I had a strange dream last night. In winter time I go mountainbiking now and then. In my dream I was riding in Oudenaarde in Belgium on a very muddy stretch and the bike was going all over the place… Was it a sign? The talk with the russians of last night had made me thinking at least!

Our clothes were almost dry, but not our boots. No big deal as we would have probably more rain today. One of the russian also said last night it would be sontse today, 100%. We went to have some breakfast first and check the weather.

It was really misty today, you could see maybe a few hundred meters far. The hotel was also situated in the beginning of a forest, so it was a nice atmosphere.

After having a nice blini breakfast we packed the bike. We met the local butcher and he gave us a nice bottle of fresh cow milk. I like milk a lot and it was really good.

We left the gostinitso and about after 500m the asphalt ended and the gravel started. It was actually nice, it was misty, there was the big forest, and it was not raining.

We followed the road through the forest and the road was ok. My dream was a bit over the top surely. After half an hour or so we got to the Lena river and there were nice rocks on the right bank of it.

We stopped at a small village which had a bridge over the river, and there was a sign to… Wait, was it Magadan? No it was Magdan, and it was 70km further. I was talking to a local guy in a lada at the bridge and Larisa made some pictures of the Lena river.

We followed the nice gravel road towards the town of Zhigalovo. We noticed some cows doing a rivercrossing 🙂

It was around 2pm when we reached the town of Zhigalovo. We are not quite the early birds anymore and we made plenty of stops. We filled up the tank and checked the map. Now we could take a rode back to the Transiberian highway or M53, or we could continue north towards the BAM road.

We stopped at a local cafe to discuss the plan. It was another 270km to the next town following a gravel road, but a worse one then the one we had in the morning. We didn’t actually talk about it a lot, and just rode on north.

We first rode through a few small towns, before we entered a vast forest. It is hard to describe how beautiful and big this is, I think you can only know if you are there yourself. Under the way we didn’t see too many people anymore, just an occasional truck driver and jeep.

After a few hours in the forest we saw an exceptional tank like vehicle. We stopped and had a chat with the two guys driving the tank. They told us they were looking for gas in the area. They also told us this place was full of bears so we should take care and not sleep here. I was actually planning to camp somewhere in the forest, but it became almost out of the question now.

The rode got a bit rough with many potholes and some muddy stretches. It was also getting later in the day. Near the evening we reached a post, with a guard dog and two security guys. It was a gazprom post, and you could not go in. They also told us not to camp here in the forest and to continue to the next town. Not only because of the bears, but also because of the water. If you watched closely next to the road, you saw the swaps.

Camping in bear area, you should know what to do. I know you should also keep your food separated from your sleeping place, hang it high in a tree 100m away from the tent. But what if you have a confrontation? We did not have bearspray and I was not armed. If you have the bad luck to meet an agressive bear, you should be armed or it can be game over quickly.

So we pushed on. Luckily the road improved, so we could increase our speed. The sun started to set, and it gave the most tremendous light over the forest. It was just amazing to watch, we both enjoyed a spectacular sunset. When it began to get dark we passed an abandoned town, with a truck graveyard. We were getting closer to civilisation now.

We had to do another 80km or so, but the last part of the road we could ride around 80kph. It was getting dark now and Larisa was already fearing that wolves and bears would be waiting for us on the road 🙂

We got out of the forest finally and it was a good feeling I must admit. We saw a sign now, to the left was Ust-Kut and Magistralnii, to the right was Severobaikalsk. You should go right here if you want to continue the western BAM towards Tynda. We were already heading home so we turned left to the town of Magistralnii. This was still 20km to go, but it was asphalt now.

Well at least it was asphalt for some 5km or so. It turned to gravel again soon. I heard by the sound that I was riding on big stones at times. Just before the town, we had to go under the rail bridge and there was a big pool. It seemed pretty deep. It was already 10pm and I didn’t want to walk it. So I just rode through it, but it was deep! Luckily the engine did not stall and we reached Magistralnii all ok.

Unfortunately we didn’t find a room right away, but we ended up in a small place run by an Ukrainian guy called mria. He was happy though to meet a fellow countrymen.

He gave us a good diner and bed, we slept like roses.

It had been raining again during the last night, so we decided to leave the island today. We wanted to go for a swim first on the beach at the shaman rock, but the water was really cold. It stayed to a little footbath.

We packed our gear together and left the hostel. The roads had already turned into mudpools. The main road, which was gravel, had some small streams in it now.

It was a bit more difficult to reach the ferry this time. So we arrived a bit soaked and cold. On the ferry we talked to some guys about the road further north towards Kachug, Zhigalova and further. They all said we should go back to Irkutsk and follow the main road. Hmm 🙂

After the ferry there was a stretch of gravel as well of about 5 or 10km which big splashes of water. When a jeep rode through it next to us, we were now soaked in a nice brown colour 🙂

I didn’t have enough of the offroad yet, and decided to follow a small road through the forrest instead of the asphalt road. After some miles it became really rudded. Ruts are difficult to get out, I finallly had to drop the bike to get out. Larisa was not too happy so we decided to go back to the main road.

