A few days ago, we completed the last of the gravel roads. Having asphalt all day has been a welcome change. The past two and a half days were also nice and flat. However, we’ve been crossing swampy areas and hence are camping with mosquitoes again, though fortunately not as bad as in June or July. The days are becoming shorter and some of the nights have cool temperatures. Vladivostok is now south of us, and even slightly west. It is nice to be getting closer to all the way across Russia.

Also taking inventory of what has lasted so far and what has gotten worn out in the trip so far:

• Bicycle: replaced front and rear rims, replaced front hub, one flat tire, replaced one rear tire, four brake pads, two broken toe straps, front rack broke (twice), rear rack broke (once), handle-bar tape re-wrapped, new cassette/chain
• Camping gear: updated “hubba” to “hubba-hubba”, split one tent pole, alcohol stove didn’t work
• Other gear: shoes almost worn out, lost cycling mirror, lost “bite valve” on Camelback, stove valve snapped

Everything still needs to keep working until Vladivostok. There I expect to find a bike shop and see if I can get a service done on the bike to get everything in good order for the road ahead. In the mean time, we’ve taken two rest days here. There seems to be a persistent drizzle that we hope clears up on Monday (10 September) for the ride from here to Vladivostok.

40km today, 10968km across Eurasia [Photo: 258, 259, 266]

It was a little warmer this morning. No need for mittens as I cycled in flat terrain. There were many marshy areas and some trees. The road was narrow but of good quality. Our first stop was at a cafe in 22km. Just a few kilometers later came Смидович. We rode into town and found a small store. People here were both friendly and curious. We were asked if we were Italian! There was a nice central square and an old market. At 30km, we left Смидович and were back on the big road. We stopped briefly at a roadside store at 59km. After this it started to get much warmer and we started passing a few more villages. The people from the villages would have their produce out for sale. We made one last stop at 95km, refilled on water and camped not much further on.

103km today, 10928km across Eurasia [Photo: 250, 252, 254]

While our route followed a river, the road periodically would climb hills along the sides. One of these hills was near Бура at 26km. We had a nice cafe stop at 38km. Motorists were stopped at various places today and were applying tape to their cars to protect them on the roads ahead. Meanwhile we were scraping off the worst grime and applying oil to the chain on reaching asphalt.

After brunch, the hills slowly decreased until we came into Биробиджан at 70km. This town of 80,000 is the largest in the oblast and had many tree-lined streets between five storey apartment blocks. The road made a few turns before we came to a lakeside cafe at 81km. At least a dozen cars were stopped here applying tape. The sun was shining, music was loudly playing and it had a bit of a “beach” effect.

After this the road went through flat swampy areas. We had a nice tailwind though it was getting to be a bit far by the time we reached Аур at 120km. Now we had the task of finding water. A group of seven adolescent boys were busy playing nearby and thought it was a great adventure for them to lead us to the water spigot while asking questions and trying the simple English phases they knew. We found a place not far from here to camp. All in all, a nice ride.

126km today, 10825km across Eurasia [Photo: 241, 245]

At 17km was a detour sign. Behind the sign, the road sure looked smooth. We hesitated briefly before bypassing the sign and deciding to ride through the detour. One kilometer further, there was a big gravel pile that we climbed over. After this, we had a beautiful new smooth road. Part way through the construction workers were busy putting on another layer of asphalt. Unlike what I would have expected in the US, the workers didnâ€t chase us off. Instead, they asked the standard curiosity questions and helped us look on the maps. We had more smooth hills after this until finally reaching the end of our private road at 33km.

Another 5km of cycling was on partially constructed roads before eating lunch and then we were back on the gravel. This next section was sometimes rough. I even walked a hill or two. We kept crossing the new road being constructed. At 58km we came to the first cafe for the day in Теплоозерск. There was also a store to refill on groceries. An obnoxious man came over with alcohol on his breath. I tried to shoo him away, but he was persistent. Finally, it was a good excuse to leave. The store keeper referred to him as a “bandit”.

The use of word “bandit” amused me since before cycling the Amur Highway, I had been told and had read, that there could be bandits along this highway. These bandits would hold up and steal automobiles and hence this is why cars traveled in groups. I had also been told that if an auto broke down, that it would be abandoned and burned since there was no way to get it repaired.

On our travels along the Amur Highway, we saw no signs of such bandits nor of any burned up cars. I wonder how much of these tales have really happened and how much are part of the folklore of the road. Each year as the road becomes easier to drive, will these tales persist and people be told to be careful to watch for bandits?

