OVERLANDJOURNAL FALL 201994
While I battled with bike trouble, Dave was dealing with
a disappointingturnof events.A weekearlier,he’dlostout on
ridingboththeBAMandtheRoadofBonesafterbreakinghis
rearshock.Sinceit wasduetolackofpropermaintenance,Dave
couldn’tforgivehimselfforruiningoneofhismostimportantand
anticipatedpartsof theentiretrip.Whatmadeit evenharder,since
I hadneverplannedtobehispartneronthesetworoutes,wasthat
he’dfoundtheperfectcrewtoridewith.
WehadmetAdventureTeamLatvia—threestrapping,burly
dudesallridingKTMs—attheKazakhstan/Russiaborderafter
leavingMoscow.Theyweresponsoredbya Latviangascompany
foran 11,500-mileadventurefromRigatoMagadan.Werode
withthemfromthatpointontoMagadan.Duringourtravels,
whichincludeda multi-daytripintoa marvellouslyscenicandse-
cludedregionin theAltaiMountains,whereRussia,China,Mon-
golia,andKazakhstanmeet,DavearrangedtojointheLatvians
ontheBAMandRoadofBones.Hecouldn’thavebeenhappier
andbecamemore excited the closer we came to the starting line
in Irkutsk.ButfourdaysafterI wavedthefourofthemoffandcontinued
onwithanotherriderfromAustraliaona differentroadskirting
aroundLakeBaikal,I gota SkypecallfromDavetellingmethe
newsabouthisbrokenshock.
TheLatvians,whospoke fluentRussian,triedtohelpDave
finda solution,butintheend,theteamwasona timelineandhad
toleavehimbehind.Ina smalltowncalledSeverobaykal’sk,Dave
puthisbikeona traintoTyndawhereI wouldmeethim.He’d
ordereda replacementshocktobesenttoYakutsk.Fromhisseat
onthetrain,Davestaredat theBAMtrailrunningparalleltothe
trackallthewayintoTynda—itwaslikea juicyboneplacedjust
outof reachfora dogat theendof itsrope.
While riding along the new Summer
Road after leaving Yakutsk, Dave and I
tookphotosofourselvesandthebikesun-
dera mileagesigntellinguswewere1,838
kilometresfromMagadan.It wasthethird
weekinAugustandthehighway,although
themainroute,wasmostlygravel.I rodecautiously,fearinganoth-
erwipeoutinthelooseballbearings.Theregionhadn’tseenrain
inweeks.It tookagesforthedusttosettlebehindthebikes,sowe
rodespacedoutabouta half-milefromeachother.Theroutewas
busywithlong-haultrucksgoingtoandfromMagadan.
It wasgettinglatein theafternoonas wepasseda parkedsemi-
truckina roadsidepullout.WhileDavewaitedformetocatchup,
thedrivercameovertohimandinvitedusfortea.Wedidn’twant
tostopbecauseofthelatehourandstillwantedtocoverseveral
moremilesbeforecampingforthenight.Buttheman’sfacewas
friendlyandinviting,hismammothhandsgesturingjoviallytous,
andsowejoinedhim.
Anothertruckerpulledin forthenight.Hewastallandskinny
andcameoverto standwithus.Alreadydrunkandchain-smoking,
hesquintedwithsmilingeyesthroughthesmokecirclinghisface.
Thesoberdriverunfoldeda smalltablefortheteaandfedeveryone
miniaturechocolatebarsbeforedecidingtomakeusallsoup.The
teapartytookona newmissionaswetriedtolearnmoreabout
oneanotherindifferentlanguages.WhenDaveandI explained
througha translationappthatwewouldcampthatnight,thesober
drivergota worriedlookonhisface.Hebroughthishandstothe
topofhishead,cuppingthemtoformears,thengrowled,buthis
bearimpersonationonlymadeuslaugh.Seeingwewerenottaking
himseriously,hepulledouthisphoneandshowedusa videoofa
grizzlyrummagingthroughgarbageonthesideoftheroad,then
pointedbehindhimas if tosay,“Justoverthere.”
Despiteoftenbeingbuiltliketheycouldwrestleanythinginto
submission,manyRussiansareterrifiedofbears.Evenourstout
Latvianfriendswouldn’tcampwithusaftera nightofbearstory-
telling.Butweneversawa singlesignof bearsin Russia.It wassad.
Infact,duringourentirerideacrosstheworld’slargestcountry,we
neversawanythingin thewayof wildlife,evenin remoteareas.
DaveandI foundtheendofRussia—andsubsequentlyour
trip—onAugust26,2017.WearrivedinMagadan,a porttown
ofroughly95,000peoplealongtheSeaofOkhotsk,after 708 days
and 58,000-plusmilesof ridingthrough 40 countries.And we
were about to have one of the best experiences of our trip yet.It’s oftenthe trials
and tribulationsof
an adventurethat
lead you to the very
thingthat defines
the word itself.