Tynda to Vanino

Aug 21. Tynda to Svobodny. 628 km

After a quick (and shitty) breakfast of Mountain Dew and the Russian equivalent of “pigs in a blanket” Kim and I were headed south out of Tynda. Kurt left the hotel later than us but Kim and I weren't going to wait. We had some distance to cover. I had 4 days to cover about 1800 km to get to Sveta's house on Saturday night after she got done with work. The first 160 km were various stages of construction. There were a few fun twisty gravel passes to be done. As Kim put it, I was “riding in MX mode”. So late in the morning we got to a cafe in Never. This is the junction of M58 (Trans-Siberian) and M56 (Road to Tynda and Magadan). Kim went to work changing out his fron tire for the street tire he was carrying and I sent John a text. I knew he would be getting close to Never riding from Ullan Ude. He had the $14 auto decompress weight that I had sent to Ullanbaatar. I needed the part when I was in Irkutsk before I started the BAM. I knew my buddy Matthew Johnson was still in UB at the time and the plan was he would meet us in Tynda to ride to Magadan. He blew up his XR400 south of Ullan Ude so he gave the part to John who continued the relay. John was riding with a Croatian guy on an overloaded Africa twin would join Kim and I for a few days. We sat in the Cafe chatting for about 3 hours. John was very interested in the BAM. I gave him as much info as I could. He was riding a well sorted KTM 690 and he would be meeting up with his wife again in Irkutsk in a few weeks. Their website here http://intotheworld.eu/ He would end up doing the BAM successfully solo east to west. Prior to doing the BAM, I was apprehensive about going solo. But after seeing it and knowing my ability, I would have felt comfortable riding it solo. Some of the wet bridges at the start would have been a bit hairy. But all in all, I felt very comfortable in my riding ability and never really felt in danger. Kim and I along with our new Croatian friend continued east on the Trans Siberian Highway another 450 km to Svobodny. The afternoon dragged on forever. Long straight road with not much change in scenery. We covered more distance in 5 hours than we were in 3 days on the BAM. This was not adventure travel. This was necessity travel. Point A to point B. Sveta called her friend Sergey and he gave us a free place to say and eat. Again the Russian motorcycle community welcomed us with open arms and open vodka bottles. He was a great fabricator and he had some interesting motos. He hand built a faring for his KLR out of aluminum. I had 2 tanks and held 50 liters. The front take was 35L and the rear was 15L. It would not be my first choice of bike to start a project like this, but as KLRs go, this was the coolest one I have ever seen. I had seen pictures of this bike on the internet prior so it was cool to see it in person.

2 beautiful well traveled KTM 690s. 

Aug 22. Svobodny to camping near Obluche. 443 km

Sergey welded some stuff on the Atwin and traded a road tire to Kim for the knobbie he had on the rear. Then we were off. After about 200 km it was raining hard and it was time for some lunch. When we hit gravel in some construction areas, it was very clear that the overloaded Atwin pilot was not comfortable offroad. Kim and I would stand up and keep a fast pace while our friend would slow to a crawl. Toward evening we met a guy in a VW/Toyota truck from Germany. We would all camp together in the rain. We got to share some stories for about a half hour around the camp fire before it really stared to rain hard.

She is getting older.. I'm gunning for you Shari Jo! 

Aug 23. To Khabarovsk. 312 km

Kim and I left the other 2 guys. They seemed to travel better together. When we got closer to Khabarovsk we started to see the flooding. The Amur river was very very high and getting higher. August in Siberia was very wet this year. All the rivers were either fast and high or flooding. We found a nice hotel with a hot shower and internet. Kim would be riding toward Vladivostok in the morning and I would be riding to Komsomolsk to see Sveta. We got way to stuffed on Chinese food and passed out soon after.

