Lake Baikal is the largest freshwater lake in the world by volume. When you see it for the first time it doesn’t register as a lake, it’s more like the sea. It has a shoreline with sandy beaches and large waves breaking in, you’d never think it was a lake if you didn’t know.

It’s obviously a tourist hotspot, and a great place for the locals too. Just like the seaside back home, people are out in the lake, camping nearby and setting up picnics. We rode down the track along the lake, turning heads everywhere. A lot of people waved but I couldn’t wave back as the track was sandy and bumpy. Two hands required and full concentration.

After a while we found a great spot to setup camp. I slung my hammock and made a cup of tea, by which time I’d warmed up enough to consider going in. Those of you who know me will know I’m not a beach person. I don’t really get it, I don’t like swimming and it’s just not my thing. However, I doubt I’ll be coming back so in I went!

This is a big thing for me. There are parts of my body that haven’t seen the light of day for over 30 years. My knees for example. In the full spirit of of seizing the carp I froze my bits off, and made sure it was captured on film. That’s it for the next 30 years now.

At least I can now say I’ve swam in lake Baikal, which holds 20% of the world’s fresh water (and a little bit of wee 😉

After a long and hard day getting to Ulan Ude, I needed a break yesterday. The trip was hard for many reasons, not just the driving rain but the bumpy roads and many roadworks. One stretch just had rocks the size of golf balls, not compacted and about a foot deep. Luckily my tank was fairly empty or I would have gone down for sure.

Ulan Ude is a pretty town but we didn’t see much of it. Mostly we were all too tired after washing and sorting the bikes out. This morning we set off for the lake and I was still not quite with it.

We got to the lake via some very nice roads, obviously laid down for tourists and well maintained. The local divers made several attempts to run me off the road overtaking, but I ride quite aggressively and I refuse to ride in the gutter for anyone. It’s obviously not common as people tend to expect it, taking huge risks overtaking on bond bends etc..

Anyway, we made it to the lake and it was absolutely worth it! What a difference a day makes, well that’s never been more true then today.

Sophie
Latitude:52.82782
Longitude:107.98660
GPS location Date/Time:08/09/2014 22:22:05 PDT

Message:Random place of interest along my route….

Click the link below to see where I am located.
http://fms.ws/IXeOV/52.82782N/107.98660E

If the above link does not work, try this link:

Sophie

You have received this message because Sophie has added you to their SPOT contact list.

Ready for Adventure
FindMeSPOT.com

It’s not quite the glamorous life everyone imagines, adventure motorcyclists need to wash and do laundry just like everyone else. Saturday is a day off riding, which after a long day yesterday is a welcome break. Russian roads tend to jar everything, not just the bike but the rider too. It’s quite fatiguing, especially when added to the heavy rain yesterday.

No launderette means a sink wash, raw knuckles and a longer drying time with no spin-dry. But it works, and with an improvised washing line at least we can head off to lake Baikal clean and fresh. The lady at the motel obviously isn’t too impressed with us making the place look like a gypsy’s camp, but we’ll be gone tomorrow.

When everything’s dry I’ll go over the bike to make sure nothing has worked loose. In the mean time it’s a shopping trip to buy more pasta, porridge, dried milk and sultanas. That’s the four major food groups covered, right?

The cities have some impressive buildings, usually churches. The government buildings tend to be more austere, compared to the lavish accommodation of British politicians – or your local council offices. However, it’s the country dwellings that I find most interesting.

A lot of towns are no more than a collection of tin roofed wooden shacks. The better ones have ornate painted window shutters, the closed ones probably have no glass in them. The gardens are cropped with vegetables or hay, and there’s always a huge woodpile for the harsh winters.

With insulation next to nothing for a tin roof, it really is a matter of survival to make sure there’s enough firewood for winter. This place looked like it had electricity, but many don’t. It took me a while to work out what the huge beams were in some gardens. They’re mechanical lifts to get the bucket down to the well. So no running water either.

It makes me appreciate things I’d normally take for granted, like flushing toilets and hot water. Despite this the people I’ve met have been warm and friendly, it’s all quite humbling.

We found a great spot to camp last night. I took a road off the main route which was a signposted dead end after 7kms. A track running off that into the woods looked promising, but people had been there before and it was visible from the road. The track turned up a steep hill that I thought was worth exploring, so I fired on up for a look.

Steep tracks uphill are always interesting, as there’s no backing down once you start! You’re committed to getting to the top, whatever is up there. In this case it was a clearing on a mound, invisible from the road but a great spot to set up the hammock. Room for Chip’s tent meant it was perfect.

The guys got the BMWs up no problem and we setup for the night. There must be a local air base as a pair of MIGs were cruising around for a long time. I couldn’t say which ones they were as I’m not so well up on Russian military jets. Sadly they weren’t for sale and I didn’t get to have a go in one. Can you see a theme here?

Along the way I’ve seen a little bit of wildlife, but not as much as I expected. I knew I wouldn’t be so lucky as to see a bear, or a Siberian tiger, but there hasn’t been much else either. There’s a little squirrel that looks a bit like a racoon, squirrel sized but racoon colours. Various dogs, semi-wild I suppose and the odd wild horse. Apart from the birds, that’s about it.

Recently I’ve seen wedge tailed eagles, but nothing like the numbers in Australia. Sparrows abound, one of the universal constants – and this morning I saw some sort of black woodpecker. There’s a particularly agile grey bird that looks a little like a nuthatch. They seem to be able to fly right through the bike, side to side as I’m riding along. One even flew under my arm!

Sadly one little fella didn’t make it and ended up on my front rim. Still, better than the radiator I suppose (or in my face!). We’ve stopped for a coffee to let a heavy downpour pass over. The bikes are looking almost clean at the moment, at the expense of my insect collection. Still, there’s plenty of time and miles for me to add to that one.

The scenery today has been epic. The forest gave way to great expanses of pasture, completely unexpected and not what you’d associate with Russia. 30°C, sunshine and green fields for miles upon miles. Plenty of castle grazing, old fashioned hay stacks (no bailers here) and the odd tractor.

If you’d brought someone blindfolded here and removed the blindfold, they’d never pick the location in a million years. The road we’re on runs roughly parallel to the mighty trans Siberian railway. The two main routes rarely cross however, so sightings have been brief. So far I’ve only seen oily freight trains in the distance.

I’d imagined racing alongside the train, waving to the passengers having dinner in comfort. Maybe even reading a travel book in years to come that mentions the three bikes on the horizon, and wondering if one was me. There’s still a lot of Russia to go, so maybe that will happen later.

Getting petrol has been fairly easy, the petrol stations have come up regularly with few long dry stretches. Mostly you can get fuel every 100kms or so. With a 700 km range without worrying this is great.

The only minor annoyance is that you have to pay in advance. That in itself is OK, but you have to say how many litres you want. Getting a full tank is like asking for a strawberry daiquiris! Paying by credit card for a full tank is something I’ve only managed once so far.

Hand over a thousand rouble note though and all is good. You take as much fuel as you need and they give you change. Or the pump shuts off at 1000RUB. Either way that’s plenty for a days riding. This station was an all in one stop with a guestinitza and restaurant.

The toilets were Russian standard, showers were extra but that just saved us some money. Душ не работат!