End ROAD OF BONES - Cold Mountain Road Russia

We had ridden 150 km from Tomtor and crossed the big river. Walter doesn’t tell me, but we actually still have a full day’s ride ahead of us.  It’s 3 or 4 in the afternoon by time we had crossed the river at Kyubeme and started the main road again.

He does tell me there is some of the most beautiful scenery of the whole trip coming up..  So what was all that we have been riding through for days?

I’m not all impressed with the state of the wood bridges on the maintained “main” road through this region!  But I do pop right over on them now with much less fear.

I’m getting more of an attitude not to worry about what I ride over.  If it looks bad, I give it more throttle and it seems to work itself out.  Momentum is my friend is what Walter says, and he’s right.

Before I would stop and look and try to figure out the best, safest or smartest move.. go too slowly, carefully and still screw up.. Now it’s just do it!

It’s been raining since we started the river crossing.  Not really an issue when you are drenched with cold river water, but it would be nice now that we are on the road to dry out.

By the looks of those clouds, it’s not going to stop raining any time soon.

I am really shivering. Actually it’s gone beyond shivering, I am SHAKING in a big way.  Big shakes.. so much I look at my arms moving up and down and wonder if that is for real??

I am using my heated hand grips up to 100% heat, but they are doing little good.

I do have a heated jacket, however, my tank bag, where I plug it in had broken at the very beginning on the gulag road.  I’ve been just strapping it on the back ever since.

On one of the many times Walter stops to wait for me a passer by stops to chat with him, as they usually do.  We are still in a part of the world where they don’t see many foreigners if at all.

They tell him the weather is good up ahead.  This blew me away what he said next.. “Sherri, see the clouds behind us, they look far worse than the clouds ahead of us”.  I look back and I look forward, then I look back again, and there isn’t the slightest bit of difference!  But he was dead serious! He’s either trying to talk himself into a positive outlook or trying to convince me so I can keep going. I wasn’t doing too good, but I ain’t that stupid!!

On top of my wet gear soaked through to the bone, I cannot put my visor down in the rain, because it fogs up so bad.  So open face, hit by rain constantly in my eyes, shaking uncontrollably… When is the next stop?

At this point he says, 250 km.. I think the look on my face, made a look on his face, and I knew I was in trouble.

He finally finds a bit of shelter from an old building his friend Arnaud had erected for a French movie.

We pull in and there is one little spot where I can add my heated jacket.  We rig a way for me to put the tank bag up front again, and I plug in.

It’s a huge relief to feel the heat starting up.. My clothes are still completely wet, but I was hoping for at least warm wet clothes instead of cold.

This is getting harder and harder.  The jacket is doing little good.  From what I can tell I have got it up to full power, as well as my heated hand grips, and my body just will not stop shaking…

This guy is doing it tough as well.

Crap, more water.. as if my feet had an option to get warmer before…

But yes, looking back at the photos now, it is beautiful country.  I really want to find a way to enjoy this!!

As hours and kilometres roll on, my breathing is changing.  I don’t know why, I have never experienced this sort of long term wet cold before.. I have had a good life, and have always had a way to warm up in the past.  Out here, there is no choice whatsoever, but to keep going.  Nowhere to stop even if we could.

I guess to describe my breathing, it was really big intake and really big out.  As if I had just finished a big run.. that was weird.. I’m just sitting on my bike.  Is it physical or mental?

I remembered a story in Australia, about a Mt. Everest Adventurer that got into trouble on his way down the mountain if I remember right.  He got so bad that his team left him for dead if they were to survive.

The most incredible story about survival I had heard and he said he made it through the blistery night in open environment all by himself by controlling his breathing through Yoga practice.

I tried to do this… for however long, and then I realized I was breathing big again.

How did that man do it through Mt. Everest temperature is beyond me!

We come to a big mountain pass.  Walter pulls me over and says to wait… he has been down this road before, and he wants to take photos, but he will go around the bend and up the road and wave for me when he’s ready.

