KEMEPOBO

Boshoer toelemoonde,

That is how we Flemish speak French. I sure miss talking in my native language. It would be great to bump in to another Flemish guy out here in Kemerovo.
Indeed, I am safe in Nadya's arms ... well not exactly right now since I am at the internet cafe and she is out to work. I got here on the 23rd around noon. I updated my blog and pictures yesterday, but did not finish everything and sitting at a computer for two hours was almost like being back at work. Actually, I don't even spend that much time at a computer in the office! That's a joke, boss. And don't believe my colleagues when they tell you that it's in fact the truth!!

Anyway, I will be in Kemerovo for a while. I will be doing stuff and post my stories and pictures as before.
By the way, my previously posted MTS telephone number might require a 7 instead of the 8 as a prefix. It's something with the weird Russian local, non-local telephone prefix rules. I do not understand how this works and the Russians do not understand why I cannot understand something as simple as that.

My motorcycle should be arriving in Novosibirsk around Sunday. More info on that when it will be available. I hope it is OK and nothing went missing ...

Dear Comrades of VMCUD, I have seen the pictures of your latest ride and it sure seemed like everybody was having fun. Thank you for your support. There will no doubt be future rides that I can attend. CCCPBike, I will bring the vodka.

Regards,
Dominik

19-20-21-22-23 – 08 – 2006

The Train Vladivostok-Kemerovo 19-20-21-22-23 – 08 – 2006

I was thinking about taking a flight to Kemerovo, but it would probably have been more expensive. In any case Russians do not prefer flying right now. There was a plane crash around Irkutsk when I was in Moscow and I just learned yesterday (24-8) that another plane crashed somewhere in Russia. The train is probably safer right now. Besides, it is an experience I wanted to add to my list. I have a direct train to Kemerovo. It travels the same route as the TransSib up to Mariisnk. The train splits up along the way. For example in Krasnoyarsk the train car in front of ours was disconnected and went on its way to Novokuznetsk. This is actually a pretty good setup as most people travel with a huge load of luggage. It would be a pain to change trains. I guess they go shopping in the Far East.
Sasha explained to the provodnitsa that I was a foreigner. I was worried about missing my stop in Kemerovo, but that was no issue as Kemerovo is the end station for this train. A stop like that is hard to miss and it would be a daytime stop. After boarding the train the provodnitsa stopped by to double check my ticket and give me my bed linen (45 rubles). I have the top bunk. It is a bit awkward at first to get settled in up there, but I get the hang of it by the second day. Spending 4,5 days in a train seems interesting at first, but by the end of the second day you have seen it all and know every corner. People get on and off all the time. I had four different parties in my compartment during the trip. Travellers are from all ages and backgrounds. Hospitality on the train is no different then elsewhere in Russia. As soon as people notice I am a foreigner, they will offer me food. Food is always offered first and only after conquering their initial shyness will they attempt a conversation. Russians are indeed shy … no, I think apprehensive is a better word. They will not easily start a conversation. News spreads fast across the train car that I am a foreigner. Most figure I am an American because I speak English, only the guests in my compartment that talk with me know better. After the second day, I get into a conversation with some people at the other end of the train car. I meet Misha and Yulia. Misha is a sailor on his way home to Krasnodar. His girlfriend is awaiting him eagerly but she did not want him to take the airplane, in light of the current events. Hence he is facing 4 more days on the rails after he changes train in Angarsk. His English is very good. He has been at sea for 9 months, disembarked in Vladivostok and is now off duty for a couple of months.
Yulia is returning home to Kemerovo after a two week vacation in Vladivostok. She speaks very good French. After Misha got off the train, I passed most of the time talking to Yulia. She is very interested in Europe and France in particular. She is planning to go to France as an au-pair in a year. Russians go crazy over pictures, so I get my laptop and show her the pictures of my visit to Paris. Not a lot of Russians travel out of the country, so a destination like Paris has a mythical status. The people in the next compartment also would like to see the pictures and of course I indulge them. I also show the photos from my trip to Vladivostok. They love it.
Yulia is a student at the university in Kemerovo and she will hook me up with some of the professors as soon as the academic year starts on September 1st. They are always interested in talking to foreigners, just to practice their language skills. I want to see if I can take a Russian language course while I am in Kemerovo. Nadya is off to work during the day, so it would be perfect if I could attend a course during her working hours.
By the end of the 4th day, I meet two young guys (Anton and Lavr) who speak only little English. Yulia is to be our interpreter. Of course they inquire to the cost of my Ural and naturally they start laughing as soon as I mention the price. Anyway, we have fun and drink a lot of beer. As is customary in Russia I am their guest and they pay for my beer. I want to pay for a round too, just as a gesture of appreciation like we do in Belgium, but that is not as easy as it sounds and they will not have it at first. Only after some fancy translating by Yulia am I allowed to buy a round. Russian hospitality has no boundaries.
My head is slightly suffering from a hangover the next morning, but the knowledge of holding Nadya in my arms in just a couple of hours makes me feel good all over.

The train stops regularly in smaller stations, but most of the time not more then a minute or two. When the train does stop for a longer period it is mostly 10 to 20 minutes. Always ask the provodnitsa how long the train will actually stop before walking away from it and make sure to show up again a couple of minutes early. You do not want to be left behind. And believe me the train does not wait. The locomotive blows his whistle and takes off right after that. No advance warning. In the larger train stations an announcer (previously on duty in a Siberian prison camp) will yell something through the speakers, but even for Russians this must be hard to understand. His job is just to announce something, whether travellers understand him or not is not the point.
In stations where the train does stop for a longer period you will have a magazin and/or vendors selling food and beverages. At this one stop I got out to buy some food from the vendors. I always use my stopwatch to keep track of the time. I still had a couple of minutes to spare before the train left. Just as I was buying some Russian hotdogs, the vendors start to go crazy and indicate me to get the hell on the train. My train was not yet moving, but there was another train coming into the station on the track between the vendors and my train. I pay, grab the bag, run across the track and hop on my train. Just in time, since my train started moving half a minute later and the other train was already rolling by on the track I just crossed. This was too close, but it was a good lesson.

