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Published: September 7th 2006
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The Long and Winding Road
Somewhere between Novosibirsk and Krasnojarsk. The weather Gods were kind to us and the landscape became more interesting. We were leaving the birch-forests for the Taiga. Day 97, 5th September
Jurga - Kemerovo
It was a good start to the day as we set out, sunny with a few clouds. The going was good on the way to Kemerovo, the first city we would have to actually negotiate as the M53 road passes right through it. As we entered the suburbs the heavens opened giving me the chance to see how my new so-called waterproof Russian gear stood up to the rain. The boots were great, the jacket stood up pretty well, and the trousers got soaked. But, only on the areas where sweat had previously come through and left salty patches.
It was a nightmare negotiating this huge industrial city, then all of a sudden disaster struck - “ping”! another spoke broke on the back wheel making my bike virtually un-rideable. We had stopped near some apartment blocks to see if it could be repaired. As it was the back wheel, it was impossible to get the gear-set off to change the spokes, I had to find a bike shop because I didn’t have the “correct” Shimano tool!
I found the address of a bike shop and got a taxi to take
The Journal
From 1st of June to 20th August, each days mileage and speed is meticulously logged and is included at the end of each blog entry. me there. The shop was near to useless, selling only prams and a few kiddies bikes. The owner said there was no other bike shop in Kemerovo, so, I got a bus back to where Scott was waiting to find him surrounded by loads of curious Russian kids interested in the strange Westerners. One kid was very helpful and gave us a map to help us find our way out of the city. Scott did his best to straighten my back wheel, he took some of my load, and we headed off.
What a miserable day, on the outskirts we were even charged for water for the first time by a money-grabbing café-owner babushka where we’d just eaten and bought stuff from! Just outside the town, Scott and me with my wobbly-wheel found a muddy field to camp in.
Total Miles: 5544.12 Todays Miles: 64.79 Average speed: 12.4 Time on bike: 5:12
Day 98, 6th September
Kemerovo - Krasny Jar
It was a glorious day to wake up to, perfect for stripping down my back wheel. We improvised and managed to get the gear set off using a piece of old chain, a brick,
Poor Babushka
What a desperate life - and this is in the brief summer, what happens to her in winter times when heating is non-existant? a six-inch nail, and some brute-force. But found out that we needed another bloody specialist Shimano tool to get the axle thinghy off in order to replace the spokes! As we were doing this the old village bus seemed to meander aimlessly through the field, literally, following muddy tracks.
By midday, we’d patched up my wheel the best we could and were on the road through spectacular countryside: big rolling hills, virgin mixed forest, and some lovely villages. As we left the industrial areas, though, there were some strange-looking socialist statues, monuments and impressive town signs. There was a stern-looking miner, a couple holding a sputnik, and what we could only describe as ‘Mr Roboto’. It was a figure of a guy in silver boots and yellow cape with a whacky beard who looked like a character from either ‘Blake’s Seven’ or ‘Doctor Who’, cheap BBC sci-fi series from the 70s!
We had a stop at what we called “Sad Café”, run by manic-depressives, and were chased off by a mangy-mutt, which was a first as most cafes only possessed mangy cats. A word about the toilets here - as you would expect, out here the toilets can
Meanwhile.....
While the intrepid Scott and Andy break spokes to get to Krasnojarsk for Sept 11th, Tobes and Rory lounge in the lap of luxury - just pulling ya legs guys! be appalling and sometimes it’s better to take your trowel and shit in the woods. However the toilet at “Sad Café” was something else. Located 100 feet behind the café, it was a wooden cubicle with a door on it. I needed to go but when I opened the door the sight and the stench made instantly wretch! It was basically a pile of turds four feet high - who did the last one I wondered!?! (and how)? I ran back to my bike leaving a trail of pavement-pizzas and a kerbside-quiche next to my bike. At least that bloody mangy dog had something to feast on! Later on, I couldn’t stop thinking about the idea of this pile of poops with a Union Jack flag, like the cocktail-stick flags, stuck on the top of it.
The last café we stopped at before camping was far superior and was owned by a friendly guy named Sahid who was from Tajikistan. We had a good meal, and he also gave us extra food for free to take with us.
Our camping spot for the night was midge-infested long grass. Scott came to my tent with the idea to drink the vodka he’d prepared a week earlier with the marijuana buds in it. It was a light green colour, and we drank it slowly from our plastic cups until the bottle was dry before sunset. Nothing spectacular happened, we just felt as pissed as half a bottle of vodka would normally get you. We’ll just stick to ‘boiling up the buds’ from now on.
Total Miles: 5606.01 Todays Miles: 61.89 Average speed: 12.0 Time on bike: 5:09
Day 99, 7th September
Krasniy Jar - Mariinsk - Tjainskij
There was a lovely misty sunrise, the midges didn’t bother us, they must be only males, just the women bite! We packed up our soaked tents and left at nine. We had our usual breakfast of gretchka and eggs at the first café whilst being pestered by the most obnoxious drunken old git we’ve met so far on this trip. To compound this, I had a puncture in my supposedly bullet-proof tyre as we were preparing to leave. I repaired it while Scott kept the flailing drunken tramp at bay with a pointy-stick.
On the road, the weather was good with the exception of a very strong head-wind. The town of Mariinsk was an interesting collection of old wooden houses and a big old wooden store. It seems people try and take good care of their places despite the harsh winters, most houses are beautifully painted.
Later, the road closely followed the Trans-Siberian railway tracks. When we stopped just after midday, the weather had turned warm enough to allow me to take off my shirt while my tent was drying out in the sun at a pic-nic spot. Strange! Because there was ice on Scott’s tent this morning.
At the end of the day, we made one last stop (exhausted) at the Pink Flamingo café for a few beers and a few vodkas from a friendly couple sitting in the corner table. Another drunken old sod turned up, and we left, with a bottle of vodka in hand to drink when we had found a lovely camping spot, which we managed to do.
Total Miles: 5674.44 Todays Miles: 68.42 Average speed: 10.4 Time on bike: 6:34
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