This part looks okay but around the corner, I come into strife.  The road got way skinnier, there was a small river running through the middle of it, and with the crumbly sides and no protection, I was getting upset.

This is the one road, the only road through this part of the country.  So when I had to then tuck to the side to allow a fuel delivery truck past, the breathing picked up a bit and I stopped.  Walter came up next to me, saw my trouble and walked with me until I got past the bad bit.. There was this gully patch in the road, I took it too slow and I stalled.  Hardly able to move from the fear of falling off that crumbly cliff. I got the motor going again and made it to the end.. I was breathing so hard, I thought I might drop the bike.. So I pulled over, put the stand down and actually got off the bike… Walter pulled up next to me, and I didn’t want him to, because then I went into full on crying and hyperventilating at the same time.

It’s ridiculous, I am embarrassed.  I look at that road, and I don’t think it was any worse than any of the other tough bits we’ve been through.. Why am I breaking down??  I still don’t know, maybe from being cold and wet for that long, body temperature dropped enough to change my already minimal bravery levels??  My knees are knocking, by body shakes are turning into freaky convulsions..

But he supported me, and I thank him for that.  He is really patient with me and I feel bad because he is really cold and wet too.  Even worse than me, he forgot his heating jacket in England!

Who am I to complain??

So I get myself together and we go again.

Yay, I finally get a nice solid bridge to cross!!  So glad Walter got a photo of it, they are not common in this country so far!!  You can barely see me on the bridge, but I'm there.. ;-)

It is getting so late.. I don’t know what time it is, but it is getting darker and in this part of the world, it must be after 10 or 11 pm.

After many hours of being pelted in the face with rain, and a wet slippery muddy puddly road, I am using all my mental resources available to cope.

Finally we come across a few houses.  It is not the goal destination that Walter was aiming for.. but when he checks on me, I say I have to stop.   He says there is no accommodation, here not even a shop.

But I see a couple houses and there are lights on, can we at least ask?

A young man pulls up and they talk for a while, and I get the impression that there is nowhere to stay.

Walter says it’s only 80 km to go, and can we make it – with promises that the guest house there has a hot shower for as long as I want to take one..?  I said yes and we started on again.. until I did the figures in my head.. I am only going 40 km/hr.  That means it’s 2 more hours on this road and I honestly and truly don’t think I can make it.. It’s not smart, it’s been dangerous all day, but add another layer to it of darkness, already well beyond what I should have been doing.. So I just stop and say, “I have to find a way to stay here.”

We go back, he finds the same young man,, who then calls a lady out, and she agrees to take me in.  We park my bike in the shed, two more young boys pull up in a van, jump into the shed with me and just watch me unpack.  I wasn’t comfortable with this.. but what are my options??

Then Walter says, I’m going to leave you here and continue on.  What??  You are going to leave me here alone with these 2 young men in hunting clothes who are staring at me??? 

Yep – see ya!

He was cold and had just as bad a day as me, so I went into the house.  The boys had learned a little English from school.. I was dripping wet, I want to get out of my clothes.. they bring me a chair and shut the porch door.  “Chai?”  “Excuse me, Chai”?  Da!!(yes!!) I yell through the door.

I manage through my shaking to get my gear off and my other pack open for dry clothes.

All up it was a 500 km day soaked to the bone in freezing cold rain…

I come out and the boys are waiting right there at the door to escort me into the kitchen.. I was no longer afraid of them, they were truly just thrilled to have an English speaking visitor, and had many questions!

Mom (Anya), had made a big pot of  soup, she lays out the table with chai, soup, bread, cucumbers, tomatoes, sauces, cheese, and homemade baklava just coming out of the overn! It’s after midnight!  Are you all eating this?  She didn’t, but the boys did of coarse.. I would have loved to have more, but the soup was all I could do..

Turns out they still have a night ahead of them, there is a disco nearby and after they ate, they got styled up and left..  How weird is that?? I am in a little pocket of houses, with no accommodation or shops, but there is a disco? 

