DATE: Friday June 15, 2007
ROUTE: Gatchina - Ivangorod
DISTANCE: 84 miles
TIME: 8h 15m
CEG: 1000’
WEATHER: WINDY
It started out bad and went from there to making my list of the 5 most miserable days spent on a bicycle. Yes, it could have been worse.
All the anticipation had me sleeping fitfully to say the least. But I was fully awakend at 3:30am by deafening thunder, sheet lightning, and torrential rain. Not a great way to start our adventure. However, a few rays of sun peeked out by 8:30am and it didn’t rain again all day. What’s so bad about that you may wonder. How about unavoidable potholes filled with water and unavoidable spray from very big trucks on a very narrow road. Then, to add insult to injury, the wind was in our faces at a steady 35 mph with gusts in the 50s. Straight out of the west, exactly where we were bound. It just didn’t seem fair that in all these adverse conditions everyone missed the first turn. The group I was with discovered its error in only 3+ miles --- the speedy group was out of sight.
So the day continued on and on and on. My legs were complaining at 3 miles and I knew that was a bad sign! The good thing was that the terrain was mostly flat. I felt really good if I managed to progress in double digits though most of the time I was working hard, hard, hard and squeaking out only 6 – 8 mph. With nine miles to go, I knew I would make it. Then, what to my wondering eyes should appear but an angel in the form of John. He had been back checking on his son, Reed. He then caught up with me and pulled me in to Ivanogod. A recumbent drafts rather nicely behind a regular bike! Having spent the previous15 miles (that’s two hours!) in my own bad company, he was a welcome and much appreciated surprise.
Our hotel was the epitome of Soviet functionality. The mattress had a filling very much like straw and the hot water lasted only 3 minutes. But really, it was so great to be off the road it just didn’t matter. We shared restaurant facilities with a group of graduates (high school) celebrating with their families. Their disco music, dancing, and games were the first proof that not all Russians are dour and drab. The teenagers were very young in 1991 when the Soviet Union collapsed, and they will be the first generation to feel free enough to laugh out loud.
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