August 15 - Copenhagen

I wrote about my motivation to go on this trip in one of the first posts. The long-distance triathlon I had signed up for was one of them.

So this event took place today.
After coming home from my bike trip, I had a cold for more than a week. Normally I couldn't care less.. but in this case I was worried if I could start at the triathlon.
Then last night it was raining so heavly here in Copenhagen, it looked as if it would be nothing but torture to start on the triathlon today.

But in the end, it was an excellent day. Almost no wind in the morning, so the water was calm, no waves.. and swimming in the sea (or a laguna actually) was much easier than expected.

Cycling - well, I think the trip was maybe not the perfect training, but it was still good training, and so I didn't have to suffer too much on the bike.

Running - it is a little painful in the beginning, and it was very painful towards the end. But still it was fun and I really enjoyed it. Sounds like a lie - but I did!

So after 12h 43min I crossed the finish line - and now I am as happy as one can possibly be!

Munich - Mnichov - Monachium - Мюнхен

Of course there was no bus to Kiev from that bus stop where I arrived in Moscow.

And it's so strange how things happen. I was swearing in English on the previous bus driver (because he lied about this bus to Kiev). I could have sworn in German, but then.. it's more fun to swear when someone actually understands. So I picked some words of which I was pretty sure this staff of that bus station would actually understand. They did.. and it amused these guys, which had previously just tried to get rid of me, they were just security personnel making sure no one would sneak onto some bus from the wrong side.. and it amused them enough to find interest in my case. So I tried to explain that I really needed to get to Kiev in time to get to my bus to Munich, where I already had the online ticket. One of them misunderstood the whole thing, and thought I wanted to get on one of their busses with my online ticket. Which again made him get some guy from the next higher level.

And this guy again was kind enough to walk along this line of buses, to find one going to Ukraine. There was no bus to Kiev, that was clear, but maybe one going into the same direction.. and this was a brilliant idea. So I took a bus to Donjetsk instead and got off in Charkiv. Charkiv is basically somewhere on the way to Kiev and would definitely be a good place to find a bus to Kiev. That bus was scheduled to leave about 1 hour later, which gave me just enough time to comfortably get a bus and baggage ticket and refill my stock of food and drinks.

After spending all night on this bus, we arrived early the next day in Charkiv. As expected, there was no problem at all getting from Charkiv to the capital, so some time in the afternoon I arrived in Kiev. No problems taking the bike with me on the bus. Surely the driver of every single bus will complain, there is no space for a bike and so on.. but with a minute or two of begging, laughing and smiling it turned out to be not much of a problem to fit my bike into the baggage compartment. But I am really happy I didn't take a new bike on this trip. Mine looks pretty worn down now :) they don't have much sympathy for bikes in any of the countries east of Czech Republic. For most people there it seems that a bike is nothing but the worst possible and most shameful form of transport and should be treated accordingly. I tried to explain that mine is different.. without any success. Just because I should really mention it somewhere: my bike has been the most reliable companion one could imagine. It never complained... and gave me not even a single flat tire. Nothing. Only the minor problems with the gears in Czech Republic, but with some more knowledge on my side I am sure I could have fixed that myself easily.

Since I had already bought my ticket from Kiev to Munich in Nizhny Novgorod I had nothing else to worry about. I paid a taxi driver a quite rediculous amount of money for a ride to a cheap hotel. I was lazy and tired and wanted to make sure this guy will actually come early the next morning and take me to bus. And he did. Because I gave him only some part of the promised money that night. So I got one night of horizontal sleep, had enough time to fill the empty space in my bags with all sorts of good tasting high calorie foods and high percentage drinks to take home from Ukraine and Friday morning I got on the final bus. It's a very long and incredibly cheap ride home from Kiev. It takes roughly 30 hours, but this totally depends on how much time you have to spend on the border between Ukraine and Poland. Plus traffic jams etc... but we were lucky. The money collected on the bus to ensure a quick passage of the Ukrainian border must have been enough to satisfy the border officers (I didn't pay anything - I had enough time, I could have waited around for a few hours). And no traffic jam.

So Saturday morning I finally arrived... after a long happy and successful journey.. in München.

Simply go...

