Day 35, June 1 - Tetushi - Kazan'

145km - 2507km, sunny 25C, 30km/h head/sidewind, 0 shots, 0 sauna, 1 Lenin, HC

I was met by Marcel and his friend at 800h to go to the town museum. Received a tour from in English(!) from the guide who hadn't had the opportunity to speak English for 10 years. (She did pretty well!) Learned a lot about small town life, and some of the more well-respected personalities. One of my favorite things about these small town museums is that the guide (G) inevitably asks me (J): G: "Do you know the writer X.?"; J: "No. Sadly, not."; G (with a look of horror): "But he's one of the most famous writers in Russia!". (Aside: Russia has a lot of famous writers.)

Headed for a quick breakfast of meat and mashed and then got my bicycle stuff together and headed out on the road. Quickly saw the "Kazan' 160km" sign and was not too pleased with how much work I had left myself for the day. The first 45 kms rolled by pretty quickly and I managed to get out to the main road by noon in moderate side/headwinds. Headed out across the prairie and stopped at a gas station for a quick snack. The two high-school-aged girls working at the station then started to chat in broken English wanting to know about what life was like for teenagers in America.

Stopped at the 90km mark at 1700h for a quick bite of meat and mashed and then started working on the 15km to the ferry across the Volga (which, according to a variety of people, may or may not have been operational) that would knock 35km off my day. Just before the turnoff (1810h), I asked at the gas station about the schedule and was informed that the last ferry was at 1800h and that I would have to ride the 35km across the bridge. Turned directly into the now strong headwind and had to peddle down and then up a steep 3km-wide ravine. Eventually found myself on the bridge and then heading east (with a strong tailwind now) for 14km of superfast riding (35-40km/h!). Met up with my hospitality club hosts and headed to one's uncle's flat where I was to spend the evening. It turned out that the uncle was a former Fullbright Scholar, spoke English fairly well, and liked dry red wine...so it was a pretty enjoyable evening!

Day 34, May 31 - Ulyanovsk - Tetushi

100km - 2362km, sunny 24C, 40km/h headwind, 0 shots, 0 sauna, 1 Lenin, Hotel

Left the hotel at 900h and found my way out of town in the direction of Kazan. I knew that I was in a little bit of trouble when I first turned north into the strong headwind. It is a little bit frustrating to have to peddle downhill (Like in Wyoming Sjoerd!) The first 40km were rolling hills with a head/sidewind often sheltered by legions of roadside trees. Kept on trucking until I turned into the full 40km/h headwind. Had to fight hard to make the next 10km over exposed plains. Eventually, I saw the Volga again and I knew that I was nearing Tetushi, a place where hotels and cafes likely existed! Stopped just short and had an ice cream (oh what a crutch you are!) before heading into town.

Rode around Tetushi for a few minutes and found the padlocked hotel. Stopped just around the corner and asked one guy (Marcel) on the street if there was another hotel in town. He said (at least my understanding of what he said was) that he would get the hotel opened for me! He drove around (with me following on my trusty stead) calling people until he reached the right party. We went back to the hotel and I paid $9 for my double room (sadly w/o shower). After a quick splash in the bathroom sink, I gave Marcel a shout and he picked my up and we went to a cafe for dinner. Had a good meal and then, again to my surprise, Marcel generously picked up the tab! We then went for a drive around the city, down to the Volga, to the local mosque, and to pick up his girl friend. I was then dropped off at my hotel to grab a little shuteye for the big day of riding tomorrow.

Day 33, May 30 - Ulyanovsk rest day

0km - 2262km, sunny, 25C, wind?, 0 shots, 0 sauna, 5 Lenin, Hotel

I was having my breakfast when Natasha, the bubbly and funny receptionist, burst in to tell me that the hotel owner was coming in 15 minutes to drive me to the bicycle repair shop (awesome!). Drove down to TrialSport and handed off my back wheel with the promise that it would be better by 1900h. We drove back to the hotel, by which time I had arranged a rendez-vous with Kate, my Ulyanovsk Hospitality Club guide, to show me around the city. We met up and walked down to the high banks 70m above Volga river. We then went to the house where Vladimir Ilyich Lenin was born! (Sadly, foreign tourists pay 2.5x more than Russian tourists - Viva la brotherhood!) After that we headed to the musical fountains and the wedding bridge where couples 'eternally lock their love' together. After a quick coffee break I sadly had to say goodbye to Kate, who was headed to her family's dacha.

I wandered back to the Volga and had a shashlik lunch with a few Troikas. I wandered around the city and then, passing an electronics store, went in an bought a small FM/Shortwave radio to sit on my bicycle while riding (It blocks out the sound of my own voice!) and blast out Russian electropop music! Headed back to the hotel and sat out reading on the patio awaiting the arrival of the hotel owner (who said he would go back with and pick up the tire). He arrived around 1900h with my fixed tire and, when asked how much the repair was, he said that it was a gift from the hotel to me! Wow! I then headed downstairs to the restaurant and had a large dinner to (partially) pack back the group for their awesome hospitality! Headed to my room and watched FC Barca destroy Man United to win the UEFA cup. (What a goal Messi!)

