Mongolia to Magadan: Any which (the hard) way

[Chris]

Ch 7 Taksimo to giving up and back to Irkutsk

I bumped into the other lads at the Seaplane monument. They were heading east towards the Vitim Bridge and the real fun beyond. And Me? I needed some time sleeping in a hotel bed! I wished them bonne route.

After 2 nights and a day (most of it spent trying to fix the Shed's still leaking radiator) I set off. These 2 young chaps were coming the other way

I was regularly topping up the radiator. By now it was 33.3/33.3/33.3 swamp water/sparkling mineral water/rad-seal!

Oh joy!





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Turning around: Wise words, or words of a demented man?




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On the way back to Taksimo. Possibly in a slightly emotional state?

"Come back again another time on a little bike" I wouldn't have guessed in my wildest dreams that the "another time" would be a week later. I was expecting it to be years later.

6.30am, waiting for the train…

Back in Taksimo I tried to arrange a train for me and the bike to Tynda at the end of the western BAM and on the good Chita/Yakutsk road. No train with a baggage/post wagon for 2 weeks. Bo!!ocks! However, on Tuesday (in 2 days) a train all the way to Moscow. I actually considered going that far, but only went for the 500km option back to Severobaykalsk and the bike ride back to Irkutsk.

The shed in the baggage wagon.

Despite my 7 words of Russian and the freight lady's zero words of any language I understood, but with French/Russian translation on the phone from her mate/colleague/boss/daughter (no idea!), my Russian/English phrase book and newly downloaded translation app on my smartphone I got the ticket for me and the bike sorted. There were 60 bucks of extra "loading fees" that didn't appear on any receipt, but she did have captive audience

Her sidekick ended up with an extra 20 litres of petrol which we decanted using 2 cola bottles from the Shed's tank into his car. In fairness, he did pay me for most of it.

Other baggage being loaded

It was funny seeing the road I had ridden from the inside of a train carriage

Unceremoniously deposited on the platform at Severobaykalsk 6 hours later

The road more travelled

Somewhere before Ust Kut I met this German couple who refused to pay the (apparently) high fee for the vehicle barge to Lensk to join the Vilyuisky Trakt to Yakutsk and were intending on driving the BAM. I never met them again, but there's no way they would have made it all the way on 4 wheels

Overview sketch from when I was planning my trip in 2011 below:

The BAM sign I forgot to get a picture of when riding west-east

The forest takes back the town

Back to Zhigalovo

Kind of pretty

Guess what they're doing?




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Watch the video for the answer. (Clearing up litter)

I met this pleasant Russian biker when he stopped to check I was ok. I was reattaching the bash plate back onto the bike using borrowed (from a fence next to the road....) fencing wire

Still time to take in the view

Getting closer to "civilisation"

Entertainment at lunchtime

A cafe that was open and sold stuff...

Where the paved road started I meet Joe Stather a.k.a JoeDakar and his partner Corinna ( HARD WAY EAST - JOEDAKAR GMBH - THE MOTORCYCLE ADVENTURE COMPANY ) who were also attempting the BAM. On BMW (F800gs Adventure) sheds (a different variety of shed to my Honda Transalp Shed). Their sheds were also unsuitable for the terrain and they didn't make it. From Joe's description in the link above, he turned round at the same place as me and dropped his bike off the bridge where I only fell over (filmed in the second of the 3 videos above).

Myself and Felix had a really pleasant evening with Joe and Corinna a week later in Taksimo when we returned on the XCs and before Joe's mishap.

 

[Chris]

I'm away from a desktop PC for 2 weeks riding around eastern Bulgaria and Romania, as well as hunting for the Easter bunny closer to home, so if it floats your boat, here are a couple of maps of the end of the Transalp "Mk 1" trip and the start of the "Mk 2/RBA" caper for you to hone your geography skills. Prepping a RR on a tablet PC or smartphone isn't feasible.

And also 3 pictures from the Mk2/RBA jolly to hopeful wet you appetite

 

[Chris]

Ch 8. The start of part 2 (the “any which way” part…) Irkutsk north and east

A bit of background as to how I ended up riding an XChallenge:

After my aborted attempt at the BAM on the Transalp and before I boarded the train at Taksimo, I had texted Felix and Phil, who were behind me, to let them know I was returning to Irkutsk and asking if they’d still be there. I again had cell phone contact in Severobaykalsk when Felix texted me to say Phil would lend me his XC to do the trip with him.

