Siberian Arctic Circle Through Ural

So, the journey began on June 24th, 2017. And frankly, I started to screw up my plans and timing from the very beginning.

On the first day, I expected to leave Moscow at 7 AM and meet the evening glow splashing in the river Usa near Syzran town. But the last few days before the departure were pretty tiresome. I abandoned all hopes of early waking and managed to leave only at noon, covered a little more than 500 km and spent the night in a roadside motel near Penza.

For more than a week I stayed in Urals. Between the water and the sky, with mountains on the horizon and fresh air all around me, among the hospitable relatives – 10 days just flew by...

Got to Nefteyugansk. It is probably the most northern latitude I have ever been in Russia.

718 km travelled in one day. North of Tobolsk, the benefits of civilization became more and more rare. Gas stations only once every 100 km, cafes — once every 200.

The road had a good quality tarmac but felt rather monotonous, as it ran like a winding gray ribbon among forests, swamps and rivers. Almost all side tracks and minor roads were leading to resource-extracting or -processing facilities.

In the evening in Surgut, a neighbour moved in my double hotel room. Formally it was ok — I was staying in a double room for the price of a single. But usually hotels let the clients stay alone until they run out of other empty rooms. Not that hotel though. It was evident they have at least 3 similar empty rooms but they decided to put that guy in my room. Did they want to cut their expenses on cleaning or what?

This was my first solo trip with such a long distance to travel, and the main personal conclusion I got: nothing is impossible. In any situation there were good people who helped to solve any problem.

What can I recommend to those who are planning to ride to the Siberian North?