... and start the trip if you want to get somewhere here. If you ask somewhere if it's theoretically possible to take a bike you will most likely hear a NJET as an answer. There is some consulate thing of Belarus in Nishny and the people were so friendly there, now i actually really want to go there. However, they couldn't get a visa for me, only in Moscow you can get one. So i finally have up the idea of a quick and direct journey home. Instead i am now sitting in a small avtobus heading for Moscow. I know there are buses to Kiev and the bus driver said they would actually leave from the same station where we arrive later today. One thing i really want to avoid is cycling through Moscow. Taking the bike on the Metro or bus is for sure a no go... So i really want this to be true :) anyway, i booked a bus ticket to from Kiev to Munich for the day after tomorrow and simply hope I'll make it in time. I wouldn't actually mind one night in Kiev. These are really long cramped bus rides. I think i have acquired a quite sturdy patience during the last two years. However a three to four day bus ride can be quite tiresome.

Can't wait to get home now. I experienced so many good things, it can't go on like this forever. I prefer to be home before the tide turns ;)

3000 and heading home

Finally there's time to put down some notes on what has happened to me in the last few days. I simply had a great time. And today is the first day with the temperature somewhere around 29'C, so my brain is back to work. I did the 3000km in time! After 20 days, 22 hours and 10 minutes I hit the imaginary finish line in the middle of nowhere. I won my bet :) and to tell the truth, it wasn't difficult at all. Days are so long in summer... There's plenty of time to cover the distance. So i always kept the speed pretty low and took the time for an endless number of coffee breaks, chats with locals and continuous calorie refill (i bet i have even put on weight due to my unhealthy snack diet). After covering another maybe 80km some driver signalled me clearly what he thought about me cycling on this rotten road with heavy traffic in this unnatural heat. And i had to admit to myself that he probably got it just right and that it was time to go home. since there is no bus on this route i cycled to the next cafe. I've been so bad with posting all along, but there are so many things to tell. When i get home I'll make some small web page and I'll upload some photos and write down some of the stories. Maybe it's not interesting for everyone, but maybe it'll inspire someone to start on a trip to these interesting, friendly and wonderfully different countries.

So for now just some basic info what happened next. Me and my bike got a ride on a truck with potatoes from Shatsk to Nishny Novgorod. They not only took me for free for a ride of about 450km, they also fed me with huge amounts of tasty food, laughed with me and found me a cheap centrally located hostel in Nishny. I was thinking about taking the train home from there, but with a bike it that does not fold this seems to be so complicated, after trying for a few hours to organize a ticket i gave up. One major problem apart from the bike is that i have no visa for Belarus, so i have to do a detour.

Photos and maybe some more stories...

This trip has been so unbelievably interesting for me. I've met amazingly friendly people all along the way. I haven't seen my photos on a computer yet and i think most of it will be rather boring and doesn't fulfill any artistic criteria but is purely documentary. However I'll post a some of it at the latest when i get home to my computer. To get this done here is pretty much impossible.

Getting close to the finish line

I think i haven't posted anything since Sumy. That was the last Ukrainian city before the Russian border. I didn't cross the border that day, as I passed a scenic little lake that afternoon. And I couldn't resist and had to jump into the lake like some locals. I really don't know why i haven't started this any earlier. It's the perfect measure for a quick cool down. I just take off my shoes and helmet and then walk in with my clothes... The next 15min on the bike are simply enjoyable. Not terribly hot for once. Ukraine presented me with an absolutely lovely family of grandmother, mother and daughter that night. I was invited to spend the night in their house, was shown the chicken, ducks, pigs and their vegetable garden. Later i was fed with huge amounts of great tasting food, all of it from own production. the next morning i was really early at the border. Before 7am. The Ukrainians were totally friendly and so i expected some trouble on the other side. But instead i was done in 10minutes. They even filled in the forms for me, because they wanted to have them written in Kyrillic letters and didn't believe i would be capable to copy down my name from the visa. So anyway, a handsome border officer did this for me and i was not checked any further but sent into the country. So first thing to do was to find a bankomat and get some Russian cash and a second breakfast. An ugly little town offered both. But not without the first few "njet"s. Cyclists are really not on top of the ladder here. And trying to get your bike into any safe place here is a mission, because there don't seem to be any bikes of value around. So your expected to leave it on the road. i left this town after being held up by some friendly but totally annoying person from some little local newspaper. This whole episode was so bizarre and funny, i should have had a secret camera with me. i cycled past Kursk that day and yesterday passed Voronesh. Today I'll pass Tambov. 237km and 1.5 days left.

