I'M BACK!!!!! IN ONTARIO

I rode today from Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan to Dryden, Ontario getting here at 8:45pm (350 kms North of Thunder Bay). My neck muscles are fairly stiff from riding at night trying to avoid the Moose and Deer but the ride today was unbelievable. Canada really is a beautiful, clean country with sooooo much to see. Leaving Manitoba and reaching Kenora the trees were aglow from the setting sun in the perfect blue sky with a pink hue. People have told me that the ride through Sasketchewan is boring due to it being flat and extremely windy but I disagree. It was a perfect day, not a cloud in the sky and bikes were out taking advantage of some of the best of the last riding we will see this year. I spoke with a friend in Huntsville who told me that it was raining there. But for me this day couldn't be more perfect. Farm country in both Sasketchewan and Manitoba made my ride not only peaceful and relaxing but also one where I could observe the vastness and beauty of the land sprawled out as if it went on forever. Our roads are smoothly paved and the cities are exceptionally clean and vibrant. Unlike what I observed and experienced in Siberia. Many of the towns in Siberia are abandoned old mining towns and the ones where people live today are at living standards that we could not bare. In a blog soon to hit the net I will provide some pictures of what I'm talking about.
Well, off to bed I head as I want to try to make it as close to home tomorrow as possible. My Mitzi dog awaits (she may not remember me after four months) and my bed awaits right now. Chow!!!!

On Canadian Soil

Currently I am making my way across Canada, glad to be back home on Canadian soil, and as I write this I am sitting in the Best Western Hotel in Banff, Alberta. One thing I must say after doing a trip of this nature is that Canada is truly beautiful and not to be taken for granted. As the saying goes, we have "diamonds under the soles of our feet". Everywhere that I visited was truly beautiful however some of the remote places were not only cold but barren and some of the group would say "shit holes" yet due to the friendliness extended from the locals of all the areas we visited and being able to communicate over the language barriers made their regions beautiful to me. I will be writing more about "the Road of Bones" once I get home (if not before)and for those living in Canada, please get a copy of The Motorcycle Times newspaper as I have written about the last leg of the trip in my column there as well. The one thing I would like to say is "I MADE IT!!!" and for those looking to do this trip or a trip of this nature, please feel free to email me at jackiemckim@gmail.com as I would love to answer any questions that you may have. So for now, I'm back on the road making my way home to Huntsville, ON, Canada. I hope to make it to Regina, Saskatchewan (Calgary is only 136 kms away from Banff) by tonight. The weather to Jasper was beautiful (made it there yesterday) and then it started to rain on and off all day. Banff is a beautiful and quaint town (as was Jasper). The mountains are like GODS and the ride along the single lane sweeping turns is phenominal. However, many people have commented that it is getting to the end of the season even though there are still quite a few campers on the roads, the bikes are becoming sparse. So, get that final ride in because pretty soon we will all be wrapping up for the season.

The Road of Bones to Magadan

Presently I am in my hotel room in Vladivistock (Vladivistock Hotel) after having left Magadan two days ago (Tuesday, Sept 21st). I have a lot to tell you all about the Road of Bones and for any biker enthusiast, you will want to know. BELIEVE ME!!!!!!
However, I will have to update you all in a day or two as we are just about ready to leave for the plane to Japan. After leaving Yakutsk, most of the group were five nights (six days) on the Road of Bones. There were five of us however, that had six nights (seven days) on the Road of Bones. The thing we all kept saying to one another is "this is an adventure mate" and that it was. For anyone considering doing this trip, it is not for the fane of heart, spirit and will. It is for those looking for an experience that you will never duplicate again in your life and one that will tear the shit out of your bike (not to mention your body as well). Yet, only a handful of people in the world do this type of trip and I am proud to say that I am one of them along with Pat, Mick T., Murray, Joe and Isaac. Carmen was our life support for food, support and fabulous pictures that will keep us with this journey forever however her adventure would have been a different experience than ours (although five of us had the same experience the last night where there was snow, freezing rain and we had to camp on top of a major mountain when they closed off the roads and she didn't know whether Joe made it to Magadan or not and he didn't know if she was safe or not). Mick MacDonald and Leo were our incredible tour leaders and I can honestly say that it takes extremely special and extroardinary people to lead an expedition of this magnitude So on that note I have to leave you hanging but many pictures of "The Road of Bones" will follow with a blog about our final days (which were extremely memorable). Until then......

Sightseeing in Yakutsk

A beautiful monument in the main section of Yakutsk.

Russians posing on top of a tank monument

Russian Orthodox Church

Carmen in front of one of the main monuments in the heart of Yakutsk

Joe looking on at the statues of the soldiers marching. Many war monuments with eternal flames burning throughout Yakutsk

Preparation of the bikes for "The Road of Bones"

Leo working on the fork seals of Mick T's bike (supplied by Compass Expeditions)

Joe and Mick MacDonald giving a hand to Isaac's bike

Pat fixing the fork seals on his bike (two were leaking, one got fixed as he was hit with a nasty head/throat cold).

