Progress so far:

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

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 wasnâ€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]

At 13km I crested a hill and suddenly saw a village below! I had made it through, but wasnâ€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 didnâ€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 didnâ€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]

Last night I had visitors. I had camped a ways from the road but was still visible. As I was getting to sleep, a jeep pulled up with three guards. I explained things and they let me sleep. It was cold this morning as I had frost on the tent and ice in the water bottles. However, the sun was shining once it got over the trees. I followed the road east with some ups and downs. Mostly a good road but 9km of road construction: first 3km were smooth new road, middle 3km were being worked and last 3km were old but still smooth road. Now I know where all those dump trucks were headed yesterday.

At 42km, the road came to a T. There was a café and perfect place for a meal. From here I would go to Тюш and then try a road to cut across via Брехово to the Перм/Екатеринбург highway. I asked a nearby driver and he told me it was all asphalt! So I headed north to Тюш and turned into the town at 50km. At 53km I was at bottom of a hill and my road. It was gravel. The map said 26km to Алтынное and 28km after that. I walked a few hills but otherwise the gravel was ok to ride, just a little slower.

A truck driver slowed and asked if I had a map. He told me that it didnâ€t make sense to go to Алтынное, but instead turn 7km earlier at Озерки. I asked what that short cut was like and he pointed to a nearby rutted path.

By 72km I was at Озерки and I saw more than one rutted path. Not sure which one was which, I decided to stay on the larger road. At 79km I was in Алтынное and a little store. An old ruin of a church was here. Otherwise, it had a bit of an “end of the road” feel to it.

The road out of town didnâ€t exist. Despite being on both my maps, two different locals told me there wasnâ€t a road to Брехово. They suggested I follow local paths roughly north and overland. Now a dilemma. I had invested 26km onto this gravel road to come here and I really didnâ€t want to back track. So I started following a rough path that went in the direction the locals said. It turned and headed further east than they said. However rather than head overland, I decided to follow this path. I walked a total of 12km on this path before stopping for the night. Tomorrow, I will walk some further and hope to find the highway again.

91km today, 4934km across Eurasia. [Photo: 707, 710, 712, 713]

Today was supposed to be a ride to the next bigger city but this turned out to be a bit of a disappointment. The road started out well and at 8km was a turnoff where truck traffic headed north to Перм. From here a mixture of flat with longer hills to climb. It was early and the stores were still closed, until a descent into Куеда and café at the intersection at 56km. I was hungry by then.

The next 10km were a rough road but were followed by new smooth road after that. The hills were big enough that I walked a few. I had seen signs for Чернушка and so hoped to get into the town, a hotel perhaps? Internet? I followed a road into the town but found mostly industrial areas. I went back out a different route, finding a supermarket to refill on food. It was otherwise disappointing as a town. Decided to follow the road east out of town.

This was a tough road to ride. Multiple steep hills and rough asphalt. A steady progression of dump trucks came past. I am now in oil regions as I see both pumps and pipelines. I was glad to finally find a camp site as I was getting intermittent rain.

120km today, 4843km across Eurasia. [Photo: 704, 706]

Just after this, the road crossed a wide dam and into the Перм oblast and town of Чайковский with another hour of time change (if you arenâ€t keeping track, Iâ€m now 2 hours east of Moscow). I tried the post office for internet but the only terminal was occupied by a teenager who looked like he was going to stay a while.

Just as I came to intersection out of town, I paused to make sure I would take the proper road. A man in a dark SUV drove up. He came to me and asked if he could photograph the bicycle. He was quite excited to see the Trek 520 bike. He had a Schwinn and asked if this was a good brand. I said yes. Unlike others, he was mostly interested in the bike and not other parts of the trip.

As I was cycling a little further, I came across a second person. He said he designed bicycles and again was interested in the bike. I asked him about road conditions. The SUV guy came up again after this. He had an orange reflective vest he wanted me to put on. I told him this wasnâ€t necessary though it was a good reminder to get out my orange windbreaker (I still had on my heavy blue coat). He also showed me a gun and asked if I needed one. I told him no, I wouldnâ€t need a gun.

The road ahead was variable with steadily increasing hills. There was some truck traffic, but overall traffic was light enough that it worked. The morning cold and clouds were gone. I stopped once at 78km for lunch and then slowly cycled the last kilometers to the end of the day.

108km today, 4723km across Eurasia. [Photo: 697, 698, 701, 702]

Today the weather was variable, though the common theme was a cold north wind. I awoke to frost outside the tent. This makes a range of 40C (70F) in just two days. As I waited for the sun to come out, I saw an entirely overcast sky clear up. Later in the day it would cloud over again. The road stayed in good condition, though progressively busier as I approached Ижевск. At 48km I reached the end of the cross road and headed north into the wind, up a hill and to the big city. There were surprisingly few trucks here (I was later to find they were routed around the city. At 50km, I stopped at a store for breakfast.

From here I cycled through the city with surprising ease. I followed the truck signs and major road signs and stopped at a café at 65km on the way out of the city.

The road to Воткинск became progressively busier and worse condition. It was rough with cracks. There were multiple drainages to cross over. The number of trucks increased as a bypass took them around town and onto this road. By 96km I was ready for a break. My map showed an intriguing short cut via Болгуры. I stopped at the shop in town to get dinner items and also rode past a ski area (I must be in the Urals now). However, I couldnâ€t find the short cut. I asked once and was directed on a path that seemed doubtful and ended up at the local swimming hole. Tired and frustrated, I made my way back to the busy road and rode a short distance until I found some trees to get out of the wind.

108km today, 4615km across Eurasia. [Photo: 692, 695]

At 35km I came to a fork in the road. A “short cut” headed east and was the one I guessed Mickey might have taken (or would take). However, to the first town was 13km of gravel and at least another 10km of path/road after that. I decided to stay on the paved road instead. To reward me, another 3km further was a café to revive me with some breakfast.

The road improved after this. As it went through forested areas to Сюмси. A few hills but my speed also went up. At 58km, I turned, this time onto an official road towards Ижевск. This would meet up with the short cut later. Again, I had 40km of mostly good road to Ува. It was a Saturday and several decorated wedding cars passed. The roads through Ува were worse again. I concentrated on riding and was almost through town before realizing I wanted to stop at a café. I found one just on the edge of town but it was closed. So, I rode further with intent to ride at first store/café and then camp. There were a few more hills to climb. A truck came past and then stopped. I had talked with the truck driver on the ferry the day before and he was surprised to see me. He also told me the next café would be in Нылга. I decided to continue slowly and before I knew it I was in the last hills to Нылга. Folks at the store were amazed at my trip and laughed at me when I used the word vacation to describe it. Glad to find a campsite nearby after a long but good ride.