The scenery is very nice along the way, but even nice scenery starts to bore you after a while. I spotted a couple of places that I had passed with my motorcycle. I did not see cap of my jerry can though. The bad road was still there, as were the Japanese car convoys. In Sludyanka I bought some smoked Omul. I love this fish. All the major railroad bridges and tunnels are guarded by soldiers. Barbed wire and guards patrolling with Kalashnikovs. At night they have floodlights on the bridges, the river below, the entrance of the tunnel, … bizarre. Even Misha has no clue as to the reason for this. Are they expecting the Chinese to invade?
The train is clean and mechanics check the brakes and wheels at all major stops. The provodnitsa cleans the train car twice a day. There are two provodnitsas per train car. While one sleeps, the other is on duty. There is a samovar in each train car for hot water to make tea or coffee. You can buy some food and beverages on the train from the provodnitsa, but the selection is very limited (they have cold beer though). I never made it to the restaurant car, but the attendants thereof make a round through the train selling some food and drinks at rather high prices. In short, there is no escaping the boredom of being stuck on a train, but they make it as pleasurable as possible. I spent most of the time on my bunk sleeping, reading or just watching the world roll by. From Vladivostok to Kemerovo is about 7000kms. Actually you do not pass any time zone. All train stations and trains run on Moscow time. I guess this it the most efficient for the huge railroad system in the largest country on earth. All along the track you will spot maintenance crews to keep everything rolling smoothly. And indeed, the train left punctual at all stops, I guess they accommodate for delays by reducing the stop time in stations.

14-15-16-17-18 - 08 - 2006

Vladivostok 14-15-16-17-18 – 08 – 2006

I stay at the Iron Tigers club house. I pass time by working a bit on my motorcycle, going downtown, updating my neglected diary, extending my temporary import papers for my motorcycle, … but mostly waiting for stuff to happen to get out of Vladivostok. It is not that I do not appreciate the city or the help from the Iron Tigers, but I really want to be with Nadya. After Doug left on Tuesday (I can’t recall correctly) I do not have anybody to really talk to again. There is nothing more to say about these days, I just missed Nadya and wanted to be with her ASAP.
Finally on Thursday plans start taking form. Max ships bikes all over Russia and arranges my bike to be shipped through the same company he always uses. I would have liked a more cheaper option, but all things considered this is probably the way to go. Doug travelled from Chita to Vladivostok with the post train. He just offered the attendants of a particular cart 4000 rubles to take him and his bike along. This is the unofficial way, but it works. It just takes longer than the regular passenger train and you do not have the comfort of a sleeping berth. Apparently the doors of these trains are not big enough for my combination to enter and then again, my motorcycle takes up a lot of space and is not so easy to just take along among all the other postal packages. There is no guarantee of a platform when I want to get off in Novosibirsk. I just don’t want to bother with all these potential obstacles and go for the regular way. My motorcycle goes on the same post train, but just the official way and crated.
I disconnect the sidecar from the motorcycle on Friday morning and we load it up on the VladMoto delivery truck to take to the shipping company near the station. They can only quote me an exact price after they have weighed both parts. In total my motorcycle weighs in at about 460kgs. Amai, m’n orgel!! That excludes the heavy bag of luggage I will be taking along myself on the train. It costs me 8000 something roubles. I am happy with the price. They will crate my bike and put it on the freight train to Novosibirsk where I will probably be able to collect it on August 27th. The exact date will be confirmed to me by the Iron Tigers. They will also contact some bikers in Novosibirsk to help me collect the motorcycle and put it back together. Again a nice example of the amount of trouble the Russians go through to help you out. I am so grateful to all. I do not know what to say.
After leaving my Ural, I am a bikeless biker. It will be the train for now. My ticket to Kemerovo costs about 2700 rubles and luckily there is a train leaving this night at 2:00am. Great! I will arrive in Kemerovo on the 23rd around 11:00pm. This is perfect. I couldn’t stay at the Iron Tigers club house anyway, since my sleeping gear was tucked away in the sidecar. Sasha offers to entertain me at his home until it is time to go to the train station. Sasha speaks very good English and his wife as well. We talk a lot about all kinds of things. They treat me to some typical Vladivostok seafood: bear shrimps the size of gamba’s and crab legs. I am not a seafood kind of guy, but it was very tasty. Beer is also consumed and I had a lot of half liter cans before I went to sleep in my berth on the train. Thank you Sasha for your help and hospitality.

11-12-13 - 08 - 2006

Facing the Ocean Bike Show – Nahodka 11-12-13 – 08 – 2006

In the morning we are escorted to Nahodka by some other bikers from Vladivostok. They are not members of the Iron Tigers, but we have been hooked up with them because they ride about the same speed as Doug and me. It is a rather long ride although it is only 270kms. Maybe because we only stopped once. Anyway, lunch was good even though the service was super crappy. The festival is about 10kms past Nahodka. The setting is perfect: a bay with a nice sandy beach right next to the ocean. As soon as we arrive the tone is set for the rest of the festival: people talking wanting to talk us, asking us all sorts of questions and taking pictures of the bike and/or the biker. Doug and I manage to register, but after that all hell breaks loose and reporters have to queue to have an interview with us. During the festival we have been interviewed for magazines, newspapers, local TV and Russia’s first channel (national). It is fun and flattering, I guess these were my ‘15 minutes of fame’. Some reporters even found out about Nadya and started asking all kinds of questions. You can’t blame them for trying, but that was sort of snooping in my private life.
The festival itself was OK, but I liked Tomsk better. The beach was overcrowded and apparently not only reserved for bikers, but regular weekend tourists as well. This area is a very popular vacation spot for people from all over Primorye (the larger district). There were a lot of places to eat and drink. All kinds of t-shirts and other souvenirs of the bike show were available for sale. It appeared to me that everything was a bit overpriced. I don’t mind people making an extra buck at a festival like this, but some prices for beverages were insane. There were not as much competitions as at the other bike shows I have visited. The bands that played on the stage were not really to my liking either, but that is totally a personal taste issue, the rest of the visitors seemed to like them.
We met Alexander again: the guy on the green solo Ural from Moscow. He was in our camp in Tomsk. Doug was not feeling his regular self through the festival. He suffered from some stomach cramps. He was in the tent a lot, so I set out by myself to mingle with the crowd. I met people from Krasnoyarsk, Novosibirsk, Tomsk and bikers from all over Primorye. Invitations for vodka or beer were frequent and I only indulged in a few.
The ocean was great. Cool enough to be refreshing and warm enough to stay in for hours. The water is very clear, nothing like at the coast in Belgium. The tide is also remarkably small, 1 meter of difference would be overestimating it. The sun was scorching and after one day walking around without a t-shirt I was of course lobster red. I will probably never learn. Sleeping was uncomfortable for days.
For the closing ceremony of the festival, Doug and I were invited on the stage to lower the flag. We each had to say a few words of appreciation in our native language. Beside ‘festival’ there were no other words the Russians could understand from my Flemish.
Sinus is the organizer of this festival. He is famous among Russian bikers and has travelled to a lot of places all over the world apparently. He speaks good English. As a farewell present he gave us some stuff from the festival and a bottle of vodka. He is a great guy and I will get back in touch with him. He maintains a helplist on his site www.sinus.vl.ru and I will send him my contact details to publish on this site. I figure this is a great way of showing my thanks and appreciation to the Russian bikers. I hope to be able to help out Russian bikers in Belgium and in this manner repay some of my incredible debt to the Russian biker community.
After the closing ceremony, Doug and me headed back to Vladivostok. It seemed easy enough, but of course we did not go back the same way we came and we missed the Vladivostok city sign, so no extra pictures of that. That’s OK. I have the memories, I was there, I know … the pictures are just to show to other people.
We make our way back to the Iron Tigers and set up camp between the Japanese motorcycles again.