My first reaction was "Don’t be so ridiculous": I’d sworn I’d never ride a BMW again in my life and the concept of riding a bike that wasn’t in my name in a distant country like Russia made me feel uneasy.

The day’s ride from Severobaykalsk to Zhigalovo gave me 8 hours to think things through:

+If we just rode one way (i.e. we had to ship bikes out of Magadan) we should have the time

+If I stuck a sticker over the BMW logo, nobody would ever know I was riding that brand from Berlin

+I knew I wouldn’t meet many police who might want to check my papers as there were very few people where we were going

+I would actually make it to Magadan and have no more frigging in the rigging and get this huge monkey off my back.


So, I texted Felix and said I was up for it, as long as he was ok to just ride one way.

Why do I dislike the BMW brand, you might ask: I rode around the world on an airhead between 1999 and 2002, spending too much time in mechanics' workshops and relying on the kindness of strangers to get it fixed. The story is at Round the World TBSdotCom


Before we left Irkutsk, I serviced the (black) Transalp as I knew it would be close in terms of timing to ride it back to Mongolia when I flew back. I parked it at a posh hotel in the city.

Old traditional architecture

Vladimir Ilyich is always watching over you

Admiring the architecture

Is he saying "You looking at my girlfriend's architecture"?



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Chatting with Phil about things. Just for information, Phil is now married to said "English language student"

Nah, it definitely ain't a Beemer

Like the badge says, it's a Honda ;-)



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Less of the BS, time to hit the road…

 

[(RIP) petcul]

Great stuff.

 

[Chris]

Ch9 And they're off (The Zhigalovo Road for the third time!)

My riding buddy for my second attempt on the BAM: Mr Felix "I make Kevin Keegan's and Chris Waddle's mullet look good" Wright. Myself, Felix and Phil had already met in the UK and agreed to ride the BAM together. Various events had conspired to prevented this from happening up until now.

Russia and Siberia have many positive aspects, but the mullet haircut, that many local men sport, is not one of them. I suppose their 1980s haircuts go with their love of 1980 heavy metal music.

Felix's Russian skills at the barber shop weren't good enough when the lady said "That'll be a mullet then sir?". All he could say was "Da" and hope. His hopes were in vain

Mr Wright in the bright sunlight

Mr Bright in the (w)right light... He's a poet and doesn't even know it! On the Transalp MarkII alongside the mighty Lena river

If only the weather had stayed this good...



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Some dubious video footage...

Spare tyres are also the (b)right size for tasty Baltika 7 cerveza cans purchased at the bottle shop en route to the hotel I stayed at twice already on the Transalp Mark I.

 

[Kaybe]

Enjoying this tale.

 

[Chris]

Chapter 10 Zhigalovo and back onto the BAM to Novo Uoyan

It could be said that good weather and a light bike with good suspension might reduce the adventure a little (not to worry: The weather changed and the track got much worse later on). The MarkII Transalp (also known as an RBA (Rebadged Aprilia) just ate up the miles up to the turnoff onto the BAM road before I remembered I was also meant to take some pictures...



Why is the XC an RBA? Answer: It allows me to claim I never actually rode a Beemer and lets me sleep with a clear conscience at night

The XC was built in the Aprilia factory, has (of course) an Austrian Rotax motor and Swedish Ohlins (Phil has swapped out the pants oem airshock on my bike: Felix was running Hyperpro) suspension... So pretty much the only thing coming from the BMW factory in Germany is the badge and the mapping on the efi unit...

At the BAM road sign (The same one as on the MarkI Transalp). The MarkII travelled all the way from somewhere in the middle of the Russian Altai, then across Mongolia, from Ulaan Bataar to Irkutsk and along the BAM to Tynda, then to Yakutsk and Magadan, including crossing 2 borders, without a licence plate! Why? Why not, nobody bothered checking and no police stopped me/us. Phil had dropped the bike backwards into a hole in the Altai, (that apparently took some heavy lifting equipment to extract 48 hours later: Felix or Phil might be able to elaborate on this story) and he lost the rear turn signals and plate. I did try making a new plate in an internet cafe in Irkutsk and cable tied it on, but after an hour it was falling off, so it spent the rest of the journey sticking out of my camelbak.

