A surprisingly difficult day as we crossed two smaller Russian cities. The awkward part is directions that are not well marked. It isn’t as tough to get into town as it is to get back out again.

Some mosquitoes in the morning kept things moving along. From freezing several nights ago, we’ve switched to close to 30C during the days. The road from Писцово was fair and went through several nice small villages. By 28km we started into Иваново. Initially the road wasn’t bad as we found a supermarket at 33km and center of town 3km further. However, getting out was awkward and took several times of asking questions. Eventually we found ourselves to the outskirts to discover that we needed to still needed to head further south and to Кохма. In comparison to other European towns, these seem to be tougher to get out of properly.

It was still busy for several kilometers into Кохма. We were both hot and frustrated by this first town. Fortunately some cool shade and hot tea made things a bit easier. The next town was Шуя and was smaller on the map. Rather than take the bypass, we elected to cross town again. Another good supermarket for food. As we cycled out, we were stopped by two reporters from a radio station. I was able to answer most of the simple questions (they are frequently similar about where we come from, are going to, etc). I’m not sure what the radio will have to say about our trip.

This town was again awkward to exit and road conditions were worse. Fortunately, finally made it to Палех at the end of the day. Some quick perceptions from cycling along:
- People in this part of Russia are both friendly and curious. We’re asked frequently where we are from, however people are also a little shy and don’t barge in to ask.
- We’re seeing many more ruins of old churches here. This area has many agricultural villages, many with a church looking in some disrepair.
- Roads have become a little worse in this oblast. We’ll see what we have coming up.

108km today, 3534km across Eurasia [Photo: 589, 591]

Posted by mev as Volga at 6:34 PM EDT

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Another nice cycling day as we crossed Ярославль and headed into the countryside. Our cycling days are definitely a bit warmer. This morning we headed back 1km to the main road and then on steadily busier roads into Ярославль. We followed the signs that said city center and soon found ourselves in some of the old city at 33km. From here we started following some signs outbound when we noticed a Russian cyclist with “Rabobank” cycling shorts. He was able to draw us a good map and explain how to best get out of the city. He also led us on a short city tour cycling along the Volga as stopping past one of the nice churches.

Now outbound! Much of the next 6km were uphill back to the main road. From here a jog left and a jog right onto a small road that went via Заячы-Холи. Just as I was getting concerned about lunch, we came to a small village with a little shop. It was closed on Tuesdays and Thursdays and also for lunch. Today it was open, and was the day the delivery truck came. People from the village much have known as they all came to the shop.

This old back road was pleasant cycling. It went up and over some low hills. Several of the villages had old churches in ruins. We followed the road until 78km and then turned to the main road to the east. This road was much more variable in condition, even after we crossed the oblast boundary into our 4th oblast. Finally at 114km, we stopped in Писцово for end of the day. We found the small store, well and tanked up for the night before find a campsite nearby. Today was another good cycling day.

115km today, 3426km across Eurasia [Photo: 583, 585]

Posted by mev as Volga at 6:33 PM EDT

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A nice solid ride today with good roads and two somewhat different halves separated by Рыбинск in the middle. Last night we had some thunder showers with lightning. Fortunately, they stopped by morning and it was just overcast. The roads were again pleasant to start. They tended to go through rather than around the villages, so we had good chances to photograph many of the old houses. At 20km was a hotel and many people out fishing. We stopped at 34km in Милюшино at the store for food. We continued to pass old villages including one where the church spire had fallen down.

At 65km we crossed a bridge where the Volga streams out of the the lake. From here we followed signs to Ярославль which took us across town and along the south via a bypass. Fortunately, we found a cafй here. Many of the same foods were again available.

After this, the road became wider and busier. There were also one or two deep gullies to cross. Otherwise, still smooth and flat roads. Тутаев was atop a hill at 115km. From here just a little further as we found a area with many small dachas and also place to get water and camp for the night.

123km today, 3311km across Eurasia [Photo: 574, 576]

Posted by mev as Volga at 6:31 PM EDT

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Nice day riding along a reasonable road along the lake without too much traffic. We packed up early from our hotel and got ready for the road again. One part of Mickey’s rear rack was broken, but fortunately easy to redeploy so it wasn’t stressed. We cycled back through familiar town streets and across the bridge. We circled back once since we weren’t sure of the road but after asking twice knew we were on the right track again.

Initially a very smooth road that was busy with people leaving for the weekend. We passed several areas with small dachas all clustered together. By 27km traffic lessened but the road also became a poor concrete road. At 30km was a nice cafй and rest stop. Outside a group of men were standing around starting a weekend drinking spree. Unfortunately we see that occasionally here. They were friendly though. We ordered a few eggs, tea and a soft drink.