09-10 - 08 - 2006

Amur Trassa = Birobidzian – Habarovsk – Vladivostok 09-10 – 08 – 2006

Just for having the luxury of a shower, I take another one in the morning. Living on the road you get used to not being very clean most of the time. You have your basic hygiene, but the cold river water is not always that appealing for a good bath. Anyway, we westerners are just used to the luxury of a nice hot shower I guess.
Between Birobidzian and Habarovsk there is one last bad spot. If I recall correctly it is about 50 to 100 km of construction zone as bad as the part between Chita and Skovorodino. After the construction zone it is asphalt all the way to Vladivostok and Nahodka. Of course this was a joyous moment for myself, my Ural and … the bikers from Chita. I finished the same time as these guys and they had a head start. They are faster on good road, but on bad roads my Ural is apparently faster. Anyway, we shook hands and talked a bit.
I was glad to have this bad, bad road behind me. Doug taught me that the difference between ordeal and adventure is attitude. In all honesty I must admit that the first days on the bad road were an ordeal at some stages because I was not in the right mental mindset. Problems with the motorcycle; not advancing as good as I had wanted; fatigue; solitude … I can sum up more excuses, but the bottom line is that ‘problems’ do not exist, one should perceive them as ‘challenges’. Like my very good friend Johan always says: face the music and dance. Being a rookie motorcycle traveller, it is probably OK to make these mistakes. Nevertheless, I am glad to have taken this route: I have been there and made it through. It is an experience I will never forget.
Even though Russian asphalt isn’t all that great I loved it. It was a welcome change. I met some more bikers along the way from Habarovsk to Vladivostok and even helped one of them out with a couple of liters of gas. A lot of people will be at the bike show. I want to be in Vladivostok as soon as possible. It is not that far and decide to drive as long as possible. Most cafes and gas stations are open round the clock. At gas stations you might have to tap on the window to wake the attendant, but this is normal practice in Russia. Cafes will have customers all night long, especially the drivers of the Japanese car convoys. I fill up my motorcycle with gas and me with coffee. As long as I don’t start confusing this procedure I will be OK. I drive all night. The vast majority of the cars in this region are Japanese and thus relatively new. Chances are very high that all their lights will be working, so it should be safe. Russian cars can travel down the highway at night with just one headlight and no rear lights … no problem … this is Russia.
Anyway, about 150 kms from Vladivostok, I cannot go any further because I am starting to doze off. It is already daylight again. I pull off to the shoulder, yawn and rest my head in my arms on top of my tank bag. No, I did not take my helmet off, but I did shut down the engine. I wake up an hour later. Now that is what I call a power nap. I feel better and it was even slightly comfortable. I continue on the road.
Around noon I reach the Vladivostok city sign: another joyous moment. I take some pictures and have lunch in the adjacent café. I call Doug and find out he is staying at the Iron Tigers club house. The club house is actually just a room in the VladMoto motorcycle shop. It appears easy enough to find in this huge city and after asking for some directions I am pretty confident I should be able to find it. Traffic is bustling, but nothing I can’t handle and eventually I find the motorcycle shop. There are some other bikers here, they are from Tynda a town on the road from Skovorodino to Yakutsk. We talk a bit, they are great guys. I need an oil and filter change: one of the reasons I wanted to make it to Vladivostok a bit early. I do so with the help from the people of VladMoto. Shortly after finishing this, Doug shows up. He was downtown shopping. It was good to see him again, of course. He has been here already a couple of days and was settled in. I take my stuff in to the clubhouse to join him for the night. The people from VladMoto, Max (aka Mad Max), Sasha, Sergey and Felix have no problem leaving us in the shop for the night. We sleep among the large collection of Japanese motorcycles. There is a toilet and running water, so the basic necessities are met. I hit the sack early for a good night’s sleep.

08-08-2006

Amur Trassa = Novobureyskii – Birobizian 08-08-2006

The road is actually pretty good, even some nice pieces of asphalt once in a while. It is a bright sunny day and thus very hot. My helmet is starting to smell as is my riding suit, but I only notice this now after my shower yesterday. That is the way it is on the road. More dusty road, but as I said earlier, it is good … well, acceptable. I slept in and only get on the road around noon. No problem, I am rested now and feel much better. This area is pretty flat and has a lot of small lakes. Nasty, nasty bugs though. I take it easy and reach Birobidzian in the early evening. It is hot. I find a hotel and check in. My camera falls out of my tankbag. This is the second time I forgot to close my tankbag before taking it of a counter. Luckily the camera still works. I actually shouldn’t be surprised: falling on the ground is nothing compared to the constant jerking, shaking and shuddering that you experience on the road. The hotel room is hot. I go for a stroll to the magazin to get some food and drinks and to cool off a bit. Mosquitoes, mosquitoes and mosquitoes … billions of them. I was out in a t-shirt and was an easy target. Mosquito repellent is probably the hottest selling item in town. Just running your hand over your arm will kill a couple of mosquitoes every time. I’m not kidding: every time. I hurry down to the magazin. This is the old Soviet style of shopping. You order what you want to have at one counter, then you pay at another counter and only when you have a receipt can you take your goods from the first counter and leave. Luckily the store has AC, but there is no keeping out the mosquitoes. I hurry back to the hotel, but still manage to get a couple of mosquito bites. The guard smoking a cigarette in front of the hotel looks more like somebody dancing in a disco: he is trying hard to keep the mosquitoes off.
I have a refreshing shower and go to sleep.

