Day 54

I have read many blogs, travel guides and articles portraying the Russian police as pretty much a bunch of corrupt bully boys. Well I say balderdash to that! I made it to Penza today. A medium sized city, so so in appearance, confusing to navigate and with killer hills (not heels) on its outskirts. After much huffing and puffing I found the train station, a thought that this would be a good area to find a hotel. I wondered around the station to see if there was a notice board or map of the city, when two police officers stopped me. After a quick glance at my passport they asked what I was doing.I told them looking for a hotel a which point they said wait! I was a little puzzled but obliged. After much scurrying officers would occasionally pass by and say wait, and buy me some Kvass, a rather nice fermented rye drink, widely available throughout the former Soviet Union (and no, it won't get you drunk as the alcohol content is less than 1%!)

So I carried on waiting, but after a while I got a little bored and thought about leaving. But I was unsure whether to leave as I felt I should do what the Russian police had asked me to do, and wait. I did not know why they had asked me to wait, I thought some bureaucratic thing was afoot. So I kicked my heels for a little while longer until an officer who spoke a little English came up and asked me to go with him. At this point he led me straight to the train station hotel, explained in Russian to the staff that I wanted to stay and showed me to my room! Very grateful at their help (and a little relieved that the waiting was over!) I settled into my room.

My evening was spent walking around town and eating shashlik. Penza has a very long, smart pedestrianised shopping street running through the middle of the city. A good place for a night time stroll and a bit of people watching before bed.

Day 53.

Not so tired today! I pass through a very curious little town. It feels like a cross between Russia, Switzerland and Nepal! I stop for lunch and take some snaps. I head off and later stopped by a curious police officer who wants to know my story. I reach Nizh Lomov, a dusty one street town whose guest house has the world's most lethal, slippery shower that almost kills me. As I lie on the floor staring up at where I was about one nanosecond ago I feel glad that I did not fall in the other direction where the sink is!

Day 52

Tired, tired, tired. Today I feel exhausted. Hills, traffic, dust and heat take their toll. At 5pm I give up and stop for the night. There is still good 3 hours of day light left but I am not interested. I snooze and then head to the cafe. I order a 4 course meal and stuff myself silly while I watch the dinner ladies chat and laugh about life.

Day 51.

A quiet day, caught in a bit of a down pour at one point. I stop at a road side cafe and swap coins with some local lads who like to collect currency. I get a rather cool Yuri Gagarin 1 Rouble coin! Later I am stuck in a traffic jam near a level crossing. I get to the front and the warning lights are on, train approaching! However most of the traffic ignores this and lazily moves on, over the crossing. One lorry gets half way across and then stops, stuck in traffic. This can't be good I think. And then I catch a glimpse of the train. It is moving at an even more lazy pace than the vehicles that surround me. I begin to understand. Everyone spots the train. Space opens up before the lorry, it moves forward and no one follows. The train passes by like a car passing through a herd of cattle on an English country road.

Day 50

 Moscow has 3 concentric orbital routes, I am now out of the third ring. Things are becoming rural again. I amazed at how quickly the affluence of central Moscow is replaced by villages that still have communal stand pipes for water. One does not have to travel far to see the difference in Russian lifestyles. I had always thought sites like this would be common east of the Urals, but not within 100 miles of Red Square. The commuter towns however are still smart, Kolomna for lunch and Ryazan for the evening.

Day 49

Do svidaniya Mockba, but not as quick as I would have like. I think that following The Moscow River out of the city might be a nice way to leave. Instead I end up lost in an industrial zone and trying to navigate through the outskirts without map, compass or much else. I find an escape route after much swearing to myself, but find this road leads to a big road which led to a motorway! I ask a taxi driver, and passers by which way I should go, all point down the motorway. It seems that it is perfectly legitimate to ride a bicycle on the motorway in Russia. However every bone in my body and years of conditioned learning are screaming at me NO!! I CAN'T RIDE HERE, THIS IS A MOTORWAY! After a while I calm down. I soon realise that riding on a motorway is safer and more pleasurable than normal routes! I have plenty of space in the hard shoulder. The road is wide, smooth and straight. I am relaxed and spot other cyclists going the other way. This is actually great fun and becomes one of the nicer afternoons of cycling in Russia. I begin to wish that this road would take me all the way to Kazakhstan!

Fortunately my motorway did not do this...!

Day 48

I like TV towers. I like going up them and seeing the views over the city I am in. Earlier in this journey I went up the Villnius TV tower. Now I planned to go to the Shukov Tower. However due to bad navigation I end up at the wrong tower, The Ostankino Tower instead! Ultimately fortunate as tourists can not enter the Shukov Tower.

Once the worlds tallest freestanding structure, and still Europe's, Ostankino has a viewing deck at 337 meters that gives superb views of Moscow. Peering through the binoculars at a teeny tiny Red Square, Kremlin and Arbat time flies. I consider going to The Space Park, but as it is late it is mostly closed. I return to the hostel and get ready to leave Moscow. I rather like Moscow and shall miss it!

