Sibirsky Extreme 2012 - The Toughest Ride of Them All

Oh no, it's coming to a close. Now what will I do with my time? Work?

Cold and wet = miserable. Cold and wet X many days = unbearable. I don't blame you guys one bit. Thanks for the ride.

Erik, Steve, and Geir.....please continue when you have time. I am really enjoying your point of view on everything from bikes and equipment, to the roads and food.

Walter.....bummed you're packing it in. Don't blame you a damn bit. it's cool to think how many people know you in the world, and how many people are following in your footsteps. Thanks for being an inspiration.

Terry, you're just a bad ass, man. Going to miss you pov, as infrequent as it was, it was always full of wisdom and funny shite. Thanks....hope when I grow up, I'll be just like you.

I'm sure that you can use air in a shock for a temporary and probably for a permanent fix. I have owned air planes for 22 years and just sold my last plane. We prefer to use nitrogen in the shock struts, but air is OK, especially if it is dry air. The main reason for nitrogen is if something can get really hot, like in the tires of a jet where oxygen can be a bad thing. The main reason for not using air in the struts is that air compressor air may have moisture in it which could cause internal corrosion. However, if it is an emergency fix, air will be fine, it is, after all, 78% nitrogen. So, if you had seals and the skills to fix it, and a high enough pressure air compressor, that would do the job to finish the trip.

I have really enjoyed this story and Walter's other trips as well. Really good stuff.

It is amazing how the phone signal is available in such remote places. Even here in States you can be left without any service in many, not even that remote areas.

A heat-treated aluminum rim should never be heated to ease knocking it back into shape. As Steve now knows: It'll be tough as butter once that's been done to it.

A big hammer and a suitable piece of hardwood are your friend. Softwood won't work. You need a solid chunk of hardwood. Don't be afraid to use a sledge-hammer.

It ain't a job for the timid.

Dont worry, they will. This ride report goes to Magadan !

I found mobile phone coverage in Russia brillant and lots of 3G, even the little town where we met Walter had 3G phone service. Much better than the US (with T-Mobile anyway).

Terry. That pic of you still smiling at the end even when all wet and covered in mud says a lot about you...I doubt a better Wingman could be found....

Thanks from all of us.

If adventures are events that you want to have then it is no longer an adventure when you don't want to be there any longer.

What a trip, what a great report and what a good thing that there were still three en route.

I hope that at the end of the report Walter & Terry chip in with planned mods and fixes for the problems encountered. That applies especially to the bar fixing issue. Do you think that you load the bars a lot or is it just a design flaw on the riser set up used?

HI Walter,
Awesome RoR as always. Just started the reading it 2 days ago.

Not sure if you already answered it - Whats the dust and water resistance of Dashboard mounted GPS Units , once the bikes are droped in water etc..?

Before I met Geir outside my job last summer, my biggest motorcycle adventure was a day ride of 450km. My craziest wish was to go solo to North Cape in 2014, on paved roads!
Then I read Geir and Eriks blog, followed them on their spottracker and started dreaming.
Later I start reading this RR.
Now my Magadan panniers, pivot pegz and spot has arrived. More parts is in order.
This summer I sure will follow some of my dreams.

Thanks Geir, Erik, Steve, Walter, Terry, Rod, Pruster and Beemster for this excellent ride report and thanks for all the inspiration.


Sent from my Galaxy S3 using tapatalk 2

Montana is IP67 rated which means no dust can get into it and its waterproof for submersion in up to 1 metre of water.

Hey Andy. I never pretended-and still don't- to be anything other than a pussy. All the same...next time I see Mr Brown I can expect a serious ragging I'm sure.

HardwareGRRL.... You mention wanting to be like TB when you grow up..I think he'd agree the way to be like him is to be resolved NOT to grow up. Growing up is for...well...grown-ups!

