It was with great anticipation that we left Ulaan Baatar bound for Russia one last time, Mongolia was once again an absolute highlight for all riders but we were looking forward to something special, our last border crossing for the entire expedition, we had all grown to hate border crossings!

Arriving at the remote Mongol / Russia border I was stunned to meet a relation of mine from Australia crossing into Mongolia, it made our last border less painful, in fact the border was staffed by friendly and efficient guards that had us entering Russia within 3 hours.

We stopped off at Ulan Ude to visit the largest statue of Lenin in the world, but also, sadly, to say goodbye to Geoff who had broken his leg and was going home and to Scott who had broken his ribs but would see us again in Yakutsk.

We rejoined the Trans Siberian Highway and rode onto Chita and caught up with Ron and Dean, a couple of Aussies who had camped with us for a few nights. Departing Chita we were amongst the first few people to arrive at a horrific road accident. The scene was horrendous with 7 people involved and a little girl dying at the scene and another older male near death.

The screams of a mother wailing for her dead child will remain with us forever. We rendered what assistance we possibly could and rode off in stunned silence, “stuff the Road of Bones” I thought I just wanted to go home to be with the ones I love, life is simply to short!

We continued east on the Trans Siberian Highway before finally reaching the legendary M56 or Lena Highway where we turned north with the sign saying Magadan 3177 kilometers to go and nearly all of it on dirt.

The Lena Highway immediately proved a challenge as we broke another set of springs on the trailer, the group rode onto Tynda while Justin flagged down a truck driver who proceeded to spend an hour helping to fit a new set of springs, and wouldn’t take a ruble for his efforts.

The ride continued due north through the never- ending forests of the Taiga that were turning the colors of autumn, passing many villages that seemed to be in a permanent state of decline. Tiny wooden shacks slowly sunk into the permafrost while old ladies tendered their small gardens and vegetable patches before the onset of another long cold winter. It is difficult to image the hardships these people face in this extremely remote region of Yakutia.

We continued on riding in stunning weather under and endless blue sky on what had become surprisingly good dirt roads, so good in fact that we found ourselves a day ahead of itinerary. We decided to camp on the banks of the mighty Lena River, one of Russia’s largest rivers before crossing, via ferry, the following morning to the western bank where Yakutsk is located.

Most of the group wanted to visit the UNESCO listed Lena Pillars, a one-hour bike ride and two- hour boat ride south along the Lena River. Once again the weather cleared and we were treated to a spectacular sight of towering basalt cliffs that rose from the banks of the Lena, it was an awesome sight and worth the considerable effort to get there and back. We eventually arrived at Yakutsk at 9pm!

The president of the local chapter of Russia’s biggest biker club, the Night Wolves, met us in the hotel and invited us all out for dinner and a few drinks. The word was put out and many bikers riding every type of bike imaginable turned up for a great night out. It was with some surprise that we discovered that our imminent arrival into Yakutsk had made it in the local newspaper before we arrived!

Not to be outdone by the newspapers the local TV station were awaiting Justin in the foyer of the hotel but they couldn’t care less in our “epic ride” they only wanted to interview Justin the Hollywood stuntman in his previous life before working for Compass.

We had organized a city guide whom had somehow managed to arrange for the wonderful Permafrost Museum to open exclusively for us on a Sunday. With the epic Road of Bones looming a day was spent preparing bikes, changing tyres and generally coming to terms that in seven days the expedition is over!!! CompasExpeditions.com