07-08-2006

Amur Trassa 07-08-2006

I feel like crap in the morning. The photo says it all. After looking at this photo, I have to laugh with myself and I feel better already. Time to go and find a café for a couple of coffees. The roads are getting better still, the gravel is decent. More detours. More towns.
By the end of the day I reach the road again. Dusk has set in and it is raining a bit. This area is flat and has few trees. You can see far. Thick clouds are ahead of me and lightning illuminates them. I like this since it is far from me. Nevertheless, I am heading for this area of bad weather. The storm gets closer and I stop for a while at a café to wait. Once the core has moved away, I take my chances and race my machine down the road. The gravel has turned to mud. It is dark now. Doing this on a solo bike would be a challenge. I can make about 70km/h, but my combination swirls and shakes a bit because of the muddy road. No problem, this is my Ural’s habitat. I just keep going and try to outrun the thunderstorm that approaches to my right. Hotels are spread thin around these parts, but you can bet your life that I’m not putting up my tent tonight. Just as the thunderstorm starts getting a bit too close, there is a bridge over the road. Incredible, the only bridge over this road since Chita. It is a welcome sight and I park underneath to sit out the storm. It is not that bad and passes rather quickly, so off I go again into the darkness. I manage to outrun all the other thunderstorms and late in the night (or early in the morning) I finally find a nice gastinitsa. Service is excellent. The only thing is brown tap water. I have my first shower since Chita. The brown tap water disguises the dirt that is coming off me. They have a washing machine and I have my clothes washed. The brown water is no objection, it will not clean my whites but at least they will smell better.
The hotel is cheap, but new and very clean. I fall asleep as soon as I hit the bed.

06-08-2006

Amur-Trassa 06-08-2006

It rained again last night. No thunderstorm though. Again the tent goes into the bag still wet. The road gets a bit better during the day. The occasional bad spot still jerking me and my rig badly. The detours over local existing roads start here. I am around Skovorodino. I gave up keeping track of which town I am in exactly. I just watch for the signs indicating the direction and distance to Habarovsk. Anyway, if anybody happens to pass through Skovorodino again, keep an eye out for the cap of my jerry can. I forgot to put it back on after I emptied it into my gas tank and only noticed this minor problem 40kms further down the road. The detours are good. Small stretches of bad asphalt, longer stretches of good gravel road. Nice wide winding roads. I ride alongside the railroad for hours, through small villages. If road signs are absent, just look for Japanese cars coming from the other direction. As long as you see these, you’re on the right track.There are more signs of civilisation here. More small towns. The previous stretch of road was straight through the wilderness. They just bulldozed their way through forests and blasted their way through hills. The scenery is beautiful. Building this road is an amazing feat. The wilderness is very dense and inhospitable. I always try to picture the first people that came through this area: the problems and discomfort they experienced make my trip look like a walk in the park. Russia has a famous pioneer and discoverer; I will have to look up his name again because I have forgotten it. He was the founder of a lot of cities all along the route he travelled. The major reason for exploration back then was fur. It was a very lucrative resource and demand was high. Later came mineral and ore exploitation: the Russian gold rush. Anyway, the “discovery” of this region is not that long ago. Tomsk is 400 years old, Vladivostok 145. Some cities are even younger, but these were designed and founded by the omnipotent communist party. I passed through a rather big city that was celebrating it’s 40th anniversary.
Have I mentioned the dust yet? Well, there is a lot of it here. It is nice to make a dust trail, it is not so nice to be in someone else’s. In any case opposing traffic makes a lot of dust to. You sometimes get to hate the endless stream of Jap cars going the other way. Riding with the headlight on is advisable, especially when the dust cloud is so thick you cannot see the road in front of you anymore. Vehicles on this road, well actually this goes for the entire Russian Federation, don’t necessarily stay in their lane. They follow the route with the least potholes and dips. So if you do not want to be scraped of the hood of a Toyota, ride with your headlight on. The dust gets everywhere. You even eat it.
There is dust despite of the rain. Ever since Ulan-Ude it has been hot. The rain just raises the humidity level and makes it even more uncomfortable. Only big puddles take a little longer to dry out. Russia is cold in the winter, but hot in the summer.
It was getting late and dusk was setting in. I stop at a café for a drink, a rest and a Zen-moment: my lights are out again … very, very, very frustrating. I check out the speedometer light I taped previously. Of course the multiple layers of tape have worn out completely from the vibrations on this “highway to hell”. Taping it up again is just a temporary solution. Luckily the clamp of the light brakes off while trying to get it out. I just ‘delete’ the option and tape the end of the cable. This will be OK until I am back in Belgium. Back in Belgium … I’m not even halfway … I could really go for ‘een fris pintje en ne frut mee majonijs’ … mmmmmm.
While investigating the headlight problem, I also have a look at the high beam switch. For some reason it seems to be stuck. After opening up the housing, I immediately see and smell the problem: the bad road has somehow managed to create a short in there and the switch has just melted together. I clean it up a bit and call it good. I don’t really need high beams I guess.
I hurry to find a camping spot. I choose high ground just in case it starts raining again. Guess what … not only did it rain, I had a second near death experience: yes, another night of thunderstorms. Again lightning struck real close to my tent. Chances of being hit by lightning are slim, but the more thunderstorms you encounter, the higher the chance I guess. Anyway, I have had enough of this. I’m getting a hotel this evening. I cannot go through this anymore. I am not kidding, I am really scared. There was additional danger this time: lightning could strike one of the trees nearby. In itself that would be acceptable. It would even be good if it just fell to the ground. It would not be good if the tree crushed either my motorcycle or my tent (with me in it). Another thing about these thunderstorms: you can actually smell lightning. You know that smell of static electricity when you take of a woollen sweater, well I smelled the same smell during both of these thunderstorms.