Day 32, May 29 - Dimitrovgrad - Ulyanovsk

90km - 2262km, sunny, 26C, slight headwind, 0 shots, 0 sauna, 1 lenin, Hotel (2 broken spokes)

Packed up the campsite and headed back on the road. Passed through Dimitrovgrad, a supposedly pretty, but somewhat drab town. Couldn't find a cafe serving breakfast, so I though I would push on. Reached the next town 15km on and realized that I now had two more broken spokes. Stopped and grabbed a coffee and ripped apart my wheel and put spokes in. Sadly, I don't have a truing stand and the 20 minutes i spent balancing the back wheel helped a little, but didn't solve the problem. I decided to push on to Ulyanovsk where I could get someone a more professional (and with the proper tools!) to fix it up.

I still hadn't had much to eat, and was feeling the effects of the heat and lack of nutrients. Reached a town about 25km short of my destination that had an outdoor cafe. stopped for an 1.5 hours and had a delicious breakfast/lunch of okruska (cold soup) and some meat with a sauce served <>. Rode the last 18km to the bridge over the Volga, where I was informed that bicycles were not allowed on the bridge. I eventually found a taxi that would take me across, and we found the Hotel Europa somewhere near where I had written down an address of a hotel. Got a room for a couple of nights, had dinner and a few beers, and drifted off to sleep fairly early.

Day 31, May 28 - Samara - Dimitrovgrad

135km - 2172km, Sunny, 24C, no wind, 0 shots, 0 sauna, 1 lenin, Camping (Time zone change G+3)

Woke up late again, had a leftover pasta breakfast, checked email, and was on the way by 1300h. Gulya had suggested an alternative route to the main highway that travelled through smaller towns. Headed out from Samara and after 33km turned up the smaller road that lead through forests reminiscent of Northern Ontario and pastoral lands. Stopped after 100km to have a bit of a snack. Continued headed north and east up toward D. Tried to find an open cafe, but most seemed to be shut down for the day (a little strange), so I settled for a bit of an a la carte dinner. I headed into the woods 5km from D. and set up the tent by the still river surrounded by millions of mosquitos. (At least I know that no one will be out to get me with all those critters around!) Had a delicious salami and cheese sandwich dinner and a couple of Baltika troika beers, before heading to bed listening to the croaking of frogs and the sound of transport air brakes (again)..

Day 30, May 27 - Samara rest day

0km - 2037km, Sunny 22C, wind?, 0 shots, 0 sauna, 1 lenin, HC

Slept in quite late, had breakfast, and was then out the door to try to find a replacement spare Kevlar folding bicycle tire. Luckily, I had written down the locations of a good bicycle store chain throughout Russia and Samara was one of them! Found the bike shop and bought a replacement tire with a pretty flat tread and three extra tubes (I had destroyed two of the on the sidewall blowout a few days ago...) Headed into the city center and walked around the Kubishevsk square and then 'happened to find' an Irish bar and stopped for a few pints and a solid Irish lunch. Continued walking around and happened upon the beer factory. More importantly, I happened upon the beer dispensing shop that sold 'factory direct' suds for 90c/Liter! Many people were lining up with 5L jugs, by I bought a more modest 1.5L container to fill. Walked down to the water front and hopped on a water taxi that was headed across to the Samaraskaya Lesa park on the right bank.

Met up with Gulya down by the water, and walked around a little bit more before heading back to north to her flat. We had bought some crabs down by the beer area, so we stopped for some more seafood and made some delicious seafood pasta! Settled in a watched the final House MD episode of the year (cliffhanger!) before grabbing some much needed shuteye.

Day 29, May 26 - Chapaevsk - Samara

50km - 2037km, Sunny 18C, 20km/h tailwind, 0 shots, 0 sauna, 0 Lenin, HC

Woke up and had a delicious breakfast of fried eggs and mashed potatoes. As I was getting ready to leave hotel, the owner asked (again) if I wanted to go home with his hired Uzbeki help. (What is it about motel owners in Russia peddling out their hired help? this is the 3rd or 4th time it has happened? Maybe roadside motels are lowkey prostitution fronts?) Hopped on the bike and road the 35km into the edge of town (which was about 30km long following the left bank of the Volga). Found my way into town and arrived at the WWII plane monument that was the arranged meeting place with Gulya, my Hospitality Club host for a couple nights. Got more specific directions and my way to the flat.

Unpacked my things and washed off the sand plastered to my bike. Had a quick lunch and tea break before promptly falling asleep on the couch for an hour. Headed with Gulya out to the Zhigaly Gate, a beautiful bend in the river where a ridge had been through cut by the Volga. Had a few beers watching the sun go down, and then took the maxicab back to the city center. Had dinner and then watched a few episodes of House MD (in English!) before heading to bed.