Абатское, a few too many drunks

Amsterdam to Vladivostok Posted on by

At the last cafe today, we were approached outside by a few men who had too much to drink. Initially they are friendly and want to know about the trip, but then they just become obnoxious and wouldn’t leave us alone. I went into the cafe briefly and came out to find one trying on my helmet. Some more stern words and they were calm again. Unfortunately, this phenomenon seems to come up fairly often here, particularly on the weekend.

I awoke to sounds of buzzing insects. I ate my breakfast in the tent and then carefully planned my escape to pack up as quickly as possible. Many mosquitoes but fortunately the biting horseflies were still asleep. I rode 10km down the road before risking going to the bathroom.

Today was another day of mostly flat roads and tailwinds. A little morning shower cooled things off before reaching a breakfast stop at 38km at the turnoff to Ишим. Ишим is the large town here but we bypassed it today. After passing the town, the number of trucks seemed to increase. My guess is there are few other alternatives for trucks that avoid Kazakhstan. After breakfast we followed the broad river. We ducked briefly into a small village with nice church at 64km and found a small store. From here straightforward cycling to Абатское and stop in the cafe I mentioned. Despite being slightly away from the river, there are still many insects here.

128km today, 5890km across Eurasia [Photo: 769, 770]


Плотина, thousands of biting insects

Amsterdam to Vladivostok Posted on by

Tailwinds! Flat terrain and reasonable roads made for a fast flat ride today. It was warm last night, so no need to wait for it to get warmer to arise. This area has much flat marshy terrain and hence millions of biting insects. Mosquitoes are usually tolerable and dissipate with a strong breeze. However, there are also inch long horsefly type insects that hurt when they bite. They can keep up with a cyclist (at least this one) and ride along on the panniers waiting to circle back and bite.

The terrain was initially open and tailwinds made for a quick ride. Before I knew it, I had ridden 54km to the first cafe for a breakfast stop. This was a «столовая» and hence had cafeteria style choices. After breakfast more cycling on the long open stretches past Омтутинское with the wonderful tailwind. At 95km we finally went into some woods and at 112km to an intersection with Голышманово. This corner had several cafes and even hotels to pick from. However, it was still early so we decided to ride another 22km to a village close to the road: Плотина. The village didn’t have a store, but some friendly and curious boys helped us find water. We left the village and turned onto a small side road to camp next to the next trees we found. The trees were wet and marshy, so we camped behind. The insects here were as fierce as we’ve had so far so quickly set up the tent and hid from the bugs behind protective netting.

138km today, 5762km across Eurasia [Photo: 765, 766, 767]



Падун, early finish

Amsterdam to Vladivostok Posted on by

One of our earliest finishes in a while. We packed up from the motel and I retrieved my passport. I have a one year multiple entry visa that is supposed to be registered at hotels. They send in some form of notification. Some of them give you a copy but this one and others did not. The authorities also can’t reconcile which nights one stays in a tent, so will see how it all sorts out in the end.

Тюмень was a busy city to leave, but fortunately we were already on the edge. Roads in this oblast are narrower than the last but otherwise in reasonable condition. Some nice woods to ride through and we had our first cafe stop just after the bypass joined the regular road at 35km. The next 40km was relatively flat, relatively open and with a cross wind, narrow road and coarse pavement. It made for a slow steady ride in Ялуторовск at 74km. This is where the road that bypasses Тюмень rejoins. Overall, going via Тюмень was a reasonable alternative.

After lunch, more narrow rough road as we crossed the Тобол river and flat lands nearby. It had become warm again these last days. At Заводоуковск a quick stop at a small store and then a nearby restaurant let us use their water tank before finding a place in the woods to pitch our tents.

106km today, 5624km across Eurasia. [Photo: 756, 758]


Тюмень, rain and dirt

Amsterdam to Vladivostok Posted on by

Today started dry and warm but ended up wet and dirty. It was warm enough that the mosquitoes got up when we did and hence we were off early and on the road. Today was mostly flat and straight road that became busier as we approached Тюмень. The first 37km were mostly through the woods and included some very smooth new roads. This changed into 11km of extremely bumpy roads including one spot where a truck was stuck. At 39km was a small cafe and place to stop for breakfast.