Anton, Anya’s son, gives up his room for me, and I go to bed.. I must have looked horribly pathetic, but I was darn grateful.

They ask me before they leave what time I will go in the morning, and I say 7.

Next morning, after nearly 5.5 hours of sleep, I am quietly packing up and putting my wet riding clothes on again, and I hear the alarm.  Young Anton, who went to the disco until 4, wakes up and makes me a cup of tea.. oh the guilt!! But what a good boy!!

We have tea together in the kitchen along with Anya’s homemade baklava.  I thank him and I go to my room to give them money.  He says no, It’s free.  I insist and pay.. They took in a stranger in the night, fed me so well, gave me big warm bed, and never have I been so grateful for that.  I get to the shed and ready the bike.  Anya wakes and comes out to see me off.  What a blessing these two were to me.. I got so much out of my short stay with them.  And that young Anton.. who gave me a whole stash of his mother’s baklava for the road... I could bottle him up and take him home!

Old Road of Bones Russia - River Crossing Part 3

I wasn’t looking much forward to getting on the road from Tomtor, because the road into town was so gravelly.. I didn’t like it.

But I was pleasantly surprised that the road was good for a really long time!  There had been a bit of rain, gravel was gone, and it was more like compacted hard mud.

Very easy, and I was cruisin’!!

Walter stops at one point to check on me and he says, “I am really impressed with your riding today Sherri Jo”.. I said, “Don’t be impressed with me, it’s a really nice road for once!”

He mentioned we have a rather large water crossing ahead.. the biggest one of all.. Why did he have to tell me that???

We arrive the river, and the big broken wood bridge.. Then it dawns on me, that is the vision I had in my head that defines the Road of Bones for me. Big river crossings with broken bridges.  I got this from the “Long Way Round” series, and even though I just skimmed through that series before leaving on this trip, I did see this part and remembered it clearly.  Ewan and Charley got a big truck to carry them across.

My biggest fear about this trip was water crossings.. particularly deep water crossings.  And I knew to travel with the “boys”  I must be able to do it myself.  I envisioned the others would be watching, but if I fell over in deep water, and my bike pinned me down would they get to me in time before I drowned?!!!!  Crazy thoughts, I know… seen too many movies..

But it turned out they boys cancelled, and it was just me and Walter.

So I ask Walter if maybe we should go back to the village and at least get a back up “male” person with more strength than me to have on stand by??

Walter wants to walk the river first - too see what we are up against.

He checks several different spots.. quietly going here and there.. for literally an hour.

The water current is so strong.  Difficult yet do-able in the shallow, but the deep part is a problem, and there is always a deep part..  How to hold the bikes up in the deep current and if my bike stalls, how the 2 of us will be able to push it out ourselves through the boulders.

He finally comes back to shore and I mention my idea of going back to that deserted village we passed (you know the one in Long Way Round where Claudio the cameraman gave up on the boys and took his sleeping bag across and slept in a defunct house?)

I saw a man on a roof as we passed by earlier, maybe he could be the “back up man?”

Walter says no, he can do this..

Okey Dokey!!  I know he knows what he is doing!

We are very lucky with low water levels this year.. 

He makes a decision where we must cross.

Wouldn’t you know, my bike goes first!  ;-)

First job however, is to take off as much gear as we can walk across.  This is my first trip across and now I really get to feel how strong that current is..  I am carrying an armful of gear, and deary me.. I nearly fell over often.. so now I know it's not just the bike when I go down next time..  

I love my Rukka gear, it is Goretex, but the water is coming in anyway, under the pants leg and into my boots.

I have big supersize motorcross boots with the best protection that go to the top of my shins.

They filled up immediately with super cold mountain river water.  These would be ideal for leg workouts in the gym!

Okay, struggle back across to get the first bike.

Walter jumps right on, ready to go… I think he’s pretty hyped up.  I am huffing and puffing, and wishing we could just take a minute.. ;-)  I'm usually good with energy.. and I used to tease Walter that he was slow on foot.  But on a bike, that sucker has all the energy in the world!  And completely reversed as I am the slow one..  I best not tease him next time he is struggling to walk up a hill... ;-)

Lets go!

