Tag Archives: Eileen Bjorkman

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Day 37: Omsk to Ishim

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Number of tie wraps: 23 (holding steady)

Countdown: 4668 miles down, 3917 to go

Quote of the Day: “Can I have your driver’s license, please?”

We arrived in Ishim about 4:30 this afternoon (after gaining another hour) to a surprise – WiFi!

Before we left Omsk, we took a short walking tour of the city center, where we saw the city’s Lenin Square and World War II Memorial with an eternal flame, along with the city’s oldest cathedral.

 

World War II Memorial in Omsk

World War II Memorial in Omsk (Eileen Bjorkman photo)

Oldest cathedral in Omsk

Oldest cathedral in Omsk (Eileen Bjorkman photo)

We left the hotel about 11:15 to head to Ishim, but between a fuel stop and traffic, it took us quite a while to get out of the city. I saw the IKEA store below when we stopped for gas. I wanted to go shopping, but, alas, there was no time. Note the Cyrillic spelling of IKEA on the left had side of the photo.

IKEA in Omsk

IKEA in Omsk (Eileen Bjorkman photo)

As we left Omsk, the police waved Leo’s Envoy over at two checkpoints about five minutes apart. The Envoy attracts a lot of attention from the police over here because it has no front license plate (Leo is from Florida). However, in both cases, Ksenia handed over the necessary documents and we were on our way in just a few minutes. A few days ago, Ksenia translated all our driver’s licenses into Russian, and then “certified” the translations via an official-looking stamp from the Sport Hotel where we stayed in Tomsk.

The roads today weren’t as good as yesterday and construction delayed us in several places. But the springs on the Roadster are working great, and Luke reported that the Doctor Tire fix is holding steady at 120 pounds of air as well. Given that we went over some pretty rough roads today, it looks like the Roadster will now make it to Moscow with no further shock problems. Of course, that doesn’t mean there won’t be other problems, so stay tuned!

I’ll leave you with this billboard I saw as we were waiting at a construction site this afternoon just outside the town of Tyukalisnk. The billboard is about preventing forest fires and it has a picture of a cute bear cub. I thought the cub might be similar to our Smokey Bear in the U.S., but Ksenia says it doesn’t have a name.

 

Forest fire prevention sign outside Tyukalisnk during the drive to Ishim

Forest fire prevention sign outside Tyukalisnk during the drive to Ishim (Eileen Bjorkman photo)

Tomorrow we drive 307 km to Tyumen.

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Day 36: Novosibirsk to Omsk, Halfway to Paris!

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Number of tie wraps: 23 (7 added since last post)

Countdown: 4558 miles down, 4127 to go (more than half way to Paris)

Quote of the Day: Luke: “What can we do to keep the spring on?” John: “Tie wraps?”

During the 1908 race from New York to Paris, the Thomas Flyer and the American team finally overtook the German Protos just before arriving in Omsk, a feat requiring an all night run that began on June 29 and ended with the Flyer passing the Protos about 10 a.m. the following morning. At this point in the race, the Italian Zust was still in China, about 500 miles west of Harbin, trying valiantly to catch both the Americans and the Germans. Click here for the original New York Times article.

Here is what the terrain from Novosibirst to Omsk looks like — very flat and a mix of open fields, wetlands, and clusters of birch trees, perfect terrain for George Schuster and the Thomas Flyer to make good time for catching up to the Protos.

Terrain in Western Siberia

Terrain in Western Siberia (Eileen Bjorkman photo)

Our drive to Omsk didn’t involve overtaking any other racers since there aren’t any other racers, but we made good time and, for once, the drive was uneventful, other than a bit of rain. The roads were good, and we had only a few minor delays for construction, so we arrived in Omsk only nine hours after departing Novosibirsk. Our hotel in Omsk is about 1/2 block from the Om River; here’s the view from my hotel room:

Omsk

Omsk (Eileen Bjorkman photo)

However, as you probably guessed from the quote of the day, the Roadster still had some problems with the rear shocks. The Tire Doctor repair from yesterday worked great until we hit a bone-jarring jolt about two hours into the trip. I was riding in the Envoy and I thought, “If the Tire Doctor fix survived that, it should survive anything.” Unfortunately, the fix didn’t survive, and by the time we got to our next fuel stop around noon, all the air had once again departed the rear shocks. Since we only had about four more hours of driving, John and Luke elected to wait until we got to the hotel to install the springs purchased at the auto market yesterday.

Before installing the springs, John first used the Tire Doctor to push the shocks back up and Luke pumped some air into them. Then Luke installed the first spring over the right rear strut, which only took about five minutes. The left rear strut was a little trickier because of interference from a brake line, so it took both John and Luke to get the spring into place, accompanied by numerous references to the shock’s parentage on the part of Luke.

Installing the left spring

Installing the left spring (Eileen Bjorkman photo)

This should get the Roadster to Moscow!

Right strut with spring installed

Right strut with spring installed (Eileen Bjorkman photo)

Left strut with spring installed

Left strut with spring installed (Eileen Bjorkman photo)

The clamps John bought yesterday wouldn’t fit, so he slid back under the car and added seven more tie wraps to secure the springs to the shocks.