Almost at the border

I am about 40 to 50km before the Russian border.
Have to leave the internet cafe. Time is up. I did only 100km yesterday, hope to catch up a few kilometres today. But this will only be possible if they let me pass the border. Hopefully no troubles because I am travelling by bike, not by car.

Anyway, I have done 2261km by now. Still optimistic :)

Last night I spent with a Ukrainian family. Really friendly people. I was served lots of really tasteful food and - of course - vodka and beer. Was invited to sleep in the house. Which I did. Was like sleeping in an oven. Unbelievably hot.

It's hot here all day - I really have to start cycling earlier. Started around 7.30 this morning, and it was definitely much better than the other days. Ok, have to get myself to the border now. More adventures waiting.

I hope to get to Kursk by tomorrow night.

Kiev

Ukraine is simply huge. I don't really want to spend too much thought on the fact that I have only passed about half the country yet. But anyway, it is quite often very beautiful here, and I expect Russia to look very very similar. Roadwise, houses, gardens, nature, people. Actually I hope it is similar. If it is, then I'll manage the rest of the days of this trip quite easily.

From Rivne to Novograd Volinskij to Malin to Kiev. Had some very hot days. Very very hot actually. The days are somewhat repetitive. I eat drink and spend an awfully long time monotonously cycling :) just to then fall asleep within seconds, after stuffing as much food as possible into me. I don't think everybody would enjoy this sort of a holiday. But no... actually.. I do enjoy it most of the time. I've seen quite a lot of places that I would like to return to. Unfortunately it's getting late and I have to find a shop before they close, because I need some FOOD. Kiev seems to be an interesting messy big city. I have to return. Without bike. Or with more time.

Short status update on kilometres: I have done 1906 km, i.e. still 1094km to go. Still 7,5 days left. If roads don't get much worse, then it is possible to do it. 150km on 7 days, 44km on the last day. On the last day I have to be finished at about 3pm. Then exactly 3 weeks have passed since I left home. My nice home....mmhhhh. Will be nice to get back! But still some adventures to come.

Rivne

I am still somewhere in the North-West of Ukraine. Rivne to be precise. Roads have been better than expected so far, so it is actually feasible to do 150km a day. People have been much more friendly than I thought they would be. It probably helps that I look so alien, they are simply curious what is behind this weird outfit. And then being on my own most likely also helps.

I didn't have much trouble to get into Ukraine. First I was told bycicles were not allowed to pass this border post.. only cars. But then the same guy found me a van which would take me and my bike across the border and drop me on the other side.

It's been really hot the last few days, very humid as well. Yesterday I was totally tired at some stage, but two coffees and one litre of cold water later I was as good as new. And so I cycled through some really beautiful back country... sometimes it looks like time has been held still here. Many houses are nicely painted, colourful flowers in the front yard. Every single person I have asked for help has so far been friendly and trying to answer my questions.

Last night I had a closer look at my maps.. of Ukraine and Russia. And I really don't think that 3000km will get me to Yoshkar-Ola. But I then decided to think about this question at the time I have reached the 3000km.

By the way, a lot of things are different here. But then.. underneath the cover it is all the same. The girl next to me in this internet cafe just walked in, logged into facebook, and first thing she does is that she grows eggplants or something on her farmville thing. People do the weirdest things all over the planet :)

I better get going. Have to get out of my hotel room. Heading towards Kiev. But it will take at least 2,5 days to get there. Should be about 375km from here. But on the roads I am taking it is probably more like 450km. 3 days. If things keep going well.

Last night, when I was cycling into Rivne, I had an ant under my shirt. Unbelievably painful, this little bugger peed on me a few times while I asked people for a hotel...great. You can't really jump off the bike and start scratching in the middle of an conversation. Not even after the conversation with people watching all the time. Finally, about 30min later, I got him, when I was standing right in the bright shining lobby of the hotel. But I let him run off.