Day 47

Today I go to the Kremlin. I had tried the previous day but it was closed. I explore the Cathedrals and see where Tsars were crowned and buried. Unfortunately, the building I found to be the most interesting to look at I could not enter, The State Kremlin Palace. I peer through the windows and glimpse fantastic stairways, angular strong communist architecture and seals of the former CCCP states still on the wall.

I leave and head to the Museum of the Great Patriotic War (WWII). It is very interesting, filled with Dioramas depicting battles and information boards telling a rather biased Soviet side to the story. I have come to the opinion that if one wants a true and frank depiction of what happened during WWII then the museums of Germany are the best place. There I feel the story of the conflict is not nuanced to depict national interest (or bias) but to my inexpert mind one finds an open and honest account of what happened. May be the cliche that history is written by the victors is being challenged here, or perhaps Germany is not in a position to accord any personal hurrah! to The War, so is free to recount the story without national agenda. Anyway, I am waffling. I have included a couple of the information boards below.

I take a massive walk back to the hostel, and as it is a Friday I think about clubbing. After a bit of research I find a club that sounds suitable so head off. I stop at a few bars along the way, none of which are particularly exciting and find the club, only to find it is closed! Not a peep of that on its website. Other bars near by are open so I try these instead, but they are really not to my taste. It feels a bit like drinking on Broad Street in Birmingham, or Park End Street in Oxford. R and B schlager echos from all the bars. After a while (well half 3ish) I give up and return back to the hostel, only to find the night watchman is asleep and it takes half an hour of door banging to wake him!

Day 46

Today I met Lenin, St. Basil's and the sites around the Kremlin. Not the Kremlin itself as it is closed. I learn the concept of being a "Fool for Christ" as Basil was. An interesting idea, to use ones own ridicule to expose injustice in the world. I also visit the Gulag Museum and a modern art gallery filled with contemporary German art and some rather interesting statues outside.

Day 45.

I spend the morning working on the bike, painstakingly cleaning each chain link with tissues, derailleur, chainrings and anything else I can find. The afternoon is more fun, more exploring the Olympic Park, and its Stadium which is being refitted presumably for the 2018 FIFA World Cup. I finish in Arbat, close to my hostel. I am beginning to really like Moscow!

Day 44

Walking, walking, walking. Not interested in cycling today.  Along the Moscow River, past Cathedrals, Peter the Great, busy streets and Stalinist architecture. Not all but one of the Seven Sisters. I finish in a rather overpriced bar that played Die Antwoord. I move on to the less over priced and far more enjoyable Kamchatka Bar and watch Muscovites go about their business.

A political rant written in December 2014

My name is Daniel John Dispain, a British citizen who has decided to ride a bicycle around the world. As a consequence I will meet many people from many different lands, some of which will have very different ideas to me, some of which will have similar ideas to me. Now whilst in Moscow I met a nice chap and we had a long chat about Democracy. "Russia is democratic" he said. I was curious to see where this was leading. "Russia is democratic. Show me where you do have true democracy? In the United States where you have one party led by a load of fat lawyers, and" there was a little pause here for effect, "another party led by a load of fat lawyers!" Now I left the conversation agreeing with him to an extent. Where is democracy and what is it? By this I mean what does it truly mean to the individuals living in the democratic nations of the west? And at this point please don't give definitions of universal suffrage and the right to vote. I want to know what it truly means to live with "Democracy."

At present in the UK we are 5 months from a general election and the four main parties all tend to follow the same neo liberal paradigm except arguably one is a bit racist, one is a bit nasty, one is a bit useless and one is a bit hypocritical. Do we have a one party system where people no longer vote for policies but for personalities? Images of Farage drinking a beer and smoking appeal to some voters. Not what he says. The two Ed's queue outside Greg's to prove that they are in touch with the common man. No news on what changes New Labour would make in the event of electoral victory however. To an extent it does not surprise me that voters feel disenfranchised and do not vote. But where could this lead?

Earlier in 2014 elections for the EU parliament occurred. Turn out was poor, around 42% for the EU as a whole and 34% in the UK. Of those that did vote many voted for Euro skeptic and extreme parties on the left and right as a protest. The European Parliament is often accused as being poorly run, bureaucratic and inefficient. I personally am pro European, and I feel that bringing people closer together can only be beneficial. I remember as a child the division between east and west in Europe. The Wall, check points between friendly nations. barriers everywhere. That now has largely gone. They lie redundant on the side of the road, boarded up and covered in undergrowth. Monuments to a restricted past. Freedom of movement in Europe and other Co signatories of Schengen can only in my opinion be good. I look at the European parliament with confusion tho. But then I think there must be an explanation for this. Could it be that here we have a parliament that is largely not voted for, and of those that do vote vote for extremists like Golden Dawn, UKIP, Front National, Jobbik, Lega Nord etc. Fill a room with monkeys and typewriters one does not end up with the works of Shakespeare but ends up with shit on the walls, bananas everywhere and broken typewriters (if my monkey based stereotypes are correct). But should I blame the voters here? No, not really.