We had another 9km of asphalt here that ended at Лондоко. We crossed a large river and decided to fetch water at 70km. It was now starting to rain so we decided to camp fairly soon. Unfortunately, we had several tries and each place we tried was either too marshy, too close to the road or otherwise unsuitable. Finally we found a spot on top of a large gravel mound. It rained briefly, but then the sun came out and helped dry the tents before sunset.

81km today, 10699km across Eurasia [Photo: 235, 236]

Riding through the mist was a bit like riding in your own bubble. I could tell by my gears whether I was climbing or dropping but otherwise had no clues of what was coming next. We went across several ranges of hills in the bubble. The mist finally cleared around 56km and the sun came out. At 62km, I caught up with Mickey and we had lunch. From 64km to 72km the asphalt disappeared. Each time I thought asphalt was gone for good, a new section would appear. We crossed two more sets of low hills before reaching the new oblast boundary. This next oblast was set up as a settlement area for Jewish homeland, though few Jewish people remain.

It was flat from here and at 92km, the asphalt returned. At 103km was a turnoff to Облучье. We expected a cafe or store here, but there was nothing. Hence, we rode a little further to find water and then to top of a hill to camp. Not long after that the rain started.

114km today, 10618km across Eurasia [Photo: 232, 233, 234]

19km today, 11504km across Eurasia [Photos courtesy Mickey: 717, 720]

Note from Mike’s dad:

The overall map, with an updated “red line” is shown next. I could not update it on the home page.
Detailed daily travel charts can be seen by going to the “Map” page, dragging and zooming with “+” and selecting either a map display or hybrid display.

From here we found ourselves on the “demonstration road”. On February 26th, 2004, Vladimir Putin had officially opened the road. As best I can tell, this section of road and nearby bridge with street lights were the backdrop for the announcement. (My guess is he came by helicopter instead of overland and certainly not by bicycle). The next 20km were a nice smooth and well done road. However, at 42km, we reached edge of the asphalt.

We had a choice here to take the old road or the new gravel road. We chose the new road and this was a good choice. The road continued to have mostly smooth parts. We stopped every 10km or so, including once to fix a flat in Mickeyâ€s front tire.

At 75km was a turnoff for Архара and pavement again. Another cafe stop here. News was to expect another 50km of asphalt so we set out to camp not far from here. At 78km was a bridge over a large river. There was a guard station at each end where we stopped.. The guards were friendly and offered us some water. The guard dogs were not friendly. One bit Mickey. We treated the wound with iodine. It was a little worrisome, so we climbed a hill somewhat and found a place to camp.

84km today, 11485km across Eurasia [Photo: 220, 222, 223, 224]

From here more cycling into the wind on reasonable asphalt. Occasional trees and slight turns in the road helped with the wind. At 67km the road split with a turnoff to Завитинскn straight ahead. We turned left and found a cafe at 69km. We expect the road to return to gravel sometime after that and at 71km we were back on soft gravel. My front rack broke again. It was a slow slog and we walked some as well.

Our plan was to stop at Родионовка at 94km. Mickey was ahead and cycled right past the village (on autopilot, just cycling ahead). So, I followed. When I caught up, I stopped to fix my rack and we had to now figure out where to find water. We decided to keep going until next town (15km?) though it would be close to dark.

Fortunately, just ahead was a road crew paving a side road that went to an electric generating station. They yelled at us, so we went over to investigate. As we helped satisfy their curiosity, they were kind enough to fill our water bottles so we could camp not far away. We set up tents not long before sunset.

100km today, 11401km across Eurasia [Photo: 217, 218; photo 711 courtesy Mickey]

From here we crossed a broad river valley and were back in wide open country. At 46km was a turnoff for Бозжаевка where we cycled into town to find a shop. A helpful 13-year old girl had a chance to practice her English and help navigate to a shop. Others were curious as well and she helped translate. She had learned English in this town. After the shop we came to the main road and unfortunately had several obnoxious drunks at the cafe here.

From here more wide open roads before fetching water from a nearby stream and camping not much further. We made a slightly shorter day but also wanted to rest some. It was nice and warm in the tent .

