So with just 5 days to go the nerves are really building. I am trying to sort out the day by day programme (with route, accommodation options and other stuff) but getting the required time to focus is proving difficult. Olivia (12 years) and Emma (4 years) will not give me 5 minutes to myself ! Saad is doing the way points and I suspect is getting just as bogged down
Day 1, 380 miles and four countries down - UK, France, Belgium and Germany. Joy of joys it rained all the way to Dover and then in France as well. It turns out that my water proof trousers could probably be better described as water resistant, and not all that resistant at that. Not to worry, my crotch is just starting to dry out.
So onto day 2...
Cologne to Magdeburg (approx 270 miles) mainly fast motorways and cruising speeds.
The sun was shining all day, so much so that by the time we got close to Magdeburg, we were stripping off the layers.
We had lunch in a place off the motorway, near a river, only to be befriended by a (boring) Scot who then presumed it suitable to tell us of his travels East (he is a truck driver) in too much detail and colour.
Day 3, Poznan - about 250 miles.
Entering Poland was like entering a new stage to our trip. The heavens opened, the roads narrowed and the world turned grey. We were now dodging huge trucks and maniac drivers on rain soaked single lane highways. But, true to our promises to our wives, we rode safely. This was real frontier town stuff, with prostitutes at the roadside every other mile, 24 hour night clubs, casinos and crazy drivers.
I am writing this blog from the only Honda dealership in Olsyzln (I will have to check the spelling). Saad will no doubt update you with why we are here in his next blog but suffice to say, things were looking bleak but are now on the up.
Yesterday was a long day. Leaving Poznan and heading north east, we had a full day of fast A roads, terrible driving and dubious road conditions.
To say we were tired when we finally got here would be an understatment but to then encounter no accommodation and Saad's clutch cable breaking......not good.
Great days riding. fast A roads, reasonable riding surface, sweeping bends and blue skies. In the saddle all day, 280 miles and bum numbness not withstanding a real joy.
Because of the required miles, we ate on the road (Hot dogs, Mcdonalds and chocky bars - just what your growing healthy biker needs !)
......so I went to explore the clubbing scene of the village of the dammed. Expecting to see people with one eye in the middle of their foreheads and all being related, I was pleasantly surprised to see real (allbeit badly dressed) people, girating on a tiny dance floor to trashy Euro pop. However, talking to a few of the locals I was warned of "serious" Russians that when they got drunk would enjoy nothing more that punching the be-Jesus out of any non Latvian/Russian they could see.
Day 8.
We are in Russia!
But let me just go back to Olysztn for a moment. As Richard has mentioned, my clutch cable snapped at 5.00 p.m. rush hour in the middle of a three lane highway in Olysztn. We wheeled the bike to the side of the road to a cacophany of angry horns. Richard had a cable repair kit and I had the tools. All we needed now was someone with some know-how!
Moscow!
Another great night's sleep, in spite of the revelation that Richard can't relax if there's a mosquito in the room.
It was 460 kms to Moscow, along the fast single lane M9. This road switches from smooth tarmaced highway, to unsurfaced, grooved tarmac, to bumpy truck rutted lanes. The weather stayed sunny for most of the way, so we made good progress.
We're back !
Sorry it's taken us so long to blog but we have had a right old time I can tell you !
Oh, many thanks to the 1000's of you that commented on the lack of blog for the past 3 days, called to see if we were alright etc...it touched us both deeply !
Arriving in L'viv was not good. Rain (the sort of fine, damp rain that seeps into every nook and cranny) and poor visibility was not what we wanted after a 9 hour stint in the saddle.
Today is day 14, but let me take you back to leaving Bryansk.
We left the wierd and wonderful ornate luxury hotel in the boiling heat of a summer's afternoon. Richard had a business telephone call to deal with, which prevented us leaving earlier. So, with the later start and a border crossing to manage, we had long day's riding ahead of us. Kiev was more than 500 kms away.
After a good night's sleep we had a really nice day milling around L'Viv. The Old town was a revelation (think old atsmospheric buildings, large squares etc) however the most surprsing thing we saw was the totally ridiculous amount of weddings (and correspoinding brides/grooms). Everywhere you looked you saw another meringue either posing for the photographer or nervously waiting to go into one of the many churches. Saad suggested that if we stood still and did a 360, we would have been able to see at least 8 wedding dresses.
Dear friends, it has been a while since the last blog, but I sit now in a comfortable chair, with a mug of tea at my side, having had ten hours of restful sleep. Richard has had less sleep because he accidentally stumbled upon 'a live sex show' last night. I know nothing more about it than that!
So back to this live sex show....it started off in a reasonably tame manner. Saad had gone back to Mihir's flat to catch up on some sleep and Mihir and I tried to hook up with two of his friends by going to a small bar. We were on our first drink when a couple entered, kissing and groping each other and the girl's dress starts falling off her. She appears oblivious (and seems to enjoy it) as various parts of her anatomy are on show - strange lot these Germans.
And so we are on our way back to Blighty. We have had to cut short the trip due to me having unexpected work type commitments and if we are honest, Russia (which was becoming by far the largest part of the trip) was not the "adventure" we were seeking. Long tedious riding only to get to grim industrial crappy cities where we were made to feel extremely unwelcome does not make a "trip of a lifetime". Going further east would have made this the rule rather than the exception.
MOTORWAY SERVICE STATION RUSSIA STYLE
HOOLIGANS - UKRAINE STYLE. NOTE FASHIONABLE TOPS
CONCENTRATION CAMP
