Dimitri Kieffer

In Ytyk Kyuyvol, cycling forward in the snow....

noreply@blogger.com (Dimitri Kieffer) — Sun, 25 Sep 2011 21:54:00 +0000

Current Location:

Ytyk-Kyuyol (Ытык-Кюёль) , Sakah Republic (Yakutia) / Russian Federation
N 62° 20.497
E 133° 34.289

Monday Sept 26th 2011
Day 45th
1734 kms completed. Approximately 265 kms until Yakutsk.

I was able to successfully row on Thu Sept 22d, the Aldan river on a small boat with Gulnara on board and loaded with our gear and bikes.

Thereafter we camped one night on the left bank of the river and proceeded the following morning on our bikes towards Yakutsk on the federal road.

We covered the next 150 kms on a sandy/muddy road which in a way "thankfully" became covered with a good layer of fresh snow after our 2d night camping.

Indeed, the snow packed by the driving cars and trucks made it easier for us to travel on that surface than having to partially push our bikes on what would have been otherwise more kilometers of sandy federal road.

Along the way, we came across a few charming abandoned wooden villages which were previously inhabited by nomadic yakut cow and horse farmers.
We also came across a few inhabited farming communities where we saw a few "wild running" yakut horses and cow herds coming across our way.

We were also overwhelmed with Sakha/Yakut hospitality!

Indeed we spent one night in a very welcoming dairy farm ran by Roman and Alexandra, a great sakha/yakut couple who invited us to spend the night in their warm abode and fed us some of the delicious local Karas fishes pan fried, as well as local berry jam and yakut fried bread.
Early the next morning while watching Roman and Alexandra hand milked their cows, we were able to share more stories and learned a bit about what hard sakha/yakut rural life entails.

Along our way, we were also intrigued to learn and see how so many rural yakuts keep their water supply throughout the year in frozen blocks of ice, 3 meters below their houses @ permafrost level!

Finally, last night, upon landing in Ytyk Kyuyol, we were welcomed by fireman Ivan who invited us to his banya and to spend the night in his local fire station!

Mahtal Roman, Alexandra and Ivan!

D&G

In Khandyga, planning the crossing of the Aldan river.

noreply@blogger.com (Dimitri Kieffer) — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 02:34:00 +0000

Current Location:

Khandyga (Хандыга) , Sakah Republic (Yakutia) / Russian Federation
N 62° 38.854
E 135° 34.805

Wednesday Sept 21st 2011
Day 40th
1560 kms completed. Approximately 430 kms until Yakutsk.

We arrived on Monday night in the town of Khandyga and are taking a well deserved rest after having gone non-stop since Ust-Nera, 600 kilometers away, through mountain passes, multiple intense road construction areas (including a 32 kms section through Black and Yellow Prizhim) as well as large rocky and/or sandy sections which fatigued our bodies (especially our knees and backs).

On our way, passing through two time zones, and therefore losing rapidly precious daylight in our evenings, we have had to rely heavily in the evenings/nights on our rechargeable lightweight but powerful Light & Motion Solite 150 multisport lights.

Indeed, already on our first night out of Ust-Nera, we chose to pass our 10th mountain pass (Olchansky pass) under falling snow. Indeed, we did not want to wait until the next morning, and therefore taking the risk to be stranded in the mountain pass under a potential thick layer of snow...

I was reminding myself at the time the classic scene of a Russian movie I saw where two men fell asleep under an apple tree, eating its fruits and woke up the next morning under a thick blanket of snow, quite surprised! Winter can fall quite suddenly in these northern regions!

Over the following 10 days, the temperature varied from -10 to +16c, and we were able to experience a mixture of snow, hard rain, and sunny fall days while riding our way up and down the successive mountain passes and hills, somewhat feeling as if we were riding a roller-coaster which paradoxically are called in French: "Les Montagnes russes", and strangely enough are called "Amerikanskye Gorki/ American Mountains" in Russian!

On our trail, we had the pleasure to meet a mixture of intriguing yet inviting yakut, ukrainian and white russian road workers, stranded truck drivers and isolated although quite energetic young meteorologists.

We were offered twice great banyas, as well as reindeer stew, moose roast, brusnika berries, bliny and few warm and hearty borsch.

We now want to especially thank Igor and Evdokiya Vasilyevna whom we met on the road while they were driving by. They very promptly offered us to stay in their spare apartment upon landing in Khandyga!

Now, here we are in Khandyga, profiting from their hospitality and taking the opportunity to tour this Yakut town.

We are planning to leave tomorrow morning and bike 30kms away to Keskil where I plan to cross the mighty Aldan river to Melino-Aldan on a rowing boat (in line with my self-imposed human powered obligations) while Gulnara will safely get on the regular river crossing ferry Keskil-Melino Aldan.

Once both reunited in Melino Aldan, we plan to continue our cycling expedition towards Yakutsk, 400 kilometers away.

Khandiga-Yakutsk 430 kms route

Poka!
Dimitri & Gulnara

A few pictures cycling through Magadanskaya Oblast and Republic of Sakha (Yakutia).

noreply@blogger.com (Dimitri Kieffer) — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 22:47:00 +0000

Cycling through Yakutia and Magadanskaya gold mining belt.

noreply@blogger.com (Dimitri Kieffer) — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 22:00:00 +0000

Republic of Sakha (Yakutia)

Current Location:

Ust-Nera , Sakah Republic (Yakutia) / Russian Federation
N 64° 33.916
E 143° 14.269

Thursday Sept 8th 2011
Day 27th
971 kms completed
Approximately 1020 kms until Yakutsk

Getting ready to leave Ust-Nera where we spent two nights in the local hotel/gostinitsa, tour the town, organize some of our gear and met a few new friends

. We especially want to thank Natasha, Adam and Youssup.