The next part the road was more open, so fortunate that it wasn’t windy. Road conditions were variable though never very poor. We passed a small village or two but most were up on a low hill and we passed down below. Just as I saw a 5km bumpy sign, there was a cafй! Good place for a lunch stop at 61km.

The border to Yaroslav oblast was 5km further. Fortunately, those good roads continued into our third oblast. At 88km, Mickey waited as we regrouped for end of the day. We decided to continue to the next larger place. At 104km some ugly tar that stuck for a while and at 114km the town itself. It was a cute small town with large central square with a Lenin statue, a war memorial and a few shops. This town had town faucets with water. We filled up here and were quick to cycle to outskirts of town. Summer has come and it is quite a bit warmer.

118 km today, 3188km across Eurasia [Photo: 567, 571]

Posted by mev as European Russia at 6:30 PM EDT

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Nice easy rest day today. Found an internet place (they laughed when I called it a cafй) and updated the web site as well as checked up on messages. The city is not large, so also got a chance to walk through town. There are many larger concrete block buildings around four to eight stories tall. The bottom floor sometimes has a few shops. For a small city, there is a surprising amount of transit including busses and a tram. People must mostly eat at home because in proportion, the number of cafes is small. Otherwise, a nice quiet relaxing day in this steel town.

0km today, 3070km across Eurasia. [Photo: 556, 560]

Posted by mev as European Russia at 6:28 PM EDT

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Short note, more to come later. We’ve reached this larger town on lake that feeds into the Volga River (look on the road between St Petersburg & Vologda). Having fun cycling, though roads are quite variable. Plan to rest here for a day and then continue on Saturday.

This first bit, I’ll describe as our “bicycle boot camp”, as we figure out what to eat, where to camp and how to get across this part of Russia. The roads are sometimes rough which slows things down a fair amount. Let me briefly describe our evening “water ritual” at end of the day. As we’ve completed close to 100km in a day, we start looking for a place where we might end the day. We watch for signs along the road for one of the next villages and follow the road into the small village. Here we find people we meet and use various words for “well”, “spring”, “water” as well as some pantomine to indicate that we’re looking for some water. Folks help show us where to find the water and we fill up enough for camping. We then cycle just the last little bit to find a place not far off the road to camp. Two days ago, our water ritual led to an invitation to come inside, have some soup and otherwise meet folks [PEDAL folks note, Robin gave me a few chocolates with PEDAL on the wrapper; we gave one of these to the grandson].

Today in the big city, it is quite industrial outside town, as a steel town and smells it for a while. Fortunately, the wind was blowing away from the town. It took a bit to find a hotel today; the first one we were sent was expensive and small, but we’ve found a better one. Likely plan is to stay here two nights and then continue along our journey. Not sure about internet connections overall.

Posted by mev as European Russia at 4:58 PM EDT

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Today a ride into the big city and first night in a hotel. The roads were becoming busier as we came closer to the big city. Initially it was flat riding through the woods with just a few villages marked along the way. At 15km I was pleased to see a sign for a café in 20km. So, kept riding slowly along to Суда where there was another truck stop type place. A small store provided a yogurt and excuse to stop. The nearby café somehow wasn’t serving things, so continued the last bit to Череповец.

Turnoff to the city was at 52km. From here we headed southbound again. In distance were a large number of factories belching smoke. At least the wind was blowing away. Without too much difficulty we found center of the city. Now time to find a hotel. It took several times of asking, each time would get us a little closer to the destination. We were told about the Leningrad Hotel and hence headed there. We found it not much further than the stadium. However, it was both expensive and small. We were able to ask for another hotel and sent along our way.

We found the second hotel and initially it was even more expensive, but then the price suddenly dropped when they told us it would be cheaper “вез горячий” (or something like that, I couldn’t quite find things in the dictionary). The price seemed right so we took it. Later we figured out from context that hot water had been turned off. This wasn’t a big deal for hot water heat but was a surprise on taking a shower.

We walked back through most of the town looking for a café and then back to our hotel with stop in the supermarket. Along the way, found a “computer club” that was filled with adolescent boys playing computer games, but also had connections to the internet. We are likely to take a rest day here for a short breather from tough parts of riding the road. Plan is to post this on the rest day, though photos may have to wait.