137km today, 4507km across Eurasia. [Photo: 686, 688, 689]

I was on the road early today even after setting my watch ahead an hour. As I came through Янгулово there was a traffic jam of sorts as I had to wait for the cattle to clear from the main street. This was still a good quality road, though it climbed up and over a few hills. At 23km was Малмыж where the local police stopped me to ask about the trip. There was also a hotel/café here and chance for breakfast. From here the road went up and over a few more hills to Гонба where a ferry crossed the Вятка. Four of those kilometers were unpaved.

I reached the ferry in time to see the incoming ferry. I found out that the ferry times were 7am, 11am, 2pm and 5pm and hence I would have almost three hours to wait. I walked through the town to find a small store and filled up on water. It was warm outside with many little flies so decided to change to long pants.

When I returned to the ferry dock, I checked my handle bar bag. My wallet was missing! Oh no! I hurried back to the store and fortunately found it in the grass. I waited some more and then was on the ferry. No signs of Mickey, so Iâ€m not sure she is behind me but more likely ahead on the earlier ferry?

On the other side I had been warned about 16km of unpaved road. Worse, I found the road base was soft sand and hence there were few places to ride. I mostly walked with an occasional push of the bike. One car stopped to offer a lift but seemed a bit shady [they were extra eager to help and also wanted to exchange Rubles to German Marks]. Finally I made it to Константиновка but the promised asphalt didnâ€t appear. Two locals told me it was another 3km and Mr Shady drove by again to tell me it was 10km. I pushed my bike another 4km and finally was on pavement.

The weather had changed during the afternoon to a cold north wind and almost hints of rain. There were some hills to climb, but I was at least riding. I was tired but went a bit further before finding a place to camp. Still no signs of Mickey. Still not clear if she is behind or ahead though the ferry limits the possibilities and I didnâ€t see sand trails.

73 km today, 4370km across Eurasia. [Photo: 673, 678, 679, 681]

Weather forecast called for hot (39C, 102F), so we were up early and on the road by 6am. This had an added benefit that the roads were quiet as we cycled through the middle of the city. The roads generally became wider but were still smooth. Most of the traffic was inbound. At 22km we crossed the ring road and the road started to get smaller and less crowded. My GI tract had been unsettled last night, but fortunately some Imodium helped.

The road was flat as it followed a river drainage and railroad. Several small towns along the way. The rest day had helped my cycling. At 70km came Арск with a small hill to climb. I was surprised to not find Mickey here. It was open with fields planted along the way. It was warming up and so kept going scanning for Mickey. Finally at 110km I came to an intersection where I filled up with water and a little while later decided to stop for the day, without signs of Mickey.

118 km today, 4297km across Eurasia. [Photo: 671, 672]

It was getting warm again today, but we had slight tailwinds as we climbed over several hills and then to the turnoff at 40km. The last kilometers brought us closer to the Volga River again and then down to the ferry. Turned out it was a passenger ferry and left in two hours (1pm). So we found a store for lunch items, went to the post office and then on the ferry. I spoke with a man who introduced his profession as “officer” on the ride over. We had a Lonely Planet Guide that told us the likely hotels and picked out our candidate (Hotel Fatima). It took a bit to get through the city, and on the way we came across three other hotels. Each of them told us they were full. Finally we got to the designated hotel. They had room! We found and picked out a room, and then let them know about the bicycles. They were initially reluctant to allow bikes to the room but finally gave up on us foreigners. It was nice to get to a shower with warm water and otherwise change after some days on the road. Plan is to use tomorrow as a rest day and then be on the road again. However, more likely to try the roads towards Perm since weâ€re still a bit gun shy about the M7.

As you can see, I’ve been able to upload some photos to the web site – though I wasn’t able to copy the larger originals and make thumbnails. Each internet location has its own different things that seem to work or not work. For example, gmail worked last night at this computer but seems to be having difficulties this morning (so if you didn’t see a mail, I wasn’t able to send it).

55km today, 4179km across Eurasia [Photo: 652, 656]

We’re likely to try going northeast from here towards Perm, rather than get back on that M7 motorway. Will see how it all comes out. Otherwise, having fun and feeling a bit challenged by riding here.

At 38km was a turn into a small road and village of Тобурдавно. I saw Mickeyâ€s bicycle against a house but didnâ€t see her. I heard a knock on a window and saw her inside. She had been photographing a woman carrying water and was then invited in as a guest. We had a good conversation, tea and bread as house guests. The woman was originally from Uzbekistan and had immigrated to Russia after the Soviet Union fell apart and there wasnâ€t work in Tashkent. She worked as a nurse and had three sons. She had enjoyed traveling and showed us many of her photos, including some of visits to (East) Germany. This was no longer possible due to visa reasons. We saw many of the family in different photographs. It was an interesting and pleasant house visit and nice place to relax.

As we left Тобурдавно, the road slowly worsened until it became a dried mud road. Fortunately it was dry packed and we had been warned to expect 7km of no road. After this a nice smooth road with some abrupt climbs but also sun and tailwinds. The distance seemed to float away until we found ourselves at 82km with an extended lunch in Бол Кайбицы. It was a hot afternoon and I had drunk all my water, so time to replenish. After a relaxing lunch, the last cycling to find a campsite and water. As we came close, a policeman waved me over. Turned out there was nothing wrong, he was just curious where I was traveling and otherwise asked the standard questions.

We found a nice campsite by the river and took a quick swim before retiring for the day.

106km today, 4124km across Eurasia [Photo: 639, 640, 643]

I liked the truck stop as first place to get a shower in a while and eat meals. It was frustrating however to find that all water was off when we awoke (i.e. no toilets). We packed up, ate breakfast and were on the road early. At 3km we turned onto smaller roads southbound. The road started bumpy as we passed a construction zone. About 6km was larger town of Ядрин and then a crossing of the Сура river (the Сура is interesting because it is the river that goes through Пенза where we traveled last year). The hills started from here, but I was still fresh so didnâ€t notice as much.

At 36km we came to Советское. Several people were crowded around Mickey when I arrived. We were definitely a spectacle in this small village. To compound things, today was the day for the town festival with singing, dancing, athletic games all starting at 10am. We listened to a song or two, ate Шашлик and gave our greetings.

From here some more climbing and some wind as we went over the hills to Аликово. The towns here had two names on the signs, a reflection of the Tatar influences here. We also noticed that the people here were more forward/aggressive so more likely to interact than quietly watch us go by. At 71km, we finally turned away from the strong crosswind and took a road heading east. We followed this until just about 100km and were then done for the day having ridden our 100km on a somewhat tough by scenic ride.

100km today, 4018km across Eurasia [Photo: 631, 634]

The 9am boat the other way was much less full. We loaded our bikes on and took the ferry across the water to Лысково. Once again it was a little tougher to find our way out of town. However, we stopped person to ask and he decided to drive his car with us following to show us the route. Several twists and turns later and at 8km we were to the M7 motorway.