Since Myaundzha in Magadanskaya Oblast, we passed our 8^th mountain pass (Kolymo- Indigirsky) in the snow, spent a night in a coal mine (Tal-Yuryah) and even had tea inside a large coal mine working crane.

Coal mining, Tal-Yuryah, Magadanskaya Oblast.

Tea time inside a coal mining crane, Tal-Yuryah, Magadanskaya Oblast

We also had the chance to share freshly smoked fish (Harius) and tea with the inviting meteorologists at the remote post of Delyankir.

Harius fishes from the Nera river

Smoked Harius fishes at the meteorologists station in Delyankir.

Meteorologist measuring air temperature at the meteorologist station in Delyankir, border of Magadanskaya Oblast and Republic of Sakha, Yakutia.

Measuring sun position at the meteorologist station in Delyankir.

We entered the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), Russian Federation, where we were very well welcomed by the local authorities in Artyk, inviting us for a night in their future hospice.

Gold mining, Nera River, Republic of Sakha (Yakutia)

We followed the Yakut gold mining belt, cycling along the Nera river, camped one night with our British friends Joann and Steven traveling in their Landcruiser and spent a morning playing hide and seek with a curious fox in the ghost town of Ozernoye.

Finally, we were also able to see very clearly permafrost/ice layer, a few feet under our collapsing/cracking federal road mostly made of argyle/clay before reaching Ust-Nera.

For anyone who wonders, yes, we decided to go with the “new” road and forgo the “old” road between Kadykchan and Kyubyume, (even if it meant an additional 110 kms of cycling for our route), because we received reports from travelers who tried and failed to take the old route in landcruisers/kamaz and motorcycles from both sides (Kadykchan and Kyubyume) and told us that at this time (early September) the rivers were way too high and too furious to cross/ford safely on bikes and/or by foot.

Once again, I wish I could take the time now to write a good report on all what we have experienced since Myaundzha but we need instead to keep riding our bikes forward for the time being, now moving 600 kms further Southwest towards our next town: Khandyga.

Poka!

Departing Myaundzha, Magadankaya Oblast

noreply@blogger.com (Dimitri Kieffer) — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 21:14:00 +0000

Current Location:
Myaundzha, Magadanskaya Oblast
N 63° 02.773
E 147° 10.928

Thursday Sept 1st 2011
Day 20th
656 kms completed
Approximately 1350 kms until Yakutsk

Getting ready to leave Myaundzha where we were given a room for the night in the guest workers apartments/dormitories complex (общежитие) and even had free access to the power plant beautiful 50 meters swimming pool which we had all for ourselves!

Since Susuman, we also stopped one night at the gold mining settlement of Bolshevik where we were welcomed by Ruslan, the chief engineer who even offered us his room, chocolates and French cognac!

We are currently crossing the Northwestern region of Magadanskaya Oblast, a beautiful region, where we are enjoying the great colors of the fall foliage and a lot less traffic!

I wish I could take the time now to write a detailed report on all what we have experienced since Orotukan but we need to prioritize riding our bikes forward before the snow starts falling, moving 300kms further in a northwestly direction to Ust-Nera in the Sakah (Yakutia) Republic.

And I regret to say that I currently cannot post any pictures, considering the slow speed of the local internet access.

Poka!

Departing Susuman, Magadanskaya Oblast

noreply@blogger.com (Dimitri Kieffer) — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 20:43:00 +0000

Picture on our first day as we were departing Omsukchan

Current Location:
Susuman, Magadanskaya Oblast
N 62° 46.677
E 148° 09.167

Tuesday Aug 30th 2011
Day 18th
570 kms completed
Approximatively 1395 kms until Yakutsk

Getting ready to leave our friends photograph Misha and musician Andrei who have welcomed us incredibly well in Susuman.

I hope to be able to post a report within the next 2-3 days on what has happened since Orotukan, including our stays and great hosts in Debin, Yagodnoye and Susuman.

It's raining hard and it's time to get back on our bikes, progressing on the Kolyma Highway, aka "Road of Bones".
Poka!

Orotukan, Magadanskaya Oblast: First 335kms completed on bicycles.

noreply@blogger.com (Dimitri Kieffer) — Sun, 21 Aug 2011 12:03:00 +0000

Note: I apologize but I am currently not able to post ANY pictures because of the local speed of the internet access. I will do so as soon as I will be able to!

Location:
Urban settlement of Orotukan, Magadanskaya Oblast
N 62° 15.763
E 151° 40.015
335 kms done, 1635 kms til Yakutsk

Information on Orotukan in English
Information on Orotukan in Russian

9^th day: Sunday August 21^st 2011

We finally left our Koryak hosts Tatiana and Volodya as well as our friends and logistic support Gena and Valera in Omsukchan on Saturday August 13^th 2011. We took off with a smile while riding in the rain on our fully loaded Surly Big Dummy (which my Magadan bicyclist aficionado and friend Igor enjoyed calling “the long crocodile”) and Gulnara’s Surly Long Haul Trucker bicycles.

I must admit though that on the last night prior to our take off, I went through a serious panic when I discovered a flat on my brand new tire, wondering very much if my tires will be able to transport all of my weight (myself + cargo + “big dummy” own weight).

