Sibirsky Extreme 2012 - The Toughest Ride of Them All

[mario33]

Originally Posted by GSlite

Pierogi?

For those interested.

In Russian, Pierogi are kind of pies. Those are baked, not boiled. Those might be sweet or savoury.

Russian name for what Polish call 'pierogi' is either vareniki (little larger ones) or pelmeni (smaller ones). All of them are boiled. They are mostly savoury (cheese/onions, cabbage/mushrooms, various meats, spinach or whatever), rarely sweet (although my mother makes wonderful pierogi with all kinds of berries).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierogi

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Varenyky

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pelmeni

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyrog

[vintagespeed]

Rod's back! woot!


edit:

mario, thank you for the information! i'm going to try my hand at making some pelmeni. :)

[Adv Grifter]

Originally Posted by stemic01

The stage II of my journey from US, through Central America and to South America I bought myself a BMW G650Xchallenge with the hotrod tank and prepped up with the Magadan softbags. Oh man what a difference when you get off the road. This bike is just so much lighter and handles so easy compared to the F800GS (Which is just slightly heavier than the Sertao(?)). One person in our group had a F800GS and I saw that he had the same kind of struggle offroad which I had with mine. Now with my XC it was just so much more fun going offroad and I could keep more in control and balance on the dirtroads. On the asphalt roads the F800GS gives you more comfort and power, but while offroading this is a huge difference.

So if I were to do some heavy offroad stuff like BAM & ROB again I would definately recommend the XC or similar reliable lightweight bike. Rigg it and pack it to go as light as I can and with a set of waterproof softbags, some few comfort modifications (Seat, wind protection) and off course some major protection for vital parts like engine protection etc.

So my experience is the same as Walters recommodations!

Thanks for all the good info and comparisons.
Have you a Ride Report or Blog about your S. America trip?
Did you buy your X Challenge in Norway ... or in the USA? Ship to S. America .. or USA to start?
How did the X Challenge perform? Any problems?
What sort of bikes did other travelers ride down there? Did you meet any other riders along the Gringo trail? Did you split from your group? go on your own at all? How many months on the trip?

[MikJogg]

Originally Posted by ROD CURRIE

MY heart quailed..FFS...Dragon from yesterday's resto has a sister ...and she's even uglier and hates me even more.

OK. I ordered some food-I thought I was getting chicken and fries..but I got chicken and potato mash and no tools. WTF am I supposed to fuckin' do...lick it off the plate? Off I went back up to the counter and mimed the necessary.

Great story Rod,will wait for more...

MJ

[agentsteel53]

Originally Posted by Colebatch

I guess the Chinese dont do adventure motorcycling yet,

this is interesting - the question is: why not? also, what about adventure motorcycling in China? there's gotta be some great tracks to be had there, but I've noticed a serious absence of China adventure reports on this forum.

is it a matter of the political climate being restrictive against overland travel, either by Chinese residents or foreigners? something else?

[Colebatch]

Originally Posted by agentsteel53

this is interesting - the question is: why not? also, what about adventure motorcycling in China? there's gotta be some great tracks to be had there, but I've noticed a serious absence of China adventure reports on this forum.

is it a matter of the political climate being restrictive against overland travel, either by Chinese residents or foreigners? something else?

Well yes ... Its politically very restrictive ... so much so that you basically cant take your bike there. They dont recognise foreign drivers licences or foreign registration. You kinda have to get chinese licences and registration and you need to have a guide escort you around the country ... a guide in a jeep that costs hundreds of dollars a day. So its a huge administrative nightmare.

Russia is more normal. If you have a foreign drivers licence, they allow you to ride with that in Russia, if you have foreign registration they recognise that too.

China doesnt do any of that ... it just plays uniquely by its own set of rules.

If you lived in China and could get Chinese licences and registration then it would be much simpler.

[agentsteel53]

Originally Posted by Colebatch

If you lived in China and could get Chinese licences and registration then it would be much simpler.

then the question is... where are all the Chinese ADV riders? if there's a demand for expensive watches, then surely there must be one for dual-sport motorcycles.

or are they out there, doing awesome rides, and we don't know about it because

a) foreigners don't go to China and meet Chinese adventurers (seems probable given the bureaucracy)

b) Chinese folks don't post ride reports on a mainly-English forum because of a language difference (no idea how much English people learn in China)

c) it's too tough for a Chinese citizen to do an ADV ride into, say, Mongolia and Russia (complete conjecture; dunno how the regulations are in this regard)

it would be interesting, and a bit sad, if there were two non-intersecting worlds of ADV riders.