05-08-2006

Amur-Trassa 05-08-2006

My tent was still wet. It is warm, but cloudy and humid. Drying it will be for tonight I guess. I still have some straps tucked away somewhere and figure I can use these to secure the jerry can to the sidecar. It looks a bit elaborate, but is does the trick. I continue on the road and stop at the first kafe I encounter. It is closed for renovation, but they are happy to sell me coffee and water. Renovation is a big word. A new coat of the same paint, a couple of new tables, repairing broken bugscreens, … it is not what we would think.
I decide to check out the engine. Gas consumption is up, I don’t like that new sound and I want to fix the low idle. I take out the generator to see if there is a problem there. Nothing I can see. I check valve tappet clearance, set the ignition again and resync the carbs. The sound is still there. Maybe it is my imagination. It is still running OK. I have lost a lot of time again doing this. I get back on the road. Some better spots, but the road generally sucked. I was tired. The blazing sun and heat weren’t helping and I might have been dehydrating a bit. I felt like sh*t. I was ready to quit. I missed Doug to talk to, a partner on the road helps to lift your spirits. The road was about to conquer me and make me give up and take the train to Vladivostok. I just kept on driving, just hoping that it would be slightly better behind the next hill. It wasn’t. I then just kept on driving to get it over with. Progress was slow. 30km per hour, sometimes slower, sometimes a bit faster. Every kilometre was one closer to Habarovsk. I was not liking the idea of going through this for a 2000km stretch. This sucked, big time. Then in the middle of nowhere there is a detour. A long detour if I can read the sign correctly. The detour is just as bad a road. I stop for a rest and to drink some water. There are a lot of tracks along the detour leading back to the road. A guy in a delivery truck stops and we talk. He tells me to get off the detour and head for the road over one of the many tracks. Just follow that Kamaz he says, there is asphalt. It is just a track through the wilderness. Eventually I reach the road again. Traffic is normally not allowed here, but … this is Russia. And indeed, after a while, asphalt comes into view. Oh, it is a welcome change. This is good. Brand new, billiard table smooth asphalt in the middle of the Russian wilderness. It was just a short stretch, 20 or so kms evading construction machinery, but it was good. After that it got better a bit. The construction zone ended and I hit gravel road. This is finished highway. It is better than the construction zone, but nothing compared to North American gravel. It is very dusty and looks and feels like you are riding over a washboard. Anyway, I make better progress. I can even make 70 km per hour sometimes, until I hit a bad spot again that shakes my handlebar so hard that it feels like my muscles are being pulled from my bones. I set up my tent and go to sleep feeling exhausted and my whole body aching.

04-08-2006

Amur Trassa 04-08-2006

It was raining just about all night I guess, because I did not get much sleep. The rain hitting the tent and worrying about bears was keeping me awake. It is still slightly raining and there is a lot of fog. I ponder a while about getting back to sleep, but I have a lot of kilometres to go before I reach Nahodka. The fog is apparently not that bad, so having no lights is not really a big problem. The strange new noise is still there. I reach a café and decide to stop for repairs. After a cup of coffee I take the gas tank of to see if there is a faulty cable underneath there. I find nothing. I check all the cables. I wiggle them, hit them, shake the bike … but the fuse does not blow. I put everything back together and check if the light still works: it works. Just to be sure I tap the headlight and … pop … there goes the fuse. Great. I take the headlight out again and try to find the faulty cable. I can’t seem to find what I am looking for, but this one connector is looking a bit funny. This is the top light from the speedometer. It is worn out from rubbing against the back of the headlight. Just to do something I put more tape around this suspicious connection.
I eat a bit and get on the road. Meanwhile two Russian bikers from Chita have passed me and a while later two other bikers that I could not identify. I reach the end of the asphalt. This is the notorious road. And boy is it bad. At some points you will just have a bed of big boulders to ride over. It has potholes all over, so making any speed is impossible unless you want to be shaken so hard you risk getting a concussion and maybe even wrecking the bike. This is a temporary gravel road, well at least I hope it is temporary. After that the construction zone starts. This is the worse thing I have ever seen. Traffic is directed over the unfinished roadbed. Again big boulders (I call it Russian gravel) the size of ostrich eggs to ride over. In spots where they are putting in culverts or bridges, you are directed off the road onto a temporary bypass. Sometimes these bypasses will have a decent bridge. Sometimes they will have a sheet metal surface with sharp pieces of metal sticking up. Sometimes there will be a worn out wooden surface with some boards missing: dangerous for motorcycles. Sometimes you are better off just driving through the river. At a lot of these bypasses you will have this option. Most just have temporary culverts topped of with rocks and dirt. The endless stream of Japanese cars are probably a big strain on these roads and wear them out fast. I guess maintenance only occurs when the road is really impassable. In my humble opinion I think it is impassable for cars at this point in time and most probably for the next decade. I have seen the undercarriage of one of the Japanese cars that made it to Chita. It looks like somebody had some fun with a hammer and banged the hell out of everything in sight. The shocks on these cars are gone by the time they make it over the road. Buying a Japanese car that came by road from Vladivostok is throwing away your money. The cars look good leaving Vladivostok, but travelling on the road really takes the best out of them.
I camp in some sort of a gravel pit. It is secluded enough from road traffic, but it is a nice and open spot. Mosquitoes are not so bad here. Just before I want to get in the tent I notice my jerry can is not quite as close to my sidecar as it should be. Closer inspection reveals that the holder is broken. Great. Clouds are moving in, but since it is also getting late I go to sleep, I will fix the jerry can issue tomorrow. Later that night I am awakened by the thunder and rain. A thunderstorm is nice to see … from far. I do not know why, how or what, but it seemed like the hole area was full of thunderstorms. As soon as one had passed a new one followed: left, right, in front and behind me. There was a constant flickering of light. Discharges in the clouds followed by a big discharge to the ground. These make the biggest bangs. It was fun for a short while, but the rain pouring down on my tent was interfering with my beauty sleep, so I was hoping for it to stop soon. Then it just went to a whole different level. I noticed, by counting the seconds between lightning and thunder, that a storm was heading my way. I was sort of out in the open. My big metal Ural carrying 30 litres of gasoline is a perfect target, especially with my antenna sticking out into the sky. Or maybe my aluminium tent poles are the perfect target? They sort of form a Faraday-cage, but would it be enough to protect me? A human is a perfect conductor for lightning. Maybe it will just strike me. Anyway, there is nothing to do I guess, but lie flat on the ground and pray to God. It is no use to run around outside in the rain during a thunderstorm trying to find cover in the dark. The storm moved in on me and I was scared. It is bizarre. There are discharges in the clouds all the time. It is like a stroboscope. You could almost read a book. Once in a while a ground discharge will occur. A big flash followed by a loud roar of thunder. It was getting closer. I was really scared. I was begging the Almighty Creator Of All That Is to not take my life just now: I just want live long enough to see Nadya again. Lightning was really bright now. All of a sudden there was this bright flash of light, immediately followed by an enormous bang of thunder. I rolled over, my heart was racing, I was shaking. This was close, 50 to 100 meters. Too close for my liking. I have never been this afraid for my own life before. I know chances are slim of being struck by lightning, but the chance exists nonetheless. The thunderstorm moved away slowly. I was relieved, but the sky was still flickering from other nearby thunderstorms. I had little sleep that night.

