The trip in statistics
36 days of cycling (+ two break periods).
1473 km, or 41 km per day of cycling at 7.5 km / h (excluding stops).
Lowest temperatures:
-49 on the bike, -55 off the bike, -43 under the tent.
Average temperature: around -35.
14 nights in tents, 13 homestay invitations and 11 rented rooms.
11 punctures including 5 in 6 days.
And a thousand selfies with Russians!
January 31 – Final finish at Oymyakon
Temperatures were milder, just -30 degrees … and a lot of snow making traffic very difficult. Yves, a good skier, has been able to use his experience to tame the snow and advance his bike.
But it was hard! Kilometer after kilometer he fought to finish.
Yves and Olivia will make a smooth return to our Jura in a week, but before they spend a few days in Yakutsk to take the time to thank all the people who helped them.
January 27 – Arrival at kyubyume, the cold pole region
We arrive officially in the region called the “cold pole”. It is the coldest inhabited region of the world.
320 km swallowed in a white desert. 7 days later, here is Yves at Café Cuba. An oasis with a cafe, people and an internet connection!
A very long distance without a living soul but a relatively mild temperature. There is 200 km to Oymyakon! The very very cold weather returns and the road is quite broken.
January 21 – Khandyga, departure to another world
It is -50 degrees from Khandyga. The tires seem to hold the shock. Unloaded to the maximum the rear wheel is inflated to 5 bars and for the moment everything is fine. Cruising speed 8km / h is almost twice as fast as until now. But it is Siberia that has the cards in hand!
January 18 – Yves on TV
January 9 – 10 punctures later
Following the punctures in series, it is no longer possible to continue thus, repair a wheel by -30 ° C is a real feat, at -40 ° C it becomes unrealizable as the conditions are extreme. So 10 broken wheels later it’s time to take a break and review the strategy. Yves opts for tubeless or solid tires, more than to bring them from France …
January 4 – On the road to Churapcha
An unlikely encounter with Japanese tourists!
December 28 – Essential weight gain
With all these difficulties put end to end, Yves had to think about the best possible strategy so that he can still achieve his big dream in white: lighten the bike!
No need to hope to pull 75 kilos on the road of the bones by -55 degrees with refueling points much more distant from each other! It has been difficult so far. It would have been impossible later! Yves will definitely do without the trailer! In this way, he lightened about twenty pounds. This will allow him to equal effort, to advance more and reach faster the few points of refueling possible.
Yves has five punctures of the front wheel in the last 700 kilometers. It’s way too much ! By -40 it is impossible to repair on the side of the road! You can not use your hands “normally”. We met “the best cyclist” of the Sakha Republic. Someone who is used to riding in the winter. He gave Yves an excellent inner tube, and advised him to increase the pressure in the tires to make them more resistant to the cold.
December 18 – On the road to Yakutsk
It remains 800 km to reach Yakutsk! With much less refueling on the side of the road, far fewer trucks passing and many fewer cities. Yves travels 40km every day, he will need all our support and all our energy to bring us all together to Yakutsk!
Yves begins to be comfortable with camping at -40 degrees, It takes 2:30 every day to set up the tent, then 2:30 to dismount. 5 hours a day dedicated to everything that is not about pure cycling.
Французский путешественник на велосипеде Ив Чалоин был замечен в Алданском районе.
Une publication partagée par Новости Якутска и Якутии (@novosti_yakutska) le
Olivia, always on the ground in moral support and logistics with Yves.
She will travel today to the world’s cold capital! Oymyakon.
December 11 – Stopover in Tynda
Yves is fine, but he is moving slowly. With a total load of 75Kg and land far from flat, the advance is slower than expected. To gain some speed, Yves will try to reduce the weight a little and get rid of the superfluous.
He must also pay attention to his feet. After freezing a foot from the first day, he was able to recover, but he remains fragile. In the first part the temperatures oscillate around – 40 degrees.
Yves spent two days in Tynda, thanks to Nicolai who welcomed him at his home. He was able to enjoy Russian hospitality! Eat well, sleep warm, and take the time to lighten the bike. Nicolai gave him a plethora of information on the way to Yakutsk
December 6 – Never, the big departure
Yves left this morning for the first leg of his Never-Yakutsk journey: 1200 km. The temperature at departure is around -40 °.
Yakutsk is known to be the coldest city in the world with an average of -38 degrees in winter!
Yves is equipped with a GPS beacon, which will allow us to follow his progress in real time.
December 2 – Arrival at Irkutsk Station
Yves, Olivia and the Mizenboite film crew arrived safely in Irkutsk. When they got off the plane, they found a small bike shop where Andrei went in 4 to make a last review of the bike before the transsiberian departure to join the starting point of the adventure. Andrei put new tires on the bike and the trailer. Then first pedal laps in Irkutsk to test and check that everything is OK.
Last challenge to bring the material in the Trans-Siberian, another 2 days of travel to reach Never.
First pedal stroke on Russian soil
The last preparations for D-1
The challenge of Yves Chaloin in partnership with Diager
On December 1st, Yves Chaloin will start cycling and independently, for a journey of 3200 km through Eastern Siberia, one of the coldest regions in the world, solo and in autonomy. During this course of 3200 km, it will be necessary to pedal on the roads and the frozen rivers by a temperature close to – 60 °.
