To Yakutsk and Beyond | Season 20 | Episode 18

Five kilometers before Yakutsk. Rebuilding works again. Man, it will never end. 7.30. 14 hours. 14 hours today. It is not enough that Pavel is so overloaded, but now he has also tires. Became like Michelin, Michelin guy, Michelin guy. Anyway, what a picture. All right. Yakutsk is very pretty in the winter when everything is white, but not now. There will be sections like this. All right. Okay, here. Pavel is here. Oh, I ate a little bit more than I should. Chicken soup, plov, pancakes, tea. Now it's going to be hard. I haven't seen dust from at least 400 kilometers. It is time to get some. 6.30 in the afternoon. I start at 5.30 in the morning. That means already 13 hours on the saddle. And I will have at least one hour and 30 minutes more before I end the day. So it will be almost 15 hours of riding today. 5 kilometers before Yakutsk. Rebuilding works again. Man, it will never end. A few more kilometers. A few more kilometers. 7.30. 14 hours. 14 hours today. It is not enough that Pavel is so overloaded, but now he has also tires. Became like Michelin, Michelin guy, Michelin guy. Anyway, he has tires and the tires need to be transported. He just took it from the post and now we'll go to Yakutsk. Oh man, it was a long day. Long and interesting day. What a picture. Now we wait this traffic light to turn green and then I can go over there to the ferry. All right. See the seagulls. The travel time is one hour and 30 minutes. It's nice actually. Lena is very big. See the seagulls here. Good morning from Yakutsk. Last night I got out of the ferry at like 9.30 and until I came here, it became like 10.30. It was partly dark even though it's not dark now at all because they've got this light night. But me and Pavel came to this place around 10.30. This by the way is the local motorcycle club Night Wolves. We were invited to spend the night here yesterday and today because tomorrow morning me and Pavel together will start the road to Magadan because he travel alone, I travel alone and we're in the same direction so we decided just to ride together on this road. This place is very nice but it is not a luxury in any way. It is very sparkling conditions if I can say. But that's right. The biggest problem were mosquitoes. So I went to sleep around one o'clock probably and there were so many mosquitoes and it was a big battle until three o'clock in the morning and I finally won. I killed them all probably around I don't know like 20 bodies here around a bit and finally went to sleep but three o'clock was already completely light so I used my hat on my face just to be able to to sleep and today I woke up like eight o'clock in the morning. Now we got breakfast and we're gonna change the tires of Pavel's motorcycle and then we're gonna ride around the town to see a few interesting things in the town. I'm gonna film it of course, prepare everything I need to buy, chain spray and draw some money from cash machines to be ready for the road and do a few more things and then we are ready and tomorrow morning we're gonna hit the road. So this is the plan for now and let me show you this club. As I said it is not luxury in any way. I spent the night here on this couch, a table, another one room here with beds but these beds were just too small. I don't want to sleep on this bed that's why I decided to sleep on the couch. Anyway it's a it's a nice place to stay for a night or two, not to live here all the time. They've got a garage there so the motorcycles are in the garage but yeah so far so good. We're gonna explore Yakutsk today and continue on the road. This is the garage we kept the bikes I'm all right, I don't need to do anything for now. Tires are fine, bike is fine, all level. Good antifreeze, good brakes, everything good. Pavel needs to change the tires front and rear so I'm gonna help him now. Mission is completed, the tire is changed, now we go to the post office. He's going to send some of the stuff back home because it is just too heavy. I'm gonna draw some cash from the bank to have for the next few days. So far so good. Today we're gonna spend it here around Yakutsk. We'll go visit one of the interesting museums, fill the tanks, prepare everything for tomorrow. And tomorrow morning we'll start around six or seven o'clock. Anyway the plan was to travel alone but Pavel is on my way so we will do it together. Of course the condition of the roads in this part of the world is completely different than you have seen in your world. So for them this is just a normal, it's like frozen in the time, like 30 years ago or something like that. A lot of potholes, a lot of dust, a lot of mud everywhere. And this is the situation in the town but it is what it is. Yakutsk is very pretty in the winter when everything is white but not now. See the streets? A lot of potholes and a lot of dust. Yakutsk is the capital of the region of Yakutia, the capital of the far far east. 300 000 people, not that big town. Very beautiful in the winter when everything is frozen and not really pretty in the summer. Today you can see like 28 degrees at the end of July. It is hot for the local understanding, it's really hot. They really complain about that but in Yakutsk you can have the largest amplitude of temperature from minus 60 during the winter to plus 40 during the summer. This is 100 degrees difference. And the condition of the roads in the town is just, I don't know how to explain. Now we got some kind of nice boulevards but the rest of the streets were, oh man, if you walk during the night you'll break your leg. That destroyed they were. And because we're in the same direction there is no reason for me or for him to travel alone. It's better to go together, we might help each other. I hope it will no need but I hope that everything is going to be all right. From here until Magadan we have 2 000 kilometers only dirt roads and then from Magadan back it's the same story. We'll see how it's going over there. If I am able to get a ferry and ship a motorcycle to Vladivostok I'll do it. If not I have to go on the same way back. Let me