81km today, 11301km across Eurasia [Photo: 215, 216]

Once off the ferry, we cycled 2km to the critical road junction and asked once more if the Federal Highway as paved. Hence, from here we took a cutoff road, over sometimes rough gravel and through small town of Молчаново at 24km. Here was a small store with several grandmother types on a bench having a social. Across the main street of town strolled a pig with 11 piglets. We cycled from here through Половка and then the last kilometers to reach the Federal Highway junction at 34km. We cycled to the interchange. It was paved northbound and just where we started it turned to a soft gravel. If only we had known, we could have spent the last 22km on the old road.

It was a slow ride on the new gravel. The terrain was flat and we had a tailwind, but there were many loose rocks and lots of dust. It was wide open with few trees. Some cars would slow and ask where we were traveling and in return we would ask how long until asphalt. Each answer seemed to be slightly further. At 68km we reached Укранка. A herd of cows was crossing the road to nearby lake. Cars stopped and we used it as an opportunity to ask again. We must have looked dejected enough at the answer that the driver was kind enough to give us a large 6 liter jug with water along with the answer that it would be a while to asphalt and the next cafe.

73km today, 11220km across Eurasia [Photo: 207, 212, 214]

We’re now about 2/3rd of the way between Chita and Khabarovsk. The past 850km have been over some rough roads almost all gravel roads. These roads are slow riding, about half as fast as we would otherwise ride on asphalt. Fortunately, we got a first stretch of asphalt yesterday and expect some more asphalt sections between here and Khabarovsk. Mickey got sick from something one day out of Mogocha (and is all well better now for days), but we also spent a day and a half near small village of Amazar, camped out in a nice piece of woods not too far from town. On the day following, we took liberty of getting ride with a passing 18-wheeler semi-trailer from km764 to km1027 of the road. We skipped some very rough sections of road including some with massive construction projects. That certainly helped our spirits and progress to jump over some of the worst gravel pieces on this road. We still had several hundred to go after that, so don’t feel too bad at having missed the ugly stuff. Riding in the 18-wheeler was interesting. Valerie and Victor made their living by driving for 7 days from Krasnoyarsk to Vladivostok. Here they picked up a load of 8 used Japanese automobiles and then drove back to Krasnoyarsk in another week. We had a good time with them in the cab and there was plenty of room on the auto carrier to lash the bicycles.

We can tell when the roads coming up are particularly rough since we’ll see people stop and take our pictures more often. In rough stretches, at least 90% of the traffic is hauling used Japanese right-hand drive automobiles to the west. They are typically all taped up to protect finish and windshields (though as an optimistic sign, we’re seeing less tape on the cars coming up). They’ll drive where they want on the road. On the worst pieces they drive slowly, but if it is slightly better we have some testosterone laden drivers thinking they are Mario Andretti driving their Japanese town car on the roads.

A few days ago we had two days of rain. We skipped the first day and had a nice reading day in the tent. However, at this point our extra food was gone and hence we were cycling on the second day. Some sections of road were good but others were texture of peanut butter. It was all a bit slow and dirty. Fortunately, we’ve got sunny skies again and are now seeing slight signs of fall with cold mornings and even some leaves turning colors.

This morning was first morning to wear mittens. We cycled into Svobody, only 31km and found a nice cafe. We were pleasantly surprised to have hotel on second floor as well. Hence, a good day to get showers and wash clothes. With our other rest days plan is to take off again tomorrow and get some more cycling towards Khabarovsk. It is nice to slowly be getting closer to Vladivostok on our ride.

We had a nice, very smooth road that had gentle hills. It was nice to suddenly travel nearly twice as fast as before. There wasnâ€t anything as far as villages were concerned. At 79km, the new road suddenly stopped with signs to Углегорск (1km) and Свободныи (49km). We chose the former to find a store and cafe. Углегорск was all walled off with guard stations. Apparently this is a space command and missile city. We did find a cafe however at the gas station.

From here the new road wasnâ€t ready, so we were on the old road headed towards Свободныи. It was also paved, though rougher. We cycled through village of Разливная looking for a store and then on to Черновка. Many of the towns people had produce out for sale and we had some good corn on the cob. We asked for water and then camped in the woods south of town. A nice variety of roads today and nice to see asphalt again.

101km today, 11120km across Eurasia [Photo: 191, 194, 197, 198]

The federal road was a busy road and fairly bumpy. There were many small potholes. The cars would ride on the left at least as often as not, but fortunately would move as we approached. At 13km was a stop for a cafe. This place was very popular. We had our photos taken again here. Weâ€re a bit of a curiosity for these car drivers. One of the questions I was asked was if I had a telephone. When I said yes, they expected a satellite phone and were amused when I said “MTS” (think Verizon or similar in USA). The drivers did give us a Khabarovsk map, which was much appreciated.