These trips are maybe a way of stripping life back and shucking off the trappings of adulthood (these things we so wanted)-Homes with attendant mortgages, children, work pressures -all this work stuff that's SO IMPORTANT at the time and you're hurling yourself at the wall to make it happen-but it'll be forgotten in a year, paying the bills........ and allowing yourself to take all your pleasure-and motivation- again from just riding a bike in the wilderness, camping, smelling the flowers, having good people around you.

All you have to worry about is have you gas in the tank, food for tonight and a beer?-you're sorted.

I'd better get planning the next one!!

Growing up is mandatory.

Growing up is optional.

About 30 years ago my then GF got pissed at me one night and said "Goddamn you! You're going through a second childhood!" I just laughed and said "Yeah, isn't it neat?"

Don't ever grow up.

So there at the ferry on the Lena River and Walter and Terry had just told us the news that they will end their trip here in Yakutsk. Sad news. It is almost sad to split a good team and to say goodbye to friends. But I felt that this was something more even if we did not know each other for years did we get some strong bonding through our shared experiences.
I have learned to know Terry and Walter as very including and sharing persons. Walter is like a database of information about the region, he speaks Russian and he shares whatever he got. Either if it is information, help with anything or he has spare parts you need for your bike. It is so nice to follow in his tracks and he has inspired so many of us to take the step and to explore these areas. Thank you Walter!
Terry is another chapter. What a character and a great guy he is. Also sharing whatever he got and always a smile and a good comment whatever situation we found ourselves in. Thank you for some great moments Terry!

When we got of the ferry it was pitch black and we had to ride the last few kilometres in to Yaktusk in the dark. We stopped at the first car wash we found and got the bikes and the guys cleaned up. We thought that could be a good idea before trying to find a hotel for the night. I guess it is easier to find a place to stay if you don't look like a dirty miner.

In Yakutsk we found a hotel with a secure parking lot at the backside of the hotel. We parked the bikes and got ourselves some nice rooms. Jeff and Niall from Kudu expeditions stayed at the same hotel as us and we had a chat with them in the reception. It was friday night and we went out to take a couple of beers. Adrian Silindean, a romanian adventure rider which knew Terry from before was also in Yaktusk this weekend. He joined us for a couple of beers.
Adrian had just arrived Yakutsk after riding the Road of Bones. He had also ran into some problems at the old summer road - another story which I guess Adrian himself can tell if he want to share.

At Saturday we met Bolat in Yakutsk and he showed us around in the city and helping us to find some parts and equipement for the rest of the journey. We went into different markets and areas and found most of what we needed except a new rim for Steve. The rim on the F800GS were now in such a bad condition that it was questionable if it could do the road of bones or not. We had doubts about it and were a bit desperate to find a new rim. It would be to sad to give up here - just at the entry of the road of bones which had been in our minds for such a long time now.
The tyres we had ordered by express air freight from Moscow had still not arrived and should arrive Yakutsk on Monday.

We saw that Kudu expedition had a couple of spare 21 inch wheels for their Yamaha's which might fit. The hub looked completely different so we would have to replace the rim only and use the stock BMW hub and spokes. So I had to ask Jeff if there were any chance that I could buy one of their spare rims and see if I could make it fit my BMW. Jeff said OK you can buy one of the rims if you take the job dismantling it yourself. This was great news and making it possible for me to do a shot on the old summer road of road of bones. With the old damaged rim it could get us into big problems.
All of us, including Adrian, had things to fix on our bikes and we all did some work on the bikes in the hotel parking. Replacing worn parts, tightening loose bolts and just making an overall check that the bikes were ready for the next week of rough riding.

I started to take apart the rim and found out that there were some differences in the Yamaha and BMW rim. The spokes had different angles, they had a bit different crossing pattern of the spokes and the hole for the nuts around the rim had different diameter. So I had to go out and drill out bigger holes for all spokes to make them fit. Than I started to rebuild the wheels from scratch. I got some advice from Erik who had done this on several bicycles and the principles are the same. First I got all the spokes in the right place and took a couple of turns on the nut. Than another round of 5 turns on all until they all started to get tight. Than I tried to rotate and see if it was straight or if some spokes needed some extra adjustments. After finishing it up it actually looked very straight - this looked very promising!
Thanks to Jeff and Kudu expeditions for helping us out - this was important for making us confident to give the old summer road a real try.