[mario33]

There were a few moto trips to China from Poland alone last 2-3 years. AFAIK Sambor is planning TWO 'commercial' trips leading into Western China this year: http://en.advfactory.com/tours

Here's some footage of his last trip (just speed up initial mumbings):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...&v=8aDhHVLWTP0

I believe one potential reason for lack of info is.... Chinese blocking Internet access to their citizens. they do it to almost all significant services. In fact there's almost separate www available in China, controlled by authorities.

[Colebatch]

Originally Posted by agentsteel53

then the question is... where are all the Chinese ADV riders? if there's a demand for expensive watches, then surely there must be one for dual-sport motorcycles.

I disagree

Just cause they have money, doesnt mean they want to ride motorcycles through the mud.

If you look somewhere like Kazakhstan, where the population is about 50% Kazakh, 35% Russian ... All the guys with crazy money are ethnic Kazakh. The police, govt officials, immigration guys, customs guys are all ethnic Kazakh. Yet almost none of the bikers from Kazakhstan are Kazakh. The bikers are almost all from the 35% of the population that is ethnic Russian. Ethnic Kazakhs want to drive new air conditioned land cruisers and have a cushy government job. The Russians in Kazakhstan are happy being engineers, mechanics, entrepreneurs and riding motorbikes.

Despite a similar political environment for the last 100 years, the cultural ambitions of the two main ethnic groups in Kazakhstan are very different.

If Kazakhs prefer a government car and have no interest in motorcycling (despite making good money), then its very possible that a huge country like China with its own cultural momentum and no real dirt biking or adventure travel background is going to embrace adventure motorcycling. If culturally they dont get it, or culturally its not cool to them, then its just not going to happen.

[ComfortablyNumb]

Is it just me or does Iker not sound just like an older Speedy Gonzales (bugs bunny cartoon fame) when he is crossing the bridge? aribaa

[sion]

China ride reports:

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=588361

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=492852

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=456465

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=759567

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=690667

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=655066

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=614181

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=486945

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=668622

[Beater]

Originally Posted by Colebatch

I disagree

Just cause they have money, doesnt mean they want to ride motorcycles through the mud.

If you look somewhere like Kazakhstan, where the population is about 50% Kazakh, 35% Russian ... All the guys with crazy money are ethnic Kazakh. The police, govt officials, immigration guys, customs guys are all ethnic Kazakh. Yet almost none of the bikers from Kazakhstan are Kazakh. The bikers are almost all from the 35% of the population that is ethnic Russian. Ethnic Kazakhs want to drive new air conditioned land cruisers and have a cushy government job. The Russians in Kazakhstan are happy being engineers, mechanics, entrepreneurs and riding motorbikes.

Despite a similar political environment for the last 100 years, the cultural ambitions of the two main ethnic groups in Kazakhstan are very different.

If Kazakhs prefer a government car and have no interest in motorcycling (despite making good money), then its very possible that a huge country like China with its own cultural momentum and no real dirt biking or adventure travel background is going to embrace adventure motorcycling. If culturally they dont get it, or culturally its not cool to them, then its just not going to happen.

Interesting. It seems to me to be a bit of ... pardon the saying ... but 'nuevo riche' syndrome. Anyone who (and whose culture) first tastes money, seems to want to spend it on luxury. Those cultures who have been through that cycle (in recent memory) seem to have a bit of wander lust. I can completely understand it.

Very interesting perspective. Thanks for that.

[DyrWolf]

I dont think its that complicated. I think maybe they just cant touch the ground from a 650 Adventure bike. Sorry bad joke

[agentsteel53]

Originally Posted by sion

China ride reports:

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=588361

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=492852

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=456465

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=759567

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=690667

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=655066

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=614181

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=486945

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=668622

just what my employer needed

thank you! gonna read through these.

thank you Walter, as well, for your comments. indeed, cultural factors weigh heavily - look at the statistically improbable representation of Poland in the ADV community.

[JackJack]

Originally Posted by DyrWolf

I dont think its that complicated. I think maybe they just cant touch the ground from a 650 Adventure bike. Sorry bad joke

Occum's razor again reveals the truth. I am the same height as your average Chinese person and my feet dangle from every dual sport except a couple of the 250cc bikes. Plus for many years previous, there weren't many paved roads or privately owned modern cars in China...so maybe the Chinese have had enough "adventure" while riding their motorcycles in the mud, snow, dirt, heat, cold, etc.