Ukraine

I haven't been good at posting at all! I don't even remember any more what happened which day. Terrible. And i am way too tired in the evenings to keep a diary. I'm trying, but it simply never works out. I visited another nice old town in Poland. Zamosc. Then moved on to leave the EU, to start the adventure. Overall i did about 600km in the last four days, so now with half the time gone i have done exactly 1490km. So i think it's still possible to win :) Ukraine has been really interesting so far. Actually much more beautiful and friendly than expected. to tired to write anything of interest now. Maybe tomorrow!

Still in Polska

The last two days were quite lazy. On Thursday I raced to Bytom, so that I could have a lazy day on Friday, get a few parts and things, relax, sleep well, meet friends and simply have a good time. And I did. Marcin helped me with all the things I wanted to get done. Showed me his new work place in a really fantastic old building. This old power station I already mentioned in the last post. I would like to upload a photo, but it would take too long now. I'll do that either some other day on tour, or after the trip. Finally, I will get a website for some of my photos when I am back to Munich.

I got some parts (another spare tube, spare tires and a rear mirror) and help in this really friendly and well equipped bike shop in Bytom. My rear brake needed adjustment.. which I didn't even notice. But the nice guy was so kind to check my bike before letting me head off to Ukraine. Great. The support I get from people that have never seen me before is amazing.

Marcin's friend let me use his computer for quite some time in his beautiful office in the same old power station, other friends invited us for dinner - and so I could leave Bytom well equipped and full of great food. I didn't leave the city before 6pm, so that day I just did a really short ride of about 63km. I planned to meet Marcin that night in a close by climbing area. Polish Jura. Really beautiful area, with soft hills, limestone pinnacles and ruins of old castles. So Marcin followed me in his little Fiat 126p, one of the most beautiful cars ever built, and we later met in someone's garden, where we camped, grilled a sausage on the fire and had a nice cold beer.

Yesterday i started quite late again, so after 149,9km the sun was setting and I was in the middle of some never-ending dark forest. So I tried to get out of it as fast as possible. Didn't really want to get run over in the dark by one of the rather fast cars constantly passing me... Out in the open again I quickly found a nice spot to pitch my tent. Not far from the road but hidden behind a line of trees. Even ground and... ABBA music in the background. For hours. I wonder what sort of entertainment thing was going on there :)

Today is another really burning hot day. Like yesterday, just a little hotter I guess. I should better get going. I am still bit behind schedule now. With 1078 kilometers done I have to catch up about 85 kilometers. Would be easier to do this in Poland, as roads and everything else is most likely to be a lot worse and/or complicated in Ukraine and Russia. But then - it's still a holiday, not a race, and I like stopping anytime I feel like it. And I don't expect to see too many computers before I get to my final destination.

Anyway, I better get going!

Poland

I am getting confused with the days and kilometres. During the last few days I was a little bit too slow. I did 144,6km on Tuesday, about 143km on Wednesday and 169,6km on Thursday. So I am still a little bit behind schedule, I think. To be honest, these numbers are not precise at all, my diary is somewhere with my luggage. Which is at the other end of the huge old power station where I am sitting at the moment. The old power station in Bytom, Poland.

Czech Republic has great roads and the landscape is beautiful. Endless hills, up and down and up and down all day. Quite tiring, but nice cycling. People don't speak too much English, but occasionally a few words of German. So far people have been friendly towards me, but not overly interested.

Poland is flatter than Czech Republic. The roads are worse, but people are more open. I enjoy being here. Can't spend more time in the internet now, but hopefully I'll find time to write more later tonight!

And: the problems with my gears are fixed! Everything working well!

