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.
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.
posted by Anonymous | 8:58 am
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