Flooding near Khabarovsk

Aug. 24. Khabarovsk to Komsomolsk Na Amur. 426 km

I was very excited to start riding. I knew after a short 400 km day I would be with Sveta again. So though, I became worried. I hit a road closing. Traffic was being re-routed around the flooded area adding about 15 km. I was worried this would continue. Close to Khabarovsk, there are many roads so re-routing isn't a problem. But near Komsomolsk, there are not alternative routes. I was beginning to be worried then I came to stopped traffic. I rode past 2 km of back up cars to the front of the line. The road was in a lake. They had put dirt berms on either side but this didn't keep the water from going onto the road. They were working to add dirt on top of the road to make a “dry” route in one lane. I was scared I would not be able to continue. The police were trying to tell me that the water was to deep for me. I tried to explain to them where I had just come from the week before. Finally I showed them pictures of some water crossing on the BAM and they understood. After and hour of waiting we were able to go through. At one point the water was about 1' deep but riding on pavement is easier then rocks. Plus, there was no current. Childs play. Before I got to Komsomolsk Na Amur, I found a field of beautiful purple wild flowers. I needed to be prepared to see Sveta again. I got to Komsomolsk in the evening and Sveta met me out side of her building. I had been waiting for this moment more than anything else over the previous 2 months since I watcher her ride away in Ullan Ude. My hopes were high for what was to come.

There's those eye's that I thought about all through Siberia and Mongolia.

Aug. 24 to 28. Komsomolsk Na Amur. Denile

At first it was great to be with Sveta. On Sunday we rode into the mountains to a lake. She wanted to ride on my KTM with me instead of on her moto. Life was good. But I soon realized that it was not the same for her as it was when we were traveling together. I knew she would not say but I could feel it. The rain continued and the Amur river continued to rise. Soon the garage where the motorcycles were parked would be underwater. Originally the plan was for me to wait for my Carnett with Sveta. That is what she suggested I do. It was time to make a decision. If I stayed and the water continued to rise, It could be a whole month before I might be able to leave. Sveta and I talk and she said she only wanted to be friends with me. I asked if I learned Russian would she want to be with me? No. The dream died here.

The Last pic I have with my beard. I was 2 weeks from a 1 year beard and the barber lady didn't understand that I wanted to keep it. I have started over now. 

From the 1980 Olympics. 

She was the most fitting person to sign Russia on my moto. 

Aug. 29. Komsomolsk to Vanino. 526 km

I left in the morning in the Rain. This was perfect for my mood (sarcasm). Soon though I was on the road toward Vanino and the pavement turned to crap and then there was gravel and construction. I was riding it stand up like I was riding in Mongolia. It felt good to stretch the Katriana's legs and work her suspension. I worse the road is, the more engaged you are. You don't have time to feel cold or to feel sorry for yourself about a girl who rejected you. You feel the bike and you feel the road. You think about the rock 20 feet in front of you. You can't let your mind wander because then your front tire will also wander. You will move from your line and you will be snatched back to reality when you feel and hear the "dooonnggg!!" of hitting a large rock with your front tire. All you can say is "foook!... sorry girl" and continue. You think "that was bad.." but then realize it was nothing compared to the one that cracked your rim so you continue. I was planning to find a hotel and a bar in Vanino to tie one on while waiting for the ferry to Sakhalin. When I got there I found there was a ferry leaving that night so I decided to take it. I made some friends with Russian truckers and Got a nap in. The ferry would leave at 3:00 AM.

Catch a nap here while waiting. 

The rain died and it cleared up just before the boat left. 

Bam Part 3. Kuanda River to Tynda

Aug. 16. Kuanda River to Chara. 164 km.


