Barnaul to the Altay Region in Southern Russia
<table><tr><td><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_8x5h-fHHXiI/S_s7Wi0HW-I/AAAAAAAB5bw/U9KrT3MTSn0/s640/IMG_3144.JPG"></tr></td><tr><td><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_8x5h-fHHXiI/S_s7m_h5t5I/AAAAAAAB5dQ/kFlOR5SQiXg/s640/IMG_3158.JPG"></tr></td><tr><td><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_8x5h-fHHXiI/S_s73qekOeI/AAAAAAAB5eo/JqBXjJofT20/s512/IMG_3170.JPG"></tr></td><tr><td><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_8x5h-fHHXiI/S_s7uWfSBqI/AAAAAAAB5d4/D_z3ktuf0bA/s512/IMG_3164.JPG"></tr></td><tr><td><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_8x5h-fHHXiI/S_s7QcIF26I/AAAAAAAB5bI/CgNcw9szqS4/s512/IMG_3138.JPG"></tr></td><tr><td><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_8x5h-fHHXiI/S_s_UYr0EZI/AAAAAAAB5fo/6XXd_z2GAl0/s640/IMG_3173.JPG"></tr></td><tr><td><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_8x5h-fHHXiI/S_s_erXmPsI/AAAAAAAB5go/1LuRd3CP1M4/s640/IMG_3180.JPG"></tr></td><tr><td><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_8x5h-fHHXiI/S_tACtVOWZI/AAAAAAAB5jU/8ZWnuYTobHU/s640/IMG_3201.JPG"></tr></td><tr><td><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_8x5h-fHHXiI/S_tAuEdBckI/AAAAAAAB5mM/Y7RdrfDJw1I/s640/IMG_3223.JPG"></tr></td><tr><td><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_8x5h-fHHXiI/S_tB97LpdWI/AAAAAAAB5sA/tZ7hX1quxy0/s640/IMG_3267.JPG" WIDTH = 640></tr></td><tr><td><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_8x5h-fHHXiI/S_tB0Y-0z9I/AAAAAAAB5rA/afeABRql4sQ/s640/IMG_3260.JPG"></tr></td><tr><td><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_8x5h-fHHXiI/S_tBoinIw7I/AAAAAAAB5qE/3RA6AvKfWuo/s640/IMG_3253.JPG"><tr><td><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_8x5h-fHHXiI/S_tBcaZJqKI/AAAAAAAB5pM/pVvXH74Sl-o/s640/IMG_3246.JPG"><tr><td><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_8x5h-fHHXiI/S_tBY8lWsQI/AAAAAAAB5o8/gGU-GV5yRDk/s640/IMG_3244.JPG"><tr><td><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_8x5h-fHHXiI/S_tBT2Wp5uI/AAAAAAAB5os/qVJ5LwjLPVA/s640/IMG_3242.JPG"><tr><td><tr><td><img src=http://lh4.ggpht.com/_8x5h-fHHXiI/S_tB8tS6EBI/AAAAAAAB5r0/TXiqou80m1A/s640/IMG_3266.JPG"></tr></td><tr><td><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_8x5h-fHHXiI/S_s0NtFTFRI/AAAAAAAB41Y/yO-JDLVjVHQ/s720/DSC_0002.JPG" WIDTH = 640></tr></td></table>
I got the call from Oksana that the tires would be in the post office by early afternoon so I headed off to collect them and bring them down to bikeland to get fitted. Alexi, Roman, and Maxim were there and had me on my way in no time. If anyone is planning a similar trip through Russia on a motorbike, Bikeland have offices in St. Petersberg, Moscow, Kazan and Barnaul and can get you tires in 2 – 3 days.
With the knobblies fitted and brake pads and fluid changed I headed back to the hotel to get packed up and ready to leave. I said to myself, “ok haven’t been hammered in Russia yet”, so I headed out to put that straight. I went to a restaurant/bar called Carte Blanche and got the ball rolling over a steak and 3 Carlsbergs. Any of the literature about going out in Barnaul talks about the Pilot club so I headed of down Lenin Street to find it. I bumped into two students Anastasia and Kate who told me that it had been closed and reopened under another name.