It has been indeed a challenge for my sled-pulling mindset to switch from my sled days to my new bicycle era where I need to transport less and count on resupplying along the way.

Although, I am happy to report that so far, after having slimmed down a bit my cargo, neither one of us have had any flats on these first 335 kms of gravel, rocks and mud!

And we are still carrying all what we need though to face successfully mosquito clouds, heavy rain, heat wave (up to potentially +37 degrees Celsius) and potential snow.

So, we spent the first 6 days traveling on the Omsukchan highway also known as the “Chechen” highwaybecause of its somewhat Post Soviet time desolation and the large amount of tombs along the way: truck and car drivers funeral tributes of all sorts (tombs covered with wheel drives, truck tires, pictures, vodka bottles, flowers, etc…)

We faced along the way 6 days of cold rain while we overcame four beautiful mountain passes varying from 900 meters Zharky Pass to 1300 meters Kapranovsky pass.

On our trail, we were greeted with a copious amount of large hungry mosquitoes which we were able to deter successfully when we had to stop, with cream repellent, a sealed proof tent, specific insect shield clothes by Ex Officio and an OR mosquito proof Bob/hat with a net.

However, the mosquitoes were not a nuisance if we were riding our bicycles fast enough.

One night, Gulnara mentioned to me: “Listen, it’s starting to rain again…” to which I responded that they were actually thousands of mosquitoes bouncing against our tent!

At one mountain pass, on a dark and grey rainy evening, we came across 3 road workers who offered us coffee. They have been stationed in this outpost since May, somewhat relying on vodkato apparently overcome the boredom. They invited us to spend the night away from the rain in their modest abode while telling us that they were waiting for an additional vodka delivery coming up the pass by truck.

Needless to say we decided to move further along.However, while talking, they warned us about the potentiality to come face to face with bears while going down the pass and to therefore prepare ourselves accordingly with our bear spray, flares, etc...

Once again, I am not allowed to carry a firearm since I am not a Russian citizen and furthermore it would not be such a practical thing to do while riding a bicycle for a very long distance.

We were also told that last year in 2010, 3 persons were killed in the region by upset bears, running away from the numerous fires in Yakutia and Magadanskaya Oblast.

2 kms further a 4*4 travelling in opposite direction, warned us that they had just come across a mid-size bear on the road.

We proceeded further on our bikes carefully when Gulnara spotted 2 kms further, about 500 meters away, on the river’s edge, 2 mid-size bears obviously foraging for berries, fishes, etc… We stopped, took a few pictures and videos until we saw one getting up on his 2 legs, sniffing.

Not wanting to take obvious unnecessary risks, we decided to ride away before they could spot us.

Along the way, we camped hidden off the side of the road every night, away from rivers where bears tend to gravitate, treated or boiled our water, lived mostly of our dehydrated meals and let our bodies adapt to this new life rhythm.

We passed the “almost” ghost town of Balagychan where we were chased by a furious dog, the settlement of Kupka’s road workers, two otherabandoned villages anda wide variety of cement/concrete/metal bridges, often pairing older wooden decrepited wooden bridges.

We also had the pleasure to meet along the way countless large Ural/Kamaz drivers,4*4 drivers from Magadan on fishing/hunting trips, marchroutkas (minivan/minibus) drivers transporting Omsukchan “commuters”, Dukat gold & silver miners, etc…

Everyone somewhat risking their life while driving at high speed on this tortuous muddy, rocky and partially gravel road.

However, generally, these drivers were kind enough to slow down when spotting us on the road, mostly surprised to see us out there…

On one gnarly mountain pass, we could see in the bottom of the valley the cistern of a gas truck which went off the curve in the last winter bringing its driver to his premature death.

We also met 2 excellent road maintenance crews who were very kind with us.

The first crew traveling in an antiquated bus inundated us with questions and intriguing facts on the region.This crew was mostly in charge of repairing and repainting road signs. Their leader Sergey mentioned to us that in his 40 years of service on this road, he had never seen anyone on a bicycle in this 256 kms section…

The 2d crew was a well-equipped crew in charge of bulldozing new section of the road. Very kind, they invited us for tea and fed us bread, salo/lard, biscuits and patés.

I progressively stopped waving “hello” to the truck drivers coming by since most of them promptly stopped, interpreting that as a sign of distress, calling for “help”.

Indeed, in Russia, you may nod your head as a “hello” sign but definitely not wave your hand…

On our 6^th and last day on the Omsuckchan road, we met Sergey in his Russian jeep, who asked us a lot of questions. When he discovered that we had been living for a week on our dehydrated meals, (and thankfully delicious lärabars!) he decided to promptly give us a whole box full of homegrown delicious tomatoes, fresh bread, pickles and cans of “tushonka” as well as duck liver patés. It felt like Christmas and Santa Claus had arrived!

On the evening of the 6^th night, after 256 kms completed on the Omsukchan highway, we joined the Kolyma highway (aka “road of bones”) and started moving Northwest on a better surfaced and hard packed road where we were quickly showered with clouds of dust and potentially flying small rocks resulting from the even faster driving trucks (transporting logs, mining equipment and even recycled scrap metal from the Soviet times being shipped overseas out of Magadan) as well as 4*4s zooming North for their weekend on their Friday night.

On our 7^th day, we passed the beautiful Gerbinsky mountain range, enjoyed an intriguing cascade under a warm +27c sun and stopped for our first served meal at our first trucker restaurant in the small mining town of Laryukovaya.Enjoyed some borsch, golubtsy (stuffed cabbage), fresh bread, potatoes, fried chicken and chocolate!