Where do people get their information on the world and current events? The media I suppose. Friends I suppose, relatives, personal experiences. What nuances are out there that shape a persons mind? Are people really interested in current developments in such and such a parliament or are they more concerned with daily life? Getting to work, buying clothes for the little 'un, looking for cheap deals at the local supermarket. Newspapers in the UK are often read so as to have ones own ideas reflected back and confirmed, there by one can feel good about themselves or outraged at some other current event. A form of entertainment perhaps. Left wing people buy The Guardian, right wing people buy  The Telegraph and The Times, (imbeciles buy the Daily Express). Perhaps left wing people should buy The Telegraph and Times, and right wing people The Guardian (and no one The Express!) so as to get opposing view points. If that would change things I do not know.

I rode through China on my way to where I sit now (Vientiane). Another "Non democratic" nation. It is lovely, the people amazing. Friendly beyond compare. It is not a restricted open prison of evil tyrants oppressing the people as the western media would have you believe. But a nation full of people getting on with their lives. People go to work in the morning, come home in the evening, flop down on the sofa eat dinner and watch TV. A popular Chinese TV show at the moment? Chinese Pop Idol. If only these people had democracy, then things would change! The people of China, Russia and elsewhere seem to me to be just as bewildered with what is happening in the world. Putin is no more representative of the average Russian as Cameron is of the average Brit. And no, Russia is not full of ultra right, ultra orthodox homophobic nationalists. The Russians I met were people just the same as anywhere else, with similar hopes and dreams and just as confused about the world as anybody else. Wonderfully warm, welcome and curious about this foreigner on his bicycle. I don't think anyone really knows what is happening, people have ideas, thoughts, opinions. They act on them (sometimes) but most often people just want to get on.

Day 43

Crazy busy roads! A little rant but why is it when faced traffic jams the world over car drivers forget that they are driving cars and think they are in mosquitoes and start darting about the place in the most unpredictable of manner. Anyway, I made it. Moscow, Mockba, Red Square, The Kremlin and all! I push my bike onto Red Square (no cycling allowed!) and take the selfie. This feels really exciting, it feels like I have covered some ground. From one edge of Europe to practically the other. I have a wander around Red Square, see St Basil's and Lenin's mausoleum. I walk along some of the streets that lead off Red Square and pass a Ferrari dealership, and the plethora of stores that now inhabit the GUM department store. During Soviet times this store was famous (infamous?) as it did not suffer the same shortages of goods that other stores in the USSR suffered from. Hence it would have lengthy queues of people trying to get in to try and buy what was on offer. As a cynic I feel that an element of that tradition has survived as now it is full of elite and very expensive branded goods, again mostly out of reach for the common individual.

I spend my first Moscow evening bar hopping and end up talking to a Chap from Vladivostok about Democracy. More on that later.






The photo is not very good but it is of my first glimpse of The Moscow Kremlin.

Day 42

Getting close now!  I feel a real sense of excitement about the days ahead. I am about 30 miles from Red Square! Istra Hcra to be precise and it feels like the Moscow equivalent to Watford. A commuter town on the edge of the capital, it has all the amenities but somewhat lacking in atmosphere. I am noticing that every time I try to speak Russian Russian women find it utterly hilarious! I guess it must be the combination of the accent, my terrible knowledge of Russian and the fact that I am funny looking!

Day 41

I spend the morning walking around Rzhev to get a better feel of the place. It is here that I spot a tradition that is common amongst the former Soviet states, and that is for newly weds to have their photographs taken next to war memorials.

I trundle on down the M5 however, and make it to Shakhovskaya. A smarter town than Rzhev, and also a lot smaller.

Day 40

Another long day and another long ride. I made it to Rzhev by late evening. I stay in an old Soviet era hotel that I am sure is still bugged and walk around a town that seems to have blissfully ignored the last 20 years. War memorials abound and Lenin still has a watchful eye over the town centre. The war memorials are somewhat expected however. This area and town saw terrible fighting during WWII. Its location close to Moscow and position on the top of a large river gully gave Rzhev significant strategic importance. A quote that I have found gives a glimpse into what life was like here during Nazi occupation,

"In the town of Rzhev there is a concentration camp with fifteen thousand captured Red Army soldiers in it and five thousand civilians," noted a smuggled report of December 1941. "They are holding them in unheated huts, and they feed them one or two frozen potatoes each a day. The Germans threw rotten meat and some bones through the barbed wire at the prisoners. This had made them ill. Every day 20-30 people are dying. The ones who are too ill to work are shot." (Ivan's War by Catherine Merridale—quote from the Center for the Documentation of Contemporary History, Smolensk Oblast)

Day 39

O dear what a ride. I just kept going and going. And going. I felt like stopping at sunset but didn't really like the motel. So I kept going, into the dark and watched the moon rise. I started to get a little frightened. The road was very dark, but the lights of other vehicles were blinding. I thought that perhaps I had moved out of my comfort zone. But I kept going. I found another motel at 10ish, but it was full. So I drank a coke and headed off. It was starting to get cold as well. But the sky had that green glow that northern skies have close to the summer solstice. I hadn't realised how far north I had come. I kept going and saw some lights through a fog. I pulled in when I reached them. And at about half one at night and 200kms after starting I found a motel, ate, showered and slept.

