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The 2 big ones would need to be by railway bridge, the 2 or maybe 3 others we crossed could probably have been crossed by 4WD, but it was easier to jump on the tracks. Also the rivers were low when we did it last year, this year maybe a different matter. All adds to the fun ;)
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Just arrived in Tynda from Severobaikalsk...
I arrived in Tynda last night along with Peter Berry (XR400) and the J.A.B.A MUNDUS | Motorcycling Around The world lads, Jon and Andrew (2 x KTM 690 Rallye)
Lots of talk about how tough the ride is but its all relevant. Relevant to:
http://shortwayround.smugmug.com/pho...-ktT7ch2-M.jpg Being (very) short in the leg its the rocky and/or murky water crossings that I find most difficult and so thanks to what I presume to be relatively low water levels I didn't find anything too difficult. I just walked my bike across the rocky rivers. (I'm riding a DRZ400 with approx 30kg of gear). The big river crossing (W20 in the waypoint folder) has been replaced by a new bridge. Other than that it was like a great trail ride but fully loaded. :funmeteryes: We all felt the worst section was Novy Uoyan - Taksimo. Walter; you need to upgrade your description from 'Rough Road' to 'kin Rough Road'! It didn't help that we were all riding with hangovers after stumbling across (Saturday) Girls Night Out in NU... bier :thumbup1: doh It's a tiring ride that's hard on machinery. Our tally was: 7 punctures (all rears were nails, all fronts pinched by sidewall collapse) 1 Broken aluminium dash plate 1 leaking fork seal 1 holed radiator 1 snapped chain (that snapped the front sprocket & nut!) 1 engine filled with water (KTM - no names mentioned :nono:) The oldest, cheapest bike of the four (Peter's £800, '97 XR400) merely lost a seat mounting bolt! Black_Labb - we saw your tyre tracks but somehow never saw you! Quote:
The bridge across the Chilchi River has collapsed requiring a detour across the unguarded railway bridge. However, someone has gone to reasonable lengths to deter anyone from doing so... http://shortwayround.smugmug.com/pho...-TFGgJfb-M.jpg From the west... http://shortwayround.smugmug.com/pho...-SQkzj9j-M.jpg From the east... http://shortwayround.smugmug.com/pho...-VjmGv58-M.jpg I'll finish on a lighter note. Here's our 'Porn Star' pose photo from the Golden Spike... |
Well done chaps, its a great ride isn't it :) enjoy a beer and good luck on the next section.
Mark |
well done lads ... now for a boring ride up to Yakutsk and Khandyga, before the fun starts again.
You must have passed Black Lab while he had a day off in one of the railway huts, somewhere around where the three good concrete bridges are there in the middle of nowhere (about 300 km before Tynda). He should be in in Tynda tomorrow. He is going to try the Eastern BAM after Tynda. BTW, where's the pics of saturday girls night out in Novy Uoyan?? |
NEVER...leave the guesthouse without your camera!!!
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Now then....I did say 'stumbled across' meaning we were unprepared and had no cameras...dohdohdoh Andrew had ordered dinner for us in the local cafe for 2130 so we all rolled in expecting to find just that...a cafe. But of course this is Russia so the cafe had a bar, dance floor and DJ...and a female:male ratio of about 8:1 !!!!:clap: After a few piva's and a couple of bottles of vodka we had the DJ playing the Sex Pistols 'God Save the Queen' and the House of Pain's 'Jump Around'. Not sure the Russian's knew what to make of us! They say beware of the quiet ones. Well let met tell ya, that lad Pete can throw down some shapes:D |
Well done boys!
Arrived fine back in Irkutsk myself and met up with Felix. Trying to conjure a cunning plan for the next few weeks. Also met DakarJoe and partner on their f800gsas. They are carrying as much shite as I am,including the obligatory alli boxes. Also passed a German TLC heading West East. |
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The boxes will take a beating. One thing is for sure, it wont be fun on those bikes. At best it will be hard work. At worst, misery. |
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That was a good crossing, my friend almost fell over at the far side as the boulders were big and the river was running fast. While waiting for his boots and socks to drain of water we had a cup of tea with the bridge builders sitting at the end of the old bridge. One of those 4WD Russian vans came screaming up the river and stopped dead on a boulder, they had to get a monster 6WD truck to rescue it. Strange how they are repairing odd bridges on the track, wonder is they will eventually repair all the road? |
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Attachment 10311 Funny looking at that van, amazed how the bloke just drove off after he was pulled out. Especially when you see the boulders under the front and rear wheels. Those trucks are indestructible! We have those workmen to blame for ruining the river crossing :( |
well if the bridge at Chara is burnt, then I guess they are going to have to repair that one now. Maybe they will even rebuild the bridge at Kuanda. Possibly even build a bridge over the Olyokma
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I was having tea and charging electronics at the station 100km after yuktali. Heard bikes but didn't see anyone when I got to the centre of town. I'm in Tynda now, will you 4 be around for a beer?
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The other 4 passed me about 20 minutes after posting that while I was at the station having tea with he radio operator. |
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