This road is one of the larger routes across Russia. It was busy with plenty of trucks on the road. Initially the road was ok, though it proceeded to climb up and over several hills and was slow going. Here we reached a point of road construction. All the traffic was routed onto one (very rough) lane. This was an obnoxious ride with many many trucks wanting to pass. I tried walking, riding on the closed parts, riding over the bumps. Anything I tried was slow going. At 25km we finally got through this part.

Unfortunately, the road didnâ€t improve after that. The road continued to be poor, narrow and full of trucks. The edges of the road were either deteriorated or there were deep ruts in the asphalt. It was a big challenge to ride and felt a bit dangerous and I walked a bit or two. I started wondering about hitching a ride past the worst parts here. Mickey came to the same conclusion even more strongly about somehow getting off of this road. We finally reached a truck stop at 77km and decided to just call it end of a frustrating day. If the M7 continues as busy/narrow it likely feels too dangerous to ride here. Weâ€ll need to get out the maps and look for a better alternative for a while. It was nice to get a hotel room here and first shower in a while.

77km today, 3918km across Eurasia [Photo: 620, 625, 627]

Ok, so now I hurried along to find my way back to the route. At 56km was the turnoff. I circled around a little looking, before going to Бор and stopping at the first store I saw. I decided to wait for an hour and see if she was behind and looking. At 40 minutes decided to give up and continue. [Unknown to me, Mickey had missed the same turn and was waiting a few kilometers ahead with similar idea].

Бор was a mid-sized town with a nice central market. After this the road became quieter and quieter. Some stretches were through the woods and it was mostly a good road. It was a little further than I expected. The towns were small and not much chance to stop in cafes. Finally at 4:30pm made it to Макарьево. I found Mickey here and sorted out our surprisingly similar stories of having missed the same turned and waited before continuing on.

In Макарьево was a nice old monastery with churches being restored. One of the nuns came out to invite us in, and the brought someone from the kitchen who spoke English. She carefully explained that no lodging was available and that we were welcome to visit two of the churches. Some quick looks before camping on outskirts of town.

143km today, 3841km across Eurasia [Photos: 606, 608, 609, 611]

The last few kms through Заволжье were along a high dike. We stopped in the cafй before setting across the Volga. The idea was to bypass Нижний Новгород on other side of the river. Across a high dike and bridge was Городец. We came to outskirts of town and did some quick errands, buying screws and washers, trying to find a post office to send email and somehow started looking for a hotel. We were sent to center of town for that hotel, and then down along the river. Eventually we found it only to be told they had no rooms and sending us further to the next hotel. This one was 4km further and also no rooms (though we didnâ€t see a person in the rooms). We eventually decided to just make an easier day and found a place to camp outside town. I made my way back to town to find place to post a short internet update.

55km today, 3698km across Eurasia [Photo: 598, 600]

55km today, 3698km through Eurasia

Today was a nice day of cycling with smooth roads. My tent was dry early so I got an early start. This area continues to have fallen in churches in the villages – a contrast with western Europe where they would have been restored. At Мыт was a small store. It seemed to be both a social center and place for goods with enough for 4 or 5 customers inside. Mickey caught up with me here.

From here some more quiet cycling with intermittent trees and intermittent bad roads until we came to Пестяки at 60km. We cycled through most of the town before finding a cafй at the other end. Several Russians were interested in joining us at the table and recommended the kefir as better and less expensive than soft drinks. As we were eating, a big storm came through but fortunately we were able to bring the bicycles inside to wait out the storm. There also werenâ€t hot dishes once the power went out. The Russian table mates did tell us of several potential hotels including one by МамаЛена cafй.

We cycled our third segment past Новинки and then south along the river. We were on the lookout for МамаЛена and passed it the first time through. However, we had enough time to eat here and also wait out another storm. A little while later, the local mayor invited us to the town museum and also explained the hotel was in the town 4km away. We passed and found a place in the woods nearby.

109km today, 3643km across Eurasia [Photo: 593, 596]

Some mosquitoes in the morning kept things moving along. From freezing several nights ago, weâ€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 wasnâ€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). Iâ€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. Weâ€re asked frequently where we are from, however people are also a little shy and donâ€t barge in to ask.
– Weâ€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. Weâ€ll see what we have coming up.

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

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]

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]

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 wasnâ€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]

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

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.

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 couldnâ€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 wasnâ€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]

The terrain today and other days has been flat with occasional villages every 5 to 10km. These arenâ€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]

It was fortunately warmer waking up. We continued a pattern Iâ€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]

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 didnâ€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 wasnâ€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]

At 45km a nice stop at a café with Solyanka in Дусьево. From here a steady ride on mostly flat terrain. We would pass the occasional small village and stopped at 65km in one of them. My Russian works ok in the small shop situation where you can point and gesture as well. At 78km, a turn southbound onto a new road. This road was a little worse in spots, though also less traffic. I kept going a little slower here.

At 109km one last stop in Хвалово, where an older woman helped us find the store and two shy girls led us down to the river to find a spring and fill up with water. Once full with water, we made a short ride out of town and a camp site for the night. These areas are surprisingly marshy and wet.

113 km today, 2675km across Eurasia [Photo: 531 532]

Last night I tossed and turned some with excitement about the trip. I had breakfast and thanked my host family before departing. Roads were becoming busy but I went via Nevsky Prospect and took a brief look at the artillery marker. Mickey was ready with bicycle, but unfortunately hadnâ€t slept well for another reason. A bottom front tooth had become loose and inflamed? What to do now? Dentistry options worsened from here, so we set off across the city to find a solution. Fortunately, we found the “American Clinic” and they could take care of things at noon. By 1pm we were back on the road, but needed to keep it easy at first, so walked southbound from Sennaya Plochad they way I had ridden before.

Before 2pm we found a McDonalds (last one for a while) for a brief lunch stop and then headed on bicycles southbound. At 11km was Moscow Metro station and a turn to the east. I reset my odometer at the dentist. The eastbound road was quite busy and occasionally narrow so we walked at times. I walked across the bridge across the railroad tracks. Finally at 25km, the road became the M18 motorway. It was a busy road, but smooth and flat and we had a tailwind! We made some good time and at 53km crossed over the Neva River for the second time. We cycled from there to Шлиссельбург before finding a camp site off the main road. This area had many weekend Dachas and we had company close by. It is still nice to have some distance today and especially nice to be on the road again.

64km today, 2562 km across Eurasia [Photo: 527 529]

Monday: I notice more signs and banners going up about the upcoming Victory Day holiday. Not certain, but Iâ€m also seeing more soldiers and sailors in uniform walking through the city streets. The 62nd anniversary of the end of World War II is still clearly an important holiday (huge sacrifices were made and ~25 million Russians died – this compared to less than one million for US and Great Britain combined). Most of the museums are closed today, so a day to wander though the city. It is also warmer today and finally feels a bit more like spring than winter.

