Tomorrow, October 22nd, the factory in Irbit is celebrating its 75th anniversary. A few days ago we received an incredible birthday gift. A very special group of international riders, young artist friends from Germany, Cyprus and Estonia visited us here in Redmond and spent a few days sharing their stories, laughter, hardships, and enormous love for life and their machines.
We get a lot of visitors that swing through our office this was one of the most energetic, impressive long haul travelers we've met yet.
Meet Elle, Anne, Johannes, Kaupo, Efy, Simon, and Nadine aka Leaving Home Fuktion!
2 years on the road around the world, on old 650 Urals, through some of the most grueling terrain, they set out to experience life unabridged. They plunged in with no cushion, relying on their own endurance, wit, and kindness of ordinary folk across countries, cultures and borders. They learnt Russian by reading the original 650 manual “every night before bed”.
A collection of artists, it was evident that they knew how to learn and solve problems on the fly as soon as they rolled up to our loading docks. Their bikes were nothing short of amazing, we felt like we were on the set of Mad Max.
While crossing the infamous Road of Bones, they weren't sure if they were going to make it, at one point even rationing their food to 1 meal a day per person.
Then something happened that made it "feel like Christmas" according to the group.
They discovered support truck from The Long Way Round, the famous Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman motorcycle documentary.
Completely abandoned, it was still somehow filled with tools and supplies. Just in time for their beaten bikes, the crew gutted the tool chests, allowing themselves to fix their bikes and keep going.
After they arrived we brought in the bikes to look them over and make some repairs, everyone here grabbed their tools and started working alongside our chief mechanic Sergey.
It was obvious that they had learned the intimacies of their bikes while on the road.
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After 2 days of wrenching they were eager to continue on their journey. First they'll head east towards Montana, then south to Salt Lake City. The plan is to continue onto Mexico before looping back up and ending in New York in December.
Follow Their Progress on Facebook.
Support their travels here!
Contact us if you'd like to host them while here in the states!
