Uralistan go to Lukomir
Author Bio:
We are Jeremy and Marion from France, Together we are 3 wheeled motorcycle adventurers: “Uralistan”.
How we ended up stuck in the snow in Bosnia- Herzegovina
(and how we successfully convinced someone to follow us in this madness)
In a previous life, she was an architect and he was an electrical engineer. Our desire to travel to far away places became undeniable. In 2016, we took a one-way flight to Laos. Four years of living abroad later, the need to return by road arose. We eventually returned by plane, but with the firm intention of exploring the Mongolian steppes and the countries of Central Asia on a Ural sidecar: easy to repair, large carrying capacity, off-road capability, and above all, a good vibe generator. Covid kept us captive for two years, so we took the opportunity to explore France in all its dimensions and published a book: “Weekend à moto, 50 Itinéraires Insolites” published by Larousse. 2022 was the start of the journey, the real one : a two-year and 50,000-mile loop from France to Mongolia.
Long story short, we can divide our itinerary into main parts. It starts with the exploration of the Balkans; mostly off-roading on the TET (Trans Euro Trail), where we challenge ourselves (and our rig) on some rather technical paths. Croatia, Kosovo, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Montenegro, Northern-Macedonia, Bulgaria, you name it, we rode it.
Crossing the Bosphorus, we leave our continent for Asian, exploring Turkey and Georgia. Our surprise ? We fell in love with that latter, ex-soviet country where we spent more than 6 months riding in its remotest places.
The third part? The unusually large countries. Indeed, Russia and Kazakhstan are mentally challenging when it comes to ride in a straight line for hours without any noticeable variation of landscape. Then Mongolia was challenging for other reasons… The amazing, gigantic and colorful environment generates indescribable feelings of freedom, but the washboard tracks left us and our Ural a little bit traumatised. Then, this adventure ends in the best way with the fantastic three : Kirghistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, which are all stunning in their own way.
We named this adventure “Uralistan”. Why ? Well, obviously, “Ural” refers to our steed for this expedition, our beloved soviet sidecar. And “stan” is for all the months spent traveling through these lesser known countries, some of which are part of the legendary Silk Road. We could have called this project “Two Frenchies decide to explore the Eurasian continent on the most unreliable bike ever produced, while sleeping in a tent and showering only once the smell is unbearable”. A rather sexy depiction of our way of travelling, but not as catchy as Uralistan.
Let me describe the two protagonists. Marion wears many hats under her helmet. She is the graphic designer of our website, the one in charge of taking pictures all along the way and most importantly, the mastermind of the navigating aspect. She can establish daily itineraries like no other, going from A to B while taking into account our pace, our physical condition and fatigue, the weather, and still manages to make us end up in the most beautiful wild camp spot ever for the night. Truly an underrated skill set.
I’m myself am also a Jack of all trades. My main task during this adventure? Taking good care of Gobi, our rig. It starts by riding it at the snail’s pace that it prefers, but also fixing the few problems that can occur during a 50 000 km adventure on the worst roads ever and making sure that we always have the sufficient quantity of spokes, tubes, spark plugs and holy 20W50. But there is also a more mystical aspect to that. What do I mean ? Well, along the way, we have developed a telepathic bond with Gobi. Ok, either I have completely lost my mind, or he definitely hears me. It’s rather crucial when we’re riding 200 km away from any civilisation and it has to understand that having a break down at this very moment would be particularly inappropriate. Believe me or not, it works.
Proper introductions having been made, let’s get to a part of our memoir. And rather than giving you a general summary of this whole adventure, I’ll take a closer look at a particular day in Bosnia -Herzegovina. Why this one? Because it reflects several aspects of our travel style: our taste for off-roading, our aversion to turning around, and also the mutual support we all have among bikers. And above all, we set a record for slowness: 14 km covered in 5 hours. Yes, we would have been 1.8 times faster on foot!
It all begins on a beautiful day of June. Our goal is to reach Lukomir. Perched on the steep slopes of the Rakitnica River, nestled between two rocky peaks, it feels like the end of the world, even though it’s only 50 km from Sarajevo. In theory, there are no particular obstacles to expect. However, better safe than sorry so we decide to team up. That’s how we came to bring Benoît along for the ride.
Who’s Benoît ? He is the modern day lonesome cowboy. Travelling all around the Balkans on his Husqvarna 701, aka “Little Thunder”. As a matter of fact, we share many things in common. The same vision of off-roading as a way to reach remote places and not just an excuse to ride into mud puddles and jump over rocks, the same thirst of meeting new people and hearing their story and most of all; the same taste for the unknown. We had the chance to meet him on a Facebook group where TET enthusiasts gather.
