02-08-2006
Chita 02-08-2006
Only 400kms to Chita today. The countryside is beautiful. The barren landscape has been replaced with vast valleys with a big river in between mountains. Trees are also reappearing. I like this. The road gradually improves a bit to the normal Russian level. The occasional pothole will pop up, so I have to stay focused.
I pass by a military airbase just 50km from Chita. A couple of Migs are coming in for landing and I stop to enjoy the spectacle. It was either my license plate or the fact that I used my binoculars, but the locals across the street where “eyeballing” me (that’s how Doug would say it). I did not have enough courage to take pictures. They would probably take me for a spy and call the cops. I didn’t feel like explaining myself to Russian police, so I didn’t bother. Once I made it into Chita, I called Jimm. He showed up shortly after with a fellow biker. I explained the things I would like to do on my bike: oil change, new tire on the side car wheel and finding the electrical problem. It is to late now to do anything so they escort me to a hotel and will pick me up in the morning to take me to a service station to fix my problems. The hotel was expensive, but I managed to do some laundry and clean my boots. They had hot water, but it was very brown. I don’t know how they do it, plain river water is cleaner. I had a good night’s sleep.
Only 400kms to Chita today. The countryside is beautiful. The barren landscape has been replaced with vast valleys with a big river in between mountains. Trees are also reappearing. I like this. The road gradually improves a bit to the normal Russian level. The occasional pothole will pop up, so I have to stay focused.
I pass by a military airbase just 50km from Chita. A couple of Migs are coming in for landing and I stop to enjoy the spectacle. It was either my license plate or the fact that I used my binoculars, but the locals across the street where “eyeballing” me (that’s how Doug would say it). I did not have enough courage to take pictures. They would probably take me for a spy and call the cops. I didn’t feel like explaining myself to Russian police, so I didn’t bother. Once I made it into Chita, I called Jimm. He showed up shortly after with a fellow biker. I explained the things I would like to do on my bike: oil change, new tire on the side car wheel and finding the electrical problem. It is to late now to do anything so they escort me to a hotel and will pick me up in the morning to take me to a service station to fix my problems. The hotel was expensive, but I managed to do some laundry and clean my boots. They had hot water, but it was very brown. I don’t know how they do it, plain river water is cleaner. I had a good night’s sleep.
posted by Anonymous | 9:24 am
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home