Lessons were more straightforward again. Iâ€m remembering more, though still feel like Iâ€m held back some by not knowing enough vocabulary. I still try to review after school, before bed, in the morning and again before school.

I found an interesting great circle program. For my likely route, following are some “as the crow flies” distances from St Petersburg:

• Yaroslav – 612km
• Nizhniy Novgorod – 905km
• Kazan – 1201km
• Ufa – 1634km
• Chelyabinsk – 1914km
• Omsk – 2582km
• Novosibirsk – 3117km
• Krasnoyarsk – 3586km
• Irkutsk – 4427km
• Chita – 4912km
• Khabarovsk – 6214km
• Vladivostok – 6556km

The actual distances will of course be longer. For example, I expect road distance around 6200km to Irkutsk and 11000km to Vladivostok. As a comparison, I am 8150km from home, so not that much further than to Vladivostok.

Tuesday: My bicycle isnâ€t ready yet. I walked to the bicycle shop after school and they said it wouldnâ€t be ready until end of the day tomorrow. Not quite sure why. They said they called, though I donâ€t know how to access phone messages and donâ€t see any indication of missed calls. Tomorrow is a holiday, though they told me they work until 7pm. I will stop by tomorrow evening, but will feel less worried when I have my bike back. What they need to do is simple and theyâ€ve had nine days so far. [Footnote added later: The bike was done the next day!]

Today we started lessons an hour later. We went through some new topic material including imperative forms of verbs. After a few weeks of intensive classes, Iâ€ll be ready to have some of this soak in further and just work on learning more vocabulary. Not quite sure what I can after that to keep learning some more language. I had some additional vocabulary at the bicycle shop – though it took some time to make sure to clarify when I asked “what time” and they said 7pm, whether they were indicating when the shop closed or when the bicycle would be ready. It was actually both, though then they indicated to stop by at 6:45pm.

The photo at right shows, that regardless of the box, the bananas I see here come from Ecuador.

Thursday: Working through my grammar today, I seem to get myself confused at times. It works better if I stop and carefully think through things and then I get them right. We’re touched on another case (instrumental) today. It is nice to know when the blini vendor asks “с собои” that they are asking if I want to take it with me. Sort of fun how I have grammar lessons and then immediate on street applications. Today I understood the question and answered affirmatively. The blini vendor smiled.

Some overall thoughts about the school and the home stay (1) the school is quite well structured and organized, it is clear they have done this many times before and have developed and fine tuned a set of systems, teaching materials and procedures to work with many new students (2) I am impressed with the patience shown by the staff – so many different little interactions where opportunities for misunderstanding abound and yet the staff was extremely patient with us students (3) immersion home stay has been good, I struggled a bit at times though would definitely prefer this to other alternatives. For someone who wants a more rigorous introduction to Russia, this seems like a good start to the country; though I would also recommend having taken some language lessons before. I also like the different perspective I think I have on living in St Petersburg than a classic tourist view. It has also been nice to work through simple transactions such as having a bicycle serviced.

By now I am also getting excited to be on the road again. Mickey and I met up to walk through town and for dinner. That also helps some of the excitement to actually be getting on the road soon.

Friday: Last day of school today. We worked through comparisons, superlatives and just barely touched on several additional prefix forms added to the verbs of motion. My mind wasn’t concentrating quite as hard today and struggled occasionally. However, I do feel like I’ve built up more Russian in these past weeks, particularly a solid review of some of the grammar and picking up some more vocabulary. At the same time, learning this language is tough and feel at least as much of how much more I need to keep learning.

Towards end of the day, the Liden Denz school came and presented me with a completion certificate. On the language level scale, my speaking/listening was listed at A2 level and my reading writing at A1+ level. I think they were generous, but I had my own final exam in mind. As a bicyclist, I had extra gear including school books and some clothes that I wanted to send away. Hence, the immediate goal was to find a post office and see if I could mail them away.

As I walked to Nevsky Prospect, I saw a post office on the right. I stopped in and showed my bag of what I wanted to send. The official told me “not at this post office” and showed me on the map where to find the correct post office. I walked to the next post office, here there was a long line but as I got close I asked. The first word was “private” and then there was some reference to registering. I wasn’t quite sure if this meant registering of the visa (my copy was at home) or registering the mail. The line was long enough that I decided to find the private post office instead.

I walked down Nevsky Prospect to where I had seen an Express Post, first door on the right sign. I went to the door, but the lady told me Westpost was now elsewhere. Fortunately, a second person helped me find their door. At Westpost, they looked at my bag of things and told me I needed to go to the regular post office and sent me to yet a third post office. I walked to the third post office. Once again, long lines. Finally, I gave up and walked to where I had seen a “DHL” sign. At the DHL office, I asked how much to send just my school book. It was a bit expensive but probably the critical thing to send away. The extra clothes and school notes are probably more expensive to send than they are worth, so I’ll carry the clothes some more and copy over the notes. So much for the final. As far as the Russian Post office goes, I probably am somewhere around A1+ or almost A2.

I noticed that Herman Veldhuizen has a tough issue on his bicycle trip to Tibet.

I am not sure where we’ll next see an internet connection. From here we’ll first take off eastbound and on our way across Russia. I’ve enjoyed my time in St Petersburg, but also excited to almost be on the road again.

Today a holiday to celebrate the end of the “Great Patriotic War” (World War II, in Europe). Despite a cold wet rain, today had much more of a holiday feel to it than May 1st (today felt like a combination of 4th of July, Veterans Day and Memorial Day; May 1st felt like Columbus Day). The celebration is still a big deal in this city that survived a blockade of 872 days and where about a million died in that blockade. Today was a huge celebration for the veterans and current soldiers and sailors: banners had been strung up for days. Many people wore commemorative orange and black banners or carried red carnations. Soldiers in full dress uniform were everywhere.

The day started with a visit to Двортсовая Плошад (Palace Square) in front of the Hermitage. A large crowd was watching troops marching in formation around the square in front of the reviewing stand. Bands played military marches as the crowd watched. Despite being a large square, it was difficult to see over all the umbrellas.

After this the streets were busy. Red carnations and orange/black ribbons were everywhere as were soldiers in uniform. The second photo shows a memorial where people were placing flowers. I wandered through town stopping at an internet café and got email that Mickey had cycled into town. I also wandered through some of the shops to stay out of the rain. The third photo shows a military band playing in front of the large Gostiny Dvor shopping center.

At 5pm, the large parade started down Nevsky Prospect. This was a soldierâ€s parade with a few additional groups marching as well. The fourth photo shows a group of soldiers and sailors marching past.

