Bye, Bye Novosibirsk...

Our last night in Novosibirsk we made plans to meet up with our local friends at the Bierhof Brewpub which was about 2 blocks from our hostel.  We had been there for dinner and beers the night before so knew it was good.  They have about 6 beers on tap brewed in house.  I stuck with the Dunkel both nights as this particular example was excellent.  I never even considered any of the other brews - I really like a good Dunkel!

That afternoon before meeting up with the everyone we stopped by Kiril's shop with the bikes to do some maintenance and clean some of Mongolia off them.  The Mongolian mud was pretty well caked on to most of my bike but I did manage to get a good amount cleaned off.  I did find a few bolts to my boxes loose so cleaning up a bit did help me to see what's going on with the bike.  

We met up with the gang at 9:00pm at the brewpub and had a nice time enjoying good food and beer, listening to live music and socializing.  The band was playing a lot of English covers even though they didn't speak English - just memorized the songs.  After a few hours the band was done for the night so we headed over to Mikhail's for more beer and smoke the hooka pipe.  We had a go at the hooka while at Yijin's house the other night as well.  Hooka has really become popular in Russia, just as it has in the US.  He had lots of flavors of tobacco (or maybe not tobacco - it looks like dried fruit) and mixed up blend that was very nice.  It's strange how the smoke doesn't even seem like tobacco - hitting a cigar or pipe tobacco like that would result in a coughing fit.  Machail then decided we should all go bowling.  It was 1:30am by that point - but hey, why not?

After driving around for a bit we couldn't find one that was open later than 3am - which really wasn't enough time since it was about 2:15am at this point.  He was sure there were some that were open until 5, but we had checked two already that were closing at 3.  He then decided we should skip the idea of bowling and go to a nightclub - ok, why not?  Ken, Mark and I are all dressed like travelers (hobos) with clothes most city clubs would reject - but Mikhail knew the bouncers so we were let in and and also got to skate the cover charge.  Mikhail's family used to own and operate a nightclub ( now they just rent out the space) so is he dialed in to the local club scene - and this nightclub was quite the scene.  Everyone was dressed up super nice so we (Ken, Mark and I) basically looked like homeless people compared to everyone else there.  Oh, well - it was fun watching the pretty girls dance on the tables and bartops which appeared to be perfectly acceptable - probable encouraged.  I did feel quite old as everyone in the club appeared to be in their 20's.  After a few beers we decided it was time to go and got dropped at the hostel around 4:30am.  A bit earlelier than the 5am from the night at the Banya.  I think I'm getting too old to rally like this for multiple nights in a row.  We have been in Novosibirsk for 5 nights now and we basically went out every night.  I want to think things will slow down a bit, but Machial has notified several of his friends between here and Moscow that we are riding through and they are prepared to meet us and show us their cities.  I hope my liver can make it through Russia alive - Ugh!

Thanks Mikhail, Yujin, Kiril and all your friends we met in Novosibirsk. You city is wonderful and you are all special people - your hospitality was above and beyond what we could have imagined and I hope you come to the US someday so I can return the gesture.

The nightclub scene.

More nightclub.

At Michial and Oxana's home.

The gang at the Bierhof Pub.

Still stuck in Novosibirsk...

Well we just got word from DHL tracking that Ken's replacement shock is held up at customs in Moscow and the new ETA is now Monday, September 1st - not good.  That would put us in Novosibirsk for over a week.  We will try plan B tomorrow and see if Kiril has the tools to repair the original.  He has an auto shop here and also does some work on motorbikes for friends.  It's a long shot but worth a try.  Although we have had a great time with our new friends, we really want to get back to riding on.

Mikhail was kind enough to take us around Novosibirsk to see the sights yesterday afternoon.  We visited a 100 year old cathedral monument that had recently been restored from the destruction during the Second World War.  We also visited Lenin Square and the opera house in the center of town.  It was pissing rain and the weather was very cold - about 7c or 45f.  I'm glad I had brought a rain jacket that came out for the first time on the trip.  All the other days it had rained we were riding or in our tents.  I think Ken and Mark wished they had brought a rain jacket as they looked a bit cold.  Mikhail also shared video of his motorcycle trip/Honeymoon to 30+ countries across the Middle East and Europe from 2011.  He rode an Africa Twin with his new bride and his parents were on a Gold Wing.  It looked like an amazing trip!

Later that afternoon we visited Kiril at his shop and it turned into a social gathering BBQ when fellow bikers and friends arrived at the shop with provisions - chicken, sausages, fresh veggies and watermelon.  Of course there was the requisite vodka and assorted bottled spirits.  Later a group of tattoo artists showed up to join the party - I think they had been partying on their own for some timed before they arrived as they were quite pissed (Mark and his English/Australian terms are starting to rub off).  A bit later we decided to head back to the hostel - one of the Free Riders had not been drinking so gave us a ride.  Another good night with new friends.  

The 100 year old cathedral monument.

Hello Lenin!

More statues with the opera house in the background.

Us in the rain in front of the opra house.

Kiril's shop.

A German travelers bike that was waiting for engine parts.

 

Another feast.

The Free Riders

Waiting for a Rear Shock...

We have been here in Novosibirsk for two nights now - still waiting for a replacement shock for Ken's bike.  If it doesn't come today I think Ken's head will explode.  He bought brand new custom suspension before the trip built especially for Mongolia and the rear started failing before we even got to UB.  By the time we got through the 800 miles of dirt through central Mongolia it was pretty much dead.  It is basically now reduced to just a spring with no dampening, rebound or preload functioning.  It looks like he is riding a pogo stick the way it continues to bounce after hitting bumps in the road.  The replacement shock is shipping from Holland where Yacugar's are manufactured.  It won't be the custom built unit as the original but should be much better than the blown up one.

