28 June - Aksay : Celebration and maintenance



It hasn’t been easy to immediately resume the working routine upon our arrival in Aksai. All the team members were physically in a good shape even though a little groggy after the long journey. The best cure to it all has been the great welcome we have received in Aksai together with the effort of Tatyana massage to relax muscles fatigue. We were submerged by the curiosity of so many enquiring about the journey details, difficulties. A KPO award function took place where Damiano Ratti, KPO General Director, thanked the bikers on behalf of the company. We did take care of our bikes too after the arrival in Aksai. The bikes, garaged in KIOS premises, were thoroughly cleaned and checked and found in very good conditions; lube oil, coolant fluid were top up and , chains checked, cleaned and greased and the tyres checked for wear. We all are very happy about how reliable our bikes have proved to be. It is now time to start planning our return journey, collecting all the available info on the road conditions and considering where to stop along the way. The return trip will start on the 19th of July and it will take longer, we are going off shift and we are going to spend a couple of days relaxing in Georgia and Turkey, planned travelling time all included 10-12 days. The collection of donations is continuig and is going well.
Thank to everyone who already supported and thanks to who will support in the future.
Lamps




 KPO General Director Damiano Ratti thanks the Bikers 



A highly appreciated toast




KPO Award



Thanks to our friends of Pistello Motoclub in Macerata





Detailed maintenance after 4300 km



Special maintenance

Ready for the return

20 June : Arrival in Uralsk and Aksay . Video # 2

   Click here for Video # 2 :  Arrival in Uralsk and Aksay

20 June . Arrival in Aksai (Kazakhstan) - Video # 1

Click here for the video # 1 :Arrival in Aksai

Bank account for donation

20/6/2014  : Bank Account available for donation

Please see the page : Sponsorship and donation : how to do it ?

20 June - leg # 6 : Samara - Aksay - 426 km

We had a deserved good , long rest at the Hotel Ibis in Samara.

Leaving Samara we bumped into an horrible traffic jam on the bridge crossing the Volga river.

On our road to the border we had a pleasant surprise, our KGB friends were waiting for us and with their help we cross the Russia and Kazakh border painlessly. At the Kazakh border our KPO colleagues Victor and Alexander Akutin were waiting for us.

On the road to Aksai immediately before the town the WEOP team was down in force to give us the first warm welcome.

After that we rode down in town where in front of the KPO main building the KPO GD  Damiano Ratti, Peter Costello (BG) and Paolo Giraudi (ENI) together with a crowd of KPO employees and KPO contractors representatives and the Burlin Orphanage kids officially welcome Team Caucasus 2014 at the end of the journey.

That was touching moment for all of us, we felt like we were coming back to our home away from home.

Easy transfer leg today, 426 km in 07.00 hours all the time under a big blue sky and the sun shining, Kazakhstan best welcome to us. Regardless of the pot holes the Kazakh roads were welcomed for the absence of the “Russia” traffic.

This is the end of the first half of our journey.

The 19^th of July the journey back home to Italy will commence, it will be longer 5400 km and even more challenging.

Thanks to you all that have supported the Team Caucasus 2014.

More details will follow on the donation so far collected.

Here below some numbers related to our trip:

Total Km : 4340 km . Total hours of riding : 57- Average Km per day : 723 - Fuel consumption 271 lt

The 19 of July we will start the return trip  to Italy. The return trip will be longer : 5400 km  and more challenging.   

Thanks to everyone  who supported the Caucaso 2014 project.

More details will follow about the funds collection.

Leg # 6 : Samara (Russia) - Aksay (Kazakhstan)

 Arrival at KPO main Building

 Giacomo

 Luca

 Lorenzo

Giovanni

Finish line after 4340 Km.