We ate some noodles and drank coffee overlooking the Kuanda River at the camp spot. We talked about the Kuanda crossing that was 10 km in front of us. We knew we would have to pay to cross the bridge or pay a Kamaz. No free lunch on this one. When we rode up to the bridge. The guard was waiting by his shack. We started the small talk and he said he couldn't let us across. He didn't want to loose his job and his boss was with a crew on the other side. A crew walked across the bridge and it sounded like they were trying to convince the guard to let us go across. But no dice. Kim called the guy with the Kamaz and he said it would be an hour. The old guy gave us tea and I decided to tear into my GPS to figure out why the battery wasn't working. Turns out the rechargeable battery bit the dust. Before long we heard a big diesel coming down the road and we went over to load up the bikes. The river was not moving fast and the water was very clear. If you knew where to go.. the bikes maybe could have ridden through. Maybe. It was hard to gauge just how high the water was when you are riding in the back of a Kamaz. The ride across was pretty fun in a “I'm really nervous, I hope we make it, I hate when I'm not in control” sort of way. It was over quickly and we were on our way. 3000 p (about $93) for 3 bikes. We ate lunch near a river about 100 m from the “golden spike” monument. We rode right past it and later in the evening when we got to Chara I discovered we passed it. Oh well. The BAM is filled with monuments. Every little Russian town is. Much of the day was spent along the railroad on the grade. We thought we could see some snow on some of the mountain peaks but we were not sure if it actually was snow. In the evening we did find a small patch of snow in a river that had not melted from the winter before. Again Kurt ran out of fuel and I had to give him a few liters from mine. Finally we got in to Chara. The Hotel was interesting. The lady at the front desk seemed really bothered that she had to help us. Sorry you have to do your job lady. I know you would rather sit there and watch your Russian soap operas The drunks were out in force when we were unpacking our stuff. They friendly drunks but they kept wanting to put an arm around me. It was a long day, I was tired, I wanted to get my stuff inside and get my bike to the garage. I was not in the mood to play best friends with a guy who drinks more vodka than water. So we all just pretended we couldn't understand them. It wasn't very hard to pretend. A few minutes later a brunet “10” pulled up in a black Lexus SUV. What the hell is this girl doing in Chara? Better yet, what the hell is a Lexus SUV doing here? There is no way someone in drove that here. It must have come in on the train. The 3rd floor of the hotel was being remodeled so that's the floor the put us on. There was no toilet on our floor. You can imagine my surprise when I opened my computer and I found a Wifi signal. We ate sardines and bread for dinner. Everything was closed.

The bridge we could not cross.

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Portlandia on the right?

Kamaz driving home

Middle of Siberia. No one around. Heaven.

Not crossing this rock field.

Nice view from up here

Lookin good!

Nice wheelie!

Woops!

Amazing hotel.

Aug. 17. Chara to camping East of Khani. 198 km.


We couldn't get any food until 10:00 when the small shop opened. The cafe opened at 11 and they wouldn't sell us sausages baked in bread even though they were ready. Gotta love the reasoning. We can't help you out because that would be a nice thing to do. Russian hospitality is funny. Its either “I'm pissed off that you are trying to give me business or “I'll do anything to make sure you are happy”. There seems to be no in between. The fuel in Chara is located in “Old Chara” near the airport. This is about 17 km from the hotel. On the way to “Old Chara”, Kim rand out of fuel so I gave him all I could afford without running out myself. The next 100 km or so was very fast gravel. Dusty but fast. Then we got into some construction as we climb up into more and more mining activity. For a large distance railroad workers were laying a 2nd track. There was even a brand new bridge that replaced a bad water crossing. We ate lunch near the river and got the lines wet. I caught a few small char but nothing worth keeping. A small shop in Khani had fresh tomatoes onion, carrots and garlic. I was just going to get a coke but I decided it would be good to surprise the others with a fresh cooked pasta sauce We had 1 difficult river crossing 2 km from Khani. The water was moving very fast and it took all 3 of us to walk the bikes across 1 at a time. This slows the average pace greatly 10 km further we came to another crossing that we wound need to ride the bridge. There was a salty old Russian dude on a 125 Minsk there waiting for a train also. Very cool guy. He was on his way to do some fishing and he would show us a good spot but we decided to camp on the other side of the river. Camping near the tracks is quite easy when there is a loud river. You drown out all noise when sleeping. We had a great fire that night and a great meal. The moon was full for our enjoyment.

Snow behind Kim

Sounds like "magazine"

Looks a little small Kurt.

Nice night

Aug. 18. To camping east of Yukatali. 176 km.