Example of tie wraps used to secure the springs

Example of tie wraps used to secure the springs (Eileen Bjorkman photo)

Tomorrow after a short walking tour of Omsk, we head to Ishim, about a 300 mile drive. I’m not sure if we’ll have WiFi tomorrow evening, so I may not be able to post again until we arrive in Tyumen on Sunday or Ekaterinburg on Monday.

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Day 35: Repairs in Novosibirsk

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Number of tie wraps: 16 (8 added since last post)

Countdown: 4021 miles down, 4564 to go

Quote of the day: “We got spring!”

First, a picture of a nice contrail over our hotel in Novosibirsk. I’m a bit starved for airplanes on this trip!

Contrail over hotel in Novosibirsk

Contrail over hotel in Novosibirsk (Eileen Bjorkman photo)

At 10 this morning, we caught a taxi back to the auto market to put our rear shock plan into motion. The goal was to make a field repair that will get the Roadster to Moscow, where Luke has a friend who can fabricate some shocks if we still can’t get the ones the Roadster really needs.

First, we found a can of “Tire Doctor,” which Luke thought he might use to re-inflate and seal the deflated air bags on the rear shocks. The can holds a foam that can be used to make an emergency repair to a flat tire when a spare isn’t available.

The Tire Doctor

The Tire Doctor (Eileen Bjorkman photo)

Next it was time to look at springs. Lots of springs. Luke’s idea was to put the springs over each shock on the outside and clamp them in place.

Spring display at the auto market

Spring display at the auto market (Eileen Bjorkman photo)

A set designed for a Honda Civic looked like they might work.

Checking out the springs to see if they'll work

Checking out the springs to see if they’ll work (Eileen Bjorkman photo)

After getting some heavy-duty clamps, we returned to the hotel parking lot, and laid out the goodies.

The haul from the auto market

The haul from the auto market (Eileen Bjorkman photo)

First up was the Tire Doctor. Note the label, “For Professional Use Only,” so we let Luke do all the dirty work (not!).

Don't try this at home!

Don’t try this at home! (Eileen Bjorkman photo)

But first the rear of the Roadster had to be jacked up, using this handy brick from the side of the parking lot to help out. The brick is now part of the Roadster toolbox.

Russian brick used to help jack up the Roadster

Russian brick used to help jack up the Roadster (Eileen Bjorkman photo)

Here’s what the collapsed air shocks looked like.

The collapsed rear air shocks

The collapsed rear air shocks (Eileen Bjorkman photo)

Luke hooked up the nozzle on the Tire Doctor to the air valve used to pump up the struts and started spraying. At first, the foam seemed to be going into the tubes and into the shocks, but after about 20 seconds, the white foam started spewing all over the Roadster, the spare tire, the ground, and pretty much everywhere but into the air lines.

The Tire Doctor was a little messy to use

The Tire Doctor was a little messy to use (Eileen Bjorkman photo)

At that point, we thought the Tire Doctor wasn’t going to work, but then Luke checked the struts and found that they had re-inflated a bit, so John started spraying the foam while Luke stayed under the car to watch the progress. After about three more minutes of spraying the foam in a bit at a time, Luke called out, “It looks like they’re holding!”

Luke checking the struts

Luke checking the struts (Eileen Bjorkman photo)

After pumping up the shocks with a bit of air, John tested them, and the patch job seemed to be holding.

Shock test

Shock test (Eileen Bjorkman photo)

After a lot more air, Luke lowered the car back onto the rear shocks, and they now have about 120 pounds of pressure, which four hours later, is still holding steady. The rear of the car looks much better now — you can see the tops of the tires again!

Success!

Success! (Eileen Bjorkman photo)

The springs are now a backup plan in case the Tire Doctor fix doesn’t hold. Luke figures he can put the springs on in about an hour by the side of the road if necessary.

The backup plan -- slide the springs over the shocks

The backup plan — slide the springs over the shocks (Eileen Bjorkman photo)

John and Luke also repaired some damage to the right rear fender of the Roadster shown in the photo below.

A crack in the right rear fender, probably caused by jarring from the bumpy roads

A crack in the right rear fender, probably caused by jarring from the bumpy roads (Eileen Bjorkman photo)

Luke patched the crack with Gorilla tape (a suitable substitution for duct tape, I’m told).

Gorilla Tape repair

Gorilla Tape repair (Eileen Bjorkman photo)

John worked some tie wrap magic to pull the fender closer to the frame to reduce the vibration, adding eight more tie wraps to the total. With a little luck, the fender repair will last until Moscow, where Luke’s friend can spot weld the crack.

Eight more tie wraps -- total is now 16!

Eight more tie wraps — total is now 16! (Eileen Bjorkman photo)

This afternoon, we walked around Novosibirsk for about two hours and watched people enjoying the nice weather in the central square,

People enjoying their holiday in Novosibirsk

People enjoying their holiday in Novosibirsk (Eileen Bjorkman photo)

as well as a celebration in a large park, where there was fun for both young and old.

Young singers in the park

Young singers in the park (Eileen Bjorkman photo)

Older dancers in the park

Older dancers in the park (Eileen Bjorkman photo)

Tomorrow morning, we head to Omsk to try out the Roadster repairs from the last two days.