My job is to be on the opposite side of the current to push against the bike to keep it from going downstream while Walter motors through.

He goes in well, but there goes the back end downstream.  I focus on pushing there, and then he goes again as the front end takes a turn downstream.. So up to the front I go.  Back and forth until we make it across.. Good news, the bike didn’t stall!

Whew!  I am pooped!  That was hard work.

My camera is well protected on the other side..  but I said to Walter I would like to film this.  He said that it’s common for the best things to photograph or film get missed because it takes everyone to help do the job and no one to hold the camera!

So back across the river in heavy water logged boots we go.. and start his bike up. He’s had a think about this photo opportunity, and says, after I help him get past the deep part, we should be safe for me to go to shore to set up the camera and then come back to help with the rest.

Same deal, the front end wants to wash away, so I push there, and then to the rear.  Once out of the deepest bit, I trudge my way to shore, and he yells out.. “Hurry Up, my battery is underwater!!”

I set my camera quickly on a log to film and head back.

He starts going before I get to him, and throttles right through to the other side.  Easy Peasy!!

He’s a Master!!  And made it look so easy in the process!  We crossed the river, completely unassisted, no men behind the scenes as he puts it.

I did end up posting the little clip on Youtube.

We didn’t get to film the hard parts, but it got recorded none-the-less.

And one very proud Walter Colebatch, as he deserves to be!! 

Waterlogged and cold, but happy to be on the other side.

Just up the embankment is Kyubeme, which is only fuel stop, and the official end to the Old Road of Bones! (They do have very creative fuel stations here..)

So there we go!  We survived the craziest most hazardous road I have ever been on!!

Big marks to Walter who was brave enough to take on this unpredictable road with a completely inexperienced off-road female rider.  He must like to set up his challenges to greatest difficulty levels!

Now, you’d think this would be the hardest part of the day.. Niyet.

We rode 150 km from Tomtor, crossed the big river several times with gear and motorcycles.. and we are back onto the “main” road.   You'd think this would be enough for one day??

Nope, it’s just the beginning….  and it gets worse..

Old Road of Bones (Old Summer Rd.) Part 2

I’m coming!!  That little spot headlight down the road, is slow Sherri Jo!

I’m slow, but I get there..  There are times where I can speed up, but I don’t get too crazy about it, as this road is completely un-maintained and unpredictable… There are serious hazards everywhere – and they love to surprise me!  Sometimes they have these little creeks, with wood laid out as a make shift bridge.  You don’t see it coming and when you pass over it, look down and it’s broken with this massive deep hole!  Plenty big enough for the bike forks to go down.

I was lucky to miss most of them.. I don’t know how honestly.. As each move I make on those roads is all over the place.  Trying to get the best traction on one side, or avoiding ruts on another side, etc etc.  The one big sink hole I did eventually hit, was an “Oh SH_ _” moment as it happened, but it was a rare moment in time that I was going rather fast, and bounced right over it.. Close call!!

Interestingly enough, they do have caution signs out there.  This road used to be maintained, but they built a new road around this stretch 3 years ago. It appears it’s been longer than that since they did any upkeep.

I am grateful for the little warning about the road taking a turn.. but why don’t they warn me about super size sink holes, or broken bridges!!

Walter says that once this last wooden bridge shown below goes, there won’t be anyone getting through the Old Road of Bones…  and it’s not looking too happy at the moment, it’s only a matter of time..  Only makes the trip and the struggle more special knowing that very few people in the world go there, particularly on a motorcycle.. and a kind of cool little knotch on the belt in personal history, knowing not many more will ever travel this road in the future…

I can not tell you how scared I was crossing this bridge. It was much farther down than it looks on film, and if there’s one thing I know, it hasn’t been checked by a safety officer recently!!  You can see from the icy blue/green color, that water is deep!  And moving seriously fast!!  I go slowly, having kiniptions all the way.. I think Walter is enjoying my panic.. In my mind, I wouldn’t dare speed up because like I said before, there could be broken bits and holes pop up, and if I fell over, I could go over the edge!!  This would look good in the movies, but we don’t have a camera crew and rescue helicopter on stand by….