Day 38 Russia.

Well I have now left. I am no longer in the EU, and I am now in Russia. And I have now crossed my first proper border. And what a bloody labourious task it is, but a damn site easier for folks on cycles that those queuing in cars and lorries. After having my passport checked 3km from the border by the Latvian border police, I get to the border. A bite to eat at the border cafe and then I happily ride past the queues of vehicles. Where i am checked again by the Latvians. Twice. I am then out of Europe, in no man's land and walk towards Russia. Where I am then checked, stamped, handed a little bit of paper, walk to another window, surrender my little bit of paper, get given another bit of paper, have that stamped, cycle 100m to another little boothe, have my passport and little bit of paper checked and then I am in! I am in Russia baby! I then get to ride along a long long road past the queues of people wanting to go the other way.

On my map I saw a more rural route that runs parallel to the main Moscow road. I figured I'd follow it. After 10km I realise this is a mistake, the road has more holes than a Tory party argument on benefit cuts. The winters I think are very harsh here, and the effect on the road is clear. However I make it back to the main road and to a great little truckers motel, where I eat Borsht (ьорщ) and sleep for about 10 hours.

Day 37

Goodness what a long day. North east through small town and village Latvia. I thought I'd take the short cut, only to find in turned into a dirt road for about 40kms. But I made it to Zilupe, just before sunset. Practiced my terrible Russian in an attempt to find somewhere to sleep and was lead by a local to what from the exterior looked like a bog standard apartment block, but inside had rooms to rent. And it also offered a short cut to the frontier in the morning! The kindness of strangers and the luck of the English!

Day 36 Latvia

A lovely sunny ride through the far north of Lithuania and it's politically correct road work signs (check the selfie blog!). And then over a little bridge, past the closed border check point and into Latvia, and an immediate drop in road quality. After bumping along for a few hours I make it to Daugavpils. Here I notice that much of the Soviet era monuments remain. A large Great Patriotic War memorial sits in the middle of the central park. A large monument to the 1919 Revolution sits on the edge of town.

Day 35

Utena. Utena Lithuania. In the rain. Perhaps the Lithuanian Morrissey sang about this place.I stay in a hotel, tucked away on the edge of town next to the industrial estate. I went for dinner and watched drunk lads in their late teens early twenties shout at waitresses. I took this photo tho, Utena looks quite pretty from here.

Day 34

I bumped into someone today. A prize for anyone who guesses who.

 I have never seen so many people getting married as today. It seems that the entire city has fallen in love and wants to tie the knot. Today was a good day. Lots of pottering and sight seeing. Villnius to me feels very slightly like a cross between Warsaw and Lisbon. Although in the centre and old town it seems that all traces of it's communist past are now gone. Until that is one climbs the tree covered hill that leads to the TV Tower. There it is a different story and communist era tower blocks, subways and graffiti abound. It could almost be another city, the old town that foreigners see and the rest of Villnius that is hiding behind a hill.

Day 33

Heavy rain crazy rain today. And cold. I pottered around the city, called in on the genocide museum. Utterly shocking an utterly horrible. It has the names etched on the walls outside of those killed inside. First used by the Soviets, then the Nazis and then the Soviets again until 1991. The sickening ideas inside to try and force information from people is a wonder. Ideas so horrible but often they worked. One particularly nice "room" featured a small metal disc raised about half a meter from the floor. Under the disc the "room" would be full of water. Nice and cold. Especially in the Baltic winter. Prisoners would then be thrown in naked and left, with nowhere to go but to crouch on the little metal disc.

Whilst walking around Villnius I have noticed a massive mount of E.U. and N.A.T.O. flags. I feel there is a certain element of "Fuck off Russia" in the display. Perhaps I am cynical but after visiting all three Baltic states I have noticed a definite desire to publish and broadcast the happenings of "Soviet Occupation" as it is described in the three recently independent nations.

Day 32

Lazy day, nothing day. Days are often like this after riding for a few days. Motivation to explore is minimal, desire to rest and eat is at a maximum. I rested, ate and cleaned the bike.

Day 31

I found out why town was so quiet last night, I gained an hour crossing from Poland without knowing, hence it was an hour later than I thought!

Well I've made it to Villnius! I took the wrong road out of Alytus which I think turned out to be a blessing. The route may have been longer but the road was quiet. Everything was fine until I got to the edge of Villnius when all roads turn into superbusysuperfast nightmares if you are on a bike and one ends up bombing down dual carriadge ways with lorries screaming past at a rate of knots. But thankfully Vilnius is fairly small so the chaos did not last so long.  Vilnius reminds me somewhat of Warsaw, with its old town in the centre where restaurants, museums and hostels are congretgated. I arrive in the early evening so afetr booking in I eat, then sleep.

Day 30. Lithunia.

