Criminal
04-04-2004, 10:30 AM
http://travelezine.20m.com/siberia.htm
http://travelezine.20m.com/oxcarts.jpg
(From the website)
We had already made one trip by motorcycle through western Russia, a story we told previously. For our second trip to Russia we thought about seeking sponsors, but one experienced person told us sponsors demand a lot and really do little for you. We wrote to BMW NA, and asked anyway. Even a letter from them might prove helpful.
They wrote back claiming they had few resources and what they did have they could allocate only on safety programs. It was not until a year later that we learned they had decided to sponsor "The Battle of the Legends" race and later axed Reg Primore and the only real safety program they had called "The Class."
Having a sponsor might have been helpful as we lacked four major qualifications. Although we had canoed in the Arctic, we had never undertaken a long and dangerous motorcycle trip. We had no mechanical abilities. We had no linguistic abilities, we didn't speak Russian. We had never been off-road with a dirt bike. We would have to learn the hard way. Further, since we were not rich, we couldn't buy our way out of trouble and we were not young enough to rebound quickly from disaster. Our children were grown and the only obligation we had was to finish the trip by the time our vacation ended. We found that this meant we could never stop to enjoy ourselves if we wanted to return home on time and not lose our employment.
There were many obstacles. One was getting the BMW to Magadan from Oregon. Alaska Airlines had recently begun flights from Anchorage, but it was for passengers, not cargo. We found a boat on which to ship the motorcycle, but then were told by an air freight handler that he could send the motorcycle by plane, which we agreed to do. Later he told us he had made an error and could not air freight it as promised. By then the boat had left. The only choice was to air freight it the long way from Oregon to New York to Moscow and then to Magadan -- about three-fourths of the way around the world.. We were promised that it would arrive before us.
Another obstacle was obtaining permission to enter the Soviet Union and travel unescorted. We had done this on the first motorcycle trip into the Soviet Union, the previous year. We took an unauthorized trip into the Ukraine, Belorussia, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Russia and then into Finland. We wanted to travel alone across Siberia without paying large sums of money to the Soviet government.
During our planning, we were given the name of a Russian motorcyclist, Nikolai. We wrote and asked if he knew any possible route without loading our motorcycle on the Trans-Siberian railroad (as had previously been done by others because the southern road runs into a 800-mile swamp!). Nikolai wrote back and said he lived far from Siberia in Western Russia. He had tried the southern route, but had been forced to load his motorcycle on the train. We declined his offer to travel with us as we wanted to travel alone.
We flew to Alaska and then to Magadan in July. After passing through customs, we could not locate our motorcycle. It was "lost." We realized that if we waited for it to be found, we would become permanent residents of Siberia and good- paying jobs were scarce there. So, with reservations, we chose to see Siberia by joining a couple from New Zealand and their Canadian guide.
The arrangement with this group was to travel in a Russian-made van and an old Russian Army jeep. We drove the jeep. From Magadan to Khandya there is a famous truck route often seen on winter travelogues of Siberia. On this route truckers travel in pairs for safety. The roads are all dirt and cross many rivers, large and small.
http://travelezine.20m.com/oxcarts.jpg
(From the website)
We had already made one trip by motorcycle through western Russia, a story we told previously. For our second trip to Russia we thought about seeking sponsors, but one experienced person told us sponsors demand a lot and really do little for you. We wrote to BMW NA, and asked anyway. Even a letter from them might prove helpful.
They wrote back claiming they had few resources and what they did have they could allocate only on safety programs. It was not until a year later that we learned they had decided to sponsor "The Battle of the Legends" race and later axed Reg Primore and the only real safety program they had called "The Class."
Having a sponsor might have been helpful as we lacked four major qualifications. Although we had canoed in the Arctic, we had never undertaken a long and dangerous motorcycle trip. We had no mechanical abilities. We had no linguistic abilities, we didn't speak Russian. We had never been off-road with a dirt bike. We would have to learn the hard way. Further, since we were not rich, we couldn't buy our way out of trouble and we were not young enough to rebound quickly from disaster. Our children were grown and the only obligation we had was to finish the trip by the time our vacation ended. We found that this meant we could never stop to enjoy ourselves if we wanted to return home on time and not lose our employment.
There were many obstacles. One was getting the BMW to Magadan from Oregon. Alaska Airlines had recently begun flights from Anchorage, but it was for passengers, not cargo. We found a boat on which to ship the motorcycle, but then were told by an air freight handler that he could send the motorcycle by plane, which we agreed to do. Later he told us he had made an error and could not air freight it as promised. By then the boat had left. The only choice was to air freight it the long way from Oregon to New York to Moscow and then to Magadan -- about three-fourths of the way around the world.. We were promised that it would arrive before us.
Another obstacle was obtaining permission to enter the Soviet Union and travel unescorted. We had done this on the first motorcycle trip into the Soviet Union, the previous year. We took an unauthorized trip into the Ukraine, Belorussia, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Russia and then into Finland. We wanted to travel alone across Siberia without paying large sums of money to the Soviet government.
During our planning, we were given the name of a Russian motorcyclist, Nikolai. We wrote and asked if he knew any possible route without loading our motorcycle on the Trans-Siberian railroad (as had previously been done by others because the southern road runs into a 800-mile swamp!). Nikolai wrote back and said he lived far from Siberia in Western Russia. He had tried the southern route, but had been forced to load his motorcycle on the train. We declined his offer to travel with us as we wanted to travel alone.
We flew to Alaska and then to Magadan in July. After passing through customs, we could not locate our motorcycle. It was "lost." We realized that if we waited for it to be found, we would become permanent residents of Siberia and good- paying jobs were scarce there. So, with reservations, we chose to see Siberia by joining a couple from New Zealand and their Canadian guide.
The arrangement with this group was to travel in a Russian-made van and an old Russian Army jeep. We drove the jeep. From Magadan to Khandya there is a famous truck route often seen on winter travelogues of Siberia. On this route truckers travel in pairs for safety. The roads are all dirt and cross many rivers, large and small.