What I found particularly moving were the veterans and survivors groups. If the war ended 62 years ago, most of these soldiers would have to be in their 80s (or 90s) now. Some walked such as in the fifth photo. Others were driven in old military jeeps. People clapped and cheered as they went past. The sixth photo shows a group marching under a banner “children of the blockade – 900 days”. The city then known as Leningrad was surrounded by the German armies in fall of 1941. Rather than attack the city, the Nazi plan was to starve the city and otherwise bombard and shell the city. The Soviets brought some supplies over the frozen ice of Lake Lagoda but at times rations were down to 175g of bread a day and up to 30,000 died per day.

Following the main groups in the parade were several others. The seventh photo was part of a collection of military vehicles. It is a US military jeep with soldiers in US uniforms and a large Soviet flag. Iâ€m not 100% certain if this commemorates the large amounts of “lend lease” aid sent from US factories to Russia or the US troops in World War II themselves. The last photo was part of the communist party group that followed the main parade. The women in center are carrying some of the few photos of Stalin you see here (statues of Lenin are seen frequently).

Once the parade was past, the people filled the streets to join the end of the parade in walking to Palace Square. Despite the rain, many more people turned out for these parades than on May 1st. It also felt like a more emotional commemorative day. I found the sharp contrast between how the Russians view the war [Победа] and how the Latvians view the war [lumped together with Soviet times as part of “The Occupation of Latvia 1940-1991”] particularly striking and also a way of describing some of the emotions surrounding the current war memorial controversy in Tallinn, Estonia.

After the parade, I walked to the bicycle shop and my bike was ready! I then cycled a little further to the youth hostel and met up with Mickey. Nice to see she has arrived and we can now figure out how to go further from here on Saturday. In the evening, the windows rattle slightly from the fireworks.

Weekend was time to be a tourist again, this time with a visit to the palaces at Petrodvorets (known as Peterhof before 1944, and often referred to by that name now). Petrodvorets was a large country estate about 30km from St Petersburg. Started with just a simple villa by Peter the great, several large palaces were added by Empresses Elizabeth and Catherine the Great. The area was destroyed during the Second World War and reconstructed in the 1950s.

One of the biggest attractions is a series of 140 gravity fed fountains that are turned on during weekends during the summer. I didnâ€t see them today, since they are not yet on for the season.

I did take the tour of the large Grand Palace shown above left. They seemed to want all tourists as part of some tour group, so I tagged along with a Russian speaking tour group. The guide spoke quickly enough that I missed a bunch, but I could follow when she pointed and ooh and aah with the rest. The palace reminded me of the Catherine Palace I saw last week. Not a big surprise as Rastrelli designed both. Each room seemed to have a theme. One had large paintings of the destruction of the Turkish fleet in 1770. Another had entire walls filled with these small portrait paintings. There was of course an abundance of gilded ornamentation and statues.

After rain early this morning, it was a nice sunny day, so the grounds were also nice to walk around. The fountains empty into a canal that goes down to the Baltic Sea. Hopefully the next salt water sea I photograph will be associated with the Pacific Ocean.

Today was also an interesting exercise in using Russian public transit. Transit is excellent in this city with a metro (4 lines, 6 transfer stations and trains coming every two minutes or so), buses, electric trains, trams, suburban trains and “Marshrutka”. Marshrutka are these little van buses that operate on fixed routes. I took the metro to Baltisky train station. From here it was easy to find a Marshrutka 404 that my guidebook indicated went to Petrodvorets.

I had more difficulty knowing when to get off the Marshrutka. Several people got off at what I thought might be the stop, but I stayed on to the next stop. Turns out, I had missed the stop, so walked back about two kilometers. Getting back was a little easier, as I found multiple Marshrutka marked and took the next one that came along and was heading to a metro stop. I also had some fun knowing how much to pay (you pass your money to get forwarded to the driver), but I watched others and figured out 30 rubles.

Wednesday: There is a lot to remember. Each day, five hours of lessons brings more to learn. Today wasnâ€t particularly difficult though mostly a case of trying to remember the perfective and imperfective forms of many verbs. I try to review them several times a day: when I get home, before going to sleep, when I wake up and before class but still tough to remember them all. Today it was also nice to figure out that when my host asks: вам понравилось? That this translates into “do you like it?” – I didnâ€t quite get all the syllables worked through and hence difficult to look up in the dictionary, so now I tell her I like these various foods. My dictionary does get a good workout each day.

This afternoon I made a slow walk in the rain from school to Sennaya Ploshad and then a visit to the Russian museum. The museum has a good collection of Russian authored paintings though probably good to have a guidebook or guide to point out the highlights (or be more of an art historian than I).

Photo at right, shows I get lots of opportunities to learn additional Russian language; even occasionally stopping to figure out posters such as this one of a lost Pekinese dog. Iâ€m sure the natives find it strange to have tourists with Russian/English dictionaries reading their “lost dog” posters and figuring out the vocabulary and grammatical structure. (Moral of the story: if your spelling or grammar is poor, do not lose your dog near a language school?).

Thursday: St Petersburg has its share of familiar fast food restaurants catering to tourists. However, I found I prefer the smaller cafes instead. The Subway goes so far as to spell its name in Cyrillic letters (сабвэй) and has familiar menu items spelled in Cyrillic. I visited Subway and tried to use my Russian as much as possible. However they quickly figure out Iâ€m English speaking and switch to being helpful in English. Note: if you click on the photo, youâ€ll see an additional reason I took the photo: while rare, I do occasionally see bicycles on streets such as Nevsky Prospect.

The photo at right shows a nearby McDonalds with the pedestrian equivalent of the drive through.

In contrast, today I had lunch at a small café whose owner was from Uzbekistan. He also figured out I wasnâ€t Russian but we had the conversation in Russian about where I was from and what I was doing in Russia. At the same time, I learned a little more about the (warm) weather year round in Tashkent. These small café owners are providing a good service in not only food but also Russian language practice.

Today the grammar lesson was more straightforward. I found I am more limited by vocabulary than grammar. There are still many different words to keep learning and picking up each day. I find Iâ€m remembering more words though also forgetting and re-remember some of the same words. There was an excursion scheduled this afternoon to wander through Dostoevsky neighborhoods though it was cancelled since we didnâ€t have the minimum number of participants (4). So I read Dostoevsky instead.

Friday: Now time for a weekend! We found our way to the last case today (dative), and still more perfective and imperfective verbs. Iâ€ll have plenty to keep studying on my way across Russia, though will mostly miss the corrections to my grammar. We seem to be alternating nice weather with rain/snow so today time for good weather and another walk through the city. My regular haunts are becoming more familiar as I learn a lot of the center of the city. The Saturday excursion to Pavlovsk was cancelled due to lack of interest so perhaps time to explore nearby areas on my own during my last weekend in St Petersburg.

I seem to be getting interesting SMS spam on my mobile telephone. One message says: “Знакомства в Хамелеоне дла получения инфо отправьте на номер 0025 SMS со словом инфо (бесплатно).” As best I can translate, “Acquaintances of the Chameleon, obtain information by sending to number 0025 the message ‘info’ (free of charge)”. I donâ€t know any chameleons, so best ignore these.

