

 

[mrsroynie]

Great ride report. What an adventure! Kudos, Mide.

 

[Kitsilano]

I'd like to say that in reading through your complete reports I have no idea of where you guys actually found the strength and determination to carry on, day after day and challenge after challenge - utterly amazing and a wonderful credit to your willpower and commitment. Talk about 'GUTSY' !
Thank you for sharing these many adventures (too exhausting to break out individually, but cliff-hanger after cliff-hanger....).
It's hard to know what has attracted you guys from Eire to the back of beyond in Siberia but if 'cultural exchange' and 'backroads adventure' ever had a poster made, then your smiling faces would be front and centre!
Good luck with Kev's healing leg and have a great recovery over the winter.
Thanks again for sharing your inspiring journey.

 

[Micky]

Good one Mide .... regards to you and Kev

 

[gspod]

Brilliant - thanks a million

 

[(RIP) petcul]

Great to be retired. Just relived the whole trip again Mide before breakfast. Well done. Fantastic read, fantastic achievement.

 

[steveC]

Well after reading that I am exhausted. This excellent write up shows just what planning is needed to complete a trip of this magnitude. I look forward to reading more.

A well done seems rather inadequate in the circumstance.

 

[Mr K]

Epic report your Grannyness.. just brilliant... sitting here worrying about impending tripp to Spain/Portugal... and there's you guys..

Thank you.

 

[Mide]

Thanks guys Have to say I've never laughed as much on a trip! The boys were fantastic company We had a truly great time!!

 

[frodi]

Great report. Kudos to you all.

 

[(RIP) Arkwright]

Excellent, beautifully written!

 

[GFJ]

Really enjoyed that; great resolve and strength in you all.

A taffy Dakar tee-shirt and an xchallenge. Icing on the cake!

Thanks for posting.

 

[Aidan1150]

Brilliant stuff Míde, hope yo see you and Kev soon.

 

[B Murr]

Well loks like ye had a run of bad luck there Mide that would have put most off travelling for good. I've only met you once and can say that yourself and Kev have that great sense of upbeat optimism and humour that really comes into play in these situations. Looking forward to seeing how 2017 goes.

 

[Mide]

So, we didn't make it back to Mongolia in 2017 because we kinda unexpectedly went to South America
The ride report is one of the stickies here. Top of the World

We are now in the process of planning our trip for this coming summer. Kev is going to go out a few weeks before me with Mark(who did the 2012 trip with him) Gary and Fritz. Gary has bought an Uaz van and it is in Tynda in Russia. Fritz will ship his bike out and they will go from ulaan Bataar to Tynda, then down the Western Bam to the top of Lake Baikal, then down the 110 back towards Irkutsk. Then he will drop back down into Ulaan Bataar where Séamus, Loz and I will meet him and we'll explore a bit of Mongolia before going back into Russia and then on to Kazakhstan and into Bishkek in Kyrgysztan where we plan to leave the bikes for a 2019 trip

I will be doing a ride report in due course

 

[Micky]

So, we didn't make it back to Mongolia in 2017 because we kinda unexpectedly went to South America
The ride report is one of the stickies here. Top of the World

We are now in the process of planning our trip for this coming summer. Kev is going to go out a few weeks before me with Mark(who did the 2012 trip with him) Gary and Fritz. Gary has bought an Uaz van and it is in Tynda in Russia. Fritz will ship his bike out and they will go from ulaan Bataar to Tynda, then down the Western Bam to the top of Lake Baikal, then down the 110 back towards Irkutsk. Then he will drop back down into Ulaan Bataar where Séamus, Loz and I will meet him and we'll explore a bit of Mongolia before going back into Russia and then on to Kazakhstan and into Bishkek in Kyrgysztan where we plan to leave the bikes for a 2019 trip

I will be doing a ride report in due course

Good one Mide ... go for it

Watching with great interest