Back to the story. Unsure about the obstacles to expect on this rather uncertain Bosnian trail, we successfully convince Benoît to ride alongside us. The deal? He helps us push our 500 kg pile of Russian metal up the arduous climbs, and in exchange, we’ll buy him a pint in Sarajevo. A contract that would later turn largely against him…
Everything starts in the best way it could. The scenery is majestic, the weather mild, and we’re all pumped. We overcome the first steep climbs, going at the Ural’s favourite pace: 10 km/h at half throttle in first gear. This snail’s tempo allows us to progress safely without worrying about overheating.
At 11:00 a.m., we reach what we think is the summit. “It was fairly easy after all, right?” Well, it was just the beginning.
Indeed, a few kilometres further on, Benoît goes scouting ahead to assess potential obstacles and the news is not good. “There are several sections with more than a meter of snow on the road!!”, he tells us with a facial expression that mixes excitement and circumspection. The problem? A ravine below this white snow leaves no room for error. Since the goal is still to reach the Mongolian steppes in one piece, we opt for an alternative route.
The path in question involves crossing a series of very steep hills. But hey, with a little momentum, it should be fine, right? First attempt unsuccessful. The Ural shows its limits and scrapes everything it can. So we take off the luggage and push. 3! 2! 1! Huuuuuh! Delicate graphite-like scents from the clutch float in the air. It still doesn’t want to go. So, we strip Gobi completely: top case, jerry can, bags, etc. 3! 2! 1! Huuuuuh! !!! We advance as best we can, jumping 5 meters. Benoît, our sidekick, is starting to realize the mess he’s gotten himself into.
Plus, once we’ve brought our dear three-legged companion to the summit of this Bosnian Everest, we now have to go back down to carry our travel bags, oil and gasoline cans, up the hill. But let’s put things into perspective: being a Sherpa is good for the cardio. And besides, the scenery remains extraordinary.
“Okay, can we drink that beer?” Not quite, because now we have to cross a 20-30 meter long snow slide… Benoît sets off on his 160kg Husqvarna 701. He quickly loses traction with his rear wheel, which sinks into the snow, but we get out of this situation quite easily by pushing without too much effort. What about the Ural? The three-legged friend, offers the fantastic 2WD feature but also a weight of 360 kg. And most importantly, we’re riding with road tires!
We barely make it 5 meters before getting stuck. We try a few shovel strokes, but clearing the path turns out to be a difficult task… Here we go again : We remove the luggage, the top case, the gas can, etc., then the 3 of us push to gain only 2 meters. Clearly, our 3 pairs of arms aren’t enough to move the Soviet 3-legged vehicle on this white snow. We pull a rope between Benoît’s bike and the Ural, without much success. We then decide to mount the studded tyre on the sidecar wheel. As the path track is sloping, it might offer the most grip.
What follows is an absolutely memorable tire change in the snow, our hands purple from the cold. Some quick 2WD action and off we go!
Only 3km of trail left before reaching Lukomir. Our biggest fear? Stumbling upon an impassable obstacle, because at this point in the adventure, turning back is no longer really an option. Luckily, the rest of the journey goes smoothly. And finally, we reach Lukomir around 4pm. It took us 5 hours to cover 14km. A remarkable achievement!
Our reward? Reaching the end of the world. All this effort was WELL worth it. And this beer, sipped on the mountainside overlooking a vast canyon, has this particular taste of the well deserved one. Exhausted from shovelling snow and pushing the Ural, we gaze at the sheep grazing peacefully at the summit. Later on, we reach Sarajevo where we honour our end of the bargain: a pint for our faithful companion, accompanied by cevapi. Aware of the unfair nature of the transaction, we double the bet. However, we’re not sure that Benoît will sign again anytime soon.
You might be wondering: why didn’t we turn around at the first obstacle? Why persisting in such a struggle? Firstly, because we don’t like to retrace our steps. And above all, all the conditions were right for a bit of a challenge. And in the end there is one thing for sure: our way to Lukomir will remain an unforgettable memory!
That’s all folks ! Or at least for that episode. Spoiler alert. A few days after that epic snow session, we will end up in the exact same struggle in Montenegro. How to spice it up ? Well, this time, it’s only the two of us pushing our rig, plus a thunder storm is coming our direction and most of all, we successfully bury our gear selector in a trench. A hell of a trailer, right? Stay tuned in with us for more on the Uralistan website.
Contact us and follow using these links.
Our website : https://uralistan.fr/
The page referring to our book which is still on sale (in France) : https://uralistan.fr/guide-voyage-weekend-a-moto-50-itineraires-insolites-en-france/
We also have some YouTube videos here : http://www.youtube.com/@Uralistan
