LDR Members Andrey Kochetov and Nikolay Nikolaev’s Easy Rider 805km in 12 hours.
In Russia, the winter lasts 6 months of the year and sometimes more. This is a hard time for real bikers who want to ride all the time. During the winter, bike events take place where winter motorcycle enthusiasts could meet and cheerfully spend time in the company of fellow riders and friends. Many people attend these events but most travel by car. I made this journey on my 1987 Honda GL 1200 Aspencade equipped with an old Soviet sidecar IZH-56 that was over 60 years old!
The usual Russian winter temperature is -15c to -25c and there is a lot of snow. Not the best time for a motorcycle trip, as it can be very dangerous! But this doesn’t stop some bikers. Some attach the sidecars to the motorcycles, put iron spikes on the tires, dress themselves with a lot of warm clothes and go despite everything. Me and my friend Nikolay had decided to risk it and go to one of the winter bike festivals on my motorcycle. It was a Belorussian bike fest called “Zima 2011”, organized by a chapter of our Rolling Anarchy MCC.
We bravely started our trip early in the morning. Temperature was -15c. There was a strong snowfall the night before and all the roads were covered in snow when we left. I couldn’t find winter tires for the motorcycle, and it was necessary to go on the usual tires. It became necessary to travel the first 200 km at a speed of 40-50 km/hour because of the snow but after that the snow ended the ride became easier. The snow had accumulated on the windshield and it became necessary for me to look over it instead of through it. Around the Belorussian border the weather became warmer.
The Belorussian roads were wet, but without snow and at times it was possible to be dispersed to 100-110 km/hour. The last 200 km to the bike festival were the most difficult. We had to move down from a highway and make our way through small towns and villages where the roads were seldom cleared. At dark, the snow began again. All the people were asleep and there were few cars, only dark houses and snow fields. We nearly turned the bike over when approaching a turn that night. I pressed to strongly on the brakes and we spun on the road. The full run to the festival was 1050 km from Moscow.
It was a difficult trip but God saved us.
The trophy is for riding longest distance on a motorcycle..