After the morning meal, it started to lightly rain. The drops kept coming down and by the time I reached the oblast boundary at 67km it was a steady rain. Mickey had found another cafe just past this. We had a lunch here in hopes the rain might subside. There was a friendly police officer here who asked some about the trip (in English). Unfortunately the rain kept up at the slow steady pace. We looked at the map and found a potential motel location right along the road in Тюмень. As we neared the city, the highway became a divided road. There was also more dirt and debris on the road and bikes and everything became quite dirty. As we cycled along the busy bypass we saw an bed symbol that stands for hotel. On investigation we found a roadside motel and cleaned the bikes and stopped for the day, dry and inside. Hopefully it will dry up some for tomorrow.

101km today, 5518km across Eurasia. [Photo: 754, 755]


Комсомольский, riding the steppes

Amsterdam to Vladivostok Posted on by

Frost kept the mosquitoes away this morning. It did mean packing up a wet tent. Fortunately, it warmed up as the sun rose in the sky. Today was a mostly straight and flat road without much traffic.

At 14km we came to a split in the road. I took the bypass around Камышлов and hoped Mickey had done the same. This was a concrete road that was rough in a few spots. Our plan was to stop at a cafe around 30 to 35 kilometers but we kept going until the roads came together at 38km and then there wasn’t a cafe until Пышма at 65km. At 55km another cyclist came alongside and joined me. Юрий Чмелев was his name. Юрий had done many cycle tours on his own including a ride from Miami to New York and also cycling through Europe. He was out on a training ride and gave us company for about 40km of the ride today. We also tried to find a toe clip (Mickey’s had broken) but the sport school that we stopped at wasn’t open. Юрий was curious about us and our equipment and recorded some of his findings on a video camera.

With our first stop at 65km and a mostly flat road and a tailwind, we made good time. We cycled to 116km before turning off to find water in Комсомольский. This village initially looked a bit dead, but as we came past the first abandoned buildings we found some shops and nicer houses. We also went to two wells as the first one was still settling out with rather dirty water. This detour took a bit of time, but nice to set up after that after a long but good ride.

122km today, 5417km across Eurasia. [Photo: 750, 751, 752]



Волковское, out of the Urals

Amsterdam to Vladivostok Posted on by

Nice to be cycling again after our rest days in Екатеринбург. The route became flatter as we left the Urals. Also had more open areas without trees. It had been a steady drizzle rain yesterday, and some light rain continued this morning but cleared up in the afternoon.

Our first task was leaving the city. We had a city map and hence it was straightforward and by 7km we were riding outbound on the main highway. It was a wide divided road and traffic was busy but tolerable. At 31km the road split and we had a choice. I opted for the north road via Тюмень as it was slightly shorter and hopefully in better shape despite being busier. So far the road condition is worse than the road from Перм but still a good road by Russian standards.

A few kilometers after the split, the divided highway ended and it became a single road. At 50km in Мезенокое was a nice cafй for an early lunch. After this the rain mostly stopped. After lunch, we kept seeing older automobiles riding the other direction with a “Peking to Paris” signs [if someone finds a web site for this journey, please post a link below]. The signs said 1907 – 2007 and were commemorating a famous journey. They had started with 120 cars and so we saw them for several hours. We stopped and chatted with one car as it stopped to help a compatriot with a flat tire. Apparently they had warm weather in Mongolia.

We kept a good speed on the flat terrain and stopped at 95km in Богданович at a supermarket for our evening meal. From here a short ride before finding water and a place to camp. We had many mosquitoes here and hence it was a quick retreat to the tent.

116km today, 5295km across Eurasia. [Photo: 746, 749]


Екатеринбург, Mickey is found

Amsterdam to Vladivostok Posted on by

Today as I was walking out to find lunch and afternoon stop at the internet cafe, I saw a familiar bicycle leaning nearby. Mickey had found her way to the same hotel. We had missed on the first day from Казань and she had circled back looking for me. From that point, I was cycling ahead and in combination of day 1 and a later detour I had ended up a day ahead. I added a second rest day to my hotel stay here, so we’ll sync up again and cycle together from here further east.

Progress so far:

Екатеринбург, crossing continents

Amsterdam to Vladivostok Posted on by

I’ve reached the big city of Екатеринбург today, two time zones east of Moscow. I plan to take a rest day here tomorrow and provide some more updates. This past week I’ve been cycling through the Ural Mountains. They are rather low hills, though still enough to climb over and I did actually see a ski area. At some point today I must have crossed a “continental divide” and hence am now in Asia rather than Europe. My “Eastern Europe” maps all stopped a while ago, so this is nice to finally be in the new continent.

As you’ll read, the first day out of Казань, Mickey and I somehow got separated and I haven’t seen her since. I expect she is cycling some of these same places but just at a slightly different route and different days. The weather has taken a shift for colder and the last day or two also wetter.