The first (of many) puctures

Memo to self: When Phil says the spare tubes in the panniers are fine, check that they haven't been patched, and if they have, buy some new ones in the bike shop in Irkutsk before leaving!

The pleasant weather and easy road, so far, lulls you into thinking this ride will be easy. Just for information: The trail gets progressively harder until Lopcha, over a thousand miles away, when it's back to easy gravel for the cruise into Tynda.

Too much alcohol in Severobaikalsk.

2 things were bugging me about the XC:

1. It's a BMW. Solution: Stick a piece of gaffer tape on the badge and only ever refer to it as a Transalp MarkII or an RBA

2. The totally daft (some might say gay-looking...) combo of oem high fender AND low rallye fender at the same time! It was Phil's idea! I feel I've developed aesthetic taste in my old age, so something had to give! For the rest of the trip, the high oem fender lived in the red roll bag on the pillion seat

Food shopping in Severobaikalsk. What a ridiculous bloody haircut!

Stopping for an ice-cream in a railway town. I ate more ice-creams on this trip than on many others.

Mum and the kids waiting for dad to finish the shopping

Heading home with the groceries

Waiting at the a train crossing at Novo Uoyan. Finally somebody to make me look thin and svelt

It was in Novo Uoyan a week earlier when Pete Berry (the chap on the XR) had been involved in an "incident" regarding the world (in)famous "Botty Dance" and also where I'd removed the fan from the MarkI radiator as it was causing it to leak more with than without it

Bloody tourist!

 

[Chris]

Ch 11 Novo Uoyan to Taksimo

A bit of geography and background: Taksimo is
1. Where the sea plane monument is
2. Where myself and Felix had a great night of beers and chat with DakarJoe and Corinna
3. From where I freighted my Mark I Transalp westwards on the train a week previously
4. Where (on my Mark I trip the week before) one evening in the cafe next to the hotel, I was struggling to mime a pig to say I wished to purchase some fried pork. The youngish lady didn't understand. The Russian translation/phrases app on my smart phone couldn't translate pork, but did have the word "porker", which was rather unfortunate considering her physical appearance She seemed unconcerned as to why I burst out laughing!

Siberian architecture: Bedraggled chique

A local biking fisherman

The bridge next to the river where I toasted the Mark I clutch and where the 2 truckers Yevgeny and Todor got me out of some serious sh!t when they helped me change it



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Textbook stuff

Selfie on said bridge: Having a spot of lunch. How very sophisticated

The oil from the Mark I oil change, after we'd changed the clutch, is still there a week later. Sorry no recycling facility available

I presume in memory of someone

Going…

Going…

Gone!



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The whole video is a bit of an overview of the day, but from 4.16 to 4.27 ties in with the images above Just to demonstrate what a good sport I am: I could just have "lost" the evidence, but I ain't proud

When you've messed up...



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This is how you sort it. With a little bit of help from your friends...

 

[Chris]

Ch12 Taksimo to the Vitim River Bridge

As said in the previous chapter, we had a pleasant evening chatting to Joe and Corinna, but had to head off early(ish) the next morning as we were on a tight schedule. They were staying an extra day before setting off

The bridges got worse as we headed east. Every winter the harsh weather takes its toll and in 2012 there were lots of summer forest fires which also more than accelerated the deterioration of the bridges

This is the puddle were I turned back on the Mark I Trannie. The Mark II found it quite straight forward

One of my favourite images of the trip. When I showed this to my uncle he asked "Why are you riding though the swamp? Why not ride on the road?"

This IS THE ROAD. You can see the swamp on the other side of the bike




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Felix riding the “Mark I turn around puddle”. Note how the pitch of the motor changes as the bike goes lower and lower. Only something like an X-Challenge with an incredibly high air-box intake (just about at handlebar level) can make it while being ridden. Other bikes would have to be pushed through with all offending orifices plugged

We got into a routine: Get off, walk the bridge, check the line, decide whether to walk or ride and if the other fella needs to give you a hand. This was an easy one, where Felix could take a pic of me riding it

Finally we reach the mighty Vitim River! And the Bridge, that seemed too far only 10 days previously. We walked the length of it first. Sorry lots of pics of the same landmark. Not many bikers get to ride this, so we enjoyed ourselves

The only way is forwards

Luckily it was dry today

Flora and fauna

We wish each other luck and Felix sets off



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The first few meters were a bit wobbly and nerve wracking, but after about 5 of 10 seconds I got into the groove. Tunnel vision and full concentration, but still enough awareness to stop 2/3 of the way along to wait for Felix to get his camera out, so there are some pics of me riding it!

