The bam past yuktali is far from graded gravel roads. Looks like serious flood damage.expect it to be just as bad.more details wheni can charge electronics.im currently 100+km from yuktali and it might be improveing. We'll see soon
Found out the solo rider I missed before the vitim is an australian. Any idea who he is Walter or anyone else?

No idea who the solo Australian is. On a motorbike or push bike? Cant find your reference to him in your blog. Its probably you.

Did the 4 motorcyclists pass you today?

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Griff, dont underestimate the road. While the Western BAM is a cinch compared to the Eastern, its plenty brutal enough for a 4WD.

A well prepped Disco driven by experienced Polish expeditioners in 2009 was basically trashed on the western BAM and had to limp home. The guy who led that trip, Michal Rej, who was a Polish rally champ, and has done everything from Cape York, Tanami Track, all variants of the Road of Bones, all sorts of obscure tracks in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, described it as the "Everest of offroading" after he reached Tynda.

I think you will get across the Kuanda with help from Kuanda based 6WD trucks.

I think the road will be your biggest challenge.

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Not underestimating Walter, I remeber your wise words from a thread a longtime ago about the road and 4x4 use. Your words have stayed with me all this time! Im quite prepared to turn tail and head back if it gets too much, Im not out to prove anything.

I need to get in touch with Adam to see what he thinks as we are on similar wavelengths. I just saw on FB that Andrew, Jon and he are in Tynda having completed the BAM in some sunny sunshine

G

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I met some Russian 4WD guys last year at Chara (Nissan Patrols from memory - sponsored up from a Moscow 4WD gear importer - so all geared up). They had come from Moscow, up to the BAM on the 110 (same way BlackLabb has come).

They had to abandon their trip at Chara and freight the cars home on the train, mainly cause the 110 was so tough on the vehicles and the stretch of the BAM from Novy Uoyan to Chara had finished them off. But I do recall them having gotten over Kuanda River without much drama - cant recall if it was on the bridge late at night or via a 6WD from the village. Sorry about not remembering the detail, but as I said, I do recall that Kuanda wasnt an issue for them.

The thing that scares me most for the 4WDs is the rail bridge crossings. There have been a couple of occassions on the past few years when motorcyclists have misread the tracks, and met a train half way across. For the bikes, they can throw them selves against the railings and the train squeezes past. Any error with a 4WD and its an instant wreck.

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I think there are 5 rail crossings from memory, would all of these need to be driven or would the water option be... an option?

G

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I only found out in chilchi about him. I had seen tracks after getting off track before the Vitim and was told in ilchi that a Australian on a motorcycle was there a week ago, I'm assuming it was him making the tracks after passing me while I was lost.

The other 4 passed me about 20 minutes after posting that while I was at the station having tea with he radio operator.

Now that I've had a taste of civilisation and am able to gather my thoughts I'll give a bit of an overview on the road from my perspective. Being on a bicycle there are different sets of challenges than a motorcle though much of it is probably useful information for motorcycles and 4wd. One important thing about the bicycle is you don't travel quickly between the challenges of the road making them less frequent and you are more ready for them.

Congratulations JediMaster and the rest of the crew. I can't count the number of times I thought to myself this is easy on a bicycle, but I wonder how the motorbikes are going to get through. How did you manage with the washed out sections of road soon after Yuktali? There was one spot that I had to climb down into the gully and out the other side with the bike. Did you find a way around it?

The western BAM wasn't too tough a ride via bicycle, but I couldn't expect to make distance quickly. As jedi master points out the weather was very good leading to fairly tame puddles and river crossings. The things that were the worst for me were specific surfaces. Sandy roads are the worst as they drain what little power I have available. On a motored vehicle you add a bit more throttle and it's no problem. I found some sections that would be very easy on a motorcycle quite frustrating because of soft road surfaces. Because of the relatively slow speeds potholes, puddles and rocks jutting out of the road are easy to dodge. There weren't any seriously difficult river crossings to cross on the western BAM and a bicycle is easy to carry. I rarely removed my panniers to cross rivers. The river just after Khani might be the biggest issue for some vehicles due to the large rocks but it isn't hard if you choose the right setup. The most challenging part was probably between Khani and Lopcha. My biggest challenge since the 110 was between stari Chara and nearly chara sands.

For anyone interested in the 110 it is quite a bit more difficult than the western BAM in the conditions I experienced. The lower Barguzin would be a challenging crossing at the best of times. I was fortunate to meet the park rangers as they were paddling an inflatable row boat across with some supplies. I had arrived at very high water which was close to 1m above where plants grew and was very fast flowing. Nothing but a Ural with an experienced driver could cross that (or a boat of course). Past that there were quite a few more river crossings many about mid thigh deep. These would be fairly challenging on a motorcycle. I think the hardest part on a motorcycle was towards the northern end. There are a few sections where the road and a rocky river merge for a few hundred metres. You need to navigate your bike over large rocks and boulders while in a river and some of the rocks are big. I would recommend a very light bike and a few people so the bikes can be lifted over rocks. There is also some deep mud in places and very deep puddles. Be prepared to scout out every puddle or go around through the equally messy bog as they may be deeper than your air intake.

There are many bears on the 110. I was close behind the 4wd at one point when I realised there were bear tracks on the road that had been made more recently than the 4wd tracks. Do some reading on precautions when camping in bear territory.

Having said that a 4wd made it through. There were 5 strong young men and from what I understood they did a shitload of pushing and playing tricks with the jack. They had abandoned their trailer which was stuck in a puddle and they left their 4wd in Novy Uoyan to continue their trip to Chara in the back of a Ural. If they can do it it can be done on a motorcycle with enough determination.

I did the 110 after a couple days of on and off rain which probably means heavy rain in the mountains. It could be easier but it could also be a lot harder. It is only 250km between towns but there is a fair bit of tough roads and 110km of very tough track. I wouldn't expect a motorcycle to be any quicker than a bicycle even if there are hills.

Edit: as for bicycle troubles? Nada. 2 flat tyres in the nearly 40 days (about 35 riding). A bit of preventative maintenance such as liberal application of marine grease to any seals around bearings and swapping a chain after the 110 (I'll put it back on soon).

Off to the eastern bam tomorrow. I expect decent roads for a while slowly declining until zeya where I expect the road conditions to drop off a cliff hitting rock bottom pretty quickly. I just hope my feet hit a rock bottom before I drown in mud. We'll see what happens.

Looking forward to your eastern bam report, we are planning it next year from east to west.
Good luck on your travels.

Mark