A lot of good looking women in Yaktusk and we had a great celebration out on Saturday night. We ended up at a night club in Yakutsk till the early morning. I think we must have had a lot of fun - that is how it felt the day after. We were all pretty exhausted!

Monday and still no signs of Steve's tyres, but after a lot of phone calls and visiting the office for the shipping agent we finally got the tyres in hand. So when the rest of the boys visited the ice cave, Steve had to replace his tyres and getting ready for a early start tomorrow. Walter and Terry's bikes had already been picked up for transportation so this was definitive the last night with the boys.

Geir/Walter: guess you have more photos and stories to fill in here :)

I predict that this line will become someone's signature shortly...if it hasn't already!

Well put, Rod, well put. I think you have captured the situation most of us are in. This expedition and wonderful RR will inspire many of us, I'm sure, to do a bit of adventuring even if the scale of it is rather less than yours! Thanks so much again to all of the Sibersky Extreme team members for putting this report up.

This is to the point, Rod. Being on the road is easy compared to life at home. There you have to get the kids, work, pay bills, etc. etc... On the road you wake up in the morning and you have X km's to go that day. In between this you only have to eat and get gas. Then you find a place to sleep. Next day, same thing. You meet amazing and great people on the road.

It is a very nice and simple life which I love

The road from Tynda to Yakutsk took its toll on everyone. It was raining hard. The road was shait and it was cold. Maybe 6 C. It was slippery as h**l and the bike was all over the place. Fortunately I had brought with me my Klin electric heated vest. That was a winner. At least I wan't freezing my nuts off. The mud got everywhere and the engine got hot.




But Terry, Terry was smiling as always. What was going on inside of him he didn't show. He was just smiling and being a great motivator I admire him for that.




As said before, this is one of those days you question yourself "fhat the wuck am I doing here..."

Terry and I were introduced to a freight company by a local lady that had been helping out Kudu. They were going to freight our bikes back to Moscow for about 450 pounds each ...all crated up.

As Steve said, we also met Christian the Swiss cyclist and Adrian the Romanian biker in Yakutsk, and the two guys behind the Kudu expedition, taking all their bikes back to London in the back of a van.

Adrian took this foto of Terry and I do some fix-it things to our bikes while we waited to take our bikes to the freight people on the Monday



And of Steve's rim ...



And of the crew all huddled together to solve some problem in the corner.



I hope Adrian is out here reading this somewhere.

Bolot also took a nice picture of the gang, in the Hotel in Yakutsk

It was quite a shock for us that Walter and Terry decided to call it a day in Yakutsk. Walter announced this on the ferry crossing the Lena river. We did understand it though. They had been on the road for a long time and they drive hard. No vacation pace and time to smell the flowers there.

We tried our best to persuade them to join us to Magadan. Walter had been there before and lots of parts to pick up at Boris' place in Moscow He definitively wouldn't go.




Terry really wanted to go, but was pretty knackered from the trip and tired off the handlebars falling off all the time




We did though have a plan to try to turn Terry around. A few days of R&R would just maybe do it How could we motivate the old warrior? We figured that a night on the town would do it I will get back to this matter later...

The hotel was nice



And on Saturday the 11th of August we met Bolot. Bolot is a local guy from Yakutsk. He is very friendly and really helpful. He took the day of from the wife and kids and helped us get stuff. When he doesn't help foreigners on tour, he runs the Ask Yakutia web page. There you can find lots of info about the area.

We rented a cab and went shopping By the look on Adrian's face I don't think he quite realized what kind of a gang he joined




We got the stuff we'd set out to get. The better part of the day we did this.
Bolot, Erik, Terry and Adrian at the Chinese market in Yakutsk