Can a Harley make it to Magadan?

[RedRocket]

Thanks for update Doug! A good one, too.

[PaulGir]

Originally Posted by TallRob

Doug, the reason the they have low air pressure in the plane is usually due to airframe age...Its a simple way to keep older planes flying and not have to pay for expensive repairs. You were gutsy to fly on that plane.

Ignorance is bliss

[MoBill]

Cheeps cheeps, do doo do-tadoo

[excTC]

Have finished reading the report up to date and wanted to say thanks for the commitment. I enjoyed it greatly and your writing. I have only done a bit of riding in Europe but am more inspired to add to it and call by The motohotel.

[rtwdoug]

So we landed in Vladivostok. Its my 3^rd time here. A lot is going on here, as there is some big asian summit next summer, and they are building bridges over the bay, and the road to the airport is being rebuilt. Of course that means the road is a total mess now. So we haggled over sharing a cab to town, which is about a ½ an hour away, & got a ride.
I had the cab drop me off near my friend Sasha’s house, where Poly has been impatiently waiting for me for about 5 days. I hadn’t seen her in a few months, so it was great to see her again. The next day, we start contacting the shipper about the bikes, everything is on schedule, the boat should arrive in a couple days. Poly has been doing a lot of siteseeing already, but she hadn’t seen several of the places I like, so we spent a couple days wandering the town. Ive spent a lot of time here waiting for boats to go to Japan & Korea, so I know the area pretty good.

We went down to the port, & visited a museum, where Poly told em she was my translator & they let her in for free. Hahaha
Some sites around town…..

[rtwdoug]

why is the tiger smiling?







The buses here are imported from Korea

[rtwdoug]

Then I took her to the local bike/car museum. This is a great place, & I have visited it enough now, to where the people that run it say OH! You came back again!

[rtwdoug]

[rtwdoug]

[rtwdoug]

Well, as all things Russian, the boat MAY get in this weekend, but we cant get the bikes until Monday.
Sasha, who is VP of the Iron Tigers MC, & Pirate, who is the Prez, invited us to go on a camping/fishing trip to the southern tip of Russia Island, to the south, on the Sea of Japan. So of course we went.

Pirate is a big importer of bikes, & ships them all over Russia. It’s a pretty good business.
We all got our gear together, & stopped to shop & stock up on the essentials (vodka & beer) oh, and cooking stuff. No need for food tho, as we will be catching fish (we hope)
Its about an hour & a half boat ride to the tip of the island









Finally, we get there. Long rough ride on a zodiac

[rtwdoug]

We set up camp





There were 7 of us, Pirate, Sasha, Nikolai, Gena, & his son.
So we headed out to go fishing
The flounder were biting pretty good



And Poly caught some bait…..


After we caught a pile, we came back to do some cooking. Gena is a really good cook

[rtwdoug]

Pirate did some snorkeling, the water here is crystal clear. He found a sea cucumber. They claim they are edible, but we all passed on trying it.






Then when it was dark, we went out after some squid. I’d never fished for those before. Poly stayed on shore, as she was tired of the bobbing boat. So was I, but I had to try it some more.

Squid jigs


It was fun, & we all caught several. So were out in the sea of japan, bobbing in the waves, & for some reason (beer maybe?) Gena was sitting on the edge, & fell in!
The other guys were looking away, but I saw him, & grabbed him & his pole, but I couldn’t pull him back in. The other guys saw the commotion, but started laughing so hard they were no help. Gena was laughing also. The waves were several feet high, & holding onto him almost pulled me over also. Finally the guys helped drag him back in. And I didn’t drop his fishing rod either J
Sometimes it sucks to be the sober guy.
It was funny tho, but all I could think about was sharks & shit like that. It was windy, & he was cold, so not long after, we headed back to camp with a good pile of squid.

The light to attract the squid


And our catch

[rtwdoug]

Gena cooked the squid for breakfast. I’ve never been much for it, but it wasn’t bad



Poly & I went snorkeling, & the guys went out after crabs

I found a lot of critters



And the guys got us some crabs for lunch







Sasha

[rtwdoug]

Then we headed back, to get to town by dark. It got cloudy, but didn’t rain.

[Treadless]