eye lashes slowly freeze together, and
you must remember to wrinkle your
skin to prevent frost bite.
It’s extreme, far too extreme for a
couple of small-town boys from the
UK.
We faced all sorts of challenges
along the way and had a couple of
major breakdowns by the side of the
road.
The cold causes all sort of seals to
break and bolts to come loose but al-
though that stuff was tough, it wasn’t
what made this challenge truly hard.
That was the fear.
There was a constant and persis-
tent fear when sat in the sidecar. The
majority of the time sat in the seat,
we were sat in the dark. The passen-
ger would just let the helmet freeze
over and stare at the ice while wait-
ing to get to the next fuel stop. With
every slip on the road waiting to see if
it was going to take you in to the path
of a truck. It was the scariest thing
I’ve ever done.
We sat through this for another
6,000 kilometres or so until we ar-
rived in Moscow. It was four weeks
of constant fear and freezing cold
conditions.
It genuinely did get us down at
times but fortunately, the Russian
people dragged us through. They
supported us every step of the way
and did all they could to raise our
spirits and make the riding more
comfortable. Despite what you might
see in the mainstream media, the
Russian people are some of the most
hospitable, welcoming people you
will find anywhere on earth.
They have some crazy traditions,
and some of these traditions will
leave you with quite the hangover,
but they’re a friendly bunch and I’d
recommend anyone to travel there.
But … if you’re planning on taking
your bike, please, please go in the
summer! MB
TRAVERSE 27
Matt and Reece travelled the world
aboard their little Honda scooter sidecar,
their mission to raise awareness of Modern
Day Slavery. In doing so they covered more
than 55,000 kilometres, 5 continents, 35
countries and it was all As Seen From The
Sidecar.