No school on May 1st for the International Labor Day holiday. I took the opportunity to wander through town and see how the city celebrated the holiday. A large part of the plaza was blocked off in front of the Hermitage and all of Nevsky Prospect was closed with soldiers posted about every ten feet. I wandered along the parade route before seeing and hearing the groups marching down the street with small bands in front. My perception was of a large parade group followed by a small gap and then demonstration march. The parade consisted almost entirely of people walking (as opposed to US parades with many vehicles and floats).

The parade group was mostly different groups of people marching along with banners and flags such as in the first and second photos. The flags and signs seemed to be either political organizations or for different regions (or schools) around the city. I didnâ€t notice many strong political messages other than one group (third photo from left) with their “Estonia disgrace of Europe” banners presumably referring to recent situation in Tallinn where the government, after much unrest, has decided to relocate a memorial commemorating Soviet army sacrifice/victories in the Second World War.

After the main parade group was a gap. It felt tenser as I noticed a few police in riot gear and decided to walk away from the immediate area and down the street. The second group was primarily the Communist Party and different nationalistic or ethnic “Russian for Slavs” right wing groups. Many red hammer and sickle banners but also a small Che Guevara contingent and groups carrying photos of Lenin or the leader of Belarus. There was more of a political demonstration feel to this latter march group with chants, banners and people handing out leaflets, as well as soldiers marching along to prevent conflicts from erupting between protesters and counter-protesters. The fourth photo has initials Communist Party Russian Federation (КПРФ) and banners promoting a Russia/Byelorussia communist federation.

After the parade, lunch and then time to wander through town. The Russian Museum was closed on Tuesdays and the lines at the Hermitage were long so wandered mostly through town and took opportunity to visit nearby St Isaacâ€s Cathedral including climbing up the staircases to view over the city. The massive church was built between 1818 and 1858. From above, I had some nice views of the city. Otherwise, many people out and about enjoying the sunshine which was a nice change from yesterdayâ€s snowfall.

The school organized a trip to Tsarskoe Selo (Царское село) in town of Pushkin, 25km south of St Petersburg, and site of the huge Catherine Palace created under direction of Empresses Elizabeth and Catherine the Great. This was a summer estate of the Tsars. The palace was surprisingly large and ornate with rooms designed and completed in different periods. The entire palace had been gutted at end of World War Two and most rooms restored hence including the famous “amber room” with walls all covered in amber stone. Each of the rooms were almost museum exhibits amongst themselves with large tile fireplaces in one, paintings in others and dining areas in yet others. Tourists were required to put on shoe covers. Mine barely fit which the guide somehow found surprisingly funny. It was packed with tourists. We went with guide from school who knows a lot about all these places and does the tour in English but then weâ€ll have side conversations in Russian.

We met at the Moskovskaya Metro station and took a small bus round trip to Pushkin. Afterwards I got lunch around Moskovskaya Ploshad and then took the metro back to the center of the city. Still had enough time for another museum and hence found my way to the Museum of Ethnography. This museum had displays about different ethnic groups who lived in the former Soviet Union with many traditional costumes, farm implements and other tools and many photographs. It was interesting to see of the areas I would cycle through what different groups might be found (seems like still mostly Russian but occasional other groups e.g. Tatar areas or Buryat areas. One area chart had a list of oblasts and in each oblast the ethnic mix. It was an interesting mix to see the different peoples.

Sunday: My home stay location is wonderfully central in the city. I went out for a walk along the main shopping street: Nevsky Prospect (Невскии проспект). Iâ€m surprised at how many people are out and about on a Sunday afternoon. I can spot many tourists with their guide books and maps, though the majority is not tourists. A group of hari krishnas is chanting at the main square. Tourist prices also here with a soft drink costing 2.5x as much as in Gatchina. Quite a few stores are open and I find a nice internet café that allows me to upload photos.

I donâ€t know if the host family expected the bicycle, though the school did realize that I was “bicycling to school” (only from Amsterdam and not every day. My bicycle is stored away in the apartment).

Monday: First day of school, wow overwhelming! There is a lot to learn. Little bits and pieces come back to me such as Russian grammar but Iâ€m also missing a lot of the little connecting words such as “if”, “then”, “only”, “other”, “thatâ€s all” so conversations are halting at best. My host drives me to school to help me find things and because the assessment test is at 8:45am. On other days I will walk (~40 minutes) through the city. After an assessment test where I miss most questions and realize how rusty my Russian grammar really is, I am on to my lessons. Four one hour lessons with a short break in between. Wow, my head hurts trying to remember everything. However we write things down for later study.

I make a leisurely walk back with stops for lunch, internet and window shopping. I also have a few simple things on the list: (1) get a mobile telephone number – done (2) find bicycle shops – several good candidates including Trial Sport nearby (3) see if I can spot an inexpensive second set of non-bicycling pants – nothing yet in my size and (4) take the subway – will wait to tomorrow. After that time to concentrate on my Russian study.

Tuesday: Making slow baby steps and I start feeling a bit more at home in St Petersburg. Other than school, I wanted to (1) take the subway and (2) find a laundry. I found a laundry, and though havenâ€t yet figured out whether to ask to use washing machine of the host family or go to laundry. The school sponsored a walking excursion after class and I and ~10 classmates took the subway to Nevsky Ploshad (Невскии плошаль) and then make a walk from there. The architecture around this city is amazing mixture of baroque and classical. Iâ€m very close to the Hermitage and hence good place for further visits (one of my goals is to get a student id card so as to get reduced discount on admission to museums).

The host family is ~45 minute walk from school so this morning I made the walk along some of the main streets. During work days it is a busy city with lots of traffic and many pedestrians. I had another four lessons in a row. Iâ€ve picked up a few more of the little words. There is more to learn about verb conjugations (e.g. the different types of verbs of motion) but this is more memorization and regular practice, so those drills are a bit more straightforward. Still a bunch to learn but feel like Iâ€m making some baby steps of progress.

Wednesday: One goal for the day was to see if I could get a student id. I found a place to have my photos taken. I dropped off the photos at the desk at school – I think they get the id for me. It is sometimes a little unclear but I usually go with the flow and figure things out from there.

Lessons were again a little more straightforward. Most of my fellow students are younger and have more Russian language but there are a few older students. I am left with a little less definite list of things to learn next, but probably can also re-review the previous things again. As I walk back, I see plenty of high heel shoes and a corresponding number of shoe repair places.

Thursday: We visited the Hermitage this afternoon. Impressive from several aspects: the building and its various halls and galleries are huge with many ornate features both inside and out. It is also surprising how much variety between adjacent rooms as if each were set up in a different style. Within the Hermitage is an impressive collection of art (e.g. largest collection of Spanish art outside Spain or largest collection of Rembrandts outside Amsterdam) so one can make a good study of art history just within the Hermitage, as well as a large unique collection of Russian art itself. The school organized a guided expedition to the museum. A quick whirlwind introduction but definitely gives a flavor of why one could spend days in the museum.