2 minutes 30 seconds. Not the fastest, which I think is Iker from the Basque Country in 40 something seconds, nor the slowest which was Tony Pettie who encountered a huge storm half way across, so had to lay himself and his bike down and wait for it to pass! We had perfect conditions in comparison!

Brighty 1

Brighty 2, indicating right!

Dunnit! Time for a biscuit and drink of coke

 

[Reddivedog]

Great story.

 

[Chris]

Ch 13 The Vitim River to the Kuanda River



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The Felix Wright Kuanda Mullet Dance that is an adaptation of the Pete Berry Botty Dance. Pete rode UK to Magadan and back on an Xr400 with barely a hitch.

On my aborted Mark I attempt at the BAM trip shortly before it retired hurt, we were out eating and drinking in Novo Uoyan. I went to bed and the others carried on partying, including Pete dancing with some local women who were apparently less than impressed with him wiggling his bottom.

Since the Sochi Olympics we know Putin's view on gays. These women seemed to (wrongly) think that Pete was of that persuasion too and expressed their displeasure. Maybe Adam Lewis can help to fill in the details and adjudicate if Pete's or Felix's dance is better!

Not to be left out I attempt the dance too. On the stage. The local (easily influenced) audience aren't sure what to think...

... before kneeling down as if to say "We are not worthy. He must be the messiah..."

One of my fav pics of the trip. I don't necessarily smile easily, but this one is genuine. I even persuaded the shy little girl to join the show off boys in their group shot




map4:

More of an overview of the geography




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The Kuanda River Bridge. TURN UP THE VOLUME! As mentioned in the previous video the usual way to cross the Kuanda River was to hire a Kamaz truck and put the bikes in the back. We decided to see if we could wing it as the truck isn't cheap and there was only 2 of us. I think we were lucky we only came across one scrawny bloke on guard. Had there been more, it would have cost mucho rubbles. FWIW 200 Rubles = £4 = us$6 = euro5

There were many railway bridges to cross. This was the only guarded one until Olyokma. At one, I met a train half way! More about that in the next chapter!

Golden Spike Monument, to commemorate the meeting of the 2 railway building teams. One had started in the east at the Pacific Ocean and the other in the west. This is where the tracks connected

The railway is your friend and navigator and if the sh!te hits the fan, your get out of jail free card. Like me on the Mark I and Joe after his mishap.

 

[Timolgra]

Brilliant Chris!

And great photo

 

[earthmover]

Excellent!
Mark

 

[Elle]

Great Chris
But, when the clutch burned out, why did the others leave you on your own? How come you had to navigate those roads alone? Was it a solo trip anyway?
(I watched your presentation last year but if it covered this, I've totally forgotten )

 

[Chris]

Not quite in sequence chronologically, but still topical. It may not be totally clear from my ride report, but the Mark II (BMW X Challenge) did make it to Magadan and back to the UK: In November 2013. Here's a picture of it and Felix's bike in the back of my van on a mammoth drive form Rotterdam to Yorkshire in November 2013.

2 weeks ago (late April 2014), the Mark I arrived in the UK too. 4 and a half months late! The pictures below are taken by Darren Mitchell in my employer's groundsman's lawnmower shed where Darren helped me hugely get it back on its wheels and into van and home.


Mark II Transalp (and Felix's bike...) November 2013 en route Rotterdam to England. Very much on time, if not much earlier than ever imagined…In a Eurotunnel carriage sous la marche at midnight.

Mark I Transalp: Arrived mid April 2014, box opened the other day: The bike came in a container from Mongolia. Nearly half a year late! If you ever need to ship anything to or from Mongolia, I can advise an agent to most definitely avoid!

