76 | AUSTRALIAN ROAD RIDERSERIOUS ADVENTURE
INTREPID RIDERS
Joining us for the 2014 Road of Bones
Expedition were:
Walt and Pam, USA, BMW R1200GSA
Robert, USA, Suzuki DR650
Bayne, Canada, BMW F800
Eric, Canada, BMW F800GS
Brian, Zimbabwe, R1200GS
Ray, Australia, Suzuki DR650
Andrew, Australia, BMW R1200GS
Jane, Australia, BMW F650GS
Leanne, Australia, BMW F650GS
Tim, Australia, BMW F800GS
John, Australia, BMW R1200GSA
Geoff, Australia, Triumph Tiger XC800and girls belonging to what is Russia’s
biggest biker club.
Under a vast blue Yakutian sky we le
Yakutsk, crossed the Lena River again
and with a certain trepidation, began
what we had all come for, the Road of
Bones. It has a tragic yet li le-known
history. Stalin populated his gulag prison
camp system with prisoners from across
Russia and POWs during WWII. He
interned them in gulags along numerous
tracks that led to the many gold and tin
mines that exist in the far north-east of
Russia. It was an unimaginably brutalsystem which killed an estimated two
million people during the construction
of these tracks and at various mines.
Their bodies were simply le on the
tracks, which became known as the Road
of Bones.
Immediately the challenges reared
up. We ba led hundreds of miles of deep
gravel that a lot of riders hated. We also
broke our fi h and last set of trailer
springs a er only the fi rst day on the
Road of Bones and were forced to hire a
local version of the VW Kombi to assist
us to carry our considerable store of bikespares, luggage and camping equipment.
We needed to reduce the weight on the
trailer if it were to make it to Magadan.
We crossed the Aldan River, yet
another mighty waterway in what was
now the extremely remote Kolyma
region. We ascended into the mountains,
where the deep gravel became less and
the Road of Bones became an 80km/h
track. The riding was magnifi cent as
we rode among larch- and fi r-covered
mountains dissected by wild rivers. The
colours of autumn were highlighted by
the ever-present blue Kolyma skies, and
we wished these days would never end.
The weather was holding and
remained stunning, but it was a double-
edged sword. With the higher speeds we■ Crossing the mighty Aldan
River, Yakutia, Russia■ A religious monument, Mongolia ■ Sunset over a river at our
campsite in Kyrgyzstan►ARR112_068-078_Road of Bones.indd 76ARR112_068-078_Road of Bones.indd 76 2/3/2015 9:51:30 AM2/3/2015 9:51:30 AM