Some good solid lessons today, Iâ€ve got some more concrete things to learn. I feel like Iâ€m actually picking up little bits and pieces each day, so that is also nice to have a more intense class. Four hours per day is a good block of time and I also find myself working through things going and coming to school, especially going to school. Iâ€ll recommend this combination of language school and tourism together as a different way to see St Petersburg.

Friday: I have an International Student ID Card and I got my laundry done. Small steps but nevertheless nice to keep progressing with these small steps along the way. It was raining, so took the subway to school. At rush hour it seems like the trains come every minute or two but are still packed. After school sun was shining brightly so nice time to walk through the city including this stop at the internet cafe.

Still working though more Russian grammar. Lots of complexities of the genitive plural case though mostly a case of getting some more practice. I sometimes practice my Russian with my host family but then also nice at school to work through the same types of conversations. For example, a different verb is used to wash clothes than to wash a floor, though my pocket dictionary wouldn’t immediately tell me which one to use.

Nice to have a weekend. Tomorrow I’ve signed up for an excursion organized by the school to the village of Pushkin south of town. This is site of one of Catherine’s palaces.

After 4km, came to the main highway coming from Pskov. The road was essentially a lane and a half wide on each side. This meant trucks and buses could usually give plenty of room though occasionally two (or three!) would try to pass each other. There was a slight upgrade and a headwind so wasn’t going very fast. Looked like mostly open countryside with fortunately some trees to shelter from the winds. The rain showers were intermittent though the road was still wet enough that spray from passing trucks kept things wet.

At 22km, I saw the official city limits sign to St Petersburg! There was a motel not much further and 6km further I passed the airport. At this point the road became a divided expressway with four lanes of traffic each way. Traffic was light, so gave me plenty of room on the right. I also noticed that the road striping was most worn in the left lanes so perhaps also a natural tendency to go into the fast lanes.

At 35km, I came past a big traffic circle at Плошаль Победы. There was a big supermarket here and internet cafe and this generally seemed to start the built up areas. The rain started coming down harder so took the photo at left from a distance as I took shelter underneath eaves of the building. I figured I could walk from here but kept riding since road was still good and I didn’t want to cool down too much. The right lane was used for buses and minibuses to pick up passengers so we would weave into each other. Nearby was Moscow Metro station, the first of seven I would pass. A slow steady ride as I came closer to center of the city and passed four canals. From here I found my home stay location and met my host. Plan is to be here for three weeks learning more Russian language. I don’t expect to make daily posts until I start cycling again. After that they will likely also be posted less frequently as camp a bit more as Mickey and I cycle together from here and as distances between towns increases.

46km today. 2498km across Europe. 4136km total.

• Netherlands – 210km
• Germany – 506km
• Poland – 511km
• Lithuania – 102km
• Latvia – 404km
• Estonia – 373km
• Russia -256km

From here, that Russia total will keep rising as I go to Vladivostok.

I found a nice hotel with help from friendly folks at Experience Plus bicycle tour company. The hotel only had place for one night, so today moved to sample the other hotel in town. Plan is to stay here until Sunday morning and then ride into the city. It is mostly a drizzle and light rain but still nice to take an easy day (or two) here around Gatchina, reading and relaxing.

2km today, 2452km across Europe, 4090km total.

I walked up to the Estonian exit, had my passport stamped and wheeled the bicycle through. After exiting Estonia, there was a place to change my Kroon to Rubles, so no more Estonian money. From here the pedestrian path went downhill and across the bridge. Crossing the bridge was a neat view with large old fortifications on each side: one flying the Estonian flag and one flying the Russian flag. Decided not to take photos since I’m never quite sure what is allowed.

On the Russian side of the river was a similar border control building. I followed other pedestrians in. There was a sign with customs. A helpful lady gave me a migration card and helped me fill in the right blanks. The passport was stamped and that was it! I wheeled my bicycle out the building and walked for a bit along the fence separating pedestrians from automobiles and eventually had the first photo of Ivangorod (Ивангород) and start of the M11 motorway.

Stopped at the first gasoline station to buy a map and was soon on my way on the motorway. This road was surprisingly quiet and surprisingly variable as far as road conditions go. Some very nice smooth places and also some areas near Kingisepp (Кингисепп) where it was just one pothole after another. I tried different techniques: slowing way down, riding the shoulder, walking the worst bits, cycling on the other side of the road but it was all pretty slow going. Fortunately at 30km after Kingisepp the motorway was generally better condition.

At 44km was a big orthodox church and turnoff to the smaller P-38 road. With some email help from helpful folks at ExperiencePlus I had identified a hotel in Gatchina (Гатчина) that seemed like a useful destination. (ExperiencePlus has run a trip as part of their Expedition Plusseries from St. Petersburg to Istanbul. If you want to do the same ride I did today but in reverse and without baggage see their trip).

The quiet road really started out quiet and in reasonable shape. It was variable in parts – where the road would be marked as bumpy for 1 or 2 or 2.8 or 5.5 or 6km and then better after that. Seemed like there were some gradual climbs but overall quite flat. Some forests but mostly wide fields, some with tractors preparing the fields for planting.

It was nice traveling along this side road. Every 10km or so, would be a small village, some with stores or large concrete block apartments, others with just little houses. Stopped briefly on other side of Volosovo (Волосово) for candy bar and a coke and kept going. The rough spots kept my overall speed down and there wasn’t much wind so it was a slow steady slog. Finally at 116km, came across the main ring road and then just another 7km to the line of Gatchina (Гатчина) . Hooray!, I had arrived. It was a few kilometers of mixed walking and riding and I found my way to the hotel.

The hotel only had room for one night, but they called to other hotel in town and made a reservation for two more nights. Place is to take some easy rest days here before going into the big city on a Sunday morning. Apparently no internet in the hotel, so will see what chance I have to update things.

127km today. 2450km across Europe. 4088km total.

There were several small villages but mostly quieter roads after this. The rain was soft but steady so mostly heads down to continue cycling. At 29km, stopped at a Lukoil gasoline station for brief snack. I gave them my Kaliningrad map as I’ve been shedding some maps along the way rather than accumulate them. How far to the border? 50km.

This next part was cycling along the Curonian Spit, a narrow stretch of land and sand dunes approximately 100km in total length. Much of this looked like the photo at upper left, with occasional signs pointing to small paths to either coast, occasional roadside pull outs with tables and a few vacation settlements. The rain caused me to mostly get into slow and steady cycling mode to keep warm rather than stop and look too much. However, looked like an interesting wild and unspoiled area. I was surprised at how many trees I saw along the way.