For more information on whom to use to ship from far East Russia/ Mongolia, see post #19 at http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hu...tation-motorbike-mongolia-europe-trip-57891-2

 

[Chris]

Great Chris
But, when the clutch burned out, why did the others leave you on your own? How come you had to navigate those roads alone? Was it a solo trip anyway?
(I watched your presentation last year but if it covered this, I've totally forgotten )

No, the lads didn't leave me alone. The truckers had arrived before they set off.

I had a lot of food to sit it out for a few days (water wasn't a problem ) and it wasn't feasible to tow my bike 250km to a town (back the way I'd come or to where I was heading). And why should they, on their suitable, lightweight dirtbikes tow me on my unsuitable lardy shed.

In the the 4 or 5 hours I was at the side of the road helping to fix the bike 3 or 4 vehicles passed. If necessary I could have hitched a lift to extract me from the situation. As usual, the railway line was also close by, so I could have thumbed a ride on a train.

After the train ride to Lake Baikal, I rode solo back to Irkutsk, where I met up with Felix on the other XC. From Yakutsk to Magadan (story still to come) I rode solo because the swingarm on Felix's broke.

When you set off on bike trips, the further you get from Europe, particularly on interesting bits like the Stans, Mongolia or eastern Siberia, there are usually people to ride with. It was a solo trip in terms of, I left alone, I came home alone.

 

[Chris]

Ch 14 Kuanda to Hani: Frightening road and railway bridges and...

After the little shipping story, the RR is back on track.


Apologies if some of the town names are incorrect and the pics in the incorrect chronological order. I had 2 cameras and a helmet cam. Felix also has 2 cameras, so sorting out what goes where, wasn't easy.

Top stuff, not :-( Good fun in a perverse sort of way!

That one's broke, this one doesn't follow the track anymore and the proper one is behind me

This bridge was once for the railway. Now there's a new one next door

Good nick?

Yep, you've guessed it. That white stuff over my left shoulder is ice.

Memorial to a driver who lost his life at the river in the following video. We saw quite a few of these on our trip. Vodka consumption might have played a part in some victims' road traffic incident demise.



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TURN UP THE VOLUME! Bridges, what bridges?! Isambard Kingdom Brunel wouldn't have been impressed! At the end, also a speeded up clip of when I got stuck in what appeared to be an innocuous puddle. And trying to free the bike... Unfortunately at some point the battery on the gopro flattened or the memory card was full. The full story and pics in the next chapter...

Even Evel Knievel might have struggled across this one!




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The video to go with the pictures above and below. I remember the name Hani, because we stopped there to get some supplies and the (drunk) bloke wouldn't leave us alone and insisted on showing us his mobile phone address book entry under the name of one Walter Colebatch ! Dude, you made quite an impression on this chap! He thought you were the messiah!

We ended up on our first proper railway bridge, not including the Kuanda Bridge. Once you've done one, you get a bit cocky...

One careful lady owner. Never been offroad.

The perfect vehicle and dog for the conditions

 

[Roberto]

Very good!

 

[Chris]

Ch15 Hani(ish) to the hut, with Chara en route

Just a couple of pictures, but they tell a little story

We stayed at the most horrid hotel, bar none, in Chara (arriving in the middle of a rain storm) with no hot water (that you'd expect considering the price we paid) and looking like a building site, where the cafe next door was closed and the restaurant down the road wasn't able to serve up any food either (the favourite word of anyone in the hospitality industry in this godforsaken dump was "niet"). We ended up cooking some noodles on the petrol camping stove in the room. Fire hazard? Health and Safety? Who give a sh!t. We would have done the world a favour if the place had burnt down...

It was still chucking it down the following morning, but we had to leave. Giving the miserable niet-woman on reception any more money wasn't an option. A quick breakfast of (Yorkshire) tea and chocolate and we're off...

After riding 1/2 an hour, it stopped raining a little too

The following video already appears in the previous chapter (14), but the footage from 4 min 18 seconds onwards ties in with the photos below ;-) On the bridge in the background you see a train travelling across from right to left reminds me of a little incident:

We had ridden along the embankment for a little while. There is usually quite a bit of space, because it was built to take 2 sets of parallel tracks, but only one set was ever laid. The railway bridges however are only wide enough for 1 pair of tracks. Felix is up ahead and has crossed already. Where he is, the track curves to the left behind some trees and bushes.