03-08-2006

Chita 03-08-2006

I wake up to find my laundry is as good as dry. After breakfast my escort to the service station arrives. This garage has been used by a lot of motorcycle travellers, they tell me. The people are very friendly and help me out with everything. While I change my tire on the sidecar they change my oil and filter. They see me fumbling around with the wheel, trying to get the tire off and of course someone comes over to help me and show me how you can do it the quick way. I feel like an amateur. Well I only have my Ural for 1 year now, so it is probably still new to me in a way. They also try to find the electrical problem. Some cables running from the fuse box to the frame have been damaged. They patch these and the problem seems to be solved. My lights stay on and the fuse doesn’t blow. The garage is part of a shopping mall so I take the opportunity to get some batteries for my camera and flashlight and I also stock up on food and water.
I get a message from Doug. He is en route to Chita. I choose to wait a bit to talk to him again. This is becoming a ritual. He works a bit on his bike (they weld his front shock), we talk and time passes. When we are done, we thank the people that helped us out. Peter, a local biker, takes us to a bankomat which is also conveniently located in the hotel Doug will stay in tonight. I am getting out of town. I say goodbye to Doug once more. We will meet again, most probably in Nahodka. Thick clouds are forming so I get on my way. The road is not that good and it is starting to rain. I have no lights, again. Apparently we did not fix the right problem. It is getting a bit too much for me and I decide to put up the tent and leave the problems for tomorrow. One more problem I noticed as I was finding a camping spot is a strange noise coming from my engine. I think it is the generator. Zavtra.
I type a bit on my computer and listen to Willem Vermandere. Meanwhile it is pouring outside.

02-08-2006

Chita 02-08-2006

Only 400kms to Chita today. The countryside is beautiful. The barren landscape has been replaced with vast valleys with a big river in between mountains. Trees are also reappearing. I like this. The road gradually improves a bit to the normal Russian level. The occasional pothole will pop up, so I have to stay focused.
I pass by a military airbase just 50km from Chita. A couple of Migs are coming in for landing and I stop to enjoy the spectacle. It was either my license plate or the fact that I used my binoculars, but the locals across the street where “eyeballing” me (that’s how Doug would say it). I did not have enough courage to take pictures. They would probably take me for a spy and call the cops. I didn’t feel like explaining myself to Russian police, so I didn’t bother. Once I made it into Chita, I called Jimm. He showed up shortly after with a fellow biker. I explained the things I would like to do on my bike: oil change, new tire on the side car wheel and finding the electrical problem. It is to late now to do anything so they escort me to a hotel and will pick me up in the morning to take me to a service station to fix my problems. The hotel was expensive, but I managed to do some laundry and clean my boots. They had hot water, but it was very brown. I don’t know how they do it, plain river water is cleaner. I had a good night’s sleep.

01-08-2006

Ulan-Ude 01-08-2006

Again it was a quick stop at the internet café, hence my rather short update. It was very hot in the city and even worse in the small room they transformed to internet café. It was on the 3rd floor. Elevators are a luxury in Russia and if an elevator is present it is mostly uninviting: it fits three people snugly and only hotel elevators will not reek of urine. European travellers always wear a full protection suit. I am no exception. So making it up the stairs with my laptop backpack, tankbag and helmet was quite an exercise that was rewarded with streams of sweat running over my face. Luckily the Russian 3rd floor is the 2nd floor for the rest of the world. Yes, the ground floor is the firs floor in Russia.
After my updates it was again time for goodbyes: I am leaving Doug behind again. He wants to check out the city and maybe make a trip to a Buddhist monastery in a nearby town. I will see him again in Vladivostok if all goes well.
Sergey, the biker that put us up for the night, gave me a contact in Chita. I will call him as soon as I am in the city.
The thermometer reads 30 Celsius. Scorchio! Lake Baikal was much cooler. The sun was shining with all her might, but the huge lake provided some welcome coolness. Maybe I have not described the ride along the lake enough. Rest assured it is as beautiful as they say. The surrounding countryside is mountainous which makes for beautiful photos. I should see more of it the next time I pass through this area. I don’t know when that will be, but I am still young. Once the road started to go away from the lake it started to warm up quickly.
So I start to head out of the city. In the distance, just over a hill, I can see a big cloud of smoke. I guess the region is rather dry and hence forest fires are an accident waiting to happen. Along the way to Chita I will see many forests that still bare the scars of past forest fires. The first 200 kms go through a vast area of land that has almost no trees. The sun is shining fiercely and makes all stops next to impossible. No shade. Not even at the bus stops because these are occupied by cows or horses looking for some protection from the sun. I stop only to get gas and some water for a quick sip. Riding provides perfect cooling and so that is what I do.
Well, until problem number one manifests itself. Going up hill and overtaking a slower truck I notice something making a noise in the back. I pull over on the shoulder to discover that my rear wheel rim is broken. It just split apart. The tire is lightly damaged from rubbing against the drive axle. The pictures say enough I guess. This is the rim that was replaced by my dealer. It was not an exact match for the original, but it made 10000kms of which the majority on Russian roads. I replace it with my spare wheel. I was not expecting this. I was expecting the sidecar tire to explode, because that was wearing thin. I did not feel like replacing the before Chita. So that was my first major showstopper, but then again it wasn’t really a problem since I had the spare wheel. It was merely a delay.
By the way, from Ulan-Ude onward, everybody knows you are heading to Vladivostok. I guess because there is only one road. Before Ulan-Ude the story goes that there is no road beyond Chita, after Ulan-Ude they say that there is no asphalt beyond Chita. There is a difference. This stretch of road is actually the purpose of my whole trip. This is the road I want to conquer. I am looking forward to it. Whatever the condition of the road may be, I hope it is better than the stretch I did today. The road surface looks OK, but is has these small bumps and cavities across the road. This makes for a terrible ride on an Ural. It rattles your bones and you have to keep your jaws apart to save your teeth. I definitely do not like this type of road. It is also not good for my motorcycle. My lights are out again. This time the fuse is blown. I hate this. This means there is a short circuit (“ne court-circuit” as my friend Vinni would say) somewhere. Somewhere on the motorcycle. I just have to find it. Sounds easy, but I am not looking forward to stripping everything to find that one cable that is the problem. In any case my blinkers and stoplight still work. I would have loved to make it a little closer to Chita today, but I have to stop because it is just not save to ride with no lights as soon as dusk sets in. I camp in the forest.

TransSib

Hello all,

Thank you for your messages. I apologize for not being able to put more stuff in here to read now. That and pictures will follow, I just do not know exactly when.

Anyway, I am still in Vladivostok. It is very hot here. I am staying at the clubhouse of the Iron Tigers. The clubhouse is actually just a room in the VladMoto motorcycle shop. All very nice guys. While waiting for train info to come through I have toured the city a bit with Doug. He left Tuesday. He took a ferry from Vladivostok to another Russian city near the North Korean border (I can't think of the name right now and I have no map with me). He called me yesterday when he was on board the ferry to South Korea. All was well.