They said that it was crap anyway and that the place I should go is a place they were headed, so we jumped in a taxi and headed off. Much to my surprise the happening place, Club 13 was actually only a 2 minute walk from my hotel which would come in handy.
The bar had a live band playing knocking out loads of western rock, and these guys could play; although at this stage I’d about eight pints on so they could have been castrating cats and I’ve have thought it was pretty good. Knowing I was headed off to the Altay Region in the morning I said goodnight to the girls and headed back to the hotel. In the lobby the security lads were watching porn on the lobby TV. A saluted them good night and something to the tune of “Giddy up outta that!”
The next morning I woke with a brutal hangover and packed up the bike to head south to the Altay region, it would be my first night camping on the trip, and also my last night in Russia. I knew when I left Barnaul there was probably no more “comforts” between me and Ulaanbaatar in Mogolia.
I drove south passing through the town of Biysk and continued south another 200km. The Altay region starts slow, hills turn into mountains, apparently tomorrow things will get even better, but these were the first hills I'd seen since the Carpathians in the Ukraine so it was a welcome change.
The further you drive south and the closer you get to the border with Mongolia, even though at this stage I was over 200 miles away from it, there is nothing on the roads. It was like I had the Altay to myself.
With sunset about an hour away I started looking for a place to camp. If I’m honest about it camping in Russia scared the crap out of me. It’s one thing camping in a campsite, or even in touristy areas like Alaska, Canada etc but Russia? There was one too many AK-47’s knocking around for my liking. I found a spot by a stream which had a mound blocking the view of the tent from the road and had a look around to make sure I wasn’t pitching the tent in someone’s back garden.
I pitched the tent and had my first outdoor crap of the trip, a key moment in any trip. I’ve been there before, but this was my first in years where I didn’t have to do it out of pure necessity.ie it was a choice of blowing a load in your jocks or drop the tweeds and let it off.
It’s a highly over rated experience, I was certain someone would come round the corner while I was mid-log. Give me the porcelain, some kittensoft and a good magazine anyday.
Tomorrow I’d 200 more miles of the Altay to look forward to, and the small matter of crossing the border into Mongolia
Over and out
Oisin
<table><tr><td><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_8x5h-fHHXiI/S_s7Wi0HW-I/AAAAAAAB5bw/U9KrT3MTSn0/s640/IMG_3144.JPG"></tr></td><tr><td><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_8x5h-fHHXiI/S_s7m_h5t5I/AAAAAAAB5dQ/kFlOR5SQiXg/s640/IMG_3158.JPG"></tr></td><tr><td><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_8x5h-fHHXiI/S_s73qekOeI/AAAAAAAB5eo/JqBXjJofT20/s512/IMG_3170.JPG"></tr></td><tr><td><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_8x5h-fHHXiI/S_s7uWfSBqI/AAAAAAAB5d4/D_z3ktuf0bA/s512/IMG_3164.JPG"></tr></td><tr><td><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_8x5h-fHHXiI/S_s7QcIF26I/AAAAAAAB5bI/CgNcw9szqS4/s512/IMG_3138.JPG"></tr></td><tr><td><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_8x5h-fHHXiI/S_s_UYr0EZI/AAAAAAAB5fo/6XXd_z2GAl0/s640/IMG_3173.JPG"></tr></td><tr><td><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_8x5h-fHHXiI/S_s_erXmPsI/AAAAAAAB5go/1LuRd3CP1M4/s640/IMG_3180.JPG"></tr></td><tr><td><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_8x5h-fHHXiI/S_tACtVOWZI/AAAAAAAB5jU/8ZWnuYTobHU/s640/IMG_3201.JPG"></tr></td><tr><td><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_8x5h-fHHXiI/S_tAuEdBckI/AAAAAAAB5mM/Y7RdrfDJw1I/s640/IMG_3223.JPG"></tr></td><tr><td><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_8x5h-fHHXiI/S_tB97LpdWI/AAAAAAAB5sA/tZ7hX1quxy0/s640/IMG_3267.JPG" WIDTH = 640></tr></td><tr><td><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_8x5h-fHHXiI/S_tB0Y-0z9I/AAAAAAAB5rA/afeABRql4sQ/s640/IMG_3260.JPG"></tr></td><tr><td><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_8x5h-fHHXiI/S_tBoinIw7I/AAAAAAAB5qE/3RA6AvKfWuo/s640/IMG_3253.JPG"><tr><td><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_8x5h-fHHXiI/S_tBcaZJqKI/AAAAAAAB5pM/pVvXH74Sl-o/s640/IMG_3246.JPG"><tr><td><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_8x5h-fHHXiI/S_tBY8lWsQI/AAAAAAAB5o8/gGU-GV5yRDk/s640/IMG_3244.JPG"><tr><td><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_8x5h-fHHXiI/S_tBT2Wp5uI/AAAAAAAB5os/qVJ5LwjLPVA/s640/IMG_3242.JPG"><tr><td><tr><td><img src=http://lh4.ggpht.com/_8x5h-fHHXiI/S_tB8tS6EBI/AAAAAAAB5r0/TXiqou80m1A/s640/IMG_3266.JPG"></tr></td><tr><td><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_8x5h-fHHXiI/S_s0NtFTFRI/AAAAAAAB41Y/yO-JDLVjVHQ/s720/DSC_0002.JPG" WIDTH = 640></tr></td></table>
