On the topic of food. My Russian is worse than shite, so I downloaded a translation app onto my phone the other day. In the cafe next to the hotel i was being served by one of the few Russian women who has drunk from the fugly spring. I ask for shashlik : niet. I type into my phone beef: niet. Ok, I type in pork and one of the predictive spellings is porker. I think she wondered why I was smiling :-)

Griff: Adam is definitely with the Mundus boys and Pete the Babs Rocket Boy. He's not in Yakutsk yet another unless he fuelled nitrous in Chara where he was earlier today. I'll let him and the mundus boys comment on whether your Landy will make it. All i can say is Mongolia is a piece of p!ss compared to the BAM. Then again the Kudu Exped backup car made it a couple of years ago.

Sami: thanks for the news i was hoping to hear. Do you have a gps ref for the Tajikistan embassy in Almaty? Or is it on Walter's waypoint list? Can't check at the moment as I am writing this post on my phone. Need to boot up my tablet pc to check the file on Mapsource.

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No unfortunately i dont have but perhaps someone has? I am not certain if they are on Walter's waypoint list.

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I found somewhere information from two various sources that GPS co-ordinates for embassy in Almaty: N 43 12.127 E 76 54.818

I try to check them against some GPS software

Address is

Tajik Consulate General in Almaty, Kazakhstan
16 Sanatornaya Street
Baganashyl
Almaty


Br
Sami

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Hi Sami
Thanks for your quick reply and also your pm. Let's discuss possible commonality in plans via pm.

I looked on Walter's waypoint list on Mapsource and the Tajikistan embassy in Almaty isn't on the list, or I can't find it. Can you pm me the contact details for your English friend on the xt600 in Almaty from 2012. I have lost the business card he gave me. If you have a telephone number for the embassy he might be able to call them to confirm their address?

Many thanks for all your hard work on my behalf. I owe you a !

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Chris,
I PM'ed Keith information to you. Unless embassy has moved this year its definately that Sanitornaja street as i remember searching it with "unoffical" taxi driver several hours. It was very well hidden

Cheers
Sami

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Many thanks for Keith's details. I'll let you know if Almaty/ Pamirs ends up as the plan. Parking in Kyrgyzstan is straight forward and the only extra expense is a flight back to England.

The heavens have just opened here. Glad I'm in a hotel. Wild camping on the BAM in a rain storm wouldn't be much fun. Hope the Mundus 2 plus 2 have a roof over their heads tonight!

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argh..... hard to read about everyone enjoying there summer....

i arrived to sokcho on tuesday, only to find that the ferry was broken (headed to Zarubino) and am waiting here for the week. even if i take the ferry to vlad (on friday), i still wont pass the customs any sooner.

another xchallenge will be heading to magadan next week.....

Ar, I heard it through the grapevine. I have not seen him since we tried to take a short route through the Altai.

Its not a question of whether the 4x4 will make it and yes, Mongolia isn't difficult I wasn't saying that. I was just asking about the water levels and if we are wasting our time heading west of Baikal to the BAM. I still think Kaunda will be our sticking point. I was hoping the late summer would be favourable for a late start but maybe we have left it too late?

G

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Update from the 2 brits on x challenges.

Back in irkutsk having got to zhigalovo where phil decided he has had enough after 3 months on the road. Can't say i blame him as what lies ahead ain't easy.

I'm hanging in the city waiting for Brighty on his shed. Will make a plan from there on in. Just mmet the 2 germans on f800gsa who are heading to olkhon today.

I think noah, kurt and seb and kim are the only ones heading north to bam now? Anyone else out there?

Will try to curtail social deviances here in irkutsk. It is friday though!

Felix

The bam past yuktali is far from graded gravel roads. Looks like serious flood damage.expect it to be just as bad.more details wheni can charge electronics.im currently 100+km from yuktali and it might be improveing. We'll see soon
Found out the solo rider I missed before the vitim is an australian. Any idea who he is Walter or anyone else?

No idea who the solo Australian is. On a motorbike or push bike? Cant find your reference to him in your blog. Its probably you.

Did the 4 motorcyclists pass you today?

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Griff, dont underestimate the road. While the Western BAM is a cinch compared to the Eastern, its plenty brutal enough for a 4WD.

A well prepped Disco driven by experienced Polish expeditioners in 2009 was basically trashed on the western BAM and had to limp home. The guy who led that trip, Michal Rej, who was a Polish rally champ, and has done everything from Cape York, Tanami Track, all variants of the Road of Bones, all sorts of obscure tracks in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, described it as the "Everest of offroading" after he reached Tynda.