Czech Republic

Just a short note now, i should be cycling. Instead i am having a perfect coffee in a petrol station. I was too tired in the last two nights to type more then necessary. So now just the main info. Did something like 162 km on Sunday and only 110 km yesterday due to simply horrible weather. Heavy rain. For hours. But still this got me right into the Czech republic. Last night i enjoyed the luxury of a bed, and NO mosquitoes. And a shower! But in general Czech republic is great for camping in the wild. The roads have so far been perfect and i seem to have already passed the first of the two ranges of hills or mountains that i have to pass on my way to Russia. Hope there is not too much rain today. But after yesterday i am well prepared... At least mentally. My rain covers for my shoes.. Well... They don't work as they should. I'll try to get different ones. People are generally very friendly. Trying to help. The only thing i am really worrying about is the condition of roads in Ukraine and Russia. I'll definitely try to get spare tires before i get there. I need a bike shop anyway. Since yesterday I've got problems with my gears. It suddenly shifts without reason. I think this rear gear shifting thing is bent. But should get me to the next city without too much trouble. Gotta go!

It wasn't nearly as hot as expected today. In fact the weather was just perfect. Hope it stays like this for a while. Since i had only half a day i did only 84,6km. kept the speed low to save as much energy as possible for my first long day tomorrow. It was going well today, but you can really feel this extra weight, especially uphill. Hope I'll find some lake to hop into tomorrow.

Hitting the road

No way I start early today. I didn't sleep much last night and didn't find the time to actually plan my route for the first few days until this morning. Plus all other things that I kept for the last minute. Like transferring my Russian language course to my ipod...

Now the sun is burning, it's really hot today. First I have to cycle through most of the city and then, once I am out of it, it's probably time to look for a pub or beergarden to watch the football world cup. Or skip it and use the car-free time to get put some kilometres behind me. I haven't tried to cycle with luggage on my road bike yet, so that is going to be interesting.

My luggage is quite a bit heavier than it should be. 15,5kg instead of the 10kg I aimed for. But there are still a few things I can easily get rid of. Like the major parts of my guide books on Russia and Ukraine.

Since it's so late already, today only counts as half a day. Which is quite important, because I was optimistic (or stupid?) enough to make this bet: that I would do 3000km in three weeks. That doesn't mean that i have to cycle 300km each day (just in case that was what you thought, because that is what most people think when they hear these numbers for the first time). It comes to 150km per day for 20 days plus one lazy day. Well.. no idea if I can do this. But I'll definitely try.

Time to go - but I'll keep the blog updated. Pretty much daily, or whenever my phone works.

Saturday

This morning I heard on the radio that it's supposed to be 30-40°C on the weekend. Great, I'll be cooked alive... anyway, tomorrow I'll finish the last few things I need to do and then, finally, leave on Saturday morning. Early morning.

In case you were still wondering why I want to go to this somewhat remote place in Russia, have a look at this great website on Yoshkar-Ola and Mari El.

Preparations

Only a few days until I am heading east again.
But this time without an engine - on my road bicycle.

During the last few days I got most of my equipment. A light-weight tent, some parts for my bike, sunscreen.... and all sorts of really strange looking functional clothing.

As you can see on the route map I am heading towards Yoshkar-Ola, a city in the Republic of Mari El, a part of Russia. You might be wondering why I want to go to exactly that place. On a bike. By myself. So there were a few things going through my mind about two or three months ago:

I signed up for a long distance triathlon on August 15, 2010.
I made a new friend when doing a snow shoe hike in Lappland. This friend sometimes lives in Yoshkar-Ola and was planning to be there this summer.
I am rather lazy and I find it pretty much impossible to stick to any training schedule.
I like Russia. And I would like to learn the Russian language.
Someone told me you should do AT LEAST 3000km on the bike when training for the long distance triathlon.

So it's obvious, isn't it?

On Google Earth I measured the distance and guess what - Yoshkar-Ola is about 2600km from Munich as the crow flies. So that could be around 3000km on the road. Maybe a bit more. Just perfect!

As you can guess, people aren't exactly queuing to go on a trip like this. The last few generally interested potential travelmates were successfully deterred by my plan to do the 3000km in three weeks. So I had the choice of giving up this plan or finding out if I enjoy travelling by myself. I didn't have to think twice.

I'm going to travel really light, so I'll just take a small camera this time. And if I occassionaly find internet access I will upload a photo or two. I should be able to update this blog via my mobile phone, and I am planning to do this daily, so you can check every now and then if you feel like it. Or you can subscribe to get new posts via email (link in the upper right section of the blog). And of course - feel free to leave comments or email me. I will check my mail whenever I find an opportunity to do so (I admit it. I don't have a TV, but I am an internet addict).