From here just slow bouncing along the road. Our average speed was slow, but otherwise it was a nice ride. This was more forested areas and a bit of swamp as well. The one drawback was that we didnâ€t have much in way of streams. We stopped by the only river today, filled up on water and camped just a few kilometers further.

75km today, 11019km across Eurasia [Photo: 185, 188]

We had eaten all our food the day before so hoped to find a store in Чалганы at 18km. Didnâ€t see much here and it was early. As we continued the drizzle increased so Mickey went ahead to Ушумун to come at 42km.

When I got to Ушумун, I could see her tracks but then lost them so asked my way to a store. I found the store but no Mickey. I cycled back through town and then to the entrance. Not sure where she was, I waited for 45 minutes and asked folks. Finally, I decided to continue since I was getting cold and wet. In a few km, I saw her tracks on the road. She had seen me but was busy chasing some youths who had stolen her bicycle pump. She had left town via a different entrance.

By now the rain was steady. We continued for another 24km to reach Сиваки and another store. We were cold and wet. Prospects of pitching wet tents in the rain were unappealing. We saw an empty concrete warehouse building. A few doors were filled with trash, but last one was cleaner. We cleared some more and pitched our tents dry and inside.

74km today, 10944km across Eurasia [Photo: 178]

We started the day on pavement. The road was a fairly recent concrete road with some tar/asphalt on top. It went via some gentle hills but otherwise through the forest. At 26km we had a turnoff to Магдагачи for 5km. We thought there might be a cafe at the next turnoff. However, nothing at next turnoff and road turned to gravel.

In the next stretch, they were busy with construction. One short stretch of loose gravel we walked, but most were good to ride with a variety of sand, gravel, graded gravel and rock surfaces.

At 64km, we came to turnoff to Дактуй. We were told this village had a store but not much else. They also said the road would improve. So at 68km, we made our own lunch stop not far from a bridge still being constructed. Shortly thereafter, the road became worse. It was a combination of hardpacked surface with areas of loose gravel. I found this particularly tough to ride.

By 84km, we came to turnoff to Тыгда and were surprised to say it still said 14km to go. However, the road to town was paved and the road ahead had a new layer of gravel spread out. So, not a tough choice. We cycled to Тыгда and found a nice center of town with shops, railway and cafй. We refilled on everything and camped a short distance south of town. Tomorrow plan is to try the old road.

104km today, 10870km across Eurasia [Photo: 173, 176]

We left a little later today after sorting everything out with the bikes. Hitchhiking yesterday had left a fine layer of dust everywhere including the drive chain. The gravel road started much improved; fewer large rocky boulders, less hardpack and gentler grades. We even had a tailwind! This was a taiga forest with white birch/larch and some evergreens. We made it to Талдан for an early lunch at 30km.

From here we continued on the new gravel road. The quality of the road gradually worsened, with a lot of hardpack in particular. My bike was rattling a lot. There wasnâ€t a lot to see, though we did go over a few hills. It became warm and we slowed. At 80km, we reached Гонжа. We cycled into town to find a store, water and cafe before camping 2km out of town. Those last 2km were on pavement, and weâ€ll have a short amount here tomorrow as well.

86km today, 10766km across Eurasia [Photo: 166, 167]

As we cycled along, there was mist. We had our first cafe at 10km. It was crowded with cars, a sign of either good food or a large gap until the next cafe. They told us no cafe until Ерофей so at least expected a big gap. On the next stretch just as I remarked at how flat it was, we had several hills come up. Fortunately, we also rounded one of these hills and saw a cafe at 30km and stopped for lunch.

After lunch, a few hills and I started climbing a large hill. Mickey was behind on this climb. At 39km, I looked back as I passed marker km764 (from Chita) and saw a large auto transport pull up and stop. Tied down was Mickeyâ€s bike. She had flagged down Valerie and Victor and gotten a lift. We tied my bike up too.

It was nice in the cab of the 18-wheeler (technically, 14-wheeler since the last four werenâ€t double). They were making a 7-day run to pick up a new load of cars to Krasnoyarsk. Their cab had two bunks in back, and even linoleum on the floor. Rule was to take your shoes off inside. We had brief conversation along the way in limited Russian. It was still slow and bumpy, though a lot faster. We stopped briefly at the Amur oblast boundary at 30km and again at a cafe near Урша. Here we saw religious procession walking from Vladivostok to Moscow.

