Category Archives: OC Tour

Portable Machine Shop !

Huh ? Well . . . there’s that issue with the oil sender leaking. So . . . after arriving I didn’t exactly RUSH to the bike because I knew that if things were bad . . . it was … Continue reading

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Fingers Crossed

On 12 August 2015 I’ll fly from Bangkok to Dubai on the way to Osh via Dubai and Istanbul. Given some small amount of good fortune the fix to the oil sender unit in the KTM should be fairly straightforward. … Continue reading

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Chara to Khani, Yuktali, Lopcha & Tynda

The ride out of Chara meant a “slight” (17km) deviation to get fuel in “Old Chara”. Another late start with progress further interrupted by a out-of-the-way fuel depot. The day was warm and sunny and we “raced” a train for … Continue reading

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Kuanda to Chara

After a satisfying meal (German pasta that boiled up al dente in about 3 minutes) and a good fire we rested nicely with our view of the river below. BamBam provided his normal nightly entertainment. Hunched over his stove grinning … Continue reading

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Taksimo to the Vitim Bridge

By Taksimo we’d enjoyed the regular cycle of old wooden bridges, lots of water crossings, a few railway bridge crossings, mud, sand, embedded sharp edged rocks and potholed gravel. From the perspective of a washing machine cycle it seemed more … Continue reading

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Barbiski Extreme

I don’t remember when she appeared nor when it was deemed that she would represent a “Barbie” (some un-specific rating of tipovers, crashes, poor judgment, or inscrutable behavior) but . . . for sure BamBam introduced her and the basic … Continue reading

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Zhigavalo Trakt to Severobayalsk

The pavement would end at Kachug and then did so, again, in a rather dramatic fashion outside Severobayalsk. We rode fairly fast on pavement and it was nice to have a few hundred km under our wheels by lunch. Crossing … Continue reading

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You can’t spell ‘geek’ without EE – three electrical engineers make for a very wet BAM

What are the odds ? Three electrical engineers meet and ride together. Kim, a Frenchman living in Switzerland of mixed Vietnamese origin who speaks French, Russian, German, English (with virtually no accent and similar amounts of idiomatic American english) . … Continue reading

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Torrential rain, floods, wild fires, salt rot and . . . Dengue Fever – is this California ?

Yes, Dengue. The beauty of an overly ambitious goal is the speed with which events will be summoned to crush it. And that they did. The good news, at least for followers of this hapless, pointless ride, is that almost … Continue reading

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Preparation for 2013 Ulaan Bator to Magadan, then London

This week, after some “normal” pitfalls, I obtained the receipt for my Russian Business Visa thanks to help from a number of people. There may even be time to acquire the Kazakh Double Entry Tourist Visa, too. The Russian Business … Continue reading

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