Sibirsky Extreme 2012 - The Toughest Ride of Them All

I feel like it's Christmas in January - the next chapter of the ride report is falling into place.

Just watched it. Jesus. :eek1

Mad, bad and seriously dangerous...... Dead's forever.

I suppose it's about confidence, and truth is I haven't got it in those quantities-but I still take my hat off to him.

I remember when I showed a pic of the Vitim bridge to a certain "Murkin" friend of our mutual acquaintance he replied..."jeez...can I just crawl across and pull the bike over on a piece of long rope...

Yep, that's Iker, the craziest guy I ever met

Hi Walter. Are you sure about that figure? When we weighed my crate before loading to go to Kazakhstan, it was 305kgs in total...still 40kgs lighter than any other crate though and that was a DRZ400

The bike had fuel and all my stuff was in the crate, but that is a large difference.:huh Maybe it had something to do with the MDF the crate sides/top was made of ? Not sure if that is heavier than 'real' wood.

Thanks for the nice words Walter, but it is more you guys to honor than me. The BAM would never happen to me if it was not for Erik and Geir in the first place which invited me to come along. And second that we later met you and Terry in Irkutsk and invited us to come along. I was sitting home planning my trip and dreaming of the BAM road and the Road of Bones, but doing that without any experience and solo was just out of the question! And here I was, finding myself in a position where the dream was about to fulfill :) Thank you guys!

Maybe this question has been answered already (if so, apologies for the 205), but what kind of toolkit are you guys lugging around, and where do you put it?

Great pictures

Well depends on the construction or if its plywood or what ... certainly they can be a lot heavier than that. This mob in the States makes motorcycle crates from wood that weigh 377 lbs (171 kgs) http://www.crateoutlet.com/blog/tag/motorcycle-crate/. So it varies on the topside for sure.

Factory shipping crates just use cardboard for the sidewalls and top and have no base plate - just a frame for the forklifts. Some use lightweight 3 ply, while like the guys listed use solid sheets for the walls and base. So on the top side there is a lot of variance to the weight. But the bases have to be solid as they are moved around by forklift, so there is only so low the weight can go and still be affordable. But you definitely dont need a wooden sheet for the walls, or top or even for the base (as mentioned OEM shipping crates have none of those) ... unless they are being stacked. Your guys must have crated them pretty solid.

Terrys was 246 kgs and mine 250 kgs I believe. I just averaged them to call it 248 kgs each. We had no tops or sides on our boxes, just framework.

If you haven't read the ride report from the Tokyo to London adventure, you owe it to yourselves to do so. Its an amazing trip and something you can't stop reading. Any of us that have ridden for a lifetime have been through a lot of stuff, good and bad, but few have experienced what these two guys did back in 1994. Check it out.

Thanks again Walter and company for taking us along on the ride!

Bob

Mike's crate was pretty solid. And needed to be stacked for transport.

It appears that MDF is also at least twice as heavy as equivalent plywood.

Iker and Walter.
From: http://www.motostrail.com/vb2011/showthread.php?27832-Euskadi-Siberia/page104



Your translators might help...

"Unos cientos de kilometros despues de Irkuts y poco antes de abandonar el asfalto, veo aparcadas fuera de un bar dos BMW, una gs800 y una gx-challenge. Anda!! Es la moto de Walter Coletbach pienso, de hecho sabia que andaba por aquí, paro y entro al bar a saludarles. Al acercarme a las motos, me doy cuenta que no es la de Walter, esta tiene piezas de carbono por todos lados y la otra tampoco va mal preparada. Son dos Noruegos están comiendo algo, me dicen que han quedado con Walter y con dos compatriotas mas en una turística isla en el lago Baikal. Van a grabar un programa para la televisión publica Noruega sobre la BAM y la BONES, van sobrados de pasta y de medios, a parte de contar con el mejor guía posible, Walter Coletbach. La verdad, no me gusta nada como me hablan, cuando les digo que yo también voy hacia la BAM y la BONES. Tu solo con esa moto tan grande? Me dice uno mientras mira mi cargada princesa a través de la ventana. Pero tu, sabes lo que es la BAM? Y el VITIM? El Vitim hay que cruzarlo andando, me aconsejan. Hay muchos puentes peligrosos y muchos ríos sin puente, me dicen entre otras cosas, siempre mirándome por encima del hombro. Bueno, si me pasase algo o no pudiese continuar, vosotros venis cuatro o cinco días detrás de mi, os esperare por allí, les digo con una sonrisa. Ellos no rien demasiado y se hace el silencio. Puede que no debiera haberlo hecho, pero estaba furioso, después de despedirme cortésmente y saliendo por la puerta me detengo, me giro y les digo con una sonrisa pero serio: Pienso a cruzar el Vitim en menos de un minuto. Arranco mi princesa y salgo del parking del Bar levantando rueda, continuo asi unos cuantos cientos de metros, jode!! Me han puesto furioso!!! Antes de bajar la rueda delantera ya se me ha pasado la mala leche, de hecho, mientras voy a una rueda ya estoy sonriendo."