Nice as it might be in Vladivostok, I want to get out of here. Things are finally happening. Doug was on the mail train from Chita to Vladivostok. He used the unofficial way and just offered the cart attendants some money to take him along. I should maybe try this, but then again there are a lot of buts and ifs. I think I will go with the official way: separate motorcycle and side-car; box them up and ship it to Novosibirsk on a seperate train. Max, the owner of VladMoto is helping me out with the shipping part. He ships out a lot of bikes so he knows what he is doing. If it is one thing I have not lacked so far in Russia it is help. Everybody offers to help and drop what they are holding to do so. Yesterday I got my temporary import paper for my motorcycle extended. What a hassle. The day before I went to the customs office in the train station. They then sent me on to the customs office at the docks. Finding the place was relatively easy. Finding the office was not, so I just started to ask anybody that I passed. In the end I was helped by a local cargo broker. He showed me whom I should talk to. The customs officer then informs me that he cannot help me unless I have my wishes indicated on paper and of course in Russian. Naturally I was unable to do that, so the cargo broker instructed one of his office employees to help me out and type the document. They provided this help free of charge of course and wished me well with my trip. It was already too late to get anything done at the customs office since they were getting ready to go home. Time flies when you are having fun. So the next morning I go back and present the papers to the first uniformed person I see. She takes copies of just about all official documents I have with me, fills in some more papers, passes the bundle on to another lady and she gives me a paper with Russian instructions on how to pay the required fee. She will not budge before I present here a receipt indicating the payment of the amount due. Although they have a bank located in the same building, specifically for the purpose of paying customs fees, I cannot go there and apparently have to make it to the centre of town again to pay the fee at a specific bank. I ask this guy that talked to me earlier (he speaks English) if he knows where the bank is downtown. He was waiting in line for something, but that suddenly is completely unimportant as he escorts me to the bank in the building were he inquires if it is really impossible to make the payment here: it is not possible. We then go to his car and we make our way downtown. We stop at another bank, go in, he passes everybody in line and asks if the payment can be made here: it can not. We get to the bank downtown and I can finally pay the incredible amount of 100 ruble + 10 ruble transaction fee !!!!! Why they do not accept cash at the customs office is incomprehensible. Anyway, I am handed two receipts and Alexander (the guy) and me go back to the customs office. I thank Alexander profusely, but he keeps saying that it is nothing and that I am a hero in Russia. He even gives me his telephone number just in case I have any more problems. I present the receipts to the lady and this apparently is the correct input as she proceeds to fill in more documents and input something in her computer. After triple checking all the previous steps the document I require is fed in the printer and out it comes with all required info. Then rubber stamps of all shapes and sizes are banged onto this fragile piece of paper, signatures are added and she hands it over to me. That's it. I'm glad I got this done, now I don't have to worry about this anymore.

So, about the train ... well, zavtra. More information tomorrow. All I know now is that I cannot travel together with my bike as the goods train only leaves Vladivostok when it is full. I will go as soon as possible, that may be tomorrow, maybe the day after. The train ride for me will take 5 days. My bike will take longer. I will probably go straight through to Kemerovo and pick up the bike later, once it is there. We will see. Shipping for my bike will be about 10000 rbls and my ticket about 2800 rbls. I would spend more riding back and it would take longer.

Regards to all,
Dom

I made it !!!

Hello everybody,

I am safe and sound in Vladivostok. The internet cafe here does not allow me to connect my computer or USB memory card. Hence no photos and no extracts of my diary. I will post them later. Just to give you some info on what's been going on and my future plans, I will write a short text below.

Anyway, the road was terrible. The worst part was from Chita to Skovorodino. No asphalt and very bad gravel roads. Washboard type. Construction zones of over 100km. Riding over rocks and through deep puddles. It was hell. I was about to give up and take the train to Habarovsk. I thought it would keep going on like this for 2000km. It didn't. Around Skovorodino detours over local roads put the worst behind me. After that it is gravel road intermixed with some asphalt parts. The quality of the road ranges from good to very bad. Just before Habarovsk there is one last construction zone, very bad, but only 50kms or so. Reaching asphalt again was a joyous occasion. I made it through. The scenery was nice. I had two of the most scary nights in my life. While camping out in the middle of nowhere giant thunderstorms would develop during the night. Lighting was bad for hours on end. It struck within 50-100m from my tent, if not closer. I was scared to death. Mosquitos and other biting insects very bad. A relaxing evening stroll through Birobidzian could leave you drained of blood. It is really nasty. No bears to be seen anywhere, except caged as a tourist attraction near some cafe.

The ride from Habarovsk to Vladivostok was normal. Nice scenery and decent roads. I arrived in Vladivostok on the 10th of August. I met Doug again. It was great to see him. We rode to the bike show in Nahokda together. It was a big well organized event. We were interviewed so many times for newspapers, magazines and TV that I lost count. Everybody wanted to take our picture. We met some people here from Tomsk and Chita. When the bike show was over we came back to Vladivostok.

Doug has contacts that can get me and my bike on a train to Novosibirsk or Krasnoyarsk. I am looking into arranging that now. I miss Nadya so bad. I want to be in Kemerovo as soon as possible. Doug will be going to Korea by ferry and then on to LA. I wish him well on his journey. He is a great guy. We will meet again.

My Ural is the best bike in the world. It has taken such a beating, but just keeps on going. Front and side car shocks are gone. The jerrycan holder is broken. The luggage rack on the trunk is bent a bit from this one big dip in the road I did not see in time. The engine made a funny sound for a while but it seems to be gone now. I found a lot of iron chips on the oil drain plug magnet when I changed the oil last friday, but the engine just keeps on going. My battery might need replacing as it seems a bit weak. I will have a couple of days (maybe even a week) of time to kill on the train, so I will give it some TLC during my trip to Novosibirsk.

I have no fixed info on my train trip yet. I hope to arrange this today. I will post more info in Kemerovo. Sorry about this people.

I am doing fine. My motorcycle is still running. I am halfway now.


Take care and greetings from Russia's Far East,
Dom

Ulan-Ude

So I am now in Ulan-Ude. I will leave for Chita this afternoon. I have a contact in Chita, but I am no yet sure if I will make it to the city or just keep driving. 200kms after Chita, there will be no more asphalt and the notorious "new road" begins. It is possible to make it across, but it will not be easy. 2000kms of off-road riding is what people keep saying. I just hope to make it to Vladivostok in time for the festival there on August 11th. We will see. I hope nothing goes wrong. If there is any place in Russia where one could get eaten by a bear it is here, Patrick.
Just to warn you: I doubt that I will have access to the internet beyond Chita. So you might not hear from me for a while. I hope to update my site in Habarovsk or Vladivostok.
It was not possible to upload pictures here in Ulan-Ude, so you will have to wait for a while.
Thank you all for your support.