It hadn’t stopped raining though. We were thinking the rain for the catastrophic area in the far east was coming here also. We reached Bayandai again and stopped for some food. Here it was decision time again. I wanted to ride a piece of the BAM but we needed to head home already, so what should we do? We decided to ride to Zhigalovo and see again from there.

The ride to Kachug was straightforward as it was all asphalt. I just had to be careful as there were many bumps in the road.

We arrived in the evening in Kachug and filled the tank. We saw the Lena river here for the first time. I was thinking before about finding the source of the river, but it seemed to deep in the forest. We stopped at the river to make some photos and moved on. At the end of the town we found a nice gostinitso called 3 sosni. There was a good cafe next door where we met russian guys.

They told us about the road from here more north to Zhigalovo. Appartently it had been raining here good as well and it was all gravel from here. On top of that a tractor had passed by today to scrape away the top layer, turning everything into a soap like surface. Were they scaring us or telling the truth? I had no idea to be honest.

I enjoyed the Zhigalovskoe beer and the food and we went to bed. We put everything on the floor to let it dry, because our clothes were soaked. Hopefully they will be dry tomorrow.

It had been raining during the night. No asphalt and a lot of rain, you can do the math. But it was still ok in the morning, just a bit slippery. We had the choices of going hiking or riding to the northest point of the island called mis choboi. Nikita told us the ride is ok, it just had a few difficult stretches which were soft sand and a bit mud through a little forrest. Of course we chose the second option, but first we put the bike on a diet. Wow, she looked almost like a dirt bike after removing the alu cases and ortlieb bag. It would be a fun ride today! After having the nice breakfast at Nikita’s we left to the north. The road was ok, there was some soft sand, but the rain had made it a little firm now. There were some muddy parts, but we stayed on the footpegs 🙂   At some point we reached a barrier which was closed, but we could simply go around it through the woods with the bike. Just behind the barrier the fun part starts with the soft sand. It was time for Larisa’s walk here 🙂 Then came the little forest which was fun as well, I felt almost like mountainbiking here. We saw a nice spot to stop, it was right next to a beach and a fireplace. Unfortunately we forgot to bring the Omul. After the forrest the landscape was even more beautiful. We kept following the road until we reached the end of the island where we found a meteo site and some boots sitting in the lake. We talked to a few guys here and they told us we could go back a bit and then turn to the right to get to the most northern point. So we did, and we found the point, it was easy because there were standing about 7 UAZ busses with tourists. One of them were germans and they seemed more interested in our bike then the point 🙂   We went to another point and did some walking here. We followed another route to go back to the hostel in the evening. It was really fun riding with the bike so light.

When we got back into Khuzir we bought some Omul and beers before going back to Nikita’s. After having a good diner and some beers we rested a bit and went to the banya in the hostel.

We left our hostel in Irkutsk and when getting ready we met two swiss bikers. They were heading for Mongolia and even further to China.

We had a little problem with my registration as it was not ready. For people flying in and out of the country it is not so important to register I have been told. But for overlanders this is more important as they can check it while crossing the border. We had to go to Hotel Angara to meet a lady from the local registration administration. The registration was done and even until first of September, nice bonus.

To be honest, the first and second time and Russia I didn’t care about registering. But now, as we stayed longer, it got more important, I guess.

We filled up the tank and left the city. Our goal was the famous island of Olkhon.

It was a nice asphalt road all the way to a crosspoint in a town called Bayandai. From there we had to turn right, and again it was an easy asphalt road.

Under the way we made a little stop to do some exercise and have some food.

After the easy ride of a good 200km we reached the ferry. Olkhon is a big island on lake Baikal. As the local road stops you need to take a ferry to get there. It is only a few kilometers and about 20 minutes to cruise over. We waited for about 30 minutes for the next ferry and had some cheboreks and tea with lemon to warm up.

The ferry is for free as it can be seen as an extension of the road. As a biker it is best to get on it as the last one as the system is LIFO. This means Last In First Out.

The water is also very calm, so it not like crossing the channel from France to the UK.

Once on the island there is no more asphalt, but there is a good graded gravel road to the main city of Khuzir. We followed this road and got in the city quickly. I used the HUBB’s waypoints to find the famous hostel called Nikita’s. The man who owns the hostel is called Nikita, he was a former Russian ping pong champion and now keeps the hostel.

You could say it is a bit touristic, but we actually liked the place. We got a nice room with view on the shaman rock and the baikal lake. You get three meals a day, and it is buffet, so you can eat as much as you want. Every evening they have performances like a pianist playing Rachmaninov music.