While sitting in the diner, we asked where we could potentially find a place to stay, looking forward to a night inside to shower and reacclimated ourselves after having endured days of hard rain.

After a few phone calls made by our waitress, we were greeted by our ” tomato man” Sergey once again who with his partner Marina asked us to follow his car with our bikes 5 kms away to Orotukan.

We arrived in Orotukan around 21:30 under the sun setting and were given the key to an entire furnished apartment generally loaned to visiting mining contractors (on the first floor of a 5^th floor building) and told we were welcomed to stay for free as long as we wanted…

We were even asked if we wanted to move here in Orotukan and asked if we needed money to eat!
We must have looked a bit in shambles… ;-)

Our host Marina also mentioned: “don’t bother locking the door, Orotukan lives in “communist” peaceful times, where no one steals anything from anyone…”

We woke up this morning, got on the very slooooow internet that we could catch thanks to a Megaphone dongle/flashcard which we bought in Magadan, bought some fresh food, andtour this urban settlement as well as the sports center which is well known for its Russian boxing national champions.

Orotukan currently has ~2000 inhabitants, less than in its heydays in Soviet times where was assembled and repaired gold mining equipment for the surrounding mines and also has had a gulag camp in its proximity in its earlieryears.

One striking fact about Orotukan’s population coming from Further East (Evensk, Kamchatka Koryak Okrug and Chukotka) was the large proportion of Caucasus minorities, mostly coming from the Republic of Ingushetia, in southwest Russia.Here they come to settle and work in the gold mines as well as in construction work. Most of these men come with their spouses and a large amount of young children busy running around town and shopping for candies in the few local shops….

So far our bodies are holding well.
Gulnara has been dealing with a few muscle sores and especially one somewhat alarming in her right knee, particularly after we passed steep mountain passes. Although, thankfully, all this seems to be dissipating progressively itself away…

Our bikes are holding well except for two broken stands which snapped under the weight of our cargo and a bent front derailleur on my big dummy that took a while to fix.

I spent a few hours indeed trying to fix it myself until we decided to look for Ivan Zanorin’s contact in Omsukchan: the local mechanic Alexander Sidorovich.

After having found Alexandr’s phone number through one of the local shop keepers, we went to Alexandr’s garage and successfully passed through an armada of threatening guarding dogs. There, I spent a few more hours with local mechanics Alexandr & Valera trying to figure out how to successfully fix this American bicycle front derailleur which to them, used to work on Japanese and Russian automobiles/ minivans seem a bit like learning the inner workings of a UFO.

I am happy to report though that we were successful.
I was able to regain the 27 speeds on my bike (instead of 9) and I profusely thanked Valera and Alexander for theirtime!

After having spent this day off our bikes, we are planning to leave tomorrow and proceed towards Yagodnoye (130 kms away) as quickly as we can.

But before we go, we want to thank our Orotukanese hosts Sergey and Marina for their hospitality!

Bolshoespasibo!
Dimitri & Gulnara

Thanking our summer 2011 sponsors from Omsukchan

noreply@blogger.com (Dimitri Kieffer) — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 20:06:00 +0000

Current location:
Omsukchan
Magadanskaya Oblast, Russia
N 62* 30.987; E 155* 46.342

We arrived last night in Omsukchan after a beautiful 10 hrs /570kms ride from Magadan onboard our friend Ivan Zanorin’s mighty Toyota Delica.

Since some of you have asked, thankfully we were not onboard the tragic plane that crashed near Omsukchan earlier this week.

And, we are now planning to start riding our bikes towards Yakutsk in 24 hrs, quickly before the snow starts falling...

But for the time being, we want to take the opportunity to thank our generous sponsors!

Gulnara and I spent the month of July in Seattle busy getting ourselves ready as well as preparing our gear for this first bicycling section.

In the process, we were enthused to gain new sponsors as well as reinforce partnerships with some of our existing supportive sponsors.

The new sponsors that we are now proud to represent are:

- Avia Partner / Авиа-Партнер which shipped gratuitously our bicycles and cargo from Moscow to Magadan.

- Ortlieb USA provided to us generously a wide assortment of Ortlieb waterproof bags, Tubus bicycle racks, UltraLite bike mirrors , and Busch & Mueller tail lights.

- Light & Motion provided to us great rechargeable lightweight but powerful Solite 150 multisport lights.

- Universal Distro provided to us great adjustable eyewear for sunny days and rainy/cloudy days.

- GoPro helped us acquire their latest High Definition Helmet Cameras.

- Free Range Cycles, a great bicycle shop in Fremont, Seattle assisted us to carefully select and prepare our new bikes and appropriate related gear.

- Jude Ultra helped us design the new Nexus Expeditions logo.

And amongst our existing sponsors, we are very grateful to have received once again the great support from some of our most loyal sponsors:

-Logistic, guidance and overall support from Egan & Associates

-Indispensable wool clothing by Ibex

-Protective and comfortable outerwear by Westcomb

-Footwear by Treksta

-Nutritious energetic bars by Lärabar

-Efficient electrolyte solution by Nuun

-Promotional signs/stickers by Davis Sign Co.

Finally, click here, if you wish to consult a complete list of all of Nexus Expeditions sponsors since 2005.

Once again, thank you all for your support and for now, let’s get on the road and start biking!

Dimitri Kieffer & Gulnara Miftakhova

Leaving Magadan for Omsukchan

noreply@blogger.com (Dimitri Kieffer) — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 14:20:00 +0000

Yes, Gulnara and I are back in Magadan and leaving in a few hours for Omsukchan, loading ourselves, our cargo and bikes on board a minivan driven by our local friend and great support Ivan Zanorin.