Murray (while under the weather also) getting his bike ready for the roads ahead

Joe preparing his bike for the unknown road conditions of "The Road of Bones"

Our crew with four Russian friends fixing bikes and making future contacts with the Russian bikers of Yakutsk. They were not only very friendly but their help and assistance was invaluable.

A Few Pics of Yakutsk

Joe (in background) and Mick MacDonald leaning over Isaac's bike. I must apologize for few pics with Joe and Mick Mac in this series but they did not cross the ferry with us into Yakutsk as Joe and Mick Mac waited for troopie with Carmen and Leo as roads were to bad and they followed approx 45 mins behind. This is where they waited for troopie (2 mins from boat docks)

Pat, Murray and Isaac on ferry to Yakutsk

Ferry boat passing loaded with trucks and cars that they take across to Yakutsk all day long

Bikes lined up on the ferry with Mick T, Murray and Pat (background) and Isaac facing
forward

Isaac on the ferry to Yakutsk

Murray on the ferry to Yakutsk

Nord Brotherhood Biker from Yakutsk with Mick MacDonald

Back of his jacket

Mick MacDonald washing Isaac's bike (Joe's was in front)

A bride and groom wanted their picture taken with one of compass' bikes.

Murray (in front), Mick T (middle) and Pat (back beside jeep) heading into Yakutsk

A monument as you arrive into the heart of Yakutsk

Pat and Isaac on hunt for supermarket and drug store

Church in Yakutsk

Images carved on top of a store building in Yakutsk

To All Our Loved Ones At Home - We'll Be Home Soon

As of Yesterday - Today, 8 days to go...... And then we're all home......

What a trip!!! Love you kids!!! See you soon!!!!

I speak Spanish and he understands me. To my family - see you in Hong Kong.

Hey Kids, mom here with a Russian mother and grandmother (Babushka) just wanting to say miss ya and see ya soon.

Can't wait to see you Kate. I'll see you in Hong Kong (not soon enough though).

Even though I had a Russian family for less than a day, there's still no place like home and I miss you mom and dad (and all my friends)

Veronica, I wish you were here with me, on the back and we were going for a ride

To My grandkids - I'll be home to take you to Macker's soon.......

For my girlfriend and family. I love motorcycling but I miss and love you......

A big beautiful sunflower for you Lauren. I'll be home soon........

Since Leaving Ulaan Bataar, Mongolia

Mick Mac (2nd left) Isaac (third left) and Leo (back right) with family who let us camp at their hunt camp in Siberia (night before arriving in Yakutsk). Babushka (older woman in front) and her husband (far left) with daughter to the right of her, husband (fourth from left) and brother next to him and beside Leo.

Bottom half of sign reads Yakutsk 1056 kms and Magadan is 3177 kms. This is where we turned off the road to head to Magadan. Had we stayed straight, the top of the sign reads Vladivistock 1174 kms.

Carmen and Joe celebrating their wedding anniversary in Chita, Russia

Carmen toasting with the bubbly. Cheers Carmen and Joe!!!!