Another massive day. Northern Poland close to the Lithuanian border is loverly. Somewhere I'd like to return to with friends. It is full of little villages, lakes, rivers and cabins for hire. The main town on Augustow is very nice. Lots of cafes and a big forested park in the center. A great area to visit if you like outdoor sports, swimming or just lazing on the lakeside.

The Lithuanian border was interesting. Now every quiet due to Schengen but the old facilities remain, now gathering dust. The quiet road to the former Soviet Union border gathers extra lanes once used by truckers queueing to cross. Buildings remain idle that once contained guards wearing peaked caps. Now just a lone Lithuanian police car, petrol station, money changer hut and broken glass liberally strewn over the now superfluous lanes and obligitory border markers remain.

I reached Alytus in southern Lithuania. Found a hotel and went for a wander to try and find a restaurant. Everything is strangely and curiously closing. I find a sandwich at an off license and sit in a suare and people watch. 

Routine

I find that my days in the saddle have taken on a sort of routine. I usually wake half 8 nine ish, eat, eat and eat and then set off for about tenish. Packing and putting the bags back on the bike always prooves to be more of a faff than it should be, but that is probably due to the fact that I am not fully awake yet.

The first few hours are often slow as my legs take a while to warm up and wake up. Lunh will be anywhere from a town centre, village park, petrol station or roadside bench. The afternoons are usually where I make my miles. The sun is lower, it is a bit cooler and my legs are alive! From about 5 or 6 I start to think about stopping and hope that I find somewhere within an hour or two. Two hours on the road equals another 30+kms, so ut gives me a certain amount of leeway. Evenin is quiet, shower, food and then bed!

Day 29.

Just outside of Pultusk there is a rather neglected Soviet war cemetary. I stopped out of curiousity and took some snaps. Generally a long day in the saddle however. A late finish in Grajewo as I could not find a hotel for bloody miles.

Day 28.

Headed north out of Warsaw but on the wrong side of the river, so had to turn back as the bridges are in the city. Should have looked at the map a bit more closely! I felt confident however as it was a Sunday and I thought the roads would be quiet. I though wrong. The roads were mad, crazy busy as all and sundry were out to day trip into the country and spend time by the rivers, lakes and forests that lie north of Warsaw. Made ot to Pultusk just missing a massive thunder storm that came down about an hour after I booked into my room.

Day 27.

I woke at about half 4 and could hear a faint duff duff in the back ground. I deduced tht it must be the river side bars and felt that I may have missed out. I fell back to sleep but didn't really move untill lunch time. I think I was just a bit knackered and needed the rest. Perhaps it was a good idea not to go to the bars! My afternoon was spent being lazy on the beach watching the boats go by. A trip back to the old town for dinner was followed by a trip back to the beach bars in the evening where I bumped into a group of Poles who were a bit waisted and lookng for fun. The main beach bar in the evening you have to pay to get in. A fence and bouncers prevent entry but the lads wanted to try and jump the fence. After a futile trudge around and a few warning shouts from bouncers we decide on the more traditional method of entry and pay. However the bar had a clothes smart dress policy and as the lads were weraing trainers they were denied entry. I had flip flops on, was granted entry (it is useful being foreign sometimes) but decided against it as the music was R and B schlager and the door policy annoyed me. So bed it was.

Day 26.

Bit of a wasted morning due to Garmin related stuff, but enough whinging about that. The afternoon was spent sightseing and general wandering aimlessely. I went up the Palace of Culture and Science to admire the view. I like going up big towers and looking at whichever city I am in. Close to my hostel there is a rather nice park with a massive fountain area that in the evening contains a light and holographic display. It was rather good and very popular. I think about going back to the beach bars but realise that I am knackered and decide to crash.


https://www.warsawtour.pl/en/tourist-attractions/multimedia-fountain-park-multimedialny-park-fontann-161002.html

Day 25

Getting into Warsaw prooved as frustrating as I thought it would be. A case of the disappearing cycle path replaced by the 4 land highway. But get in I did, found a hostel in the the very pretty, and very remeniscent of Poznan, old town. As I was in a new city a wander was called for, and it prooved fruitful as I found a few nice bars under a massive bridge and then more by the river side. The old town i am finding to be a bit odd as it is bustling by day, but pretty much dead by midnight. 

Day 24

A night in Sochaczen. A town that couldn't be more different that Konin. Pretty, little and bustling with life. At the centre is a lovely little square where people congregate and glance over towards the ruined castle on the hill near by. My route here was long, 150 km today. I think I managed to find the surrealest town in Poland, Krosniewice. It is surrounded by a new ring road with no obvious way to leave the new road to get into or out of the town. It seems the city planners anted to avoid at all cost contace between the inhabitants and the outside world. As I could make out the inhabitants consisted mainly of smart well presented late middle aged women and alchoholic late middle aged men who were not so well presented but were keen to make friends until they relaised that I was not going to part with my Zlotys for them. Firts impresions can be a funny thing! 

Day 23

Bit of a nothing day. Got a bit lost getting out of Poznan. I don't know what it is but city centres are fine. The inbetween bits between cities are fine. But getting from the edge to the middle of a city always prooves to be a pain. Made it to Konin. Pretty but dull town. Very austere. Lots of tower blocks neatly arranged in rows, and freshly painted. Very neat, but lacking in atmosphere. The further east I go the smarter Poland looks.

