April 2015 · Lake Baikal, Russia · Team Meh-Teh (India)
Icerun
Two friends. A Ural motorcycle with a sidecar. The world's largest frozen lake. Fifteen days of sub-zero madness — and a 22-hour marathon finish that got us first past the post, eleven hours ahead of the next team.
Apr 2015
When
15
days
Lake Baikal
Russia
1st place
finish
The flag-off
Pioneer run · Russian army band
Irkutsk, early April. A Russian army band played us out as the teams rolled onto the ice for the first time. Rows of Urals lined up against the blue of Baikal, engines idling, no one entirely sure what the next two weeks were going to look like.
The route
Around Lake Baikal
Irkutsk → Listvyanka → Olkhon → Severobaikalsk → Ust-Barguzin → Baikalsk → Irkutsk.
The Ural
It goes where it wants to.
“When you're riding a Ural, it really doesn't matter where your hands are. It goes where it wants to.”
The Ural is a Russian bike with a World War II pedigree — heavy, loud, and stubborn. On ice, “steering” is more of a suggestion than an instruction. You point it roughly in the right direction and you hope.
It works. Eventually.
Day one on the ice
First ride on the Great Lake Baikal
Baikal ice, up close. Turquoise, cracking, alive — sounds you don't expect, and don't forget.
The final stretch
A 22-hour marathon to the finish
Somewhere in the last few days, we decided we wanted to finish first. That meant riding through a night, and then a day, and then most of another night — non-stop. Twenty-two hours on the ice, two men on a Ural, and a list of problems that grew by the hour.
Broken headlights
The only one still sort of working was held in place with tape. We rode most of the night under it.
Broken clutch cable
Snapped somewhere on the ice. Fixed, badly, and kept going.
−25°C to −30°C
Cold enough that anything exposed went numb in minutes. Four layers, and still.
State-of-the-art innovation
One taped-up headlight, 22 hours of darkness.
Our only working headlight, strapped on with whatever tape we had left. That tiny cone of light was the difference between a straight line and a very lost Ural.
Madness, redefined.
First to finish — 11 hours before the next team.
Too many lines on the GPS tracker, yes — we got lost a fair bit along the way. But Team Meh-Teh crossed the line before anyone else, and with a gap that surprised even us.
On film
Watch the ride
Lenin Square, Irkutsk
A parade, a police escort, and the Russian press.
Back on dry land, the Russian police escorted all the teams through the streets of Irkutsk to Lenin Square. It became a small parade — a blur of bikes, flags, lights, and curious locals.
Natraj and I got a special mention in the Russian press — first team to finish, Indians on a Ural, what were we thinking. We answered what questions we could.
Life on the bike
Brushing teeth, sidecar-side
When your camp is the ice and your sink is a water bottle, routines get creative. Also: a Ural makes a surprisingly decent bathroom mirror.
Completion party
A night to forget — and remember
The event wrap-up party was exactly what you'd expect after fifteen days of cold, broken bikes, and mild delirium. We'll leave it at that.
In the press
“More than just a spin”
The Hindu · Metroplus · 2015
Full gallery
Frames from the ice
Phone pics for now — proper ones from the GoPro and Leica coming later.
