He plans to reach the coldest spot on earth. On motorbike
Karolis Mieliauskas reached Yakutsk by plane, with his motorcycle – a Yamaha Tenere – taken apart before the flight. It was February the 1st when he started putting it together in a warm garage. The days to follow will be tough.
He plans traveling to Oymyakon – the coldest inhabited place on earth. He’s starting the ride at -40° Celsius in Yakutsk, but the temperature drops to -60 Celsius [-76°F] in Oymyakon – a small town in Yakutia. He’ll ride the famous Road of Bones which goes through mountains and frozen rivers – it will be extreme.
Karolis Mieliasuskas, 36, from Lithuania, mostly travels alone. “For me, tough motorcycle ride is a perfect method for active meditation. In my matter motorcycle plays as a tool to test upper limits of own performance and to explore the self by witnessing.” His previous adventures were a ride on the frozen lake Baikal – March 2017, an “11,000 km to Vladivostok mediation” – July 2016 and a trip across Morocco – 5,000 km – in 2015.
The Coldest Ride is happening as writing this article and the most recent Facebook post refers to the river Lena Crossing. “The ice is perfect here, but the wind is very strong and I feel good driving up to 100 km/h” – that’s what he says.
I traveled the Road of Bones in Siberia (the Kolyma Highway) a couple of months ago, so I know the places. The road starts in Yakutsk and continues to the Northeast. The first kilometers are paved, but after that, there’s no asphalt. In the first part of the trip he’ll reach the famous “Churapcha mud” area – in good weather there’s no problem – you just have to pay a bit of attention, but if it rains it becomes a nightmare. Fortunately, it’s a snowy road right now – actually, the locals are saying that it’s easier to ride in the winter than during the summer months – the snowy path is better than the dusty one. But it might be a bit different when riding a motorcycle at -50 Celsius.
After that there’s the Aldan River and the town of Khandyga. And after Khandyga, there’s a long day ahead, and there’s only a gas station on the way – the famous Kyubeme station. Then you’re passing some mountains, and the road continues to Ust Nera. Karolis Mieliasuskas will turn left at Tomtor and ride for another 30 km to Oymyakon.
You can watch his ride on his Facebook Page and visit The Coldest Ride website. Good luck, Karolis Mieliasuskas! Have a warm trip.
Meanwhile, here’s the “Road of Bones” film we made last summer with the BMW F850GS.