Last night was in a hotel. The bed was harder to sleep in than my sleeping bag (it was too short, I ended up putting my mattress on the floor), but it was nice to look outside this morning as it was raining and think, “I don’t have to pack up that wet tent”. Today the ride was along the main highway into Екатеринбург as the road became progressively busier. The first 45km were reasonable road, after that it was a bit busy until I got into the city itself. This is a big and bustling city. However, I bought a local city map yesterday and this in combination with “Lonely Planet” made for a fairly easy navigation to a hotel. Close to the hotel was the Trial Sport shop. I brought over my bike and they diagnosed some problems I had with the front hub as being one of the ball bearings had disintigrated. Instead of riding on 10 bearings on one side, there were just nine. This was fixed, I had my first shower in 10 days and it is nice to be back in the city again.

It was noisy in the Bolshoi Ural Hotel, but nice to have a bed and a shower. I’ve done a little looking around the city so far. I visited the site where the Romanov Czars were killed, a small memorial here dominated by a large church nearby. There is also a memorial to the Afghan war, with smaller memorials to other revolutions. It is interesting to see some of the same places the US has memorials, but was on the other side, e.g. North Korea, Vietnam, Hungary.

If you have money, there are plenty of electronics and other items to buy here. Sprinkled through middle of the city are some large shopping centers with stores with fancy items. Not quite up to the level of Frys Electronics but starting to get close on what they have available. Otherwise, taking a quiet rest day here as I wander through the city and otherwise take a break before heading eastwards.

74km today, 5179 km across Eurasia









Дружинино, roadside cafes

Amsterdam to Vladivostok Posted on by

I have been riding the main highway. With exception of 7km of old concrete road, this has been a smooth highway to travel. A brief shower as I awoke as a reminder to pack for rain today. The 10km of road construction I was worried about turned out to be not much of a problem at all. The road climbed over many lower hills today, though had some good grades so it was mostly slower travels. These low hills must be the Urals I am crossing.

There were many cafes along the way today. I stopped at one at 30km mark. Multiple trucks were parked outside. One could pay for a shower or for a sauna. This was a popular place as the tables were packed. I stopped and placed my order. They gave me a loyalty card good for a 13% discount on lunch. Overall, the “217” café seems like a nice place.

I continued riding across the hills after this. We mostly left the towns to the side with only small side roads and these cafes at the intersections. At 66km was a second chance for one for lunch. At this point, people find both Amsterdam and Vladivostok to be far away places. Another person here wanted a photo on his cell phone of this stranger riding a bicycle.

By afternoon there was an occasional rain drop or two. I wasn’t too excited about spending another afternoon camped in the rain. Just as I came around the corner at 100km, there was a small hotel. This was just too tempting to pass up and much preferred to camping in the rain. To underscore things there was an intermittent shower or two as I was here catching up the journal on the computer. No shower today but sure nice to find a dry place.

100km today, 5105km across Eurasia. [Photo: 723, 724]


Ачит, found

Amsterdam to Vladivostok Posted on by

A strange wind in the air this morning. I waited for a bit, but decided to get up quickly and get moving. I wanted to avoid being caught on this mud path in the rain. I had given myself a “budget” of 30km to follow this path. After that I would still be just as lost, but perhaps more worried. The path continued north and east. In a few spots there was some gravel and I was able to cycle. At 7km it went down a steep hill and then up the other side.

At 13km I crested a hill and suddenly saw a village below! I had made it through, but wasn’t sure where I had arrived. By 15km I was in the village on a good gravel road and by 18km I was on an asphalt road. This was a fairly big town with several stores. The cars still had license plates with “59” so I was in the Перм oblast. Finally as I was leaving town, I saw the sign Брехово. This had been the original town I was headed to and the road didn’t exist. My distance of 25km on the path was close to the 28km of the missing road. I am glad I followed this path rather than “dead reckoning” since I would have otherwise missed it.

I cycled to the main Перм/Екатеринбург highway and had a meal at 26km at the corner. The road had some trucks, but was much much better than the M7 before; both road conditions and traffic.

I followed the new road and at 44km mark crossed the oblast boundary. The road improved even more. The south wind continued and I got some wind as well. The new road went through some gentle ups and downs. At I was coming into Ачит it started to rain harder. At 69km, I found a café and had a meal to see if the rain subsided. As it didn’t I went north out of town. The combination of signs for 10km of road construction, more rain and inviting woods caused me to call it an early afternoon. As the rain comes down, it is nice to be found again.

71km today, 5005km across Eurasia. [Photo: 714, 716, 717, 720]