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Published: September 4th 2006
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Novosibirsk
The view of the main station at night and station square from the window of our room at the Hotel Novosibirsk. Day 94, 2nd September
Kočenevo - Novosibirsk
We woke up to a sunny day, although everything through our eyes was hazy and a little bit ‘groovey’! It wasn’t far into Novosibirsk, the capital of Siberia. And, it wasn’t as sprawling as I’d expected. As we crossed the bridge over the river Ob, the centre of the city was spread before us, and the Trans-Siberian railway tracks raised above the river too. Once at the end of yet another Lenin Street there was Station Square with its grandiose station building and combined underground shopping centre and market. The huge Hotel Novosibirsk lay opposite.
We booked into two twin rooms. I shared room 1308 with Scott and the bicycles. A wander around the city later showed that there was nothing extraordinary to be found here, a big opera house, wide tree-lined streets, and a statue of Lenin apparently hailing a cab! There were, however, many bars and we had a few beers. The guys wanted to go to the New York Pizza place, but I decided I’d save my money and got two bags of shopping from the market instead for the same price, and eat in my hotel room.
Siberian Village
East of Novosibirsk, a typical village scence, small wooden houses. I also bought 6 Novosibirsk beers (3 for Scott) which were the most awful beers I’d ever tasted. They did the trick, though, and I drunkenly went to bed at midnight.
Total Miles: 5358.39 Todays Miles: 32.71 Average speed: 12.0 Time on bike: 2:42
Day 95, 3rd September
Novosibirsk - Stancionno Ojašinskij
I awoke with a bit of a headache, went with Scott for our free-breakfast which was just about filling. Toby seems adamant that he wants to stay till mid-afternoon, to “chill”. We don’t agree with his idea and want to stock up on foodstuffs for the days ahead and to get moving. I went around town with Scott, withdrew 2,000 roubles from a bankomat, we found the central market where we bought all our supplies. I bought a new coat for 280 roubles which I hope will keep me warm across the rest of Siberia and Mongolia.
There seems to be an emerging division taking place. Me and Scott, and Toby and Rory. I can see myself reaching Singapore with Scott, we make a good team, I like the logical planning for the way ahead. He knows that I’m determined to cycle
Free-Camping
Rory and Toby's tents. Now it's becoming colder and much damper at night. all the way, actually, if it wasn’t for Scott’s company I’d be racing ahead like a madman, probably to the detriment of my health. And then there’s Rory and Toby. I know Rory’s really pissed-off about his leg problems, but he has a good friend in Toby. Tobes is a nice guy, too easy-going at times, a pain in the arse at times, but I’m beginning to really like the guy, he’s the one who’s changing the most. In Düsseldorf I reckoned he wouldn’t get as far as Prague, now I think he could get to Singapore. The real test for us as a team is Mongolia and the Gobi Desert. We must be a team there - that place will either make us or break us!
Back at the hotel we packed and I tried to phone Kathryn. The international calls office was totally useless. I ended up buying a phone card from a kiosk which was equally as useless! Toby seemed to get his own way - there’s no way you can cheat “Toby Time”. We waited in the hotel lobby till around 2pm until he was ready to go, then we had to leave via the
Hitching a truck
Rory's knee is in a bad way. The only way forward his for him to try and get to Krasnojarsk by truck or bus. Scott and I have arranged to meet him and Tobes around September 11th. market cos he’d not bought any halva. So, on a glorious day we set out of town to find the M53. It wasn’t too difficult, and we were riding through the countryside after 15 miles.
The landscape east of Novosibirsk became more rolling and it seemed that the land was used a lot more than previously in the trip. There were more people about, and houses too. There was a brief stop at a café, and then after 50 miles we camped in a field and Rory cooked dinner. He has a bad cough and a cold, but I find it difficult to have any sympathy because he’s smoking cheap Russian cigarettes. As the sun went down, the dampness on the tents became evident. It was to be one of the coldest and dampest nights so far.
Total Miles: 5409.00 Todays Miles: 50.61 Average speed: 12.6 Time on bike: 4:00
Day 96, 4th September
Stancionno Ojašinskij - Bolotnoe - Jurga
It was another beautifully sunny day and the four of us set out with our bellies full of nutty porridge. It wasn’t long before Rory’s knee started to hurt him again and he fell behind. Toby stayed with him and they ended up hitching a truck ride for 10 miles. When Scott and I caught up with them at a café, Rory had decided it would be best to get a bus to Krasnojarsk, about 6 days away by bike, and rest. Toby decided to go with him, no explanations were given, or needed, and we arranged to meet around September the 11th.
So, it was just me and Scott again. As we carried on eastwards, the scenery changed once again and it had become slightly more hillier. We both recognized this through the pain in our legs, and the ‘Shakes’. Or was that something to do with the consumption of copious amounts of alcohol and all the “green stuff” we’d been boiling up? Withdrawal symptoms perhaps? After 70 miles we found a field to camp in, cooked up some pasta, drank some beer we’d bought earlier, and crashed-out early amazed at the thought that we were now directly north of Kathmandu!
Total Miles: 5479.33 Todays Miles: 70.32 Average speed: 13.1 Time on bike: 5:21
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