We are indeed going to travel today 560kms on this chaotic road in a northeastern direction to our starting point in Omsukchan .

Once again, we are going to start our first bicycling section in Omsukchan and not Magadan since I last stopped there in early May after having finally being able to reach a permanent road by foot.

I will post very soon a recap and pictures on what has happened over the last few days since we landed in Magadan.

Stay tuned!

Spring 2011 Written and TV interviews

noreply@blogger.com (Dimitri Kieffer) — Sun, 03 Jul 2011 14:53:00 +0000

While we are currently coordinating the logistics to assure our return in Far Eastern Russia this next month (early Aug 2011), I wanted to update you on the following matters:

I have added to the page ”Plans for Summer 2011 Route”, links on videos and written reports that have been sent to me by bicyclists, hitchhikers and motorcyclists who have been or planning to be on a similar route.
Hopefully, we might be able to meet some of these fellow travelers on the route!

On a separate note, here is a quick compilation of some of the Nexus Expedition interviews that have been published over the last few months.

Seattle Times interview - June 2011
An overall summary on what did the "Missing Link" entail.

Polar Explorersweb interview – June 2011 (Part 1)
Polar Explorersweb interview – June 2011 (Part 2) (subscriber content)
Polar Explorersweb interview - July 2011 (Part 3) (subscriber content)
Polar Explorersweb interview - July 2011 (Part 4) (subscriber content)

In these articles, amongst other matters, I explain in depth what I believe I have learned over the last few years from the people I have come across on Russian land while pulling my sled:
Chukchis, Koryaks, Evens, Yakuts, white Russians and my expedition partners.

Sharing a slice of life with Koryak Vova in Tavatum, Magadanskaya Oblast

AskYakutia.com – May 2011
In this article, I explain what route I took for the benefit of any other future potential travellers/expeditionists in the region.

Magadan - Russia 1 TV interview – March 2011

Seattle Magazine – Feb 2011
“Closet Nerd” - On the more amusing side, one can never completely escape his past…

If you want to see a more comprehensive list of older press reports, written, radio and video interviews, scroll down on the main screen of Nexus Expeditions homepage and look on the left side for the section called “Video/Radio/Printed Press”.

For video footage and video interviews, feel free to check the page “Expedition Videos”.

Cheers!

Spring 2011 "Action" video screenshots

noreply@blogger.com (Dimitri Kieffer) — Mon, 30 May 2011 16:44:00 +0000

These shots have been extracted from some of the videos I took this Spring.
I have decided to post these raw non-edited shots after an old friend of mine recently asked me why so far I have only been showing pictures of me on flat land...
So, here it is!
Note: If you double-click on some of the smaller shots, you can see them in larger format.

And yes, with my friends at 1iOpen productions, we are currently editing 2008-2011 material so that we can post a trailer, snippets and a larger product sometime in the short-to-mid-term future.

I am only including here a few of the shots.
To see more of these shots, please click here.

Planning the first 1760kms bicycle section: Omsukchan-Yakutsk

noreply@blogger.com (Dimitri Kieffer) — Fri, 27 May 2011 06:51:00 +0000

Omsukchan - Yakutsk 1760 kms - Summer 2011 Planned Route

Yes, indeed, after having spent the last few winters pulling a sled, it's time for me to get reacquainted with the bicycling world!

In less than 11 weeks, in early August 2011, I am due to start bicycling westward out of Omsukchan (where I last stopped with my sled in late April 2011) towards Yakutsk and proceed furthermore southwest, towards Mongolia.

I am also excited to announce that my girlfriend Gulnara Miftakhova is planning to join me bicycling for this next section of the expedition!

Note: By the way, going forward, I will try to use the term "bicycling" exclusively and refrain myself from using the term "biking" which has apparently confused some of my international readers, wondering if we were planning to travel by bicycle or motorbike!

So, between Omsukchan, Magadanskaya Oblast and Yakutsk in the Republic of Sakha, we are planning to bicycle the following route:

More general information and photos about this route can be seen at the following Tamerlane site, where you can also see video snippets of the movie "Long Way Around".

Additional Notes:

July 1st 2011-: have also been forwarded the Russian following link that highlights the Road of Bones route taken by Russian cyclists: КОЛЫМА - 2008
well as a video taken by Milosz Augustyniak, a pole hitchhiker in June 2011.

July 12th 2011:
Between July 8th and August 10th, 8 bicyclists are riding from Yakutsk to Magadan. We hope to meet with them while traveling in opposite direction.

July 26th 2011 : Australian hitchhiker 2010 report on the Kolyma highway.

Part 1. The first 251 kms from Omsukchan to the intersection with the Kolyma Highway, aka "Road of Bones". This promises to be a busy dusty and potentially dangerous narrow road where we will be passed by countless supply trucks coming in/out of Omsukchan and Ducat silver and gold ore mines.

Part 2. We will then travel the next 404 kms on the wider Kolyma highway until we reach Kadykchan, this time side by side with a greater amount of large Kamaz and Ural trucks travelling at high speed between Magadan and Susuman.

Part 3. In Kadykchan, we will definitely be glad to leave the trucks and the "dirt highway" behind and get on the more bucolic/rustic "old road" for the next 405 kms, via Tomtor all the way to Kyubyume in the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia).

I am actually really looking forward to this more peaceful section away from the large trucks commuting between Magadan and the gold mining communities in Northern Magadanskaya Oblast.