Well I made it.. I was able to breathe again…

Along the road I came across a special treat, a little Road of Bones Reward..  Look at these gorgeous wild horses..!!

What I should’ve done was take a photo of their poo.. Traveling along, I saw these massive mounds of poo..  Looked like horse poo shapes, but little mountains of the stuff along the way..  I wondered, is that Elk poo?  Reindeer poo?  Moose poo?  I never considered it was horse poo due to the massive size of the mounds!  But then when we came across the horses and you see how fat and happy they are, I now understand..

In all of the wilderness we have been travelling, I have been surprised not to see any wildlife.. only birds.  I know our motorcycles make a noise enough to scare anything away, but when I have a little stop and look into a large valley, I have my eyes peeled out for any movement at all – nothing!!

So the horses made my day…

And then… to the next deep muddy puddle, Walter spots something..

Bear tracks!! So they ARE here!  Where??  Can I see one?  Everyone says, I don't want to see one.  But I do.  I can add that I don't want to see one up too close and ready to attack me, but that is just so unlikely... I think the sound of the motor as well as the horn would send it running.

Walter says he worries about bears all the time, particularly when he gets off the bike to take a photo.. He feels he is always looking over his shoulder.

I have to admit it is in my mind when I take a pit stop behind a bush, but in general, it’s not like a bear is going to be standing by the road waiting for a motorcycle to pass by so he can “SWAT!!” you down! 

We are seeing lots of interesting tracks now. Definitely large dog if not wolf tracks..  mud can be good for some things like seeing tracks, but I can’t say I like riding through it much..

We were even perplexed to see pushbike tracks!!  We saw them a couple times, but the road conditions change a lot and they were not consistent.

They looked fairly fresh, but we have definitely not passed any cyclists on this track, I think we would notice.

Road conditions start to improve considerably...  and then we start to see proper vehicle tracks. We’ve turned into such trackers, I think we could give Daniel Boone a run for his money!

Then we come up to a truck.. and people!!  What a sight it was to see people after all we had been through!  It hadn’t been but a day and a half  since we started the Old Road of Bones, but it felt like we had been on it for at least a week!

What a good looking family!  I was surprised at their appearance.  Walter explains to me later that these are Yakut people.. not completely sure of their origin, but theory suggests their ancestors were pushed north from the Genghis Khan era.

Walter has a good chat to them.. I notice the older boy is standing on 2 rifles, as if to hide them from us.  I ask Walter to ask them what they are hunting.  He said they denied they are hunting..

Hmmm, a family on a deserted road dressed in camoflauge.. just a weekend getaway??  Then we see Grandpa in the front seat, he has a large rifle too.  Maybe its protection to keep bears… away…??  ;-/

Car tracks become more and more frequent.  We must be getting closer to the village, the one and only village on the Old Road of Bones, Tomtor.

The road becomes pure loose gravel.  I’m not a fan of the slippery thick gravel.  And as cars begin to pass by, loose gravel coupled with not being able to see through the dust.. after such a long day, I am very ready to see a village, and hopefully we can stop.

Yes, first stop, fuel!  Then into town, we find a kind man who points us to a shop.  We wanted a café to get a nice cooked meal, but not going to happen.  Next to the shop was the café, but it has clearly been shut for quite a while.

The man comes into the shop with us, and is so friendly and curious!

Outside we are being watched by the local children..

  

They don’t get many visitors at all, let alone strange looking ones on motorcycles.  This village is the ONLY village on the Old Road of Bones.  Especially not visited since the new road goes around it.

We had no hope for hot food, but when Walter enquired about finding accommodation, the old man had the 2 boys on a bike take us to a house, where a lady had a key for another house we could stay in. 

