Hitching out
Southwest towards Sludianka, Ulan-Ude (M55)
From downtown Irkutsk, near the main market, take a minibus (marshrutka) in the direction Shelekhov (Шелехов) until the last stop (approximately 50 minutes). You will be on the M55 highway which goes around the southern shores of Lake Baikal to Ulan-Ude. There is a great hitchhiking spot here.