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.
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.
posted by Anonymous | 9:28 am
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