Day 22

A rest day. The day past with me stumbling abouth thinking to myself "I do like Poznan", sitting in the old town and walking to the lake.

Day 21

I suspect Poland must have some very lonely lorry drivers. I suspect this as I noticed in a coupe of lay by's prostitutes waiting for business. I suspect they were prostitutes, or may be hitch hikers taking somewhat extreme clothing measures to attract a lift.

Anyway, the day was sunny, then rainy but I made it to Poznan. I like Poznan a lot. I found a squat close to my hostel which had political talks (in Polish, so I stood mute and confused) and a performace art show in the rather dark damp basement. I did not really understand it. It featured a woman lying on the floor whilst a man put a step ladder ontop of her. This was acompanied by rather screechy saxaphone music.

After a little while I left, wandered and found that the Malta music festival was finished. So named not after the country but the lake in the middle of the city. It being free, covered ( it was wet) and having a beer stall I settled in a watched a few bands before crashing out rather drunk later on.


http://malta-festival.pl/en/?langset=true

Day 20, Poland.

Polska baby! My first impressions are odd, Poland looks like esat Germany, but quite so well "done up". A curious site was the amount of scrap yards full of ex millitary equipment. Tanks and helicopters happily rusting next to clapped out Opels and Mazdas. I passed through a town called Gorzów Wielkopolski. A bit of a shock. Very run down, neglected even. Not the prettiest introduction to a country.

Although not a huge day I still managed to make a bit of mistake and almost turned onto a Motorway. Fortunately a chap in a car was there to shout at me. I figured I had better stop and rest. Whilst slouching in my guesthouse room I switched th TV on and noticed that English language films when dubbed still have the english version audible under the dubbing. 

Day 19

A great start to the day with a whizz along a closed (due to a massive fan park and TV screen for the World Cup at the Brandenburg Gate) Strasse 17 Juni and the Tiergarten before heading off via lots of iconic Berlin sites and out towards Poland. I like Berlin a lot. And it was good to be in a big city after riding through the countryside and smalll towns for so long. Mmm Skyscraper I Love You.

I finished the day at Seelow, just short of the border. A town that post unification pretty much closed down. There are derelict things everywhere. It has the feeling of a set for a cult horror film. I half expect to find a woman's head inside my wardrobe in the hotel. Thankfully all I find is coat hangers and a bit of dust. They must have covered their tracks.

I spent my evening exploring as much as I could. I managed to get into an old abandoned theatre and mooch around. It was rather big and must have had many a ply during the communist era. Now all that the stage holds is broken glass, lights and sound gantries watched by upturned chairs and damp. 

Day 18.

For a while I thought following the Berlin Mauerweg would be a interesting route to explore the city of Berlin and it's surroundings. I also felt curious to see what was actually left of the Berlin wall. Well I followed the northern loop from Potsdam to the Brandenburg Gate and I can say almost nothing. What did strike me is the sheer size of the wall. One can read statistics of length and breadth, but to spend one full day until rather late riding just about half the route left an indelible impression. What one see's now however, along what was the death strip is mainly forest, a quick grow conifer and silver birch mix. One can also see many nice houses for the well to do and rich that have sprung up along the rivers and lakes that sepertae Potsdam from West Berlin. I guess as the Wall came down prime construction site became available. Anyway, as one cycles what are noticable, especially through the forested sections, is mile after mile of shorn fence posts. A clear indicater of where the wall once was.

One nice change I did see was the conversion of a former guard tower into a wildlife conservation hut and learning centre for school children to study the forest ecosystem that has grown where the wall once was.

Day 17

A quiet day today. No riding. Just lots of walking in the rain at Potsdam. I had a look at Sans Souci. The gardens are free but one has to pay extra for entrance to the palace. I'm not sure about the "modest" description of Freddie's summer palace. It still looked rather sumptuous to me. He loved cherries apparantly, and was prepared to pay the modern equivalent of 100 euros for a single cherry. The decor was bright, interesting, lots of roccoco and chinois. I hired a little radio thing with earphones to learn more about the palace. Unfortunately as is often the case with these things there was a tendency not to get to the point in descriptions of life and construction of the palace but more a desire to present the story of Freddie, his royal entourage and the palace in a somewhat fawning and cutesy manner. I kept skipping through the commentary and noticed that most other visitors were doing the same. 

Day 16

Potsdam! And lots of rain! I stopped at Lutherstdt Wittenburg in the rain, and had a brief look t the Ctaherdral. Unfortuantely for me it is in the process of being done up so it is coverered in tarpaulin. I made a break from cycle paths as well. Crossing Europe is taking too long and cycle paths are too circuitous. So I decide to follow the main road tp Potsdam. As it is Germany there are cycle paths adjacent to the road, so I whizz through 70kms in an afternoon. This will be my new tactic.