Last night we went to Yujin's house for dinner and met his wife Irene an three children.  Mikhail, his wife and 5 month old son also was there.  We feasted on Georgian sausages and soup along with smoked turkey and goose.  It was all very delicious.  Of course there were also the traditional shots of spirits going around.  The spirits were from Georgia as well.  Apparently Irene had spent some time there recently and they had brought back items to Russia.  It was another fantastic night with our new friends.

Today it is cold and raining but we will do some sightseeing anyway.  We want to see Lenin Square in the center of town.  Novosibirsk is not an old city by Russian standards - only about 100 years old, so doesn't have the history of Moscow or St. Petersburg.

Yujin carving up the smoked turkey.

Mikhail, his wife Oxana and son Alex.

Novosibirsk and the Russian Banya Experience...

Sunday night we found a Dutchman camp in a farmers field a few clicks off the main road.  He was still harvesting the field and stopped by to say hello.  Ken played the farmer card, showed off his book of pictures from Virginia and he was all smiles - and even returned later to drop us a giant jar of honey.  It went great for breakfast on the fresh bead I had bought yesterday in the ski town at the base of the Altai's.

Yesterday we rode the 300+ km to Novosibirsk - Russia's third largest city.  There was a bit of traffic coming in but luckily we just beat rush hour getting to our hostel.  We are at the Stop House Hostel near the center of town.  400 RUB ($11) each per night.  We will layover tomorrow and explore the city while waiting for Ken's shock.  Novosibirsk is the administrative capital of Siberia and has significant historical significance in the industrial development of Russia.  

We met some local bikers while searching for the hostel and made plans to meet up later that evening. They insisted on treating us to a Russian tradition called Banya (translation is basically sauna).  None of us had any idea at the time what we were getting in to, but we were game for the experience.  Mikhail and Yujin picked us up at the hostel around 8pm and we proceeded to the grocery to pick up dinner supplies.  We then stopped at a shop where you can buy tap beer to go poured fresh into 1.5 liter plastic bottles - brilliant!  There were about 12 different drafts to choose from.  Why don't we have this in the US?  I want to start up one of these when I get home!  We then pulled up to the Banya.  Inside there are several rooms (we had the Moscow room - the walls were decorated with iconic Russian buildings and monuments) each with sauna, plunge pool, outdoor grill, refrigerator, dinner table, shower and bathroom.  It was sort of like a clubhouse.  Soon we were joined by Alex, Kirill, Alex #2 and his wife Margarita.  They first prepared a feast of grilled chicken and vegetables, tomato and cucumber salad and fresh watermelon while we started on the draft beer.  

It was a festive time as we shared stories and past adventures on motorbikes.  They all were members of the local Gold Wing club, so all had the big Honda touring bikes.  After enjoying a bit of food and drink Mickhail said it was time for Banya.  We all undressed and got in our wraps and proceeded to the sauna room. It was hotter than any sauna I had ever been in - and that was before pouring water on the hot rocks.  Once the water hit the rocks the hot steam was almost unbearable - my ears felt like they were combusting.  After about 5 or 10 minutes of cycling steam onto the rocks and being barely able to breath - we all get our and jump into the cool plunge pool.  The cool water felt so good after being cooked by the steam.  After a few minutes in the pool we get out and proceed to gather around the table eat more food and drink more beer and whiskey.

This cycle was repeated 4 or 5 more times that evening.  During the second cycle the leaf branch came out and it gets dipped in water, waved over the hot rocks and then beat on yor skin.  This procedure ramps up the heat factor even more.  The best part is that we definitely got the Mongolian dirt expelled from our body.  We were commenting earlier that day that even after showers we couldn't get the dirt cleaned from our skin - it had become a part of us but not any more.  Read more about the Russian Banya experience at www.masterrussian.com.  It was a great night that went well into the next morning - we arrived via cab back to our hostel after 5am.  Many thanks to our new friends in Novosibirsk for sharing your tradition and the Banya experience with us.

The Banya group with Marga on the camera.

The feast.

Fire pit to heat the hot rocks.

Steam room area.

The plunge pool.

Twisty Mountain Roads and a Ski Town...

Today was another day of smooth twisty mountain roads.  The scenery was beautiful with lots of trees, creeks and rivers all along the roadway.  We stopped for a break in a little ski town that reminded my of the Tahoe area of California - only the base of this ski area was only at 1000 ft.  It's probably too cold in the higher elevations of Russia to have a ski area.

About 20 minutes after the stop Ken got a flat - rear tire probably punctured by some glass in the middle of the road that he ran through.  We probably won't make it to our goal of 300 km today as the repair has taken almost an hour so far.  We had hoped to camp in the mountains tonight but the terrain ahead appears to be dropping - we are at 700 ft. here.  It's almost 6pm now so once we get on the road we will e looking for a spot to pull off for the night.  Tomorrow we will have about 400 km to Novosibirsk where we will layover a day to wait for Ken's replacement shock - it is supposed to arrive from Holland on Wednesday or Thursday.  Everyone says Novosibirsk is a good town to sightsee in so I am looking forward to the chance to relax and explore the city.  Hopefully we can find a hostel or cheap hotel.

Kayakers across the road.

Sunshine on the road ahead.

Monument to the road builders - it is a sweet road!

Ski runs on the hillside.

The Katun river.