We started the day fixing Kim's shifter He bent it on a tie crossing the RR bridge the night before and didn't realize. This would be the 1st of 2 times we would bend his shifter back into place that day. The land here is either rocky in the hills or swamp. If you go off the road you find water. We many small river crossings and RR bridge crossings to get to the Olyokma bridge. This bridge was crazy. It is close to 500 m long and the track is mounted to concrete plates. You can ride pretty nicely just to the left of the rail where you would normally be riding on ties. The guard said we could go after the train so that's what we did. I went first and rode across standing up. Kurt went second and made it across no problems. I was looking back at for Kim but it looked like he wasn't moving so I started back across the bridge on foot. I thought it looked like his bike was tipped over so I started running. I was now out of breath and out of adrenaline when I got to Kim. Right when he got onto the concrete ties he had a hiccup and tipped the Dakar into the guardrail It was laying horizontal to the ground because there was a drop before the walk way so the handlebars didn't hit. We counted to 3 and tried to lift the beast. Wouldn't budge. The mirror was getting caught so I unscrewed it quick. 1. 2. 3. GRRAAAAUUUUMMMFFFF and up. I said “Kim, you alright? You going to be able to ride it across?” “No. can you?” Not really what I wanted to hear but it was no time to eff around. We didn't know how long we had until the next train. I hopped on the Dakar and started riding. I didn't stand up this time. Instead I let my right foot slide along the rail and I leaned my head to the left so I could see past the wind screen. When I got to the other side Kurt yelled at me for not wearing my helmet. It didn't even occur to me that I wasn't wearing it. When the bike hit, Kim's hand was pinched between the bars and the railing. He said he thought it might be broken but it turned out it was just bruised some. His glove would need some repair later We got into Yukatali late in the evening and found a store. While I was in the store a group of kids decided it was a good idea to sign my motorcycle. In Russia 4 or 5 times I noticed new writing on my bike that was not there earlier. It was quite funny. We rode about 10 km east to camp next to the tracks. We drank beer and made a few greyhounds that night. Everyone was ready to get a small buzz going.

Fixing Kim's shifter and trying not to get destroyed by mosquitoes

Igor and Anna These guys gave us food. We met them a few days earlier at the Kuanda river. 

Kids tagging my moto in Yukatali

Aug. 19. To camping south of Lopcha. 202 km.


We had to backtrack into Yukatali to get fuel. We had a hell of a time finding it. When we did we bought fuel in 5 gallon jugs. The price was about 40% higher then the normal price we were paying in most of Russia. On the BAM the price of fuel was usually only 10 to 20% higher. Supply and demand. He had us. And we payed it. It was still cheaper then fuel in Turkey, the UK or much of Europe. All day and most of the previous the BAM crosses back and forth over the Olyokma or rivers that flow into it. The river has large slow bends that twist through the hills. There was only 1 major RR bridge crossing to do. Soon we were in the town of Lopcha stocking up on food and beer again. We camped in a swamp about 10 km south of town. The mosquitoes weren't so bad because it got cold quickly. There were piles of small treas cut and left to rot so firewood was abundant. We had a raging fire for a few hours before going to bed.

Part of MIR?

Gotta look before you leap

Getting deep

Someone doesn't want us to cross this RR bridge.

Aug 20. To Tynda 181 km

The ride into Tynda was quite fast. Not as fast as I wanted to go. It seems the other KTM in our group was fine riding 60 km/h on gravel that 100 or 110 felt safe on the 690. Mid morning again I got a familiar chug in the motor so I pulled over. I knew what it was. This was the 5th time now. Broken low voltage coil lead. I had it fixed in about ½ hour and we were back on the road. We made it into Tynda in the afternoon and found a hotel. This would be the last night together so we traded media and stories. We ate some decent Uzbeki food and drank beers. We didn't make it to the famous Tynda clubs. I need to leave a few things in Russia left undone so I have reason to return.

AMy last BAM picture

And finally, part 3 of the video.