Day 15

Blood hay fever. Sneeze, sneeze, wheep, wheep. Nice ride tho. I got to Dessau for the evening, and saw lots of Bauhaus stuff. Lots of clean lines and ordily living. However there is an element of Dessau that reminds me of Basingstoke as a kid, all that concrete I guess. The town was still dead after half 8ish. And a wander around the city showed that there are many apartment blocks, but very few apartments have their lights on. All very peaceful, dark and quiet. I end up contemplating what German people must do in the eveing. No one is out, and it would seem no one is home either. There must be something happening somewhere, a party of immense size, a gathering of disproportionate curiosity? I could not find an answer so went to bed. With my lights off. Perhaps that is where everyone is.

Day 14

From west to east. Today I crossed the old West/East german border at Eckertal. Now marked with a sign and statue of two pwople shaking hands through a gap in a wall. I noticed a bit of a change as I continued east. The twee medieval towns stopped, to be replaced by the austere lines of communist era apartment blocks. Perversly these made a refreshing change, as it was something new to look at and cycle through. The towns are getting smaller too. Gasterslaben was my finishing point today. Another very quiet town. Quiet is good however, as it leves roads free from heavy traffic. Anyway, it has been two weeks and I am still to make Berlin. I feel I have underestimated the size of Europe.

Day 13

Getting a bit better at the distances now. 100km days are very much possible. And regularly as well. As I am now in a post Garmin phase of the trip I am having to Navigate the old School way, by use of maps. Fortunatley cycling in Germany one is well catered for. Maps and signposts are eveywhere, so I take a photo of the map, and press on. No faffing with electro gizmos. Just cyclng and I think my miles have increased as a consequence.

So, again a long day. With some tough, bumpy routes, forest tracks and abandoned roads left for cyclists to use. It got so bumpy it shook my front wheel loose, and a bolt from my mud guard! And a very large and very curious field full of marijuana out in the middle of nowhere. I made it to Goslar today. Another pretty medieval town. There seem to be many of these around here! All very nice but all very quiet.

Garmin Update

It is broke, kaput. Piece of rubbish. I think the bumps have done for it as the USB plug at the back has come loose and now it won't charge. I shall not shed a tear, bloody thing. I should have thrown it into the river at Greenwich as I was so tempted to do.

Day 12

I am getting even more nervous about the distances today! Lots of cycling took me through Hoxtar, a very pretty medieval town to Holzminden. A curious little town with a massive closed down factory in the middle, with a brand new shiny job centre buit next door. I guess the folks who lost their jobs will not have far to go to sign on!

Day 11

To Verl today. A little lost in Munster before heading east through the countryside. Small town Germany is quite like small town Netherlands to look at. Unfortunately rain stopped play a little early. Food then a brief watch of the England Uruguay match, which made me chuckle as the camera panned to the Uruguay fans after they scored their second and amongst them was a lone Scot going absolutely bananas! 

Day 10

A swift swift day along many a river bank to Munster. A pretty town if not so exciting. Nice lake to walk around and pretty churches. Curious as one restaurant has a urine yellow fountain just in front of it. I decided not to eat there...! Lots of Doms, and Shlosses. And lots of cobbles. I am about to become very aquainted with the German love for cobbles...

Day 9, Germany.

Deutschland baby! A manic day crossing about a bazzilion big bridges before I finally made it to Germany! My firts real experience of small town Germany with an overnight stop in Vreden and a B and B owner who did not like the small town attitude of where she lived and made sure I knew about it!

Day 8

Rest day in Nijmegen. It was lovely to hang out with Leonie, a friend I made in Malaysia 14 odd years ago and had not seen since. She now has a little one, Eli, who like to whizz around on his little tricycle and put things away and in the bin! I suspect when he grows up he will be very house proud! Nijmegen I think has changed since my lasy visit 8 years ago. I am sure much of it has been smartened up and parts pedestrianised. It remains a nice little town and a great place to kick back for a day.

Day 7

To Nijmegen to see Leonie! I followed the cross Netherlands cycle route (L4a for the geeks out there). It is a very nice ride, and well sign posted. The Dutch system seems to be quite easy to follow. Red sign posts for direct cycle routes. Green for sightseeing. I had a little stop in Arnhem to have a look at the bridge. It is very big! Arnhem seemed nice but admittidly I did not see much, only the river.

Day 6

I have a feeling this may take longer than expected. My mileage is not so great! A bugger of a head wind, some confusion with the sign posts but I made it as far as Utrecht. I found a cheap hostel, free food but 25 bed dorms. I hate dorms. I thought I might stay up and watch England play at the soccerball championships. I chose not to as I was knackered. I woke up to find England had done an England so I was quite glad I missed it.

Has free wifi

killed the internet cafe?

New Blog

I shall start a new blog. This one will be pictures only. It will be Dan Dispain Takes Selfies of Himself Whilst Riding Around the World.

Rant

Garmin tourer GPS devices are rubbish. If you want a GPS device that navigates then this is not the one. Put any ride in that is reasonable in length (say 100kms) it pauses, and the essentially says "No, no no. That is far too far for me to work out, would you put a shorter ride in? Say from here to the corner just ahead of you?"