And, wouldn’t you know, she was expecting us!!

She spoke of her call from Bolot, Walter’s friend in Yakutsk, hundreds of kilometres away.  He has been following the SPOT tracking service on my website and could tell we were getting close to Tomtor.

How amazing!!

And then for Bolot to know this lady and tell her to expect a couple motorcycles to pull into town soon.

We were so lucky, we have a large house to stay in with a kitchen and bathroom!  We bought some packet noodles, carrots and bread from the shop, I got an apple – an APPLE !!  In a northern Siberian village where there are no fruit trees to be found, and it was my favorite - Pink Lady!

The same kind man showed up at the front door, bearing fresh vegetables from his garden.: Tomatoes, cucumbers, parsley and chives. 

The first job however was to get clean before I could consider making a meal..

There is a bath tub here, but no hot water.  So I got every pot out of the cupboard I could find and filled them with water and started heating on the stove.  As well as the electric kettle. 

One by one, I filled a large bucket in the bathroom that I set in the tub.  Finally got enough hot water and another little pot with a handle to scoop it over my head.

This is my first wash since starting the Old Road of Bones after all the dirt from the bush fire, falling into mud puddles, long dusty roads…

I can tell you that bucket of water was very brown once I finished with it..  But I was clean (somewhat)!!  Hallelujah!!

Now, let’s make a meal!

My warmed the carrots and threw them into the packet noodle mix with fresh parsley, and chopped up the tomatoes and cucumbers onto my bread.

AND a nice big cup of tea.

Ahhhhh

Sorry not to be social, but all I want now is to go to bed.

I had a nice little bed in a girls room.

Fell asleep immediately as you can imagine.. but later on something woke me up.. 

The bed was shaking!!  Takes me a while to really wake up and determine it’s not a dream.. it kept shaking!  I started to get scared, then my brain started working and I figured out it was a small earthquake.  We are in quite a mountainous area, so when I worked all that out in my head, I just laid back down.  The shaking lasted quite a while, I was surprised.  But I did end up back to sleep.

Had a crazy dream.. I was in that room as is..  A young girl came in, and it was her shaking the bed!!  I remember she had short hair, glasses, and a cream covered childrens coat.  She said this was HER room and she had died here in 2001.  Hmmm, a ghost!

When I woke up the next morning, I had to think back and forth about that night.. Did I experience an earthquake or a ghost? Ha!  Doesn’t matter, either one is fine, I was just happy to have a bed and a wonderful home to stay in.

Walter says we have a big day ahead of us.. rest time is over.

He arranged to meet the lady who gave us the key at 9 AM. And they want to show us their town museum. 

No worries, it would be an honor to learn about the region I am travelling through!

Here’s a bear!!  They are a bit larger than I imagined…

This town holds a world record for lowest temperature recorded..  -71.2 degrees Celcius.

That’s pretty darn cold, but they say winter generally hangs around – 40 to -50..

So what surprised me was a list of people in the museum and the long lives they have here!  Sorry for the dreadfully dodgy photos, I was in a hallway and couldn’t get an angle..

I know that's a bit boring, but I just find it incredible that they have so many people in this little village that live in the Pole of Cold; who live off the land with very few modern conveniences, and they manage to live that long.  Whereas in our western world, we have so many amenities, making life warm and easy; as well as advanced modern medicine, and still most people struggle to get to their 70’s or 80’s.  I am really impressed with this culture!

We surely must hit the road.. but I do love this town!

It’s like no place I have ever seen.  I have never been this far north on the planet before, and a chance to experience how these people live is fascinating to me.  When I look at this village I imagine what it must look like in the deep snow..

On the way out of town, we take a quick photo opportunity by the monument of their very low record.

I just noticed that in relation to the globe on top, my bike is parked directly under Australia.. how did it know?? After a very nice morning, it is now time to begin the day…. And keep in mind, I am still not asking questions, and I have NO CLUE what sort of day is ahead of me…. it turned out to be one of the toughest days of my life…