The cafe and hotel
The truck parking next door
About 5km after you turn off the main trans Siberian highway the tarmac ends, and pretty much the road works start! It makes it hard going and very slow. Also the road base that they use consists of large and very sharp rocks, so you have to be very vigilant where you place the front wheel as any of them could easily rip the side out of the tyre.
I got into Tynda and eventually found the hotel. It is one of so many other ex soviet looking buildings that are hard to tell apart. Also with so many shops or other businesses the outside shows little of what lies inside. I checked in for two nights and locked the bike up securely at the side.
The hotel in the heart of downtown Tynda
The amusement park, although the Ferris wheel looks a bit suspect
Vitali
Within 10 minutes of being in my room there was a knock on the door and a member of the local bikers club introduced himself as Vitali and said if there was anything I needed then he could help. It was fortunate as the cush drive rubber in the rear wheel were starting to wear badly causing a bad knocking. I asked if he could get any old inner tube that I could cut up and within ten minutes he was back and helping me fix the problem. After which I bought him lunch. He said that tomorrow (Saturday) his friend was getting married and that the whole biker fraternity of Tynda would be out to ride around the town. That was one of three weddings that day all of which drove round and round with horns blaring for most of the day.
I left Tynda on the Sunday morning headed for Aldan. It was another reasonable day and although cold in the morning by lunch time it was warm enough to take of the rain jacket. I seem to recall I lost another hour and by the time I got there and found the “hotel” there was no café or restaurant nearby and I settled for some cold meat pasties and herring in red pepper washed down with a beer. These country hotels in Siberia give you a room. If you want a toilet there is a shared one down the hall. If you want a shower there is a shared one down the hall. And the all seem to charge around $60 for this. Don’t like it, tough.
Cold misty mornings
Aldan Hotel
Most of the people living around here were involved in building or running of the BAM Railway
I got going early the next morning and it was cold and very misty and damp. At least this kept the dust down in the morning. After that it was full on. There was a lot of trucks heading north and they kick up a hell of a dust storm. Passing them is an act of blind faith. You have to swallow the dust until you can get close enough, then pray there is nothing coming the other way as you pass. Nice feeling once you do pass them and start to kick up dust so they can’t see the potholes!!
I was doing OK and got to the ferry turning for Yakust at about 16.00. I had heard that there are only two ferries a day that go across, one at 09.00 and the other at 21.00. Seeing that I didn't need anything in Yakust I decided to try to find a hotel on this side of the river. I did and it was brand new with a bathroom and everything, except hot water!! Never mind a cold shower never hurt anyone, but no water pressure either!! A cold wash at the end of the day doesn't quiet cut it.
The next day would be the start of the Road of Bones.
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