Got underway about 8.30 in the morning and headed SSE with little head wind and traffic. The first 20km were just splendid on fine pavement. The few repairs and adjustments that I had made to my bike had also worked well, and I managed to zip along at 25km/h. The pavement on the highway got a little bit rougher over the next 25km and I was slowed down to about 20km/h - still not too bad! Stopped for a couple of coffees along the way, and answered the usual questions from the few locals who felt like asking - lightheartedly - why someone would anyone want to do something stupid like riding a bicycle across the Ukraine? I'm getting pretty good at recognizing which question is being asked (and what the answer is), but after the first five questions or so I begin to get lost in the Slavicness of the questions.
Rode another 25km with a thunderstorm creeping up behind me. Saw some nice flashes in the background and with the first drops falling on my head about 5km from town, I headed over to a little cafe to wait for the onslaught. I was glad that I did, as it poured rain for the next 45 minutes with a vengeance I have only seen in Houston. Luckily, I was only 300m from a nice new Motel that was charging roughly $12 for a small room (without bath) for the night. I grabbed a room and started playing more Russglish games with hotel staff. After
dinner, when it became apparent that no one else was going to stay for the night, they moved me into a room with a bath (for free!). If I was not before, I am a becoming a huge fan of hot showers...
it sounds like everyone likes you, no matter where you go and no matter how little they understand you (both in terms of language and mission ;o).
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