The project, the team
Story of the journey in real time
A committed itinerary
After Lapland and Sweden, where he has already made long-distance journeys, Yves is preparing for his new challenge in the land of cold weather
The values of effort and perseverance necessary to accomplish such a challenge are also ours, so it is naturally that we support Yves for this adventure, Jura solidarity oblige!
Yves, the first que
stion everyone asks: Why? Why this trip? Why in winter?
“The answer is simple. Kid, I watched the Tour de France go past the house, I admired the runners and their faces distorted by the effort still fascinate me today. I lived at the foot of Mont Charvin, in the heart of the Maurienne valley. No road leads to the summit of this mountain. Its side is dug by large gullies that give it an inaccessible pace. It is an alpine pasture perched on an austere base, an isolated place. These images made me dream and these dreams are intact. “
“There is a continuity, almost obvious between my first six bike trips and this project, a constant progression in difficulty. To cross Siberia in winter … of course it’s not easy, but I do not dream of ease; Of course I could be content with a more reasonable project, but I do not dream of being reasonable. “
Is there one person who is insensitive to the beauty of winter landscapes? I can not wait to discover those of Eastern Siberia … by bike … anything is possible! Yves Chaloin
3200 km through Siberia by bike and in winter
3200 km in northeastern Siberia between Never and Magadan, the coldest inhabited region of the world.
Never is a small town located between Irkutsk and Vladivostok. There begins the bike ride. This is the “Bone Route” (those Soviet prisoners died on construction sites). It goes to Oïmiakon, the “coldest” city in the world (-71.2 ° C). The route ends at Magadan, on the shore of the Okhotsk Sea.
a team
Olivia Chaloin, born July 4, 1977 in Cali, Colombia. Swiss adopted.
Yves Chaloin, born September 15, 1956 in Sospel, Alpes-Maritimes. Passionate about sport and big spaces.
Olivia has an essential role: organization, search for partners, production of a film. She will join me on the spot to make pictures. For this, she must form a team with a driver, a cameraman and a technician.
I leave without assistance, in total autonomy. Olivia will make her trip, with her own work and her team. This way of doing things allows us to build this project together, even though I will be alone on the bike.
Two cycling CVs
- France Ukraine in 1994, 2524 km in 17 days.
- France Israel in 1999, 5077 km in 37 days.
- A world tour in 2002, 31424 km in 287 days.
- A world tour in tandem with Olivia, 2005 2007, 38620 km in 736 days.
- Northern Cape in winter in tandem with Olivia, 2010 2011, 1954 km in 51 days
- Crossing Sweden in winter, 2012 2013, 2616 km in 28 days.
A shared experience
- 200,000 km by bike, 20,000 km by night, 20,000 km in winter conditions, more than 200 mountain passes.
- From – 427 m to + 4818 m, from – 34 ° C to + 47 ° C.
- Bordeaux-Paris, Paris-Brest-Paris.
- More than 60,000 km in tandem with Olivia.
Careful preparation
Traveling at very low temperatures requires advanced equipment that combines thermal performance, user comfort and reliability.
Winter 2009, a dog sled raid with Olivia in Lapland, supervised by Gilles Elkaïm, specialist adventurer of the great north (Arktika expeditions in 2000/2004 and Arktika 2 in progress) (average temperature -20 ° C, the lowest -42 ° C).
December 2010, the North Cape in tandem with Olivia (average -20 ° C, min -34 ° C).
December 2012, cycling across Sweden alone (average -8 ° C, min -22 ° C).
I crossed Russia from east to west by bike (summer 2002). I speak Russian. Our friends from Ekaterineburg provide a relay in the country for the preparation of the trip.
Very specialized equipment
I have some of the material
I have some of the material:
- Sleeping bag -40 ° C and reindeer skins usable in the bag.
- Chapka and mittens in polar fox (Lapland craft).
- Jacket with tunnel hood (local crafts) to protect the face.
- Leather boots and synthetic outer boots felt.It remains to be acquired
- Clothing and thermometer -100 ° C / + 30 ° C.
- Tent, stove, titanium dishes, shooting equipment.
- Satellite phone (the first one I will take on a trip).
I have a bike prepared “winter” on a base of VTC:
Unsuspended aluminum frame, steering damper, trailer, wide handlebar, protected ducts, low temperature grease, nail tires.
Still to be acquired for the bike: thick air chambers, dynamo hub for front and rear lighting, waterproof bags made of reinforced fabric.
The passion of the bike trip …
Cycling there is no easy step. I learned over the miles that to undertake a journey, you needed a deep-rooted desire.
In winter, below -30 ° C, there is no more right to the error, it is necessary to anticipate not to undergo. Traveling in the cold is technical, it’s a game. In Siberia, there are few cities, few villages and the temperature can drop below -60 ° C. Of all those I have undertaken, this trip will undoubtedly be the most difficult and the most uncertain.
… and the desire to share
To leave is a half of pleasure, to share our experience is the other half.
We always leave with an objective, an ethic and a will. We published two books: “The Edge of the Roads” (Yves) at the author’s account and “She’s called Ruby” (Olivia), Editions Melibée. Our world tour in tandem was the subject of a film: “Journey to the heart of the world”, written and directed by Jean-François Castell, screened in fifty festivals in France and abroad and awarded several times .
We advised, helped and followed dozens of travelers wishing to leave in their turn, many young people (some are still on the road).
I’m going on a trip again. I hope to bring back stories and images that will perhaps carry some dreamy kids, to those same horizons that every traveler in every generation discovers as a pioneer …
