Nizny Novgorod

Moscow: the sites

July 5^th

After updating my blog and pictures I went out to see Red Square. I took the metro. Nice big inviting stations and an efficient system. It was very busy and I guess I didn’t seem too much of a tourist since twice I was asked for directions by Russians. Anyway, Red Square was great. Just like in the books. Huge. Perfect for parades actually. It is for pedestrians only, so no picture of me and the bike there. Had I bumped into Putin, I would have asked for an exception on my part. But the new Russia is getting on the tourist bandwagon. Stalls selling all kinds of tourist gizmos and Lenin, Stalin, Marx and the last tsar look-alikes. The young soldiers standing guard at the eternal flame had a hard time with the sun almost toasting them. I went back to collect my bike and Ilya escorted me to the M7 heading for Nizny-Novgorod. I didn’t get too far from Moscow before the evening set in.

The highway from Moscow to Nizny-Novgorod is actually very good. A lot is being invested in this road. It is very busy. I had enough of traffic and crowds and just kept on driving till after Nizny-Novgorod. I set up camp near Chebaksary. I didn’t have enough time to find a good spot and camped too close to the road to get a good night’s sleep. Some members of VMCUD sent me SMS messages. I really appreciate the support. Thank you for that.

The roads after Nizny-Novgorod range from absolute disaster to what I by now call “acceptable”. The countryside has also changed rather suddenly to gentle rolling hills and the road has to adapt to the terrain. Sometimes the road will climb and descend up to 12%. I love this type of landscape. It is very beautiful. The road misses the towns and sort of runs between them. This is definitely better for the inhabitants since it has traffic day and night … I know. This region has more agriculture. Huge fields. It is a sight to see. I think this region might be a bit better off financially too. A lot of road construction and surveying is going on. The roads around Kazan are perfect and have two lanes. They are also in the process of installing a new pipeline for oil or gas. Maybe this might account for the extra spending money. Not so much trash here. The government is indeed addressing the problem. Billboard campaigns and cleaning crews keep the side of the highway neat and tidy. Russia so far is very beautiful. And although a lot of work still needs to be done, the country is putting a lot of effort into getting the infrastructure in shape.

A lot of crappy pieces of road still remain and I have come to hate the sign indicating them. My machine is holding up, but I am getting tired of this. Traffic doesn’t slow down at all. The trucks just keep coming and to avoid being run off the road I go a bit too fast over the bad spots.

I have a freaky electrical problem that manifests itself now and again since today. It is a loose contact somewhere near the battery under the seat. Contact; everything works; I start and right after that the machine dies; no status lights, no starter, no running lights, nothing. I just fiddle a bit under the seat and power is back. I haven’t researched it thoroughly yet.