This morning breakfast was served only at 8 a.m. – too late for me. I had ordered a pastry in the restaurant the night before and made some tea in the kitchen. At 7:30 a.m., Alexander was waiting outside the hotel and we took off. Not without leaving a puddle of petrol before the entrance, ahem.  We left Novosibirsk behind and rode in the sunshine, for a change. The road was not too bad and we made good progress. After a while we stopped and Alexander had his breakfast. My carburettor was overflowing like hell, uh-oh….what to do? It had done this before the trip once. As the behaviour is not constant, I don’t suspect the floater valve, but the floater itself. I continued, playing with the fuel tap, finding the right position to avoid overflowing during riding. After a while, I managed. At the next petrol stop in Kemerovo, the situation was ok again. During the rest of the day, the carb would work more or less, but only very little with the barely opened tap.

“I’m sorry Robert, I couldn’t hold it!…”

After Kemerovo, the roads changed from excellent to „mmmh, ok“. I could slowly feel my back aching. All these bumps and the saggy seat, not a good combination. Dark clouds surrounded us, but it wouldn’t rain yet. The road was wet, though. During hours! No problem with a good surface, but when the tarmac was in a lousy state….when entering Mariinsk, the city greeted us with a slipping back wheel! Oooooaaaaaahhhhh…

The bypass around the didn’t really seem like a good idea, but careful riding is the top priority. The road was rather slow, with mixed wet surfaces. Road works and railway crossings slow you down:

Alexander said that he had an appointment in Achansk for the tyre change, I would continue another two hours to Krasnoyarsk. The drizzle started and finally we got soaked a little bit. In Achansk, Alexander must have stopped and I lost him. And then I got lost, as the road signs and the sat nav were contradicting. It took a while to find my way out the city again.

Still 170 km to go, pfffff. It is the ninth day of the trip, and I’m constantly under pressure. Catch up with the plan. On day 9 in the Iron Butt Rally, many people have their low point. Well, it would be nice to have a rest day, but….actually, after three more „relaxing days of around 650 km, this is the first of four hard days of 800 km each, and the forth is the notorious Ulan Use to Chita piste (650 km). At least, the rain had stopped now…four days with rain, where is the promised weather change? Along the road, many dealers sold furs and had stuffed, entire bears in front of their tents. With about 30 km to go to Krasnoyarsk, the landscape and the temperature changed. The green grass land turned yellow and the air was suddenly warm….

Krasnoyarsk. And don’t stop on the hard shoulder.

I stopped at a petrol station and after a difficult communication, I filled the tank. However, the safety valve did not work and with a huge gush I distributed one litre of petrol over the tank and the hot motor! Aaaaargh! In panic, I pushed the bike away from the large puddle under it. I filled up the oil and 10 min later I arrived at the hotel. Not situated in a chic environment, but it is very charming with friendly personnel. To celebrate the first 6900 km, I changed the spark plug!

Welcome, Mr Hutzlmandl!

The restaurant is fascinating! It is equipped in Siberian style and appears like a museum. I am the only guest. The menu was very delicious, in the end I ordered Siberian dumplings and fried white salmon, a speciality and very expensive for local standards. But at least I have tried it once, it was very delicious. I washed it down with German beer…

Siberian restaurant

Alexander will only get his tyre changed by noon tomorrow, but I have to leave early. I have informed him about my plans the next days, maybe he can catch up. It will be another 800 km trip tomorrow!