[caption id="attachment_168" align="aligncenter" width="480" caption="My hosts - Igor and alexi"]
[/caption]Igor was keen to show me around the town and also to introduce me to someone who had already done the trip to St Petersburg from Komsomolsk. So using the great advantage of single travel, the total lack of need to consult, I made a quick decision to stay another day.Igor and Alexi were lovely people and through them I got to see and hear things I would never have managed otherwise. In the end I spent about 11 hours with them and poor Alexi was worn out by the end by the need to constantly translate - but her English was well and truly up to it (Alexi - if you read this my heartfelt thanks for your efforts - I know how tough it must have been). First of all we went off to Igor's work shed from where he seems to run a small leatherwork business to supplement his day job working on the railway tracks. Talking to him seemed to confirm my view that life in the town had dipped badly when communism fell and lots of industry suddenly closed, but now it was improving and you could find work and make work if you were entrepenerial (not that it looked like life was easy). At the shed we were then joined by Anatoli the man who had ridden to Saint Peterburg - he had done it in 2008 but on a 1955 bike; proving that you don't need the latest flashest equipment and making me feel very comfortable. He was full of good advice on places to go and a few to avoid or to take care.
[caption id="attachment_169" align="aligncenter" width="480" caption="Anatoli and his ISH49"]
[/caption]After this Igor suggested a ride up into the hills to see a local beauty spot Lake Amur. This was about 50-60km away about half of it up dirt roads leading through a small town and then abandoned tin workings.
[caption id="attachment_175" align="aligncenter" width="480" caption="Abandoned - and miles from anywhere, what must have it bee like working in winter?."]
[/caption][caption id="attachment_176" align="aligncenter" width="480" caption="This ones still working."]
[/caption]Great fun riding and as we got further into the hills the scenery was stunning. The photo's below give you a poor idea of how beautiful it was.
[caption id="attachment_170" align="aligncenter" width="360" caption="Lake Amur"]
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Today the temperature was a pleasantly warm 28-30 degrees but talking to Alexi and Igor I found out Komsolosk peaks at +45 celsius in summer and drops to -45 celsius in winter. I'm glad I came in late summer! Igor also said once winter comes and the snow falls start the hills we were looking at were home to the Siberian tiger, brown bear, wolves and assorted other wildlife I had not heard off.
[caption id="attachment_172" align="aligncenter" width="480" caption="Obligatory bike shot..."]
[/caption]After looking at the lake for awhile Igor said lets go to the cafe for a drink and tea. I thought cafe?; we are miles from anything but sure enough another kilometre or two up the tracks there was a cafe. Actually it was part of a holiday camp where workers from the city could come and spent a few days communing with nature.
[caption id="attachment_173" align="aligncenter" width="480" caption="Cafe in the hills"]
[/caption][caption id="attachment_174" align="aligncenter" width="480" caption="Life's tough!"]
[/caption]After this we wound our way back to Komsomolsk via other local beauty spot, a waterfall before eventually ending up back at Igors flat to meet his wife and to have tea (now about 10pm). Here I found out Igor had originally worked in the shipyards in Komsomolskwe looked at some pictures of this time. Poor Alexi was worried her father might be boring me but I can honestly say they were fascinating and I loved them.All in all a superb day and another testament to Russian hospitality - but Igor will have a special place in my memories because we had many common views and interests. I hope we manage to stay in contact via email.
Thursday the 4th and I finally did leave! Igor as another act of generousity had organised me a contact, Hans, at the Kharbarosk "Iron Tigers" group and a place to stay at their clubhouse that night, so I set off with a destination in mind. The drive down was uneventful but as I headed south I ran in to a fair amount of rain and it was full waterproofs out.
[caption id="attachment_177" align="aligncenter" width="480" caption="Typical village en-route"]
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The journey was about 400km and pleasantly unexceptional with the only really hard part was the last half hour through Kharabarosk peak hour traffic in the rain - thank heavens for GPS. As an aside, buying the GPS was a last minute decision and a slightly half hearted one. When I left I had down loaded the maps of Russia for it off the net but not even worked out how to load them and was thinking I would probably manage with just the road atlas. Well I'm sure I would have - but it would have been so much harder and I'm sure made finding places like the Iron Tigers club house would have been impossible. When your navigating through strange cities with all the sign posting in Cyrillic having the GPS as a guide is a wonderful comfort - even though I sometimes have to overrule it as the roads on it and the reality do not 100% agree.
[caption id="attachment_183" align="aligncenter" width="480" caption="Try reading that at speed!"]
[/caption]Iron Tigers Kharabarosk were very hospitable, gave me friendship, dinner, bed and early in the evening another female translator. This time slightly older and the girlfriend of Hans son - if I keep this up a few more weeks these translators could have grown in age enough to be a danger!