I stop and turn round to see if nothing is coming from behind me. The coast is clear, but I do notice a green signal light that would be seen by any oncoming train driver I'm about a third of the way along riding the bridge-walkway with my right pannier scraping the railing and the left one over the sleepers. Felix is gesticulating wildly! It didn't take a genius to work out why. I think I mouthed to myself "Yeh, I've seen it".

A huge locomotive was heading my way! 5 feet ahead is a little alcove where there's sometimes a life-ring to throw to somebody in the river, or a bucket of salt and grit, if the walkway is icy. I get there with about 2 seconds to spare and lay the bike into the right hand railing, so the handlebars are in mid-air over the river. The train misses my left Adventure Spec Magadan pannier*** by maybe 2 feet. A close shave! The status of my underwear following the incident shall remain undisclosed

I had turned off the gopro 5 minutes before to conserve the battery. So no footage



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So we get off the bridge and decide to head down the embankment and back to the main trail. As Adam said in post #74 at Mongolia to Magadan: Any which (the hard) way - Page 5 - ADVrider , "There's no such thing as an innocuous looking puddle in Siberia eh! " He's not wrong! Felix takes the right hand rut and just makes it. I think I'll take the left. Big mistake!

Bollox! I'm well and truly stuck! Get the luggage off and start digging

We had spotted a hut on the other side of the bridge. Felix found an axe in the hut. 3 hours that evening until it got too cold scraping with the axe and a tyre lever to help removing the cement like sludge by hand. This picture is taken the following morning during the next 2 or 3 hour shift. Luckily the air intake, carb and exhaust are so high on this bike! Often the tip of my nose was touching the water as I reached down to get another handful of mud

Are you enjoying this Mr Bright? No, not exactly.

What a great idea to have a good mate along for the ride and to have purchased a tow rope in Severobaykalsk

I was particularly weary of toasting another clutch (we didn't have a spare XC one with us), so made sure the bike was completely free before Felix gave me a tow. He apologises for me flying through the air and falling when the bike launched forwards. I was very happy and really didn't give a toss.

Our boudoir for the night between attempts trying to dig out the MarkII. Felix had some tasty freeze-dried food and kindly cooked. I wasn't in any state to help. We got the wood-burning heater going and learnt that bits of railway sleeper coated in weather preserving kerosene burn really well





*** Am I the first person to ride a bike with Magadan panniers to Magadan?!! Sorry I digress!

 

[Chris]

Ch16 Jet-skiing, breaking the law and a stay at the hospital...




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Again, TURN UP THE VOLUME. Another compilation video. Suggested titles for the different bits:

• Dodging the trains
• Getting the mask and flippers out
• The relentless dodgy road bridges needing to be negotiated
• Brighty breaking the law to get onto the Olyokma River Bridge. Although I did straighten the post afterwards and when we got to the other side the guards were totally cool

Panto season: He's behind you!

I think we'll let him go first…

Sh!te parking job, blocking the whole road!





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More compilation. Captions:

• Finally the opportunity for Felix to get stuck, rather than me
• This bridge really gave me the willies!
• Using big words like "perpendicular" and landing on my ar$e!

Will this bridge still be standing next year?

We arrived in Yuktali but could find neither accommodation, nor fuel. People were friendly and helpful, but we seemed on a wild goose chase for both these necessities. A lady in a shop told us to follow a little lad on a pushbike. He led us to the hospital, where we were introduced to the friendly ambulance driver (on the right). We got the gist that we should come back at 6pm. We did and he allowed us to park the bikes in the garage and we slept in a hospital room! Dinner was bread and salami and crisps and beer from the shop in town. There were neither patients, nor doctors/nurses. Next morning when the admin staff arrived (still no patients…), we paid a nominal amount and I even got a receipt.

The ambulance driver then told us to follow him to the train station to get benzin. While waiting for the big railway station boss to arrive, we took the opportunity to admire the cut of his secretary's miniskirt and take pictures in the corridor:

The Olyokma Bridge before it was repaired

The hazards involved in crossing a railway line on a red signal...

Mr Wright is stuck, rather than me, for once!

Even the rain stopped and the sun came out

I recon this sign says "Trespassers will be prosecuted"

The map of the last western BAM section towards Tynda