74km today, 3070km across Eurasia. [Photo: 550 554]

Posted by mev as European Russia at 4:44 PM EDT

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It rained. Last night a little and rained more this afternoon. The tent works fine, though would be claustrophobic for a long time. I’ve been getting up earlier each day, and so was up first on the road. This road even had some smooth parts!

The terrain today and other days has been flat with occasional villages every 5 to 10km. These aren’t directly on the road but instead have a bus stop and a sign. Where it was smooth I rode quicker than with bumps. There are lots of trees, so somewhat relaxing riding.

At 64km, we stopped for lunch at a local truck stop, café and store. It was surprising to see several large trucks with Dutch lettering and Russian license plates. Presumably, these were resold and not repainted?

After lunch, it started drizzling. We rode for another 11km and then found a bus stop to wait out the storm. The rain became lighter but then a little heavier. Finally, we decided to just ride for a bit and surprisingly it became lighter before stopping. At 93km we had our first small bicycle trouble. Mickey had hit a deep bump and her pannier fastener had broken. Fortunately she had another washer and was able to make the repair. Unfortunately, not much further her rear tire went. Sigh. We walked to next bus stop and made repairs. It seemed like time to end the day, so found the next village and found a place to fetch water before camping for the night. As we cycled the last bit, I noticed that my fender stay had broken. Looks like the pannier had banged into it enough to break the fender stay. In the evening, I removed the fender and stabilized the panniers.

104km today, 2996km across Eurasia [Photo: 545 547]

Posted by mev as European Russia at 6:42 PM EDT

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So long Leningradskaya oblast, we will miss you along with your mostly smooth roads. Today at 56km we crossed over into Volgodaya oblast.

It was fortunately warmer waking up. We continued a pattern I’m sure will repeat with me leaving a little earlier and Mickey cycling faster and catching up. The first 39km were wonderfully smooth road. Some headwinds but otherwise great riding. We stopped in Сомино at 41km at a café for a snack. More good Solyanka soup and tea that really hit the spot. From here cycling to the oblast boundary which we crossed at 56km.

The first 7km of the new oblast were a horrible concrete road that had deteriorated with large gaps. I slowed to a crawl. Fortunately, the road improved after that, though a combination of wind and roads kept things slower. Finally at 78km in Сазоново was another café and another soup. Unfortunately, no alcohol for the stove here either. We did stock up on some more food since we were warned that this was the last café for 100km.

From Сазоново it was a slow slog into the wind. At around 103km we had ridden our 100km for the day, so found a village and went for the water ritual. We spotted a man by a house and asked. He invited us in. The grandmother had soup ready in a microwave and the grandson showed his toys. We ate and explained our trip, and tried to thank them for the hospitality. We did decline the offer of some vodka. Of course, we also left loaded with water.

Towards evening, the wind was picking up and hints of rain. So we quickly found a campsite nearby and packed in the tents. My hubba worked fine for the small storm and was a great end to the day.

104km today, 2892km across Eurasia [Photo: 540 542]

Posted by mev as European Russia at 6:42 PM EDT

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Today was a surprisingly tough day, and I’m now a little worried about my back wheel. We had some rough roads and I’m seeing a few stress lines (in the wheel not me) and the wheel is slightly out of true.

It froze last night with frost on the tent. Fortunately, the sun helped warm things up. I left a little earlier and Mickey caught up around 10km. We continued to have nice smooth roads at first, though around 40km it suddenly became bumpier. Bump, bump, bump. I stared at the rim too long and was a little worried. At 48km we came to Усть Шомушушка and a chance to eat. There was even a small hotel here. It helped me adjust back to not worrying about that wheel as much.

After lunch we took the (bumpy) road into Тихвин. I was unimpressed by this town or its roads but it had an ok supermarket and a chance to buy alcohol for the stove. I had a very small alcohol burner and Mickey had both a gas canister and alcohol stove. It turned out later that the alcohol was likely lamp oil and hence didn’t burn well. Gas canisters will run out, so it would have been handy to not have mailed home my MSR stove.

Once we left town there were some more bumpy roads but became very smooth at 80km. Hooray! At 93km we came to the turnoff for Пикалево and this time elected to stay on the smoother road and bypass the city. It remained smooth for 6km, but wasn’t real bad after that.

Finally, our water ritual. We found a small village and started asking for water. Folks pointed out the big house and nearby was a well and friendly person who help us fill up on water. It was just a short ride from here to the campsite. This was good since I had forgotten a water bottle and walked back to the well again. A surprisingly long day.

113km today, 2788km across Eurasia [Photo: 534 537]

Posted by mev as European Russia at 6:39 PM EDT

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