So. We’re team Tsardines in a Can, two brothers from Perth, Western Australia. It doesn’t snow here, so we figured we’d go and find some. In Siberia. To be specific: The League of Adventurists International’s Ice Run: a 1500km trip through Siberia in mid-winter on antique Ural motorbikes.
We’ll be leaving from Irbit, Sverdlovsk Oblast, Russia, the town where the bikes are manufactured (or more accurately Ирби́т, Свердло́вская о́бласть, Россия) in mid-February 2013 and heading north on the ice roads that span northern Russia until we hit a town called Salekhard (or get lost, or eaten by wolves, or eaten by bears). Salekhard is right on the edge of the Arctic Circle.
As part of the trip, we’re raising money for Operation Smile – a charity providing free reconstructive surgery to children in the developing world born with cleft lips and palates. You should totally check out our donations page and support us by donating to them on our behalf.
I know a lot of people want to know what we look like, so here’s Guy field testing a new Ski-Doo “mountain” balaclava to ensure it is awesome. Guy would like me to assure everyone that he is a calm, quiet person, who likes his classical music and landscape photography:
…and here’s me checking Guy’s work. I can confirm the balaclava is in fact sufficiently awesome:
A lot of people say we look alike, but I’ve never been able to spot it myself.
In any case, stay tuned for posts on our preparation for the trip in the lead-up to February. It’s going to be fun.
-Patrick
Tsardines in a Can 