We came past large scale construction near Невер. Many bridges were being built and lots of dirt was being dumped. It was impressive, though would have been difficult to get through on a bicycle without walking. Finally as the sun was almost down, we passed a river. The truck stopped to change drivers. We took the opportunity to jump off as well. They wouldnâ€t take money for the ride, though we insisted and gave them some. We were at km1027, so had hitchhiked 263km past some of the worst road sections. We cycled another kilometer before setting up camp as it was getting dark.

40km today + 263km hitchhiking, 10680km cycling across Eurasia [Photo: 147, 148, 154, 155, 160, 163]

I read my Dostoevsky novel and wandered into town during the afternoon. There are six or seven shops, two large apartment flats, a school, two Lenin statues, a train station and too many log cabins to count.

We might skip some of this gravel by taking the train at the next reasonable opportunity. The tricky spot is finding places for the bikes.

0km today, 10640km across Eurasia [Photo: 135, 141, 142, 144]

We cycled 17km to the turnoff to Амазар. Someone told us the next cafe was still 10km further, so we instead went into town. The village had a few large concrete apartment blocks and otherwise many wooden cabins. There were several shops and we stopped at the first to refill on provisions.

Mickey still wasnâ€t feeling well, so we went to the train station to inquire about possibility of skipping some of the roughest road. As best we could understand the helpful lady, the baggage train didnâ€t stop here but instead at the next town 100km further. It would be a shame to skip some of the route – though we both thought this section was worse than normal. In any case, it wasnâ€t going to be.

We instead cycled back to the main road, and found a place to camp not far from the bridge and had a quiet day.

26km today, 10640km across Eurasia [Photo: 128, 130]

We left with morning mist and saw remnants of showers the day before. We took the back roads to Тадтугары rather than immediately back to the federal highway. This meant 6km of asphalt before turning to a gravel road parallel to the railroad tracks. It was nice, quiet and familiar ride with one or two rough streams to cross and some large puddles to go around. Sorry to have Bert leave and not join us in this part of the trip.

Тадтугары was a quiet village but we found the main street and a small store. We then asked directions and reached the federal highway at 31km. It started as a reasonable ride, but soon found ourselves back on hard washboard surfaces with large stones. The road didnâ€t have many large hills but surfaces still made for slow riding. Most cars were polite though a few drove fast and close, throwing up obnoxious amounts of dust.

At 53km we reached Семиозерныи and a nice cafe. Mickeyâ€s map indicated there might be a service road next to the tracks and we decided to give it a go. It took us 1km to get to the tracks and another 2km of the service road to give up. It was quickly becoming impassible and we backtracked to the federal highway. It was a slow and dusty ride. We stopped at 78km (post “700”) for water and then it took us another 6km to find a campsite. This area has a lot of marshy ground or bumpy permafrost so it is difficult to just go into the woods and camp. It was a long and tiring day.

84km today, 10614km across Eurasia [Photo: 124, 126]

We continued the pattern of waking early and getting on the road. After 7km we passed Кислый Ключ. We hoped for store here, but didnâ€t see one and it was also still early. We crossed under the tracks and continued to next town of Чадонка at 16km. We did find a store here, but it didnâ€t open for an hour and a half. After this point, the road became a little rougher. It was hard to get lost here as the road very closely followed the tracks. I think we saw more trains today than automobiles. We waved at them and got train whistles back. The automobiles we did slowed down enough, so not much in the way of dust today. At 38km we briefly added a 4km extra ride since we thought there might be a store in Пеньковая. After the initial report of a store here, the next two autos told us no, so we turned back.

At 56km we came upon a set of railroad workers. They had stopped, made a fire and cooked their lunch. They invited us to join them for tea. After this, we started to get closer to Могоча and had idea we might make it today. We kept riding slowly. At 67km we crossed the tracks again – and we came upon asphalt. It was rough asphalt, but still smoother than gravel we had. The last few km it turned back to gravel. Bertâ€s back rack broke here, so we had to adjust the panniers.

It was nice to make our way into Могоча. We stopped to visit both hotels and stopped in to make a reservation for two nights. Nice to make a stop here for two nights and recuperate after 432km of gravel roads so far. Bert has finished his ride and will take the train back to Irkutsk from here.