[caption id="attachment_179" align="aligncenter" width="480" caption=""Viking" and "Hans" my hosts (sorry folks no translator photo's)"]
[/caption]The next day (now Friday 5 August) was the first day I started to move significantly west. The target was Blagoveschensk, another city on the Amur River - but this time located where the river forms the direct border with China. It was a long, about 700km and 12 hours, day drive and again involved a lot of rain interspersed with some good sunny periods where I attempted to snap some pictures of the general scenery which changed slowly as the day progressed: we started in flat country but generally un-farmed land then moved into the hills, before finally returning to flat lands full of mines and then full on agriculture - mainly wheat with some diary.
[caption id="attachment_181" align="aligncenter" width="360" caption="In the middle of nowhere - enough to make me sure I'm on the right road."]
[/caption][caption id="attachment_182" align="aligncenter" width="370" caption="Lunch stop - and friendly local"]
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[caption id="attachment_185" align="aligncenter" width="480" caption="A more agricultural road hazard."]
[/caption]Along the way the nature of the Trans Siberian highway also changed. Up until about 200-300km beyond Kharabarosk the two lane road meandered between small village and towns meaning I was constantly slowing for the towns - but as compensation their was a lot of visual interest. Suddenly after that point it turned into highway proper - still only two lanes, except for the occasional additional slow lanes on hills, but now it was by-passing towns - and hence got a bit less interesting. Fortunately going to Blagoveschensk meant I turned off the Trans Siberian after about 200km of it and headed slightly south of it and this brought me back to the meandering roads. The lesson is where possible I may need to plot my journey in this fashion - but I know there are some large chunks coming up for which there is no option (the Trans Siberian is the only road across some sections and even that didn't exist 5 years ago). Another thing enlivening this section of the journey was being stopped by the police; but after a document check it seemed obvious that it had been done to see the tourist on the foriegn motorcycle up close rather than for any infringement of the road rules. We parted friends.
The rain coupled with the common Russian driving style (everything in front must be overtaken irrespective of road conditions or what is heading at you) and Russian roadwork techniques let to some interesting moments. A word on Russian roadworks - because however "boring" the highway they have a habit of enlivening it when you least expect it. The first category of enlivenment are the small scale pot hole repairs. When completed these tend to be done very well and end up with a very smooth repair. There is no slapping a bit of tar on top of the hole and hoping for the best in the normal Australian fashion. Instead the Russians surgically cut a vertical sided rectangle around the hole, excavate this to about 75mm to the road base, before then completely filling the repair. When finished you can hardly see or feel the fix. The problem is the teams doing step one, cut and excavate, don't seem to be closely co-ordinated with those doing step two; consequence you've been enjoying smooth highway for awhile, get complacement and come around a corner to be faced with a mass of these.
Tends to wake you up quick. If there are cars in front of you they'll often alert you to them by sudden violent swerving.
The second category of repair is the major rebuild of a section of road - often 10 or 20 kilometres or so at a time. Here they simply strip the old tar off and completely rebuild the road - whilst you just drive through it. So you have large sections of dust, mud, road workers, heavy machinery, often single lane working, with no attempt at traffic control. It sort of works but again it keeps you awake as vehicles spear off in all sorts of directions trying to find the smoothest route before suddenly diving back to their side when something comes in the other direction.
[caption id="attachment_187" align="aligncenter" width="480" caption="20 kilometres of challenge coming up."]
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Anyway in spite all of the above I made it safely to Blagoveschensk and found a hotel just in time to celebrate my birthday!
[caption id="attachment_189" align="aligncenter" width="480" caption="Birthday tea!"]
[/caption]The birthday tea ingredients were bought from roadside vendors when I thought I might not make it that night and would have to camp out. It seemed a pity to waste them. These were washed down by a beer in the hotel bar. And to explain why I might have camped - I have decided at this stage I would much prefer to camp out than attempt to tackle the roads in the dark - any hazards of the woods would be much less than those of the road.
Anyway more on Blagveschensk tomorrow (or next time I find a decent internet connection).
Thinking of you all.
First of all,very many thanks for your phone call Martin -it was great to hear your voice even though your blogs give such a vivid idea of your day to day progress,the people you have met and their warm reception - it opens up a whole new concept of the Russian folk which is totally missing in journalist's and travelogue offerings.What a pity.
ReplyDeleteSecondly,sincere apologies for my mix up of dates on your birthday - a brain time lag not unknown amongst we octogenarians trying to squeeze in an extra day!!! I was wodering after we spoke what you would be having for your birthday tea.The photo answered that.Hope you enjoyed.Before closing -don't they have long place names in Russia -though I suppose we Welsh can't talk with
Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwndrobwllantisiliogogogoch. - proudly displayed on their railway station.The spelling is open to correction but I think the number of letters is correct!. Beat that. All the best Dad.