We head off from Krasnayarsk, pre warned by the Team Scraz lads that the roads turns to rubbish about 30km after Kansk, a military base town.
We picked up the M53 after the weirdest detour. Russians don't often do ringroads. So the sign took us through an industrial estate over the side of a petrol station forecourt and often you will come to a junction where there are simply no signs, so its the pot luck approach.
We crossed over the river and marvelled at the cities surroundings. Beautiful. Not long into the road to Kansk the hilly backdrop became slightly flatter. As we approached Kansk we passed a military airfield with Migs or Sukhois lining the apron and a few of them buzzing the tower overhead, we'd love to have a go.
Through and out of Kansk is probably the best way to see it. We didn't really know what to expect with this road warning or how long it may last. It was far worse and longer than we could possibly of imagined. It started of with about 20 miles of what can only be described as a motocross circuit, huge holes the size of your bath along with mounds of about 2 feet height all intertwined with stones, mud and cracked concrete. It was slow and Dave took another hammering in places.
When the road briefly interluded into standard pot holed tarmac we hoped we had made it, we hadn't even began. Beyond a little village the road just ends. there is no roads, it's mud with holes and mounds made by all the years of traffic, we went into a steep uphill clearing through a forest and the mud was boggey and over a foot deep, there were at least 3 other cars and a few trucks who had run grounded in the quagmire. I was driving, kept Dave in first and kept the wheels moving with frantic left/right/left/right movement on the steering wheel to keep the wheels moving and a few good wacks on the bottom of the car.
This went on for about another 20 miles and now the light was fading and we had no phone signal in this remote part of Siberia, the only thing on the map asides the countryside, was the M53 which was no longer a road.
Eventually we returned to an uneven tarmac surface and thought again we have made it. Again we were to be disappointed. We found the only exit off the roads that we could to try and pitch our tents, but it was swampy land, wet and full of bird size mosquitoes and Dave was also visible from the road. So we had to press on in the dark. The road ran out again and remained a bumpy gravel tack with large brick size stones, holes and mounds for over 100 miles.
We found a motel by the side of the track at 2am, they had no beds, so on we went, eventually at 4am and completely knackered we pulled into a petrol station and tried to sleep in the car. Which was just to uncomfortable, so we drove Dave behind the cashiers booth and pitched 1 tent, and both jumped in for a quick kip before setting off again on the road from hell. We had done 369 miles.
Dave had already been showing signs of steering or suspension problems with the hammering he has had. this was constant wack after wack, bottom grounding thumps, we were driving more in the hope he holds together, there is no other way there.
After what seemed an eternity the track/assault course turned back into road. At one point with still around 450kms to Irkutsk, we thought we would not make it, if it stays like this. We did make it covering another 342 miles.
Inbound Irkutsk was standard Russian roads, a mixed bag, but absolute sheer bliss after the preceeding 24 hours. We stopped off and took a picture of one of the many Lenin Memorials.
Rich took a turn at diving. Dave not only handles awful he sounds awful, slightly blown exhaust and pinking when idling. He has to hold on for another 700ish miles.
After our heroic efforts we hoped to find a room in Irkutsk, no mean feat. Everywhere we tried was full. We finally got a really nice room in a small boutique place inside an old soviet building. After a good nights sleep we walked around Irkutsk this morning, It again feels more European than cities in Western Russia, it is really nice with coulourful buildings but maybe not as beautiful as Krasnayarsk or as cultural as Tomsk.
Today we start the final Push around lake Baikal onto Ulan Ude, hoping to hit border on Saturday for Sunday arrival. This will be our last chance to write before Ulan Bataar. We have both loved Russia immensly, more than we could of imagined, because of the people and the natural beauty. People here think we are mad for doing this but they will bend over backwards to help you. It really is full of the good the bad and the ugly. We are both bitterly sad to be leaving this magnificent country of contrasts, we have both fallen in love with it, but we must.
Dave is knackered and sound knackered but still going. Rich and I are knackered but still going. Ed justs rests and merrily quacks away when he's not trying to escape.