 Welcome from Damiano Ratti , GD of KPO

 Welcome from Peter Costello (BG) and Paolo Giraudi (ENI)

 Welcome from KPO employees

 Weops welcome team

Weops team

 Luca : Feeling better now

Nice welcome

Friends

Thanks Mirka : super  organisation



Deddoshka Lorenzo is recovering quickly

The Burlin orphanage kids

The WEOPs vanguard at the Kazak border  



Alexander Akutin





Victor Blinov






Yertay : Great job at the border . Thanks

 Italian and Kazak flags toghether

 BG collegues

Petrovich, you have made it !



19 June - Leg # 5 : Elets - Samara 990 km

Long day on the saddle but at last we are in Samara after having rode 990 km in 12.00 hours, again a good weather and a fresh air accompany us during this transfer leg. We rode through the “big mother Russia” and we felt the vastness of this country, going through a changing landscape of pine and/or birch forests and fields after fields of wheat and corn. The real challenge driving in Russia comes for the road traffic. We could ride only for a short distance on the highway after that we rode mainly on normal roads from one town to the other, two lanes roads only, one lane for each direction. Clearly there is the commitment to improve the roads system and road works are everywhere creating massive traffic jams. Naturally riding a bike we could get on the front of the queues quite easily all times. We rode on different road top conditions today and on the new roads the top is very good while it is terrible where the road works are ongoing or in the old roads all patched up, all in all it has been a good road test for our bikes confirming that an Enduro kind of bike is what it takes to tackle journeys in these countries with these kind of roads . A lot of police around with radar guns checking for speeding but that doesn’t seem to bother the local drivers that are using the roads as a “racing track” often exceeding the speed limit. We did not have troubles to fill up our bikes, petrol stations are found everywhere and the petrol quality is good, the only unusual thing for us is that you have to pay for your petrol in advance guessing how much the tank can take. We went through several Russian cities like: Lipetdk, Tambov, Penza, Tolyatti, they are all looking the same to a foreigner eyes even though Tolyatti and Samara being on the Volga river are nicer. In Tolyatti the Italian firm FIAT had a factory line making the renowned Ziguli car model.

Tomorrow we will arrive to Aksai, the end of our journey hopefully without having to trouble too much at the Kazakh border.

Great team performance, we were not letting anything to get in the way to be able to get to Samara today.

Today we rode 990 km in 12.00 hour, for a total of 3914 km in 50 hours since we started our journey.

Lamps

Leg # 5 - Elets - Samara : 990 km

Tolyatti 

Market on the road

The Russian Road . Not all are like this

But sometime like this

Lunch on the road 

Toast for the arrival in Samara

18 June - Leg # 4 : Gomel (Byelorussia ) - Elets (Russia) 770 km.

As per routine an early start of the day with the sun shining in the sky with a long riding day in front of us. The hotel owner, a Pavarotti fan,  did not charge for the bike parking fees.

It did not come as a surprise the hold up at the Russia check point where we were told that the date on our Byelorussia issued immigration cards are wrong and the only possible way to get hold of a new, correct immigration card was to ride to another Russia border check point 80 km away. When there it took a further 03.00 hours to clear all the formalities including the temporary importation of the bikes.

At long last we were in Russia at 13.00 hours and immediately after the crossing  we found out we were at the exact point where Russia, Ukraine and Byelorussia border lines meet a kind of “three corners border” point where you are at a walking distance from the check points of these three nations. We rode through a very green Russia landscape, intensive farming of wheat and potatoes mainly, acceptable roads conditions but, after 770 km at 22.00 hours we had to stop in Elets, it was getting too dark to keep on riding on with the heavy trucks road traffic.

Tomorrow we will arrive in Samara, we have another long ride of 900 km in front of us but not border to cross this time.

The team is performing well and the motivation is to reach Aksai as per plan date.

Today we rode 770 km in 11 hours, for a total of 3024 km in 38 hours since we started our journey.

Lamps

Leg# 4 : Gomel - Elets 770 km

Better turn to the left 

Monument on the 3 borders 

Byelorussia border

Russian border

Ukrainian border

Russian church

Break for lunch to recover the stress for borders crossing