56º North September 2017 | Page 14

After a year away the world’s ‘coolest’ motorbike event is back and promising more crashes, splashes and Russian vodka shots than ever…

If you’re looking for a biking adventure next year, how about riding 2000km over and around Planet Earth’s deepest lake?

Lake Baikal in Russia is the oldest and deepest (it’s just over a mile to the bottom) lake in the world. The lake spends most of the year frozen and the folks over at The Adventurists decided it was high time that a group of people rode across it on old motorbikes with sidecars attached. Naturally.

The 6th Ice Run, taking place in March 2018, has just opened its doors for entrants - teams of two comprising one driver and one ‘navigator’ in a side-car, although you can swap over as much as you want. There’s no route set in stone, but you’ll be given a selection of GPS co-ordinates for fuel drops and some particularly hazardous areas to avoid (best not to get those two mixed up) and some expert advice on where the best riding will be found, help you get across and then - on forest trails and rural ice roads - around the lake.

You, an antique Russian motorcycle and the deepest lake in the world