82km today, 10530km across Eurasia [Photo: 1231, 1233]

Last night something nabbed my food bag. I had a stuff sack from my sleeping bag with a loaf of bread, crackers, chocolate and other foods. The stuff sack and all were gone. I looked for it and didnâ€t find it nearby. I ate some trail mix and set off down the road.

We had a nice quiet road with a few ups and downs. At 13km began a long slow hill. At first it was possible to ride, but afterwards I ended up walking the top of the hill which came a little past 16km. The descent was slow since it was rocky. We had more level stuff and Ксеньевка at 30km. We waited for Mickey and then found a cafe and store in town near the railroad station at 33km.

It took a little bit to find our way out of town. A helpful motorist led the way. This included fording a river without a bridge. After this the road was a little flatter but also had more loose gravel and it became warmer. We stopped briefly to fix a flat in Bertâ€s bike and stopped under a railroad bridge for lunch at 50km before riding a little further to finish the day.

66km today, 10448km across Eurasia [Photo: 1223, 1229]

It was foggy when we left. We all left close to the same time. I cleared my glasses a few times due to the mist. At 9km, the fog began to lift and we briefly saw a rainbow. At 18km we reached the first top of the hill. We had a steep descent and then followed a stream downhill. We started the next climb around 27km and reached another top at 32km. From here a descent to 44km. By now there were many cars raising dust.

It was getting hot again as we had more climbs and descents before reaching a cafe at Сбега turnoff at 56km. After a filling lunch, we headed into town. We decided to take the old road from here to Могоча rather than the new one. This was in part because we were told ~150km of road without cafe and wanted to try something different than our dusty road. Weâ€ll see how that part of the adventure goes.

First we rode around town to find a store, refilled on provisions and water. Bert discovered two more screws missing from his bike. I discovered that my front cycling rack had broken. This is likely the same problem that Herman Veldhuizen had with the same rack. I used the same remedy of shifting the rack further forward.

71km today, 10382km across Eurasia [Photo: 1219, 1221]

We left in the cool morning. There were once again some mosquitoes. Within the first few kilometers we started out climb. We had several other climbs and a few descents before reaching a cafe at 22km. All the cars in the parking lot were right hand steering wheels. All the patrons in the cafe (except Mickey) were men and all the staff were women. I think we might have been the only ones traveling eastbound.

After breakfast we had a little of the descent back. There was unfortunately a lot of loose gravel. At one point Mickey hit a large rock and went down scraping up her knee a bit. We continued slowly on this loose stuff. It was getting hotter and a slow trudge. At 49km we stopped at a small railroad station town at Зудыра. Bert noticed several screws missing from his rack. Fortunately we had some spares.

From here we decided to go to the next large river. Replies to our “next cafe” question gave us an idea we might find one there. It was a 7km climb to start and then mostly soft gravel. Fortunately, there was a cafe at 69km and the river at 71km. We found a nice place to camp after a tough day.

71km today, 10311km across Eurasia [Photo: 1215, 1217]

We awoke a little before sunrise and were quickly on the road. The road this morning had a smooth surface. It was so smooth that I started to wonder after 12km if we had transitioned to a very poorly surfaced asphalt road. Yesterday we had multiple conflicting reports of exactly when the asphalt might start.

However, at 17km we had our answer when we reached kilometer post 277. Wow, pavement! It was a welcome and sudden change. The smooth road went past agricultural areas with hay fields, wheat and cows. It also went across some gradual ups and downs with a big drop at 24km followed by a 3km climb at 26km. This all made for a quick ride and our first cafe stop in Чернышевск. After lunch we cycled through town with stops at a store. Leaving town we had 3km of gravel before reaching the new road. The new road was wide and smooth. It was freshly paved (15km later they were still busy paving the second layer of asphalt) and was not yet striped. The grades were gradual though it climbed several hills. At 72km we got stripes.

We made good progress to Жирекен at 92km. Here we stopped at a second cafe for the day. This was also where the road changed back to gravel. We rode 4km of the new dusty road before stopping for the day. Nice to have a break from the gravel roads today.

96km today, 10240km across Eurasia [Photo: 1205, 1206, 1210, 1214]

• craters; large holes and also small ones
• crater fields; collections of many craters where it is tough to ride between
• cracks; where water had made a small gulley
• ridges; large bumps to ride over
• washboards; long successions of ridges one after the other
• soft sand; sand, particularly on edges of the road
• hard rocks; rocks protruding from the surface and sticking out

We had some of everything today, frequently multiple at once. Some parts of the road were worse and meant travel less than 10km per hour. I was surprised with such a broad road that there frequently wasnâ€t a good choice.