In the hostel we met a french photographer called Nicolas. He arrived in April 2012 in the place when the ice was melting and stayed here until now. Now he organises excursions on the island. He had a very nice photo album and told us about the good places to see.

In the evening we went to the shaman rock, this is a very holy place for shaman belief. It is also a nice rock to free climb 🙂 Larisa came along for some part, until it got to vertical. I climbed back another route than the way I came. This turned out to be a bit tricky.

In the evening we watched the sunset over the lake. There was also a very nice tree.

In the morning we went to look for a shinomontage to change our tyres. If I could I would stick with the Heidenaus but they were not available and I had the TKC’s. So we found a place. I removed the wheels myself and let the guys change the tyres with the machine. We balanced the rear, put them back. Pressure of 2.8 and 2.3. I like them hard for the road and weight.

We road a little bit further on Traktovaya and found a bike shop called motosalon drive. To my surprise they had Heidenaus sent by Denis from Moscow. Unfortunately they were reserved.

Next we went to the railway station and the bagage department to check how much the transport would cost to Moscow from Irkutsk. This is good info to have and Seb Leeson had already made an article about it on the HUBB. Once at the department we were aproached by a lady who worked at the company. She gave us an offer, it would be around 10.000 roubles. Next Rostislav came in, he also gave us an offer, it would be just a little more. The ticket for ourselves would be 12.000 roubles in kupe. Good to know this, but as long as I can and want I will ride the bike 🙂

In the afternoon we did the green walk of the city. We saw the big bronze Lenin statue, paintings on the street, the statue of Tsar Alexander III and rested by the Angara river.

Further there were cathedrals and the statue of the foundation of the city.

In the evening we treated ourselves in a place called Broadway, which seems to be a popular name. They also had a disco in the place, which was good!

We left Ulan Ude in the morning. From here we had to ride about 160km before we could see the lake. No problem as it was all asphalt.

We made a quick stop before the reservoir in the forest. The mosquitoes came out quickly so we moved on quickly as well 🙂

Then all of a sudden we saw it. It was enormeous, bigger than expected in our minds. This is like a sea, not a lake. From now the road would follow the lake for a few hundred kilometers. The railroad was also flirting with the lake.

At a good spot just after the town of Babushkin we found a good spot to get in! The water was pretty cold and the waves were big. We stayed here for some time and had a nice swim in the lake.

Some truck drivers also stopped here and we had a chat with them. They gave us important information. In the far east it had been raining for almost a month and people had to be evacuated. Everyone who follows the news knew this. This is the area of Chabarovsk and further. But we were not going to Vladivostok.

One of the drivers came from Tynda and told us there was a lot of mud on that track. When its dry its dusty, now it was muddy. It was not very motivating for us as we still had the option of riding to Yakutsk. Larisa was happy with this information. It looks more and more we are not going to the far east.

The sun dried us up, so it was to move on and follow the lake to the west. On the way there were people selling berries and smoked fish. We also saw our friend Jan from Czech Republic again. He was going to the next big town to put his bike on the train to Vladivostok. It was a surprise to see him again, the last time was in UB!

There were also some roadworks, but this was very limited.

We made another stop in the town of Slyudyanka. This is where Jan would take the train. From here it was a mountaineous road to Irkutsk of about 100km. But it was a dangerous road. Here you could use the power of a heavier bike. There were many curves and in every curve there was the danger that a car from the other direction would be in your lane. We had this several times, some of them even swirled out onto our section of gravel. We reached Irkutsk in the evening and went looking for a hostel.

We found a good hostel called hostel Irkutsk. In the evening we met with Dmitrii who had my set of TKC80. Unfortunately we were not going to need them anymore. But the set of Heidenaus had been on since Volgograd now. We were riding with this set for 12.000km with a load of about 450km. They have brought us through Central Asia and Mongolia. I can only recommend these tyres.

The next day we would fit the TKC’s and check also our Belgian colleague motorcyclists Seb and Kim article about putting the bike on the train.

We slept long today and went down for the siberian breakfast. I was looking forward to it as in Mongolia we had almost no breakfast at all. To our surprise it was already 1030 in the morning. We did not know, but we were in a different time zone again. It was now 7 hours later than CET. The breakfast was ok.

We went for a walk in the city. There was a nice geological museum. Really a lot of minerals are found here.

We went to the post to post some postcards to our friends and family. After that we saw the big Lenin head again.

We wanted to ride in the afternoon but for some reason I was really tired and had no energy. So we took a big siesta and regained our strength. This was not so good, because I was feeling stronger again afterwards to go to Yakutsk or Magadan 🙂

We have been talking with our family via skype and Larisa is really starting to miss Erik more and more. She does not have to say, I can read it in her eyes. I miss him too, but for a mother it is still different I think. Ukraine is only a country away now, but Russia is big. Our next steps will be important.

In the evening we enjoyed a nice meal and went to bed in our siberian hotel. Tomorrow I want to swim in lake Baikal!