Date: September 22nd, 2016
Distance: 117 kilometers
Song of the Day: Talk - Coldplay

Just another good day of riding. Still the same hills, and the same trees. The weather wasn't sunny like it has been, though. The morning started out with a thick blanket of fog. It felt like the sun and clouds were fighting each other all day. There were a few bright spots, but for the most part the mist was winning. This really isn't a complaint. The cool weather is nice to ride in and I haven't been sweating as much, so that's another bonus. I am also happy it isn't pouring rain.

It's officially autumn here. I know I've been talking about the trees turning, but it's gotten more pronounced now. Most of the trees have turned yellow, with a few going to darker shades like orange or even red. I wonder how much fall weather I will get? I'm guessing the season is somewhat shorter at this latitude. I don't think it will help that in a day or two I will turn north, away from the more temperate climates.

When I arrived in Mogocha I was able to find a place and finally get some decent internet time. I spent almost the whole evening working on stuff. So much logistics, but I did finally get a chance to chat with my brother and see my baby niece. I can't imagine how people traveled like this before the internet. How could explorers stand to leave their families for months, years, at a time? At least now I can feel a bit connected to the people back home.



-Dravis

Date: September 21st, 2016
Distance: 91 kilometers
Song of the Day: Time After Time - R.E.M.

I made this one a short day, even though I'm still trying to push as far as I can each day. I don't have much time left to get to Yakutsk but I had a bunch of stuff I needed to clean. My stove, for one. Last night it had struggled while cooking dinner. The MSR Whisperlight is designed to run white gas but that isn't common around here. It can also run on plain old gasoline, though, which is readily available. The problem is that the stove gets clogged up. It isn't too bad, since this is the first real cleaning it has needed on this trip, but I needed some time for that. I also needed to wash out my water bottles. They were starting to build up gunk and algae. I am not sure if it is bad for me, but it was getting kinda gross. So I found a place to stay for the night. Most of the "kafe" places in this part of Russia have a room upstairs or around back for travelers. It's a pretty cheap way to stay indoors. Also, a good chance to recharge electronics. If you're lucky they have wifi, but so far I haven't been lucky.



-Dravis

Date: September 20th, 2016
Distance: 120 kilometers
Song of the Day: Faithfully - Journey

Nothing that exciting again today. I did leave the grasslands of yesterday and got back to fall colors and forested hillsides.

I was a bit disappointed, though. I was hoping to chat with my brother over the internet tonight. There were three towns along the way that looked decently sized on the map, and the first one even advertised a hotel with wifi, but I had only done 30 kilometers at that point and didn't want to end the day that early. The next town was a little smaller, but looked like it would have something. The third town was... 8 houses. Not much to go with there. I just kept on riding.

I ended up finding a nice little chapel along the way, but no hotels and no wifi. I have no idea why the church was built in the middle of nowhere on top of this hill. It looked pretty cool, though, with the gold dome glowing in the fading light.



-Dravis

Date: September 19th, 2016
Distance: 152 kilometers
Song of the Day: Far Behind - Eddie Vedder

Today was good, but not that exciting. The first half of the day I was traveling through the same mixed forests that I have been pretty much since coming back to Russia. The last half of the day, though, I was riding through open lands, a lot more like what is in Mongolia. There were a few farms now and again, but much of the land appears to be uncultivated. The farms were mostly pasture or hay fields. I wasn't expecting to get back to this kind of land. At least it was sunny and the wind was good. I hope the weather holds for tomorrow.



-Dravis

Date: September 18th, 2016
Distance: 119 kilometers
Song of the Day: You Gotta Move - Heatmiser

When I woke up this morning Valeri's wife Rita had made an amazing spread of food for breakfast. Again, I tried to eat as much as I could. Everything was so tasty. They also gave me a bunch of food for the road. Vitali, Kolye's brother also gave me a hoodie from his favorite hockey team, the Washington Capitals. These people are so great. It was with a lot of reluctance that I had to say goodbye. If I don't leave, though, I will never get up to see my sister.

The road out of Chita started heading up into more rolling hills. Gone were the flat-ish lands of the last few days. It was fine. The weather was still blue skies and cool temperatures. There is still not much out here, just forested hills as far as you can see. The forests are mixed with trees that are starting to turn yellow, and evergreens. I think that this far north only spruce grows, not pine? At the top of the first big hill of the day I met a Russian guy, Ilya, who is walking across the whole country. If you think I'm crazy for riding around the world, the guys who are walking it have me amazed. We had some lunch together, shared a bit of food, and talked about travel and people you meet along the road.

Not long after I parted with Ilya I saw another Russian traveler. This guy was on a bike and had a beard more impressive than mine. He was going from Vladivostock to Baikal. Most of the things he had with him were stuffed into this backpack that probably stuck two feet off his back. I have ridden with a backpack like that, and it's no fun. Making it all the way from Vladivostok, that was is impressive. Here I have a fancy bike with four panniers and this guy is doing it all with way less. Just goes to show you don't really need anything expensive or fancy to travel, you just need the determination to do it.