By 79km, I was through the last of the towns and now onto the border. Curious what I would find here. Exiting Russia was more simple and straightforward than entering and they even let me ride my bicycle across the border. The Russian exit station consisted of four stops (1) first one they just wanted to know what passport I had, once I pulled it out – all was ok and sent me to next stop (2) second stop was customs, once they found out I was US someone came out and asked me in English if I had anything to declare, “no” (3) third stop was passport control, this took a bit and I had to take off my warm hat so they could compare me to my passport photo, then a lot of waiting before finally stamping my passport and handing it back (4) last stop was just a guard gate where they phoned back to make sure I was allowed to leave. Overall, quite simple and straightforward as border crossings go.

Now 300m further was the Lithuanian entry point. Just one stop where the guard came out, took my passport, looked at things and stamped them as good to go. Big signs welcomed me to the EU. I knew Lithuania had its own money but big question was quickly answered for me as I saw signs in Latin script rather than Cyrillic.

The border crossing had caused me to stop and hence feel a lot colder than I had gotten cycling along. I decided it would be better to stop at Nida rather than stay out in the rain too much longer. I took the turnoff and into town of Nida. First stop was the ATM to get money. Next, I went over to a big information area with an “i”. Helpful person there explained (in English) that it was holiday for second Easter Day. Stopped and had some food in the cafe and as I was going out to find a hotel, someone came over and asked if I needed a place to stay. Walked over to these small little cottages nearby. She brought her daughter over who understood more English and we quickly struck a deal. A little wandering through town, but mostly trying to get warmer here from a cold day of cycling.

83km today. 1453km across Europe. 3091km total.

Kaliningrad had a few of the original Prussian sights around including an old church from 1233 that was still being restored. Church at the right was a newer orthodox church with glistening domes and many people quickly coming to pay their respects.

However, as a whole, feels more like a Russian city than a German one. Several prominent statues such as bottom left to (re)-founding of the city in 1946. Much of the city had been destroyed during the way and several spots with large concrete buildings to replace them. Also lots of shops.

Overall, nice to have a quiet relaxing day as I looked over maps, caught up on reading and otherwise took a break from the daily bicycle ride to the next place.

0km today. 1370km across Europe. 3008km total.

There were a few cars waiting so I took my turn in line. Waited for a little but then a customs official waved me to come up. They asked if I had a visa for Russia, “yes”, and then asked for the passport. Two different people looked at the passport and handed it over and told me all was ok. I looked back at my passport for any stamps – they noticed took it back and stamped the passport. I was then waved through and allowed to proceed. Hey, that wasn’t too difficult I thought before remembering actually all I had done was exit Poland, entry to Russia still remained.

I cycled forward to where a set of gates were down and the Russian guard told me to wait. I was asked purpose of my visit to Russia, “to bicycle across Russia to Vladivostok”. He then went back and to the telephone. After a little wait he came back and said, “you can’t cross the border on a bicycle”. Ok, so my question: “why?”. He let me know again that I couldn’t ride a bicycle across the border. I was just as insistent to ask why again and so he said, “wait and the officer will come”.

A short bit later, the officer came up in a car. He also asked my purpose in entering Russia. He carefully explained to me that you weren’t allowed to cross this border on a bicycle. Only automobiles, buses or their passengers could cross. He asked if I understood. Yes, I did but now I was really perplexed. If I couldn’t cycle across – then how to cross the border? The officer explained that I would need to get someone to take me across in a car. Ok, but where would I find such a car?

Somewhere in this exchange the situation changed from a “make sure the tourist understands the rules” to a problem solving exercise. Not quite sure how it happened, but once they knew that I understood the rules and wasn’t challenging them….the situation changed to one where they started helping to solve things. Fairly soon, the officer asked a minibus passing through if they might take me. It wasn’t exactly what the minibus driver wanted to do, but as he learned I was cycling all the way across Russia and even planned to go through Novosibirsk – his home city, he also became more enthusiastic.

We loaded my bike and all gear in the van. They passed me a migration card to complete. We drove onto the real passport control. We all got out of the van. After looking through passports, visas and everything, all was ok and we were allowed to pass! Hooray! A kilometer or two further was a gasoline station. The van driver parked. He joked that he could take me to Kaliningrad but wasn’t going to drive all the way to Vladivostok. Oh, no this was all fine and I would cycle from here. He wouldn’t accept money for the favor. He shook my hand and wished me well. I was pleased to now be in Russia!

The sign said Kaliningrad 49km, and Saint Petersburg 1001km. Initially this road was very smooth and not much traffic at all. There wasn’t many crops in the field or cars on the road. The road came through several small villages and progressively became busier towards Kaliningrad.

I noticed several large monuments to “1945” and when this area was taken from the Germans. This area as a whole had been the Germany area of East Prussia and fierce fighting had occurred in this area. After the war, the Germans had been expelled and Koningsberg renamed Kaliningrad. The Cyrillic text was an obvious quick change as were new colors for road signs.

At 61km, I came to outskirts of Kaliningrad. I cycled for about 4 km further and then shifted to walking for a bit. I had made a hotel reservation via the internet. I didn’t see the obvious street. My “Lonely Planet Russia” also didn’t have several of the main streets that the hotel confirmation had included in their directions. Hmm, well decided to walk into center of town first and perhaps see if I could find a map along the way.

I walked to the center and the large (and expensive) Kaliningrad hotel. Ok, now time to start walking outbound. I decided to walk to less expensive hotel indicated in Lonely Planet. Along the way, found a vendor who had a city map. Great, looked things up and adjusted some to make my way to the hotel where I had reservations.

This is a large city of 400,000 people or so. Despite the outskirts being quiet, it becomes busy and chaotic in the downtown streets. I perhaps walked more than necessary but wanted to avoid crunching into a nasty pothole. I’ve decided to take tomorrow (Easter Sunday) as a rest day and explore a bit of the city. Internet at the hotel charges by the megabyte, so I haven’t put big photos in yet or updated geographic coordinates.

Despite the Cyrillic script, it is nice to be in a country where I know a little more of the language than I did in Poland. After 3000km of cycling, it is also nice to have my BikeRussia trip actually get into one little corner of Russia itself.

Now that I’ve cycled through let me also add a few observations on my quick cycling in Poland: (1) people are friendly and helpful, I could typically smile and have them explain a word or transaction (2) for parts I cycled through, German is much more prevalent than English (3) Polish roads are known for being among the least safe (as far as fatalities per mile) – I can see perhaps why. There is a lot of traffic and tries hard to pass into oncoming lanes. Roads with shoulders seem best but also useful to be alert as sometimes looked like a 3d Frogger game. At the same time, the small yellow roads can be beautiful, peaceful and quiet. Their quality varies widely but if I wanted to spend more time really seeing Poland, the yellow roads would probably be a better choice.

70km today. 1370km across Europe. 3008km total.