Trans Sibir eXpedition 2012

[TBI81]

Med ønsker om en strålende tur videre! Det frister med langtur nå ..

[joo]

Road of Bones... Trur dokker bli møkkat og svett, men du verden for en tur
Lykke til!

[EtronX]

Lite filmsnutt fra turen vår. Starter på Road of Bones til mandag. Burde være i Magadan om 7 dager :-)

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5UL9aWu34kk&feature=plcp[/video]

[EtronX]

Lite klipp fra en bro på BAM. Dette var en av de mer interessante


[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pWGaxUwW2VQ&feature=plcp[/video]

[EtronX]

Her var det bare å holde pusten og knipe igjen :-)

[EtronX]

Her går en gammel drøm i oppfyllelse. Her er min tur over Vitim Bridge. Det er ca. 15 m ned til elva og sterk strøm.

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lZil2LCh ... e=youtu.be[/video]

[AJ]

Disse skal jeg kikke nærmere på i kveld når jeg har bedre tid.
Men det er vel bare å slå fast at utfordringene står i kø på turen deres...
Så er det vel nettopp det dere er ute etter på en slik reise.
Flott at dere tar oss med på deler av denne spennende turen!

[Jompa]

Å fy faen, den brua hadde æ ikke passert til fots engang.
Artig også å se "amatøropptak" med så god kvalitet.
God tur videre

[EtronX]

ImageUploadedByTapatalk1345687220.007960.jpg

Kryssing av vannpytt på den gamle sommerveien mellom Tomtor og Susuman.

[ArcticTiger]

Hadde de Cola på bensinstasjonene nå, eller var det bare vodka å få tak i fortsatt

[EtronX]

ImageUploadedByTapatalk1345690766.419392.jpg

Vel, denne i Yuktali hadde kun 72 oktan bensin. Ingen Cola og ingen vodka :-)

[Busa Trond]

Nå har jeg lest igjennom det meste av Trans Sibir eXpedition 2012 . En mektig langtur med mye skummelt som kan hende. Ikke noe for meg dette, men jeg hadde noen flotte timer fremfor pcen når jeg leste bloggen deres. Men inspirasjon får man jo av slik lesning. Kan tenke meg at en slik tur gjør vennskapet til dere som var med helt spesielt som varer livet ut. Tusen takk for innblikk i en intresang blogg

[EtronX]

Far far away. In a land up north where the polar bears roams the streets and christmas was cancelled last year because the inhabitants ate all the reindeers, there was a handsome young man. Well, maybe not that young, but still very handsome...Oh well...:norton

Many many moons ago he read the Sibersky Extreme RR with Walter, Terry and Tony P doing the BAM. "This I must do"; he said to himself. BAM. Road Of Bones. Old Summer Road. Russia. Siberia. Magadan. All these exotic places and names. The more he read, the bigger the urge to go was.

One day he had built up enough courage and announced his plans to the missus:

"I plan to go from Norway to Magadan in Russia on a motorcycle. I'll be gone for three months", he said. His voice firm :bert

"OK, but promise me to get in better shape" was the answer from the wife. At that moment he realized how much he loved her :raabia

He did some research. Made contact with Mr. Colebatch on Facebook. Asked a lot of questions. Started wondering what bike to use. Of course, reading Walters RR's there was but one option; The BMW G650 XChallenge. The bike was bought, but he needed a partner in crime. Amongst his friends only one was deemed crazy enough to join in on a trip like this; Erik. Erik had been peddling through Sahara on a tandem bike a few years ago... He would have what it takes.

Erik was asked and Erik said yes :clap The Trans Sibir eXpedition 2012 was born. (He also has a very understanding wife:D)

One more XC was bought and I loaded up and set course for Holland. The bikes needed to be rebuilt.

[video]http://vimeo.com/56392946[/video]


From here we'll fast forward to Krasnoyarsk. The trip from Kristiansand in Norway to Krasnoyarsk took us 17 days. We did some back roads in Ukraine. Going via Chernobyl and the extremely long legged women of Kiev 3

The trip was pretty uneventful, except from a meeting with Frank. This was in former East Germany and Frank was a cop...




Life is full of surprises. In Krasnoyarsk we met Steve. A crazy Norwegian who a few months earlier had quit his job. Bought a motorcycle. Rented out his house and left. He had traveled through Iran and the Stans. He had heard about our trip and wanted to tag along to Magadan. When we met Steve seemed like a nice guy and he joined the team.

