Saturday, July 3, 2010
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.
Thursday, July 1, 2010
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.
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.
Sunday, June 27, 2010
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).
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).
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