I got the call from Oksana that the tires would be in the post office by early afternoon so I headed off to collect them and bring them down to bikeland to get fitted. Alexi, Roman, and Maxim were there and had me on my way in no time. If anyone is planning a similar trip through Russia on a motorbike, Bikeland have offices in St. Petersberg, Moscow, Kazan and Barnaul and can get you tires in 2 – 3 days.
With the knobblies fitted and brake pads and fluid changed I headed back to the hotel to get packed up and ready to leave. I said to myself, “ok haven’t been hammered in Russia yet”, so I headed out to put that straight. I went to a restaurant/bar called Carte Blanche and got the ball rolling over a steak and 3 Carlsbergs. Any of the literature about going out in Barnaul talks about the Pilot club so I headed of down Lenin Street to find it. I bumped into two students Anastasia and Kate who told me that it had been closed and reopened under another name.
They said that it was crap anyway and that the place I should go is a place they were headed, so we jumped in a taxi and headed off. Much to my surprise the happening place, Club 13 was actually only a 2 minute walk from my hotel which would come in handy.
The bar had a live band playing knocking out loads of western rock, and these guys could play; although at this stage I’d about eight pints on so they could have been castrating cats and I’ve have thought it was pretty good. Knowing I was headed off to the Altay Region in the morning I said goodnight to the girls and headed back to the hotel. In the lobby the security lads were watching porn on the lobby TV. A saluted them good night and something to the tune of “Giddy up outta that!”
The next morning I woke with a brutal hangover and packed up the bike to head south to the Altay region, it would be my first night camping on the trip, and also my last night in Russia. I knew when I left Barnaul there was probably no more “comforts” between me and Ulaanbaatar in Mogolia.
I drove south passing through the town of Biysk and continued south another 200km. The Altay region starts slow, hills turn into mountains, apparently tomorrow things will get even better, but these were the first hills I'd seen since the Carpathians in the Ukraine so it was a welcome change.
The further you drive south and the closer you get to the border with Mongolia, even though at this stage I was over 200 miles away from it, there is nothing on the roads. It was like I had the Altay to myself.
With sunset about an hour away I started looking for a place to camp. If I’m honest about it camping in Russia scared the crap out of me. It’s one thing camping in a campsite, or even in touristy areas like Alaska, Canada etc but Russia? There was one too many AK-47’s knocking around for my liking. I found a spot by a stream which had a mound blocking the view of the tent from the road and had a look around to make sure I wasn’t pitching the tent in someone’s back garden.
I pitched the tent and had my first outdoor crap of the trip, a key moment in any trip. I’ve been there before, but this was my first in years where I didn’t have to do it out of pure necessity.ie it was a choice of blowing a load in your jocks or drop the tweeds and let it off.
It’s a highly over rated experience, I was certain someone would come round the corner while I was mid-log. Give me the porcelain, some kittensoft and a good magazine anyday.
Tomorrow I’d 200 more miles of the Altay to look forward to, and the small matter of crossing the border into Mongolia
Over and out
Oisin
Yay! Oisin's on the move again! 
i was on that N52 on Sunday last - took me ages to find a fuel stop that had Magnum ice cream as well... 