see if I can get something better to show you. You can see that all the buildings are not on the ground. You see the foundation they've always got like minimum one meter gap between the actual ground and the building. It's just because of the of the cold. This is the top center of Yakutsk. A place at the end of the world. Nice square with of course the typical soviet style everywhere. I already did everything that I have to do. I got petrol can, I draw money from cash machine to have cash with me on the road, I bought a new spray for the chain, I prepared everything, the bike is fine, nothing to do and tomorrow I will start on the way to Magadan. So far so good. Two days ago in the bike post house in Mogocha I met a russian guy Pavel and the next two three days we always meet each other on the road somewhere because it's the same road. We travel on the same road and if I start early later in the day when I stop to eat he's coming and when he sees the bike stop and eat with me and then he goes and I meet him later and stuff like that. So yesterday we decided to travel together because we met on the road again and yesterday we were together up to Yakutsk and of course because we're going to the same direction Magadan we decided to do it together because so many people are worried that I'll be alone, I won't be alone, I will have a company now. He was traveling very heavy with a Kawasaki KLR, very heavy, more than 50 kilograms of luggage but when he saw my my luggage he said man I would like to be like this and he actually shipped like 30 percent of his luggage he shipped today back home and he's significantly lighter now. Pork with rice, drink for only two euros. All right this was the center let's now go to see this museum of forever cult or whatever the name is the kingdom of forever cult or something like this is the name and this is something that has to be seen this is natural cult they do not have freezers here it's just unbelievable forever cult they said How many degrees here, probably minus 10, right? Let's have a look it's just unbelievable interesting man this is this is something different something that has to be seen and I'm freezing now and I am with the jacket and these colors everywhere ice hotel be in the ice hotel it's freezing and important this is natural cult oh this is just see this light well this is ice bar all made from ice it's bloody cold here I'm freezing at the moment they offered to have a jacket but I said I have a jacket but my jacket is too light for here anyway let's go further there are tunnels everywhere oh have a look at this oh isn't it serious I went back to take a jacket but there are no jackets all are taken so I have to hold it anyway it is six o'clock in the morning yesterday the battery of my camera died when I was in the forever coldness anyway after we come back here the guys from the club were already here preparing the table and we've got party last night until probably around midnight around midnight me and Pavel went to sleep and they continue here until probably three or four o'clock so anyway we woke up early morning five o'clock prepared everything and we're ready to go let me show you what I have done now I told you yesterday that I bought a petrol can that I'm gonna need it here on the road my tank is full and I also have this five liter petrol can that I'm gonna take with me and eventually this will be enough to cover almost like 450 kilometers and I've been told that the longest distance here without petrol is like 420 kilometers bike is ready everything Pavel will pack now his stuff after he sent a lot of stuff at home now will be significantly lighter but anyway still heavy and we'll go I have the gps to get me out of the town to the ferry and after the ferry a few kilometers and then we will be all right 20 past six all right just on time in this part of the town the roads are very bad you can see all of these lines from the trucks and a lot of potholes and a lot of dust this is the queue for the ferry I just cannot wait and everybody said that with a motorcycle you don't need to wait and it's a lot it is a lot all right I'm on the ferry it's normal you don't need to wait people understand they even make me a space to go in so I hope Pavel yeah Pavel is there he will come now and we are ready now the ferry is full all right all right now the first 160 kilometers will be nice road asphalt road and after that the fun will start all the parts that I really look forward that's why I came here anyway these are guys with this expedition Toyota Land Cruisers I think they are from Moscow not sure yet but I think they are from Moscow with cameramen and everything I think they film something see now it's already eight o'clock it took us exactly two hours just to cross the ferry good that we start early six o'clock otherwise we're gonna waste a lot of time and I don't know we'll be able to make it until Khandyga which is 400 kilometers away now when I get on the road to Charubcha I think was the name I don't need the GPS anymore because it's it 240 kilometers straight on this is the first small village on the road and if we can make a breakfast here will be great and then after that just strict right okay this will make the breakfast this coffee actually is not bad and it has some kind of museum part here Bulgari see all the local animals, wild cats, wolves, bear, fox and also here good like museum part of all soviet era stuff radios cameras typing machines yeah interesting and the food was good everything was good the next stop is going to be after 100 kilometers to refill the tanks here we go Magadan 1838 kilometers straight on this is a famous sign that's why I stopped this is Charubcha here we have to refill yes this is the petrol station here we go 95 62 all right and then from here a few more kilometers and then will be only dirt roads the guys from Yakutsk told me that in Charubcha don't stop just fill the tank and go you don't need to stop it's not a good place to stop I guess that this asphalt is made in the soviet time there will be sections like this with sand and a lot of dust