-Dravis

Date: September 17th, 2016
Distance: 16 kilometers
Song of the Day: The Bagman's Gambit - The Decemberists

Today was one of those days where everything takes a weird turn and it just seems better to go with it. My first stop for the day was to head into Chita proper and try to find a cheap rain jacket. Nothing I have is waterproof, which isn't a big deal for the light rain I have experienced in Russia so far. As I head into fall, though, I'm not looking forward to any days where it rains the whole time. I don't want to go back to being soaking wet from morning until evening like I was in Portugal and Spain. Oleg told me about a shopping complex in Chita that should have something.

When I arrived the place was like if an American big box store was blown up into a bunch of little shops. They were all jammed into one area, mostly in just one building. Each shop sold something just a little different. This one was for paint, that one is for garden supplies. Finding which one might have cheap plastic rain coats wasn't that simple. While I was walking around I started talking to a gentleman who worked there. He had all the same questions that most people have. Where are you going? What country did you start in? How long have you been traveling? He was quite impressed with how far I had come on the bicycle. He also wanted to know if he could help. I told him what I needed and he said he could find it. First we left the bicycle at his shop. Then he took me to a place that had tools and outerwear, including some plastic coats. There was one that had a camouflage print on it, but I don't want to be less visible when it is raining. I found one thing that would be just fine but when I went to pay for it, my new friend Valeri paid instead. I tried to say that I could pay, but he insisted. It was a very sweet gesture.

Valeri then invited me out to lunch. I wanted to get back on the road, but I figured I might as well get some food while I could. The place had simple Russian food like you can get anywhere here, but very good. Valeri kept ordering more food for me. I had a salad, lagman (soup), manti (dumplings), bread, and two blinchki(crepes). At the end of it I was so stuffed I could barely move. I tried, but found I couldn't pay for lunch either. I am starting to rethink my assumptions about Russian hospitality.

After lunch I went back to Valeri's shop. His son Nikolai, or "Kolye", was there. He invited to show me around Chita. I tried to say no, but how often do you get to have a tour of a town in the Russian Far East?

First we met up with Kolye's girlfriend Ilyena and her friend Katiya, who are both English teachers here. They showed me the main park in town. The weather was fantastic for walking around. Sunny, but not too warm. Part of the park has monuments of old Soviet military equipment. There were a number of different tanks lined up in a row. These were roped off, but no one seemed to care. The parents would help their kids climb up on the tanks. They also had a number of different cannons and other military equipment. There was even a MiG-21 set up on a pole, though it looked like it had seen better days. There was also a playground for kids. Of course there was also an amusement park complete with a ferris wheel. I think I have said before that I grew up thinking that the Soviet Union was a boring place, very grim, and I'm finding out anew in each town that that impression was very wrong. Each city seems to have had one of these amusement parks, so they must have had some consideration for having fun and other "frivolities". Larger towns also have permanent circuses.

After the park we headed on over to the Decemberist Church. The place was built in 1776 and is made entirely out of wood, with no nails. The building is no longer a church. It now serves as a museum to the Decemberists and their lives in exile here. These were revolutionaries who started a brief military revolt against the Tsar in late 1825. After this failed, the officers were tried and convicted of "state crimes". Executing all of these men of noble rank was politically unfeasible so instead they were mostly sent to Siberia to work in the silver mines. The Decemberists kept up a little community here in exile and pushed for reforms, like the end of serfdom, etc. It is an odd and generally forgotten piece of history (unless you live in Portland, Oregon). It was cool to go through the little museum and see what they had. Ilyena and Katiya did their best to translate for me.

After the museum things were getting late and I had given up all hope of getting out of Chita today. I was going to find a hotel, but Valeri offered to let me stay at their house. Again, how can I refuse such an offer? I had such a wonderful evening with the family. They have a beautiful home and were so welcoming. They kept giving me food to eat. Normally I am insatiable, but I can certainly say that I was stuffed full pretty much the whole time. I can't say enough good things about my friends here. How often do you take a complete stranger into your home? It's more than that, though. The whole family made me feel welcome and comfortable, and all with me only being able to understand about half of what I hear in Russian. I seriously can't thank them enough.



-Dravis

Date: September 16th, 2016
Distance: 154 kilometers
Song of the Day: Cordelia - The Tragically Hip

The riding today went pretty well. The morning was more sunny than not, the wind was calm, and the road was still running along mostly flat ground. There were some hills now and again, but nothing large enough to be all that memorable. Mostly it was just going for miles and miles.

After lunch a storm blew in, bringing rain and a nasty headwind. The rain wasn't all that bad, but the wind had me worried. My speed dropped dramatically. Fortunately the storm passed, or maybe saying I passed through the storm is more accurate. I spent the rest of the afternoon trying to speed past any dark clouds I saw on the horizon. I was determined to make it to Chita, and the winds would ruin my chances of that happening. Thankfully, though, most of the day was just cloudy and not stormy.