It's been over a week since I've blogged last and it has been busy. Once we left Ulaan Bataar (which was an extremely chaotic city), we headed in the direction of the Russian border where we camped between a town called Darkhan, Mongolia and the Russian/Mongolian border (within an hour and a half away). Camping was extremely cold as we were now heading back north. I laid in my tent looking for my hard drive when I remebered that I left it back at the hotel in Ulaan Bataar. I phoned home to mom (of course) and she was able to make arrangements to have it picked up by this courier service (never heard of) and the hotel in Mongolia. Thank God as even though the hard drive is only worth $89, the pictures we have all taken are invaluable. Now, I'm using my second hard drive and backing up everyone's photos. Anyway, we seemed to zip through the Mongolian side (yet there was at least 10 different checkpoints to go to in order to leave the country) however when we hit the Russian side, things seemed to move a little more slowly. We made it in about six hours total. As we continued to ride north, the temperatures were dropping drastically and the windshield factor was rising making it very cold for all of us and we hadn't changed clothes from the much warmer, southern Mongolian climate. We camped just off the road in a rutted field where a Russian farmer walked over and had a tea (chai in Russian) with some M&M's (that I had won from my Yak bet). No one really could understand him (or him us) but when he grabbed a few last M&M's and made the comment "adien a raga" or something to that effect, we realized he was saying "one for the road". We reached Chita, which seemed to be quite a large city, and after warm showers we headed downstairs for dinner and a night of drinks and dancing (mainly Carmen and Joe to Hotel California) in honour of Carmen and Joe's 30th wedding anniversary. I went to bed around 11 pm (exhausted) but heard from Leo (who was the last to head to bed around 1 am) that he was arm wrestling with a man who had earlier bought us all a round of vodka and we surmised was the pimp to a girl who was trying to chat up our table to no avail. We pushed on from Chita and camped once again not far from the roadway in a rock quarry. The area we were travelling through is deemed "high bandit territory" so we were well hidden off the road so that bandits didn't see us. Once again, temperatures were at the zero mark and when we awoke our bikes were covered with frost. We camped the next night as well as the Russian agent that Mick MacDonald used advised us that there was no hotel space available in Tynda and therefore there was no place to stay. We rode through Tynda and had a quick bite for lunch there the next day guided by a local biker who joined us and spoke English quite fluently. He lived in Tynda all his life and has travelled to Vladivistock but never to Magadan which he said was very cold this time of year. We stayed in a town past Tynda called Neremqui (or something like that). Mick T, Pat and Murray had headed out early after lunch to get there first. I followed behind with Isaac not far behind and Joe with Mick MacDonald. The roads were fairly treacherous as the roads were under construction and was the type of rugged, gravel and dirt-like conditions that one experiences just before a road is resurfaced. Many corragated bumps (mogels) that just beats the crap out of the bikes. I had just gone through a police checkpoint and went to the top of a hill believing a was a the turnoff for the hotel that we were to stay in when I decided to stop as I didn't get the directions that Mick Mac had given to some at lunch. Half an hour later, Isaac pulled up and we waited about an hour before turning back to go to the police checkpoint to wait for Joe and Mick Mac. Both were at the checkpoint when we arrived waiting for the troopie as Joe had left his passport inside and had blown through the checkpoint before returning once he realized what he'd done. Mick Mac said had he kept going they wouldn't have chased him but it is best not to take chances in Russia so he waited for the troopie. Mick Mack told Isaac the directions to the hotel so we kept going following a car that the police had instructed to take us to our hotel. We got about 5 kms down the road and their car broke down in the middle of nowhere. The guys went inside the car to what looked like the glove box and I thought to myself, "this doesn't look good" but they both came back (unarmed) and said the car broke down but the one guy would hop on the back of Isaac's bike and show us where our hotel was. The poor guy had a very thin jacket on, anklet socks, no gloves and Isaac seemed to hit several pot holes spraying him and making him lift up his legs so that he wouldn't keep getting sprayed. He took us down many dark back alleys and I once again thought we were doomed but we pulled up into this one alley when all of a sudden I saw the other bikes and was assured we were safe. Once again we all showered (hot showers) ate and fell into bed exhausted. The next day we were police escorted out of town. We had a late start as we somehow got separated from troopie but we headed out in very cold, rainy weather crossing a fairly steep muddy section in the road that almost took us all out. The rest of the day was spent on poor gravel dirt roads with potholes everywhere. We stopped for a late lunch at about 3:00 pm and decided to see if there was a small hotel in town as we had to wait for troopie to catch up with us. They could only go between 25-30 kms/hr on these road conditions being very careful about the axle. We stayed in a type of boarding/guest house for miners/workers and continued toward Yakutsk. Murray found an off the road quarry where we could camp for the night but upon entering we were greeted by a man in a van who said we could camp a little farther in at his hunt camp. What a beautiful spot. Mick T went fishing and duck hunting while Carmen whipped together a wonderful chicken dish for us and the people who were gracious enough to have us stay near their cabin. They were very lovely folks and we all enjoyed a meal together while Carmen and I visited with the one woman and her mother (called Babushka) taking pictures. They waived us off in the morning while we headed enroute to Yakutsk. We had 276 kms to cover on roads that we could not go any faster than 60 kms max and as low as 20 kms in some really rough areas. We got to the ferry crossing around 4:00 pm to find out that it leaves by 5pm. The troopie, Mick Mack, Carmen and Joe took the later crossing ferry and arrived approx one hour later than us at the hotel. It was so good to see them as there was some concern that they would have tos pend the night on the other side of the water. The hot showers and nice dinner made me instantly tired and I headed off to bed. Being up a 6 am has now become a ritual for me (oh how I wish I could sleep in) and we were to be at the bikes by 9 am to take them to get them washed. We have two days of rest here before heading out on the "Road of Bones". We have 5 nights scheduled (minimum depending on weather and road conditions)to camp and not only will it be extremely cold but rough. As soon as we leave Yakutsk, we are on "The Road of Bones". So, once again, until Magadan. I will update you as to how the Road of Bones is with lots of pictures but until then - goodnight!!!

Some Pics For Your Enjoyment

Buddhist Monks

Herder approaching Isaac whose reading in his tent

Metal works not far from entering Mongolia

Mongolia

Horses standing in the middle of the road

On Mongolian side - family transportation

Crossing Russian border to go to Mongolian border

Carmen's famous stew

Joe eating one of Carmen's famous dinners at camp (last camp in Russia before entering Mongolia)

Leo and Mick Mack having dinner

Camping in Russia where drunken Russians came at night (last camp before Mongolia)

Lunch break at side of the road in Russia

Australian and American who ran into each other travelling together. Mick Mack talking with the Australian who had just come through Mongolian border who said it was awful (chaotic and took forever)

Trying local fish bought and eating it in Russia

Cemeteries in Kazahkstan. Some are as big as a house.

Isaac putting up his tent

Joe's bike torn apart working on fork seals at the side of the road

Our bikes facing the open road - Freedom!!!

I'm waiting for the troopie to arrive from getting the trailer fixed in Ulaan Bataar and we were just arrived that we won't be leaving until 2pm now so I thought I would just post some pics that I've taken or Carmen or Patrick or Murray have taken along the way. Enjoy!!!