Program – 700 miles of Trail and Dirt Biking in the Urals of Russia
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PROGRAM
Day 1: Arrival
Arrival from Moscow, pick-up at the airport Ufa. Free time.
Day 2: Ufa > Zilim river
Start from hotel. Leisurely ride through the gentle foothills of the Ural Mountains and through numerous villages. The life of its inhabitants is so simple that you become a feeling of being back in the time. Camping on a nice and tranquil river bank.
Day 3: Zilim river > Kaga
While crossing the Urals, we go right into the untouched taiga until we get to an iron-ore mine. Here you can test the limits of your riding skills. Afternoon, we take a more relaxed ride to a small forest hostel. Banya.
Day 4: Kaga > Abzakovo
Drive-up to the plateau of Shatak, whose mystic power of attraction makes locals to have respect for it. On forest and gavel roads, we arrive at the evening in a small lovely hotel in Abzakovo – Putin's favoured skiing place.
Day 5: Abzakovo > lake Aushkul
Idyllic hill landscapes along the East side of the Ural Mountains. Camping at the lake Aushkul, which also becomes your shower. With a little bit of luck we might have for the dinner a traditional Russian fish-soup "Uha".
Day 6: Lake Aushkul > Kazany
To cross the Urals direction Ufa, we need to again get into the challenging wild taiga. The only civilisation is limited to an old sawmill and few partly abandoned settlements. Accommodation in the log house on a hunting farm. Banya.
Day 7: Kazany > Zyratkul
Late start into the day. After lunch, we move forward on the difficult forest trails in the middle of the national park Zyratkul. Accommodation in a log house.
Day 8: Zyratkul > Asha
We continue to cross the challenging Urals until we again reach the 'civilization' – a closed military city, the Zlatoust-36. Our afternoon route goes trough numerous villages. Accommodation in a small comfortable ski resort. Banya.
Day 9: Asha > Ufa
The last riding day offers you the chance to watch the typical Russian countryside life. By the late afternoon we arrive in our base camp. Picnic and photo exchange. Transfer to the hotel in Ufa and final farewell. Free time.
Day 10: Departure
Breakfast and transfer to the airport Ufa.
FREEDOM OF ACTION
"There are no roads in Russia, only directions" – like in the old Russian saying it's still even today the same. Compared to many other countries where you have to stick to the trails, Russia offers an unimagined freedom of action. Everything you see is your riding terrain!
DEGREE OF DIFFICULTY
The route is designed for riders with off-road experience. However, having good physical condition, riders with limited off-road skills can manage the route considering this as a challenge. On request we also can adjust the degree of difficulty according to the needs of the group.
RIDING TERRAIN
Hilly, spacious forest-steppe landscapes with numerous lakes and rivers as well as the Ural Mountains covered by forest. Unpaved trails with both speed as well as technical sections. Short gravel and tarmac sections near and in the localities. Clay, mud, deep grooves and puddles, overgrown, for decades no longer used forest trails with overturned trees, and river crossings.
LOCALITIES
Small remote villages and settlements, small towns with mainly Russian, Bashkir and Tartar population as well as the Ufa – the capital of the region with more than 1.1 million population. Since you generally fly to Ufa over Moscow, few additional days in Moscow could perfectly fit in you travel plans. If so, we of course help you to make necessary accommodation arrangements.