We left cycling amongst trees. After 13km we reached the intersection at Богомягково and stopped at a cafe here. It was early and farmers were herding cows across the road. We had a slow climb over the hill and then passed another cafe at 23km. Overall, I was surprised at how many cafes weâ€ve seen in this part of the road.

Mickey passed us not much later. We cycled mostly flat terrain to Новоберезовекое at 40km and stopped at yet another cafe for an early lunch. The staff was particularly friendly and curious. They gave us two cucumbers as presents to take along.

Most of the traffic on the road are cars in transit from Vladivostok. We see some local traffic and one or two trucks but the vast majority are small used Japanese passenger cars. Several times today, they would slow and ask where we were coming from or stop and take photos. Some would speed along kicking up dust but most were driving slowly. Most were taped up to protect the car finish.

After our cafe stop, the road to Знаменка was rough and open. We crossed the Нерча river just before Знаменка at 57km. We didnâ€t expect much chance of water after this, so we filled up. We made one last slow ride on the gravel from here. There were several large hills to climb. At 74km was an inviting farmers field. They let us camp in their field next to a hay pile and later came and talked some with us. It was a nice end to a long ride.

74km today, 10144km across Eurasia [Photo: 1192, 1195, 1196, 1200]

The day started with a 3km climb, followed by a 3km descent. The road then followed a river valley with a cafe at 16km near intersection to Урульга. While it was an asphalt surface, the road was rough. From here we started a climb again and then some bouncing amongst hills.

At 24km we saw signs for 9km of road construction, and the road turned to gravel. A kilometer later I stopped to celebrate 10,000km of cycling from Amsterdam. The gravel was wet and started to stick under my front fender. I tried riding the left side of the road as it was smoother. The road construction went down a hill and to a cafe at 32km across from Нарын-Талача. We stopped and ate plenty as we werenâ€t sure when we would next see a cafe. After this there was some more gravel to ride but my front fender was all gummed up. I stopped and decided to remove it. It now hangs on a 40km road construction sign. After this we had 14km of asphalt.

Without much fanfare sign at 47km the asphalt simply stopped. We would see cars coming the other way. A majority had temporary “in transit” stickers from Vladivostok. It was a slow and bumpy ride. We stopped briefly at 66km at top of a hill for food and here we decided to try for 80-85km for the day. Bert and Mickey were ahead and at 81km we reached our designated bridge. A car told me they were ahead and that there was a cafe in 15km. Apparently someone had also told them, though they were told 5km.

There was indeed a cafe at 94km. We filled up for end of the day before camping next to a bridge. This bridge was built in September 1995 so work on this road has been going on for a while. It was a long day but nice to finally get a start on some of the gravel.

95km today, 10070km across Eurasia [Photo: 1181, 1182, 1184, 1187, 1188, 1189]

Position N51.90547, E114.48008. See Map

Today we started on the road to Хабаровск. This was still a good quality paved road. We had some gradual climbs as well. Yesterday we stocked up on extra food since we werenâ€t certain when we could find cafes or stores.

Bert was up early to fetch his bicycle from the baggage train. We packed our bikes and gear. It all took some time, so it was 9am before we left. There was a disturbing scene as we left town: a young girl lying on edge of the road, a mother screaming hysterically, a man stopped with his car phoning on the cell phone, several other motorists stopping as well. It must have just happened.

We cycled slowly up to the top of the hill. We then descended through Песчанка and then a left turn at 9km. This road was already marked for Хабаровск. We rode this road for another 8km to reach the “M58” road. Here was our first stop at a café.

We had 2km of descent followed by a 7km climb to the top of the hill. The road bounced around at the top and then we had 11km descent to pass Танха at 41km. We had our second stop at a cafe at 47km at the turnoff to Новотроицк.

We cycled from here over several gradual hills. It was mostly forested areas with just a few houses. I enjoyed this as nice forest riding. By 80km it was getting late, so we started looking for camp sites. We tried once or twice, but then found a nice stop along a stream. This is the first time we fetched water from a stream rather than getting it at a village or store/cafe.

Nice to be on the road again with three of us. Also nice to start with pavement before the gravel roads ahead.

83km today, 9975km across Eurasia [Photo: 1173, 1175, 1176]