I think you will get across the Kuanda with help from Kuanda based 6WD trucks.

I think the road will be your biggest challenge.

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Not underestimating Walter, I remeber your wise words from a thread a longtime ago about the road and 4x4 use. Your words have stayed with me all this time! Im quite prepared to turn tail and head back if it gets too much, Im not out to prove anything.

I need to get in touch with Adam to see what he thinks as we are on similar wavelengths. I just saw on FB that Andrew, Jon and he are in Tynda having completed the BAM in some sunny sunshine

G

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I only found out in chilchi about him. I had seen tracks after getting off track before the Vitim and was told in ilchi that a Australian on a motorcycle was there a week ago, I'm assuming it was him making the tracks after passing me while I was lost.

The other 4 passed me about 20 minutes after posting that while I was at the station having tea with he radio operator.

Now that I've had a taste of civilisation and am able to gather my thoughts I'll give a bit of an overview on the road from my perspective. Being on a bicycle there are different sets of challenges than a motorcle though much of it is probably useful information for motorcycles and 4wd. One important thing about the bicycle is you don't travel quickly between the challenges of the road making them less frequent and you are more ready for them.

Congratulations JediMaster and the rest of the crew. I can't count the number of times I thought to myself this is easy on a bicycle, but I wonder how the motorbikes are going to get through. How did you manage with the washed out sections of road soon after Yuktali? There was one spot that I had to climb down into the gully and out the other side with the bike. Did you find a way around it?

The western BAM wasn't too tough a ride via bicycle, but I couldn't expect to make distance quickly. As jedi master points out the weather was very good leading to fairly tame puddles and river crossings. The things that were the worst for me were specific surfaces. Sandy roads are the worst as they drain what little power I have available. On a motored vehicle you add a bit more throttle and it's no problem. I found some sections that would be very easy on a motorcycle quite frustrating because of soft road surfaces. Because of the relatively slow speeds potholes, puddles and rocks jutting out of the road are easy to dodge. There weren't any seriously difficult river crossings to cross on the western BAM and a bicycle is easy to carry. I rarely removed my panniers to cross rivers. The river just after Khani might be the biggest issue for some vehicles due to the large rocks but it isn't hard if you choose the right setup. The most challenging part was probably between Khani and Lopcha. My biggest challenge since the 110 was between stari Chara and nearly chara sands.

For anyone interested in the 110 it is quite a bit more difficult than the western BAM in the conditions I experienced. The lower Barguzin would be a challenging crossing at the best of times. I was fortunate to meet the park rangers as they were paddling an inflatable row boat across with some supplies. I had arrived at very high water which was close to 1m above where plants grew and was very fast flowing. Nothing but a Ural with an experienced driver could cross that (or a boat of course). Past that there were quite a few more river crossings many about mid thigh deep. These would be fairly challenging on a motorcycle. I think the hardest part on a motorcycle was towards the northern end. There are a few sections where the road and a rocky river merge for a few hundred metres. You need to navigate your bike over large rocks and boulders while in a river and some of the rocks are big. I would recommend a very light bike and a few people so the bikes can be lifted over rocks. There is also some deep mud in places and very deep puddles. Be prepared to scout out every puddle or go around through the equally messy bog as they may be deeper than your air intake.

There are many bears on the 110. I was close behind the 4wd at one point when I realised there were bear tracks on the road that had been made more recently than the 4wd tracks. Do some reading on precautions when camping in bear territory.

Having said that a 4wd made it through. There were 5 strong young men and from what I understood they did a shitload of pushing and playing tricks with the jack. They had abandoned their trailer which was stuck in a puddle and they left their 4wd in Novy Uoyan to continue their trip to Chara in the back of a Ural. If they can do it it can be done on a motorcycle with enough determination.

I did the 110 after a couple days of on and off rain which probably means heavy rain in the mountains. It could be easier but it could also be a lot harder. It is only 250km between towns but there is a fair bit of tough roads and 110km of very tough track. I wouldn't expect a motorcycle to be any quicker than a bicycle even if there are hills.

Edit: as for bicycle troubles? Nada. 2 flat tyres in the nearly 40 days (about 35 riding). A bit of preventative maintenance such as liberal application of marine grease to any seals around bearings and swapping a chain after the 110 (I'll put it back on soon).

Off to the eastern bam tomorrow. I expect decent roads for a while slowly declining until zeya where I expect the road conditions to drop off a cliff hitting rock bottom pretty quickly. I just hope my feet hit a rock bottom before I drown in mud. We'll see what happens.