Old rustic 405kms bypass

Note on River crossings: In April 2011 while in Magadan, I was able to meet several bicyclists and truckers who are familiar with the Omsukchan-Yakutsk route and I now know the following:
a. In August, the rivers tend to be much smaller than in early summer and therefore can be crossed easily.
b. In the case of a downpour, we may need to wait 1-2 days for a river to recede before we can cross it.
c. For the larger rivers we will have to find an alternative solution such as using inflatable kayaks or something similar to cross the river and ensure the continuation of this "human-powered" expedition.

Part 4. In Kyubume, we will get back on the main Kolyma "dirt highway" and travel 320 kms further to Khandyga.

Part 5. In Khandyga, we will travel 380kms further to reach Yakutsk.

Total: Omsukchan-Yakutsk - 1760kms / 1094 miles

After Yakutsk, our goal is to travel on our bicycles southwest towards Mongolia and continue further through Kazakhstan, and through some of the Central Asian states (Kyrgystan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan), some of the Middle Eastern countries (Iran, Turkey, Syria, Jordan, Israel), and some of the Northern African countries (Egypt, Libya, Algeria, Mauritania, Senegal) where it will be time to row!
Of course, the exact route will be determined as we progress, partly depending on geopolitical conditions.

In the last few years, I partook in a few biking races such as crossing South Africa from Durban to Capetown in the Freedom Challenge (2005) and competing in the challenging La Ruta de Los Conquistadores in Costa Rica but never really undertook a loooong bicycling expedition of this caliber: Going from Omsukchan (Far Eastern Russia) to Dakar (Senegal, West Africa).

Bicycling 2200kms across South Africa, Freedom Challenge, Feb 2005

So, yes, at this stage, we are definitely learning as quickly as we can, about "adventure cycle-touring" logistics.

We are currently researching what are going to be the best bikes for us to use, the best waterproof clothing, paniers, spare gear, etc...

To that effect, I have been gathering valuable information from my friends at Angus Adventures, Asiemut, Panamerika, World's End Trek and amongst other sources, from the "Adventure Cycle-Touring Handbook".

But, PLEASE, feel free to email me directly at dimitri_kieffer@hotmail.com if you want to share any tips and recommendation you might have on bicycles and bicycle gear, "bullet-proof" waterproof clothing, etc... And yes, we are definitely looking for new reliable sponsors in the bicycling arena.
So, once again, please feel free to send me the recommendations you might have so that we can use and promote their reliable brand along the way!

Finally, over the next few weeks, I am still planning to post some of my favorite pictures/videos and stories on what I have experienced this spring while pulling my sled from Paren to Omsukchan.
Stay tuned!

Gulnara Miftakhova - Гульнара Мифтахова

noreply@blogger.com (Dimitri Kieffer) — Wed, 25 May 2011 16:05:00 +0000

Gulnara Miftakhova is a Russian Tatar who was born in the city of Kazan, Republic of Tatarstan, Russian Federation.

Gulnara is going to join the expedition in August 2011 to start the first bicycle section between Omsukchan (Magadanskaya Oblast) and Yakutsk (Republic of Sakha), covering approximately 1760kms.

Gulnara’s background:
In 2001, she graduated from the Kazan Pedagogical University (Philology Department) with a Russian language and literature teaching degree.
Thereafter, she applied her pedagogical skills while working as a governess for 2 years.

In February 2006, Gulnara moved to Moscow, where she was hired by the "Cinescope Production" and "Unikum-Center" movie production companies. There, she organized and coordinated the creation of films, musical concerts and fashion shows.
In 2008, she started working as a manager for the Russian music recording company «Studio Monolit".

Since 2007, she has been a member of the travel club "Miry".
In association with this club, she travelled in India and volunteered to help the organization of the "Pustie Holmi" music festival.

Gulnara has also volunteered to help design the seaside style of the Moscow restaurant "More vnutri" as well as the design of art projects for the "Pustie Holmi" music festival.

In June 2009, she organized and guided with her drum circle teacher Yuri Rubin a trip through Morocco for 18 Russian artists. While in Morocco, she met Dimitri Kieffer at the Gnaoua Music Festival.

Since then, they have been mostly spending their time together except when Dimitri was pulling a sled!

Gulnara has travelled through Russia, India, Morocco, Mexico, USA, Canada, Spain, France, Italy, Switzerland, Belarus, Latvia and Andorra.

Gulnara enjoys biking, hiking, swimming, kayaking, cross-country skiing, running, hatha yoga and poi spinning.

In 2010, she had the pleasure to hike the Half Dome trail in Yosemite park, USA as well as the GR98 Trail in Les Calanques between Marseille and Cassis in France.

Done with the Missing Link!

noreply@blogger.com (Dimitri Kieffer) — Fri, 06 May 2011 20:44:00 +0000

The Missing Link
Недостающее звено

As I mentioned in my last post, I am delighted to tell you all that I have completed what I call the "Missing Link"!

5228 kms (3249 miles) from Knik Lake near Anchorage, Alaska, USA to Omsukchan, Russia which I have accomplished over the course of 6 winters (2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010 and 2011) while trekking, snowshoeing, skiing, swimming and even sledding in a few downhills!
2951kms (1834 miles) on Russian territory since I have landed in Uelen.

The "roadless" section from Anchorage, Alaska, USA to Omsukchan, Magasdanskaya Oblast, Russia represents indeed a "Missing link" in the chain of asphalt, gravel and dirt roads which connects the American continents with the Asian, European and African continents,going from Tierra del Fuego at the southern tip of the Americas to Capetown at the bottom of South Africa!

