What Does Your Biking Dream Look Like? Ever wanted to ride the Whistler trails at least once? Spend a week lakefront in Garda? When Roman Kalabus realized he hadn’t traveled in ages, he launched a travel project that took him to the far end of the world—to Kamchatka. Their goal was to achieve first descents on several volcanoes. What happened in the land of bears, active volcanoes, and secret Russian bases? Read on for the full report.
Patriotic to the core, Roman Kalabus has done immense work for the Czech cycling scene. He co-founded and leads the Valašsko Bike Resort, authored several trail centers, and delivered numerous projects. Most recently, he’s poured his energy into BAOBABtrails—an expedition project he started with his friend Tomáš Tóth. Since they fear no conditions, they decided to imprint their tire tracks on the almost unknown terrain of Kamchatka. We lent them our bikes so they could undergo the toughest testing at the hands of seasoned adventurers.
For strategic arms reasons, Kamchatka was closed to travelers for a long time. This 472,300 km² land between the Bering Sea and the Sea of Okhotsk may not seem bike-friendly at first glance. It’s carpeted in sharp, hardened lava from 160 volcanoes—29 still active—roamed by free bears, shadowed by ballistic missiles aimed at “imperialists,” and stretches to the Arctic Circle in the north. Yet it’s precisely these forgotten corners that draw Roman and Tomáš.
“I’ve always loved trying new things. Life presented me with projects few attempted, which shaped BAOBABtrails.com. I’ve been passionate about travel since childhood—observing, exploring. Now in my later years, I’ve merged travel with my dreams, and Kamchatka is one of them. It’s a unique region unmatched elsewhere on Earth,” shares Roman Kalabus, reflecting on their pioneering spirit:
“We first visited Kamchatka in September 2019. Even then, we were the first Europeans to pedal some locations. At Mutnovsky Volcano, by all accounts, we were the first humans ever. We already planned to go further and higher back then, which we achieved twice this year. Standing somewhere first is a thrilling feeling, though we approach it humbly and are glad when it happens.”
What does one pack for an expedition likely to be one’s first? Roman and Tomáš say this was their sixth trip, yet packing bear spray still jolts you out of routine.
“Even after a lifetime in the mountains, there’s a world of difference between the Beskydy or European peaks and the remote Far East. There, an accident evacuation or medical help amid severe weather is nearly impossible. We arrived later than planned this year due to permit and visa complications amid COVID-19 uncertainties. Winter nights plunged to around -15 °C, daytime hovered just below freezing with wind chill. Thankfully, we had plenty of warm gear, a rescue kit in our packs, plus masks and rapid tests. A new challenge was packing extensive filming equipment—what we experienced and discovered there became part of our adventure documentary.”