Another little function it has is if you put a ride in, from say here to B, it ask you first for your current location (as I guess GPS's do not know their current location) and then asks if you would like to go to.... your current location. I suspect I already know the way to my curent location as I am already here. But there we are.

Another delight this gorgeous peice of kit does is after a ride is put in is spend about 20 minutes trying to work out the ride, and then if one gets impatient and starts to ride, it then says "Movement detected!"and then freezes.

Sometimes it likes to give information. Not information like TURN LEFT! or STRAIGHT AHEAD! but a particular favourite of it is to inform me that I am currently "Riding on Trail". Now I am not so sure about the general populous, but I can generally tell that I am riding on a trail by looking down, beyond my front wheel and seeing the surface in front of me.I have yet to be surprised by what I find.

Day 5. Rest days are boring, part 2

Washed clothes. Went to library. Wrote this. Will have ice cream. Very big one. Tomorrow I hit the road Jack.

Day 4. Netherlands.

Rest days are boring. I arrived very early, the ferry trip was shorter than expected as I hadn't calculated the hour lost over the water. So after about 4 hours sleep I wearily pushed my bike down the exit ramp and into Eurasia. I got to laugh as two people with stupid clicky shoes were riding along and crashed into each other as they were too busy looking at their stupid clicky shoes and not where they were going. I, however, was cream crackered. So as Scheveningen is just up the coast I decided to have two nights here. It is nice, big beach and lots of sun. I have been here before so knew what to expect. I also had my first mechanical. Gear cable was worn through and looked like it would snap. My gears were not changing properly for a while. The position of my handle bar bag was interfearing with the cable and changing. All fixed now. I did not expect to feel so restless so soon. Which is good, very good. Rest days are boring.

Day 3 (Have I Failed already?)

Today was exhausting. It started well, bombing through London as far as Greenwich and then my sat nav decided not to nav anymore. So I got lost, very lost. After waisting 2 hours going round and around I realised that the compass was still working on the sat nav and headed off on a vaguely north/north east direction, as Harwich was my destination. I found Barking, and lots of horrible busy roads, I found Chigwell, and lots of horrible busy roads, I found Epping, and lots of horrible busy roads and finally found Chelmsford. I ate, rested and re-found the cycle route I planned to follow. So I followed it. But I was late, and the ferry has a scheduled departure. So I bombed to Colchester by about half 9 and waived a white flag and jumped on the train. Good lord trains are ace. All you do is sit there and then they take you to your destination! Utter luxury. And utter relief as I made my ferry, and felt like as I pushed my bike on board!

Day 2

Staines on Thames is loverly. Don't let the Ali G character fool you. Well the bit by the Thames is anyway. The rest of the town may be a dump but I have no idea, as I followed the river. But it is lined with gorgeous house and gorgeous house. I suspect only the very wealthy can live in Staines upon Thames. Perhaps this is due to the success of Ali G?!

I got as far as Kensington and Chelsea, after stopping at the gates of Hampton Court Palace. I didn't see Lucy Worsley, so left dissapointed. The Palace is beautiful anyway.

Day 1, England.

Left very late, about 5ish. I was rather hungover from 3 days of partying and leaving do's. Thank you all for coming, they were fab. I had always envisioned that my first day would be in the wet. And it was. I got as far as Reading at about half 8 and called it a day.

Will I do it?

Dunno, but I'll sure as hell give it a go. May be I get as far as Didcot, fall off, graze my knees, cry and want to go home. I suspect not tho. Will I complete it? Bloody no idea. But I'm not here to set records. Or prove a point. I'm just some bloke who likes riding bikes and likes travelling. And I have never been around the world on anything.

Route.

I shall split the trip into two very approximate parts. Firstly I shall leave Oxford and follow Eurovelo 2 (http://www.eurovelo.com/en/eurovelos/eurovelo-2) as far as Warsaw. Then north, pick up Eurovelo 11 (http://www.eurovelo.com/en/eurovelos/eurovelo-11) to the Latvian border with Russia. Then east to Moscow, south east to Kazakhstan. After Kazakhstan I will cross into Kyrgyzstan, ride around Issyk Kul and cross the Irkeshtam Pass to China. Then I will ride either the North Silk Road, the South Silk Road or through Tibet and on to the Border with Laos. This, however is where things become vague as it depends on what visa and for how long I receive for China. I suspect I may only get 30 days which will result in the very real possibility of me having to get a train at some point. If so I will cross to Vietnam. I then plan to winter in South East Asia, hopefully taking my bike into Burma, before deciding where to fly from in East Asia and where to in North America. Somewhere on the west coast for sure, but money and time of year will dictate. The earlier the year, the more southern the destination. And this is the very vague part two of the trip. If it is early in the year then I hope to cross the southern states of the US and head up to New York for a flight back to Europe. If it is later in the year then a flight to Vancouver will be the plan, before heading across Canada, into the US and again flying from New York. But this is all very vague, and very, very distant. I will see.

Not left yet.

Does what it says on the tin really. Still got lots to do, but I'll do that later. Off next Monday, leave England next Wednesday, and then onwards!