Before we started on out trip I had some contact with Walter and got a message from him:
So we will meet in Irkutsk after all :-)

This would be nice, but our plan was to arrive in Severobaikalsk a week before they did. Now, our plan did not exactly go as planned. Long story short. The Tayshet - Bratsk - Severobaikalsk stretch was cancelled du to two factors.
1. Mud
2. Mafia




We got rain and the mud was a killer. It was like riding on lubricated ice. Slippery as hell. In two days we gained 10 k's. I have a low fender on my bike and the mud got packed in between the front wheel and the fender in such a way that the front wheel was locked. It is hard riding with a locked front wheel. We went down all the time.




We had to regroup. We headed back to Chunskiy to get gas and food. There, as we bought food, a big four wheel drive Nissan came up by our side. Inside was young guys with guns. Local mafia with bad intentions. From there everything went rat shit. We had to do a runner.

[EtronX]

I don't get stressed very easily, but standing there with these guys around us, all my alarm bells went off. I have a pretty good gut feeling and now it was screaming: "Get the hell out of Dodge". In addition to the guys in the car we had one player in a half long black leather coat. Nagging us about if we had much money, what the bikes were worth, where we were going etc.. An old man came over to us and said: "Danger. Mafia"

So far on the trip we'd met some other members of the local teamsters. Older and more wise. They were all impressed with our plans of going to Magadan on a "mototsikl". They thought it was cool. In Tolyatti the head honcho even ordered the local MC boss to help us. The morning we left, Andrey the MC boss came to us with a list of towns, names and phone numbers. We were told to call the appropriate number 50 k's before each town. Then someone would meet us and assist us. When Andrey gave me the list he looked at me and said:" You are safe until Novosibirsk. Do you prefer blonds or brunettes?" The thought of two each crossed my simple mind But I explained I was happily married. Andrey answered: "I accept, but I don't understand" :clap

Andrey in the middle between Erik and I




Now back to our new friends in the Nissan with bad intentions :annie

Our bikes were all packed solid with mud. Radiator, around the front sprocket, all over. We figured we were safe in the town as long as it was daylight and decided to get the bikes cleaned. We needed the horses well fed and in good shape for the getaway. We found a local car wash and managed to hose of the bikes there. As we did this the Nissan had followed us and two more cars had arrived. Lots of pointing, discussion and sleazy smiles. Then two cars left out of town. The only way out of town. There was about a 100 k's stretch between Chunskiy and Tayshet with not much people. Not hard to find a suitable place to stop us with no witnesses. This looked like it was getting serious.

We figured that they wouldn't stop us to close to town. If we'd head out we could easy outrun the Nissan. Then head into the woods and disappear. Wait the whole thing out. We now had food and gas. We started slowly driving away from the car wash towards the town exit. Nissan behind us. Then we crossed the bridge that is the border of the town and opened up. The Nissan got smaller and smaller in our rear view mirrors. After a few k's it was gone. Then we headed right of the main road and onto a small dirt track. Did a kilometer in and stopped the bikes. Helmets off and listened :ear Nothing heard. We were now at DEFCON 3. Increased readiness. Being an old soldier, old habits die hard. A good soldier sleeps and eats when he can. We immediately started making some food and got that down our necks. After ten minutes the shoulders started to get below ear level. DEFCON 4. Then we heard a car coming in our direction. "Fhat the Wuck".

This is it, I thought. Last man standing. DEFCON 2. We'll make them work for it. We would stay calm and defensive, but if things would go pear shaped we'd charge in. I didn't hear her sing, but I definitively heard the fat lady hum in the background :velvt

Around a small bend in the dirt road an old white Lada appeared. One guy up front. He saw us and stopped. Rolled down the window and gobbled off in Russian. Now, before the trip I've had a Russian course on my iPhone for a year. Normally I could understand quite a bit. Now it was just gobble to me. The guy shook his head, rolled up the window, turned around and took of.

BUSTED. We were found and it was time to leave. We got our shit together and saddled up. Just as we cranked up the engines the white Lada came back. DEFCON 1. All out nuclear war. This was it. I would end my days in a shit town in Siberia. I did send a last thought to the wife and kids, got of the bike and got ready. In my peripheral vision I saw my compadres do the same. I expected to see the Nissan right behind the Lada.