A kind of translation.



A few hundred kilometers after Irkuts and shortly before leaving the asphalt, I see parked outside a bar two BMW, a gx-challenge and a gs800. ANDA! It is Walter Coletbach's bike I think, indeed I knew he was around here, stop and enter to the bar to greet them. As I approach to the bikes, I realize it is not Walter's, this one has carbon parts by all sides and the other isn't either baddly prepared. They are two Norwegians and are eating something, They tell me that they have been with Walter and two more compatriots on a touristic island in Lake Baikal. They are going to record a program for the public Norwegian television about the BAM and the BONES, with plenty of "pasta" and media, aside from having the best possible guide, Walter Coletbach. In truth, I don't like much the way they talk to me when I tell them that I'm also going towards the BAM and the BONES. Just you with this big bike? One tells me while watching my Princess charged through the window. But do you know what is the BAM? And the VITIM? The Vitim must be crossed on foot, they advise. There are many dangerous bridges and many rivers without a bridge, they say among other things, always looking at me over their shoulder. Well, if something happens to me and can't go on, you'll come four or five days behind me, I'll wait you there, I say with a smile. They do not laugh too much and silence is made. Maybe I shouldn't have done it, but was furious, after dismissing me politely and leaving through the door I stop, I turn and say with a smile but seriously: I'm intending to cross the Vitim in less than one minute. I start my Princess and leave the parking lot of the Bar lifting the front wheel, so continue for few hundred meters, fuck! They made me furious! Before lowering the wheel, the bad mood had gone, in fact as I go in one wheel I'm already smiling"

great report, can't wait for more BAM

and this guy Iker, wow, I mean WOW!!!, YIHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!

Just to get the proportions:
small Basque and his bike some kilometers before Chilchi

.

To be fair ... I think Steve and Erik didnt realise what kind of rider he was and how well prepared he was. Its not like you normally see a guy in the middle of nowhere with an optimistic plan and think well he is probably a Dakar rider and 8 time motocross champion so we shouldn't worry. I think they were more worried to ensure that the guy knew the risks before he charged in. Obviously I wasnt there, so am speculating. But I guess. they didnt realise he was serious and had really done his homework until he pulled the wheelie till he was out of sight. Bear in mind, a Basque talking to a 2 Norwegians in English in Siberia is going to be subject to occasional misunderstandings.

I believe they invited him to come to Olkhon and spend the night with us, but I understand unfortunately Iker was very short of time and had to rush onwards.

I'll give the translation a go as it adds to the story. Sounds like you were a bit skeptical. The Spaniard has some conjones that's for damn sure.

So he goes into the bar and is hoping to see Colebatch, and finds the two Norwegians eating something.

--------------------------------------------------------

I do not like how they respond when I say that I'm going to the BAM and BONES.

"Your alone with that big bike?" He says while looking at my 'princess' loaded through the window. "But you know about the BAM? And Vitim? The Vitim must be walked across, trust me. There are many dangerous bridges and many rivers without a bridge"

They said other things, while looking over my shoulder.

"Well, if anything happens or not I will continue, You come four or five days behind me, I'll wait over there," I say with a smile.

They do not laugh too much and there is silence. Maybe I should not have, but I was furious after politely saying goodbye and out the door. I stop and turn and say with a smile, "but seriously, I think I'll go across the Vitim in under a minute." I start my princess and I leave the parking lot of the bar while pulling a wheelie, I continued a few hundred meters, fuck! I was furious! Before lowering the front wheel I stopped being pissed off, in fact, I was wheelieing and smiling.

"And it's the last time we do it your way... You great poof!"

He is seriously good with a beer glass too !

After those lunchtime beers with Colebatch he linked up with me (Colebatch had an urgent parts matters to resolve with Boris ) to go and get his bike out of airfreight at the airport.

Having done that, Iker and I did a brief tour of some of Moscow many hot-spots, ending up at this favourite of mine until well after 2am when I faded.
http://theinternationalpotatoe.wordpress.com/2011/10/19/bourbon-street-naked-girls-and-live-bands/


Quite a Guy.

FYI- If you load up his blog w/Google Chrome it will ask if you want to translate from Spanish to (your language choice)
however I've not seen a translation for U-Tube flix.

And yes I agree, Iker Iturreg is one crazy Mammy Jammer for sure.

Thanks for taking us along w/Y'all, always interesting.
Pudge

Iker. ... Hell of a guy. Hell of a rider. Fond memories of our time in the Pyrenees a few years back. On and off the bike.

I'm not surprised he pulls a stunt like that. Real daredevil with great riding skills.