The Ice Run
Invasive cold, remote territory and a temperamental piece of cold-war engineering make up the basis of Ice Run, an annual race hosted by off-beat travel company The Adventurists. Teams of two riders navigate frozen Lake Baikal in Siberia, which offers up a surface of over 31,000 square kilometres and a full range of riding surfaces. The motorcycles are not to be relied on either, with a high likelihood of breakdowns, or collisions with hidden tombstones of ice. Getting the old bikes to the designated fuel drops and then across the finish line is as challenging as the environment itself. But for those with a soft spot for adventure, and a certain resilience to cold, the extreme nature of this race is what makes it so completely memorable.
WORDS OF WISDOM
- Make the most of the support stage. The first three days of the ice run are led under the watchful eye of The Adventurists’ ground crew. Competitors learn about bike maintenance, ice survival and navigation.
- Don’t over-estimate personal ability. Entrants need a lot of motorcycling experience and the skill level to take on a variety of terrain. Some cold-weather camping experience at minus 20 degrees Celsius wouldn’t hurt either.
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