The Lada came to a halt before us. I didn't focus on the Lada. I was focused on the dirt track behind, but no Nissan turned up. Then I heard a female voice: "You come with us. Safe. Come. Safe island." I bent down and looked into the car. The guy now had a woman by his side.
I said: "What???"
She repeated: "Come with us. Safe. You must come. Safe island."
Then she said: " I Mariya, husband Sergey. Come with us and stay."
I was in no mood to stay with anyone, but had a closer look at the two persons inside the car. Husband and wife. They both smiled and had good eyes.
I said: " Sergey, you mafia?"
Sergey smiled and said: "I old Lada, mafia big auto. I no mafia." Then he laughed.

We had a quick council of war and decided we should trust the couple. Mariya told us to follow. We got on the bikes and off we went. We did some backroads and ended up in a small village. Then we headed through a gate and was inside a fenced in property. Their safe island. Sergey opened the garage and told us to put the bikes inside.
"You safe now", he said.

Out of nowhere these two beautiful people came and saw we were up to our necks in shait. They reached out and gave a hand. They were not rich people. Sergey was working as a lumberjack and Mariya was a night guard. They had a son aged 13 named Nikita. They invited us into their home. Fired up the banja and fed us. Invited us to sleep the night and told us tomorrow all would be OK.

Angels from Siberia :-)




I will forever be grateful to these amazing human beings. When it was needed the most they where there for us.

[EtronX]

The few hours we had with the Butonovas was like balm for the soul. They didn’t know what good they could do for us. They gave us insight to their lives. Quite different from the way we live in Norway. They shared what little they had. I am afraid to say you would not find that at home. We have everything in the world and it is not enough.




What makes me a bit sad is the future of Nikita. He is a great kid with great parents, but what will his future be in Lesogorsk. The future there is pretty grim. All the forests had been sold to the chinese. Work had dissapeared and the wages had gone down. Alcohol consumption and crime rate had risen. Looking at the hooligans in the Nissan, is this his future? They had respect from people because they were armed and dangerous. This is the place where Nikita has to grow up.

In Russia the hospitality is amazing. Most people will go out of their way in order to help you. They don’t expect anything in return. As a matter of fact, if you offer payment it is considered an insult. Then you put their hospitality in doubt.

When we left the Butonovs we put our heads together in order to come up with something we could give in return and not insult their hospitality. We gathered some money and put it in a folded piece of paper which we all signed and put our greetings on. Inside was a note where we had written that the money was for Nikita. We gave the paper to Mariya and told her that we really appreciated their hospitality and that we respected the Russian tradition. Then I asked her to respect our Norwagian tradition and not open the piece of paper until after we were gone. She promised to do that.

The whole family folowed us out of town and showed us where we should drive to get back to Tayshet. The goodbye was very emotional. Nikita bursted into tears and headed for the car. It was all strange. We had only been with these great people for a few hours, but still it felt as though they were lifelong friends. Now back in Norway we are working on a plan to help Nikita get the education he deserves.




We drove to Tayshet with no major drama. Idiots in Nissans do not have the patience it takes 3 In Tayshet we stopped for food and discussed the road ahead of us and what to do. On the way in towards the BAM we had stopped at a great little place called Peoples Bar in Tayshet. The owner was a nice girl in her late twenties who spoke good english. We stopped again on the way out.



We needed to think this through properly. There were lots of warnings about doing the BAM. Lots of warnings about criminals and what not. Long story short. We headed back to Krasnoyarsk. We had friends there and a place to stay.

We looked at the different options. As it was now, BAM did not look good. Magadan was far away. We were still pretty shook up by the drama in Chunskiy. After a day of thought we decided to do Mongolia for a month. Roam around on our bikes. None of us had visas. Closest town to get them was Irkutsk. We bid farewell with our friends in Krasnoyarsk and set course for Irkutsk. It was a two day drive.




From a local biker in Krasnoyarsk we were advised of a great and cheap hotel just before Alzamay. They had good food and clean nice rooms. It was on the right side of the road. We headed south east. Full of new spirit. Mongolia it would be. Maybe a day or three to get visas. Within the week we would be in Mongolia.




Inside of me something felt wrong though. I had been planning BAM and ROB for two years. I was pretty pissed of that some idiots had ruined the plan. In the movie «Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man», Mickey Rourke as Harley says: «It is better to be dead and cool than alive and uncool.» I felt pretty uncool at the moment, but I had a wife and three kids back home. Still breathing, but uncool.