Late in the afternoon I got to see some Russian jets doing maneuvers overhead. There were six Su-27s flying around in formation. They are beautiful looking jets. Getting to see them in person and hear them roar overhead is so cool. Like watching the Blue Angels flying around. Sorry I don't have pictures, but I didn't want to have to answer questions about why I was photographing military jets. The pictures wouldn't have been good anyway, just little blobs against the clouds. There are way better photos and videos on the web if you are interested.

On the outskirts of Chita I stopped at a little shop to pick up some food. While I was there I met a few people who, as usual, had some questions about me and the trip. I did my best to answer. My Russian is coming along slowly, but I still have problems with the difference between "where are you going" and "where are you going from". While I was at it I asked about getting a hotel. The guys at the truck stop were a bit cagey about their answer, which was a bit odd. Finally I did get some help from two guys, Oleg and Dima. Dima was going to take me to have some borsch, while Oleg called around looking for a hotel. I couldn't even pay for dinner. When Oleg got back to us he said that there wasn't a hotel available. I found that a bit odd but eventually they told me that only gangsters and prostitutes use hotels in Chita. Oh.

Instead, Oleg offered to let me stay in the "banya", a traditional Russian bath house. It wasn't anything fancy, really, just a tiny log cabin. It was warm and cozy though. The stove did triple duty making the hut warm, heating water, and providing steam for the sauna. It was a pretty nice setup, really. So why not? And since it was a bath house I could even get washed up. Oleg and Dima told me to have a shower and they would see me in the morning. But just as I was getting finished they came back with a bottle of vodka and some food. It turned out to be a really lovely evening. We talked about all sorts of stuff in a mash of English and Russian. Fun times.



-Dravis

Date: September 15th, 2016
Distance: 155 kilometers
Song of the Day: Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere - The Who

Today was grey and boring. I wish I could tell you that every day on the road is exciting and wonderful, but that isn't true. Some days are like today.

There were some good moments. The first big hill of the day was all decked out in fall colors. The sun would peek through the clouds now and again to show off how brilliant everything looked. It's even beginning to smell like autumn here, all the dying leaves dropping to the ground and beginning the process of decaying. The sun and the smell didn't last, unfortunately.

The afternoon got darker and darker. By the evening it was attempting to rain but it never really got it right, just misted a few times. I found a nice little clearing to camp in surrounded by birch trees with yellow leaves.



-Dravis

Date: September 14th, 2016
Distance: 134 kilometers
Song of the Day: Straight No Chaser - Bush

This morning my tent was once again a wet mess. I have been spoiled in central Asia and Mongolia. Most days the humidity was low enough, or the temperature was hot enough, that I could roll my tent up dry. Russia has not been as kind. It reminds me of the first days of this trip, and the almost constant rain in Portugal and Spain. I'm guessing that from here on out my tent will be packed up wet each morning. Well, at least until it starts to freeze...

More hills. The road seems to be, loosely, following a rail line. The tracks are meandering along the flood plain of a river valley, but the road does not. Instead of running along the flat ground it's up in the hills. I know the rail line can't climb the steep grades, so it makes more sense to build bridges over the meandering river. Still, it is a bit annoying to climb hill after hill only to see trains running along nice, flat routes.

Speaking of trains, I think this rail corridor is one of the most busy lines I have ever seen. It seems like there's a train going by every five minutes. It makes sense. Goods coming from China or the Pacific can be put on rail cars in Vladivostok and sent west to Moscow or St. Petersburg. It can also take coal or other mineral resources from the interior and send them to processing plants along Lake Baikal. It's amazing to see what one rail line can do, though. Most of the towns along here were founded in the late 1800s, just after the railway came through.



-Dravis

Date: September 13th, 2016
Distance: 143 kilometers
Song of the Day: Ride - TV on the Radio

I woke up this morning to fog. That was not something I expected. It had been so nice yesterday that I sort of forgot it could do that. It was also pretty much the most interesting part of the morning, riding up and down hills surrounded by forests and mist. It was cool in a spooky kind of way, but I was glad when the sun came out in the afternoon.

The change in weather didn't change the terrain much. There aren't many flat spots, or really any mountains. There are just hills everywhere.

Late in the afternoon I ran into more construction crews. They had torn up a big section of road and were in the process of re-paving it. It wasn't done yet, though, so it was back to dirt roads for me. When I was growing up people would say that Alaska has two seasons, winter and road construction. I imagine that here in Russia things aren't very different. Similar climates that take a toll on the asphalt. I suppose I should get used to seeing this as well.

By the time I made it to the freshly paved part of the highway it started to rain. I was able to dodge most of the storm, but got hit by a little squall. It wasn't too bad. The hard rain didn't last long enough for me to bother with a coat. I could hear the thunder crackling through the hills for a long time after, though. Things were still pretty wet by the time I was pulling off the road to camp. At least there was a beautiful sunset to enjoy.



-Dravis