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bicycle – Amsterdam to Vladivostok http://www.bikerussia.com A bicycle ride across Eurasia Thu, 10 May 2007 11:43:15 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.5.8 English is difficult too… http://www.bikerussia.com/2007/04/29/english-is-difficult-too/ http://www.bikerussia.com/2007/04/29/english-is-difficult-too/#comments Sun, 29 Apr 2007 10:52:08 +0000 http://www.bikerussia.com/2007/04/29/english-is-difficult-too/ … Continue reading →]]> When working through my Russian lessons, I am reminded that English is difficult! too.

This morning I dropped off my bicycle at бивак велоцентр for service. Some things weren’t too hard to explain, such as showing worn brake pads and asking for new ones. Others were harder to explain such as “preventative maintenance” of my chain even though it wasn’t worn out yet (although to think of it, I also had that conversation at Bike Mart so perhaps the problem is just me :-)). Fortunately, we got a little assistance from another customer. I’m (over)protective of my bicycle on a trip like this, so slightly nervous to leave bike until May 8th, but will see how it goes.

There are fewer cars out on a Sunday morning in St Petersburg, so good day to ride the bike to the shop. Nevertheless did see an auto/pedestrian accident on my way back so useful to be vigilant in this big city. I also noticed more beggars out today than before, not sure if I am just walking past more of them or something different about the Sunday crowds vs weekday crowds.

Today is my brother Tom’s birthday. I too am a year older today, though I get to celebrate 14 hours before Tom does.  I had given my cell phone number to the bicycle shop.  Hence, it was interesting to receive my first SMS message.  On translation, understood it to be the automatic birthday wishes from the cell phone company.

]]> http://www.bikerussia.com/2007/04/29/english-is-difficult-too/feed/ 4 T minus 3 months http://www.bikerussia.com/2006/12/02/t-minus-3-months/ Sat, 02 Dec 2006 23:04:10 +0000 http://www.ams2vvo.com/2006/12/02/t-minus-3-months/ … Continue reading →]]> I ordered a new Trek 520 bicycle. It arrived mid-month. I had customized it in a few ways: (1) adding 48-spoke rear hub for strength (2) adding a solid front rack (3) adding a longer stem (4) adding fenders (5) adding leather saddle (6) adding steel pedals with toe clips. It looks like a nice bike to ride. At end of the month, I’ll take it to San Diego for the Hostelling International Christmas ride. If all goes well, this will likely be the bike I ride.

I’ve started looking a bit more at the Russian visa’s I’ll need. Seems like you can’t order them more than 45 days in advance. I’ll get a 12 month business visa that allows for multiple entries. It looks like there are several places on the web to order such a visa. Of slightly more concern will be seeing if I can get it registered for six months at a time – from a place in St Petersburg. It seems like most of them only register it for 3 months maximum. In any case, I can now start getting paperwork in place.

]]> New bicycle http://www.bikerussia.com/2006/10/07/new-bicycle/ Sun, 08 Oct 2006 01:25:17 +0000 http://www.ams2vvo.com/2006/10/07/new-bicycle/ … Continue reading →]]> For a while, I’ve been thinking through what is the best bicycle to take on this trip. Initially my criteria included 26″ wheels and a steel frame. That ruled out my Cannondale bike I took around Australia and I ended up getting a Lightfoot Ranger for the trip. While the initial buying experience was poor, after that the bike has done fairly well. However, a drawback of this bike has been the large size (even with couplers) and how that may make both flying and local hotels more difficult.

In 2006, when I did the Ukraine, Russia ride, I took a Trek 520 instead. It rode very well for the trip, and I ended up leaving it in Penza as a backup bike for the Amsterdam to Vladivostok journey.

So, as I have been thinking more about the bikes and the pro/con of which one to bring, decided I may likely end up wanting to ride a Trek 520 again instead of taking the recumbent. While it has 700c wheels, it seems like larger Russian cities have bike shops with tires in this size, and some wheels and rims. Not 100% decided yet, but I went to Lees Cyclery to price things out and see if I could get another of these bikes for the trip.

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