a town called Nizhny Novgorod, not
knowing what to expect outside of
the capital, it was a pleasant surprise
to find quite a large city. More than
a million people in fact. It was a rel-
atively easy ride and I was most cer-
tainly lulled into a false sense of op-
timism, maybe heading east wouldn’t
be so bad after-all.
Like so much of my trip across Eu-
rope, it seemed Russia would provide
many days of rain. Kazan was my next
stop. With a mix of modern and beau-
tifully preserved architecture sur-
rounding a lake, it was not at all what
I was expecting. It reminded me of a
fusion of Europe and oddly, colonial
America, but with its own unique look
and feel. For one day the sun came
out and it was glorious to be able to
walk around, warm and dry.
Unfortunately, that was short-lived
with the remainder of the week spent
riding in the rain and a lot of the
time, huge thunderstorms with bolts
of lightning feeling way too close for
comfort. The juggle between staying
dry versus being comfortable out of
my wet weather gear at least provided
a source of entertainment as the road
conditions worsened. It was incredi-
bly slow going, taking up to two hours
or more to ride 100km. With the big
freeze of winter on the way, there was
extensive road work underway; all of
which will make for a wonderful jour-
ney when complete.
With over a week under my belt, I
felt confident in saying that Russia was
without doubt the friendliest place on
my journey thus far. I can say that
with no hesitation as even with the
biggest language barrier I have faced
in any of my travels, I felt so genuinely
welcomed by everyone I had the plea-
sure of engaging with.
I did feel saddened that the people
who were able to speak to me in En-
glish felt so relieved to hear my feed-
back of having such a positive experi-
ence. Not because they would expect
otherwise, but because they know all
TRAVERSE 27
too well the pre-conceived negative
ideas that the rest of the world has of
their country and people. It is most
certainly not accurate.
During a ride to the gorgeous city of
Omsck, a roadworks stop allowed for
a chance meeting with two burly mo-
torcyclists from far east Siberia. They
spoke minimal English however we
managed a lively exchange and after
a long hot day on the road it was nice
to ride along with them for the final
few hours.
Pulling into Omsck I set about
finding my accommodation for the
night, only to find it was blocked off
by a street fair taking place. Tired
and not having the patience to find a
way around, I rode through the mid-
dle of the barriers and parked outside
the local Opera house. Finding the
right place, I was escorted through
the crowds once more by the friend-
ly owner and parked inside their per-
sonal garage for the night. Something
else I found extraordinary was the