Regards,
Dom

30-31 - 07 - 2006

Kultuk - Tanhoy

After brunch we say goodbye to the Polish couple and our Russian hosts. I am welcome to visit them in Bratsk on my way back from Vladivostok. We will see if I make it there. The road is not so good, but not really bad. We have a relaxing ride along the lake through the towns. We stop at one of the many road-side markets to get some delicious strawberries and smoked Omul. The area is beautiful and the lake is just huge. A lot of nice views along the way. We end up in a town called Tanhoy and spend the night in the local oversized gastinitsa. A big building with a lot of rooms. It is officially called a 'turbaza' which means something like resort. The building was build in 1974 and from what I have seen outside and inside time seems to have stopped here. We are the only guests. How this business can survive is a mystery. If it weren't for our Russian friends at the bike festival, we would not have known there was a gastinitsa here. Advertising and road signs to make tourists come to your business is something the Russians have yet to learn.

Tanhoy - Ulan-Ude

Pretty much the same story. We just travel relaxed and stop frequently. We finally arrive in Ulan-Ude and park our bikes on the parade square just in front of the biggest sculpted head in the world. Of course this is Lenin's head. We meet a Chinese TV crew and they take pictures and talk to us a bit. Also we meet Sergey and his wife. He invites us to stay at his datsha. We agree and follow him there. Food is produced. And once our bellies are full and we have seen all the photo albums, we have a banya. I am starting to love it. Doug hopes it is the last one he will ever have.

29 - 07 - 2006

Baikal Shaman

Again it is late in the morning before I get out of my tent. After breakfast I manage to check my air filter and clean it a bit. I even find an easier way to get that damn thing out from there. Usually it is quite a feat to inspect the air filter. Everything appears to be OK. I thought it would be worse. The low idle must be carb related, but I don't feel like doing that now. I know ... I'm lazy.
I head back into town to send a message to Doug to better describe the location and just to ride the bike. It is bizarre, but you sort of get used to riding. And it feels like something is wrong when you haven't ridden for a day.
The weather is sort of strange. It rained a bit when we first came here, but for the rest it was actually OK even though some very thick clouds were visible. It was warm with basking sun. I even managed to dry the laundry I did in the hotel in Irkutsk although I was expecting a thunderstorm anytime. I guess the mountains and the proximity of the lake create a weather pattern that is difficult to predict and get a grip on. Two areas in close proximity here can probably have a completely different day: one rain, the other sun.
Shortly after coming back from town two Polish bikers showed up. They are a couple and are touring Russia on one bike. He speaks English.
Sometime in the late afternoon, Doug shows up. It is great to see him again. Of course he is the center of attention and everybody wants to meet him, talk to him and see his Indian (which they usually mistake for a Harley-Davidson).
We eat, drink, attend the contests and talk. I go to bed a bit earlier than usual as tomorrow we head out to Ulan-Ude.

28 - 07 - 2006

Baikal Shaman bike festival

It was late last night, so I come out of the tent just before noon. It is nice and relaxing; we have breakfast and talk a bit. I still have some work to do on my machine, so I start doing that. I grease the drive shaft splines, check the rear brake, put some more air in the tires, repack the bearing in the front wheel and adjust the front brake. That is all I had to do. My engine has a low idle. Maybe the carbs need resyncing or my air filter is really dirty, but I don't feel like doing that today. Zavtra. That is Russian for tomorrow. Why do today what you can postpone until tomorrow?

After my work is done I ride the 30kms back to Kultuk to get some groceries and call Nadia and Doug. It was good to hear Nadia and she was glad to hear me.
Doug has no knowledge of this bike show either, so I let him know. Apparently his repairs are coming along fine and he might be finished later today or early tomorrow. I sort of explain where the festival is, but an exact location is hard to give as it is in the middle of nowhere.
Back at the festival, the bikers are starting to arrive. This is not a big festival. That's OK for me. Less of a crowd. I meet the president of the local biker club who also organises this festival. I am the only foreigner and everybody is eager to meet me and see my Ural. Vodka is offered to me everywhere, but after my last experience in Krasnojarsk I sort of dislike the drink. I have only a few drinks, just to be polite.
My hosts are great company and we have a lot of laughs. I learn a couple more Russian words. Russians like it when you speak a bit of their language. They also bought a sheep from a local farmer here. They slaughtered the poor thing themselves in the back of a field here. The best cuts are prepared for dinner. It is very good. The rest will be used for soup tomorrow and the day after. That's how they do it here ... it's Russia.
We party until late in the evening.

27 - 07 - 2006 part II

After my rather long internet session I left Irkutsk and headed for Ulan-Ude. 20 kms out of Irkutsk the mountains start. It is nice to drive on the winding road with steep climbs and descends, but one should be careful. The quality of the Russian roads makes you slow down. It was raining a bit so the patchwork on the road can be treacherously slippery. 20kms before Kultuk, the road turns real bad again. Just before Kultuk you have a very nice view of beautiful Lake Baikal. I stop for a picture and some Russian bikers stop there too. They ask me if I am going to the Baikal Shaman bike festival. I had no clue there was a festival and insistent and inviting as Russians can be I agree to follow them to the festival. The festival is 30kms from Kultuk on the road to Mongolia. It actually doesn't start until tomorrow, but we are allowed on the premises and set up our tents. These Russians are from Bratsk and also attended the festival in Tomsk. They know of Doug and his Indian, but didn't know about me. All Russians I have met up to now are just amazed, well baffled is a better word, as to why in God's name I bought an Ural. They also cannot comprehend the price this machine costs in Europe. Once I explain my reasons to them they sort of understand. They are proud of their Russian built motorcycles and admire me for what I am doing.

In good Russian tradition my hosts (yes, I am their guest) provide everything for me: beer, vodka, food, ... They even gave me a festival t-shirt as a gift. The least I can do is share all the food that I have with me. They bought some fish at the lake. This is the Omul fish and apparently it can only be found in Lake Baikal. It is delicious. A couple of people speak a bit of English, so conversations are possible, although at a basic level. It is however no problem for me to just sit and listen to the Russians talking and telling jokes even though I do not understand what they are saying. Sometimes they will translate a bit of the conversation to me, but it is not really necessary for me, I enjoy the company.