On my way to Tavatum Hot Springs, Magadanskaya Oblast, April 2011

Now that I have finally come to a dirt/gravel road, I am definitely planning to return in August 2011 to Omsukchan and start bicycling westward!

HISTORIQUE DE L’EXPEDITION (2005-2011)

noreply@blogger.com (Dimitri Kieffer) — Fri, 06 May 2011 02:32:00 +0000

Détails de l’historique de l'expédition en langue Française
Expedition History (French version)

Dimitri Kieffer est actuellement au milieu d'une expédition à traction humaine à travers le monde qu’il a commencé à Anchorage, Alaska, USA en Février 2005.

Depuis son départ, il a traversé à pied l'Alaska d'Anchorage à Wales et ensuite a traversé le détroit de Béring en allant de l’Alaska à Ouelen, Tchoukotka, Russie en marchant, skiant et nageant en avril 2006.

Il a ensuite continué à pied et à ski, progressant vers le sud-ouest en passant par Egvekinot, Anadyr, (Chukotka Okrug), Kamenskoye, Manily, Paren, (Kamtchatka Koryak Okrug), et enfin Evensk et Omsukchan (Magadanskaya Oblast).

Dimitri a déjà couvert 5240kms depuis qu'il a commencé, en six hivers (2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010 et 2011) en marchant à pied, en raquette, en ski et en nageant.

Il envisage de revenir à Omsuckchan au début d'août 2011 où il poursuivra son expédition en vélo vers l'Ouest (Iakoutsk) et ensuite vers le Sud-Ouest (la Mongolie).

Étapes déjà terminées:

Première section:
Lac Knik (près de Anchorage, Alaska) - Nome (Alaska)
Février - avril 2005
37 jours
1100 miles 1770 kilomètres
Parcours à pied (trekking & raquettes à neige) de la course Iditarod

1ère section: lac Knik (près d'Anchorage, Alaska) - Nome (Alaska)

Deuxième section: Nome (Alaska) – Wales (Alaska)
Février 2006
9 jours
115 miles 185 kilomètres
Parcours à pied (trekking & ski nordique)
(avec l’Expédition Goliath - Karl Bushby)

2e section: Nome (Alaska) – Wales (Alaska)

Troisième section: Nome (Alaska) – Uelen (Tchoukotka, Russie)
Traversée du détroit de Bering
17-31 mars 2006
14 jours, 5 jours nécessitant des passages à la nage
200 miles 322 kilomètres
Parcours à pied (trekking & ski nordique) + nage
(avec l’Expédition Goliath - Karl Bushby)

3e section: Wales (Alaska) – Uelen (Russie) - Traversée du détroit de Bering

Quatrième section: Uelen à Egvekinot (Tchoukotka, Russie)
12 avril – 16 mai 2007
34 jours
425 miles 684 kilomètres
Parcours à pied (ski nordique et trekking seulement après Vastoshisno)
Uelen- Anguema (avec l’Expédition Goliath - Karl Bushby)
Anguema- Uelen (solo)

Pour plus de détails sur cette section, vous pouvez aller lire (en anglais):
Fin de l’itinéraire pour 2007 - Uelen - Egvekinot 425 miles/684 km

4e section: Uelen à Egvekinot (Tchoukotka, Russie)

Cinquième section: Egvekinot à Vayegi (Tchoukotka, Russie)
15 avril – 7 juin 2008
Nombre de jours de trekking en cours de calcul
83 Jours
Approximativement 600 miles / 965 kms

Parcours à pied (ski nordique, trekking avec sac à dos tout en tirant un traîneau, nage, utilisation du traîneau en tant que “kayak” de fortune pour les descentes de rivière).

Pour plus de détails sur cette section, vous pouvez aller lire (en anglais):
Fin de l’itinéraire 2008 - Egvekinot - Vayegi
Journal fourni par explorersweb.com

5e section: Egvekinot à Vayegi (Tchoukotka, Russie)

Sixième section: Vayegi (Tchoukotka, Russie) à Paren (Kamchtaka)
11 mars - 13 mai 2010
707 kilomètres
63 jours
Parcours à pied (trekking & ski nordique)

Pour plus de détails sur cette section, vous pouvez aller lire (en anglais):
Fin de l’itinéraire 2010 - Vayegi-Paren
Journal fourni par explorersweb.com

6e section: Vayegi (Tchoukotka) - Paren (Kamchatka)

Septième section:
Paren (Kamchatka Koryak Okrug, Russia) - Omsukchan (Magadanskaya Oblast, Russia)
6 mars - 25 Avril 2011
595 kilomètres
51 jours (39 jours de trek et 12 jours d'arret: tempêtes / réparation/repos)

7e section: Paren (Kamtchatka) - Omsukchan (Magadanskaya)

Kilométrage total parcouru:
Approximativement: 3249 miles 5228 kilomètres
291 jours

L’expédition a débutée le 26 février 2005 au bord du lac Knik, près d’Anchorage, en Alaska (U.S.A.). C’est à pied et en raquettes à neige que Dimitri a parcouru en 37 jours le tracé de la course Iditarod du lac Knik jusqu’à Nome (1770 km).

Il était la sixième personne à accomplir à pied le parcours de cette fameuse course de chiens de traineau. Pendant la course, il a rencontré Karl Bushby et il a décidé de le rejoindre dans son Expédition Goliath. Il a continué vers le nord-ouest en février 2006, laissant Nome derrière lui pour rejoindre Wales 185 km plus loin après 9 jours.
En mars 2006, il a accompli la première traversée au monde d’est en ouest du détroit de Bering entre Wales, Alaska et Uelen, Russie.

