From Germany to New York by land, through 20 countries and more than 43,000 km away with countless breakdowns. Documentation about the tour of 5 off-road adventurers is now available on DVD.
When our off-road ancestors invented motocross as a sport, they did not think of whats or wall jumps. It was about a race in unpredictable terrain on a motorcycle. This should be a challenge for man and machine. Building a motocross track is like building a road now.
A motorcycle off-road, off-road, off-road, ie riding on the right terrain, is not really compatible with a generational comfort zone, thinking of a smartphone instead of a ring spanner as soon as you hear the word ‘scratching’ Huh.
About 7 years ago, when no one had heard the word Kovid-19, five fearless Globetrotters from Halle set off with their all-terrain ural carriage. He resolved to reach New York by land. A glance at the globe reveals that there is no overland route to New York. If you cross Siberia and Mongolia by motorcycle, which is quite difficult, you will eventually have to cross the Bering Strait from Siberia to Alaska.
It was a tour into the unknown, a tour that was happening all through. A tour away from any civilization. A trip without a service car, without the help of workshops, without the possibility of a gas station or without a breakdown service, without a mobile phone network and emergency number. Off-road tour without net or false floor.
When there was no roadway, but only river bottom, the students of Halle turned their old Russian teams into rafts and were located 1,600 km north of the Colima River, which the bears were already watching.
The adventurers have covered and trapped 43,000 km of trains since the 1990s. But due to the simple construction of vehicles, the bike could always be repaired by itself. “Because of our many breakdowns, we kept getting to know new people in the most remote places,” recalls Anne Nolder.
But why did daring people choose the archaic ural carriage as a means of transport? “These motorcycles are still spread across Russia, Central Asia and Mongolia. This is the only motorcycle for which spare parts can be obtained on this route. “
The Ural teams were created during World War II as an indestructible means of transport for the Soviet Army and – only slightly modified and modernized – are still produced in Irbit in the eastern Urals. Meanwhile, off-road teams are mainly exported to Western Europe, Switzerland and the United States.
“It was interesting to see how a ural is behind every ledge in Mongolia and even spare parts can be obtained. Also, people were very familiar with the device. It was also fascinating that in Kazakhstan, in addition to detergent, cheese and tinned food, the corner shop also has piston rings, bowden cables and head gaskets »for Urs, says Elizabeth Ortel.
Incidentally, what is called a road is a pure off-road area, where there is only one traffic rule: the law of the fittest. Road traffic in Russia is a battleground and will remain a battlefield as opposed to hospitality and heat away from the streets.
The Uralists first crossed the Balkans, Turkey, and Georgia. Stage 2 took them from the Caucasus, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Kyrgyzstan to Siberia. The final leg went from Russia to Alaska, Canada, North America to New York. The Strait of Bering Strait, where the coasts of Russia and the United States are only 150 km away, the Uralists also wanted to cross the raft, but the plan failed. They had to board a plane to reach Alaska, which Russia sold to the US in 1867 and became the 49th state only in 1959.
Now a movie about the tour is also available DVD offered. The film was successfully screened in art house theaters last autumn. As a tip for the race-free Easter weekend: The DVD includes 60 minutes of additional bonus content from an engaging off-road campaign.
