Overland Journal – August 01, 2019

OVERLANDJOURNAL FALL 2019

90

I

f someonehadtoldmynow-husband,Dave,andmethatwe

wouldgetcrabsfroma rustybathtubinRussia,thenaskif

we’dstillwanttogo,theanswerwouldbeyes,inretrospect.Defi-

nitely,yes.Becauseit turnsoutthatthisstory,alongwithourtea

partyandotherRussianshenanigansareanecdoteswetelloften;

it’softenthetrialsandtribulationsof anadventurethatleadyouto

theverythingthatdefinestheworditself.

When we planned a two-year motorcycle journey through

40 countries,Russiawasa destinationthatneededlittlediscus-

sionbeforejoiningtheitinerary.It washometotwointriguingly

dangerousoff-roadroutes:theBAM(Baikal–AmurMainline),an

unmaintainedservicetrackfora railwaybuiltasanalternativeto

theTrans-SiberianHighway;andtheRoadofBones,thename

ofwhichcomesfroma sadhistoryofGulagroadbuildersover-

workedtothepointof deathandburiedunderitssurface.

ThatpartwasDave’squest,however,andalthoughhehopedI’d

feeldifferentlyoncewegotthere,I wantednothingtodowiththis

extremeleveloftwo-wheeledoff-pavementriding.Both“roads”

are inpoor condition withmotorcycle-swallowing bogs,aban-

doned,collapsedbridges,andharrowingrivercrossings.

Forme,Russiaheldcuriosity.Myyouthhadbeenfilledwith

angrybedtimestoriesfrommyPolishgrandfatherabouthowthe

Russians ruined his country; he’d decided to escape Poland by foot,

literallywalkingfromthefrontdoorof hishousein Bolekhiv(now

in Ukraine),fetchingupsometimelaterin Englandwherehemet

mygrandmother.WereRussiansas heartlessas he’ddescribed?

Lookingbackonour trip,Russiamighthaveheldthemost

bang for our buck out of all the other countries we traveled

through.Thiscouldverywellbebecausewehadlowexpectations

of theirhospitality.Butin theend,nothingcouldhavebeenfurther

fromthetruth.

TotravelintoRussia,visitorsneeda visaandaninvitationlet-

terfroma local.Tenmonthsearlier,I’dbeguntheprocessoffilling

outapplicationsforourvisas.Afterspeakingwithanagentat the

RussianconsulateinMontréalabouthowtogetaninvitation,I

wasadvisedtocontacta non-profitcompany,well-knowninpoli-

ticsandwitha softspotformotorcycles.Theygavemeanemail

addressfora motorcycleclubcalledtheNightWolves.

I hungupandhastilytypedanemailtotheWolvesrequest-

inghelpwiththeinvite.I includedourtravelwebsiteandgushed

aboutlong-liveddreamsof visitingRussia,andmycareeras a jour-

nalistlookingto writea bookin whichI wouldcovertheircountry.

It occurredto meonlyafterI’dpressedsendto Googletheclub.

Notsomucha clubasagang,theNightWolves’leader,knownas

theSurgeon,haspledgedto dieforPutin,who’spracticallyhisbest

friend. The nickname comes from his past occupation as a den-