Il a parcouru 322 km en 14 jours avec Karl Bushby dans le cadre de l’expédition Goliath, conquérant à la nage, à la marche et en ski le labyrinthe de floes (bancs de glace libres flottant sur la mer) qui relie les deux continents en hiver. Pour plus d’informations sur cette traversée, vous pouvez lire ces articles de la grande presse: Seattle Times, New York Times.

En avril 2007, il a repris son expédition Nexus, uniquement sous propulsion humaine, dans le Tchoukotka en Russie. Il a retrouvé le fil de son chemin à Uelen où il avait du s’arrêter après sa traversée du détroit de Béring.
Il a parcouru 684 km en 34 jours entre Uelen et Egvekinot. Il a voyagé à pied et à ski tout en tirant un traîneau le long des côtes de la Sibérie et au travers de la toundra gelée, voyageant avec Karl Bushby.

En avril 2008, Dimitri a repris son expédition en solo dans le Tchoukotka, en Russie, partant de Egvekinot où il s’était arrêté en dernier et couvrant environ 1000 km.

Il a accompli cette section à pied et à ski tout en tirant son traîneau le long de la côte de Sibérie et en suivant les tracés des cours d’eau. Avec l’arrivée du printemps et la fonte rapide des neiges, il a fallu que Dimitri marche une partie des derniers 150 km, portant son sac tout en tirant son traîneau sur terre ferme, traversant à la nage les cours d’eau après la débâcle. Il a fini par chevaucher le traîneau transformé en kayak de fortune pour descendre les rivières, utilisant sa pelle comme aviron.

En Janvier 2009, Dimitri accidentellement fractura sa vertèbre L1, à son domicile à Seattle, en tombant malencontreusement de 5,5 mètres de son toit alors qu'il été en train de le réparer.

En conséquence, il a subi une opération chirurgicale réussite de la fusion de sa colonne vertébrale, qui, heureusement, lui permet à présent de fonctionner complètement, après avoir pris une année forcée "sabbatique" de rétablissement vis-à-vis l'expédition.

En Mars 2010, Dimitri est retourné au village de Vayegi et a continué à pied et à ski tout en tirant son traîneau en direction du sud-ouest vers la Kamchatka.
Il termina le premier mois en compagnie du marcheur yakout Efremov Nyurgun qui s'est arrêté dans le village de Slautnoye, en Kamtchatka.

Dimitri compléta les 200 kilomètres prochains en compagnie de trois beaux chiens errants et atteint Kamenskoye.
==================
Après avoir quitté les 3 chiens en bonne compagnie, il a continué en solitaire, en suivant principalement la côte où il put encore trouver suffisamment de neige et de glace à peine assez épaisse afin de pouvoir glisser son traîneau, tout en nageant et marchant le long du parcours.
Finalement, il réussi à atteindre le village Koriak isolé des pêcheurs de Paren.

Dimitri a également été enthousiasmé de pouvoir rencontrer et de rester pendant quelques jours le long du parcours avec deux «brigades» d'éleveurs de rennes, (chez des Tchouktches et chez des Koriaks) où il a été capable d'apprendre et d'apprécier leur culture nomade.

En Février 2011, Dimitri retourna en Kamchtaka afin de continuer son périple en marchant et skiant 595kms, allant de Paren (Kamchatka Koryak Okrug) à Omsukchan (dans l'oblast de Magadan).

Dimitri va retourner à Omsukchan en août 2011, en compagnie de son amie Gulnara Miftakhova où ils vont commencer la première section de vélo en direction de Iakoutsk et ensuite de la Mongolie. Ensuite, ils vont continuer vers l'ouest pour rejoindre l’Europe. Il auront ainsi relié les continents européens, asiatiques et américains.

Dimitri prévoit de finir l’expédition en 2015 quand il rejoindra le lac Knik, après avoir fait le tour du monde uniquement sous propulsion humaine.

Interprétations artistiques de l'expédition

noreply@blogger.com (Dimitri Kieffer) — Thu, 05 May 2011 02:26:00 +0000

Interprétations artistiques de l'expédition en langue Française
Expedition Artistic Interpretations (French version)

Voici quelques dessins magnifiques créés par mon ami, Benoît Jurion.

Ils illustrent quelques-unes des sections mouvementées de l'expédition, entre avril et juin 2008 dans le Chukotka, où j'étais trop occupé à survivre ou trop épuisé et je n'ai pas eu le loisir de prendre des photos.

Portrait : je quitte Egvekinot, le 15 avril 2008.

Je tire le traineau, déplacement l'hiver.

Je tire le traineau le long de la rivière Lamuskaya.
Notez l'ordre séquentiel qui reflète l'évolution des conditions, qui passent de la neige ferme à la neige fondue et finalement à l'eau.

Situation dangereuse quand le traineau s'est trouvé coincé sous la glace. À un moment, le traineau a été complètement aspiré sous la glace ; la force du courant m'a surpris et la rivière m'a entrainé également sous la glace. J'ai pu refaire surface 10 mètres plus loin après ce qui m'a paru être une éternité passée sous l'eau.

Je descend une rivière en utilisant le traineau comme « kayak » de fortune avec la pelle en tant que rame. Notez l'évolution... je place progressivement les pieds sur le traineau, pour les sortir de l'eau glaciale.