The Cisco Kid...

That's what I mean, Cisco, you attract trouble like a fiddler attracts a square dance, you understand why I don't want you staying in this town?

Just a quick update, had a fun few days spinning up the Baltic states. No challanging cycling, alot of motorway miles but been to some pretty cool places. The day I left the guest house was pretty dull, I try to take at least three photos a day and I didn't  take one so you get the idea. Lots of flat and a vicious head wind. After a good hundred and something clicks I came to a place called Radviliskis and decided to call it a day.

Radviliskis is about 20kms from Siauliai where I was going to see the 'krysiu kalnas' or 'hill of crosses' the Finnish couple I met reccommended it to me and I think it featured in a cracked article a while back.

Lithuania is a very religious country, mainly catholic, and the cross symbol is used everywhere. Catholics have been leaving crosses on the hill since 1831 after the November uprising or Polish-Russian war. When Lithuania was occupied by the Soviet Union, who wern't too keen on the old bible bashing, they flattened the site at least three times. It has now become a symbol of peaceful religious resistance in Lithuania. There are an estimated 200,000 crosses and crucifixes on the hill.

Well, 200,001

 People leave a cross if someone dies (there are lots of crosses made out of car number plates), or if they need some good luck...

 Bought that chain on Anglesea last year and swapped it out a few days ago, a fitting end. Maybe a few more sunny days eh, big man?

After Siauliai it was a short spin to the Latvian border.

 I had really wanted to make it to Riga that night, but at this point it was looking unlikely. I stopped at a place called Jelgava at around 7pm looking for a place to stay. No luck. "Well, I may as well carry on and find somewhere on the road to Riga" I thought. An hour later still nothing, but only 25km to Riga and I knew there was a campsite there!
Long and short of it is I ended up at the campsite in Riga at 11pm, blowing out of my arse and barely able to walk, a 100 mile day, ouch. Still a way off my 130 mile record day in France though.
The streets were packed even at 11pm, there was some kind of street party going on, which was actually pretty cool but at the time was the shittest thing ever 'cause I had to push my bike through tonnes of people.

Anyway Riga is a nice city, probably the nicest I've been in in the Baltic states so far.

 From a distance Riga looks as nice as any western city, but when you get up close the cracks start to show...

 Quite literally, what the hell is holding this bridge up? 

 FATBERG, DEAD AHEAD. Christ, you could park your bike in that arse crack.

After that 100 mile beasting I was in no fit state to do any real milage the next day, so a slow 50 miler took me to a campsite at Tuja on the West coast of Lativa. I was in my tent by 6pm and managed to eat a whole box of cookie crisp cereal.

This photo pretty much sums up 70% of the cycling I've done in the Baltic states, miles and miles of pine forests.

Oh yeah and I also lost my helmet. It fell off the back of the bike somewhere near Riga. I didn't even bother going back to look for it 'cause it was cracked anyway and in the four years I've had it I've probably worn it about a dozen times. *Que lecture from armchair expert about how you should always wear a helmet when cycling*
Helmets are for lycra lovvies and queers.

Today I left quite late, I've been cycling up the A1 which is a Latvian motorway. Its more like the A41 size wise but has about a third of the traffic of the 41 and its nice and smooth which makes for easy pedaling.

Found this by the side of the road, at first glance I thought it was a fecking black bear, oh no...

 What a beast! Get some sausages out of that. They've also got beavers over here, but I havn't seen one yet.

As I was taking that picture a car pulled up with GB number plate, the door opened and a Brummy voice asked "you alright mate!". Colin from Sutton Coldfield and his Mrs, both packed their jobs in and set off for a 6 month jaunt round eastern Europe in their campervan. Awesome, my kind of people.

 A few clicks down the road and I came to the town of Ainazi, stopped for a bit of lunch then set off again. Another 2kms and...

Country number eight on my spin round eastern Europe. I'm camping in a place called Parnu tonight, about 60kms along the west coast of Estonia. With a bit of beans I should make Tallinn tomorrow. I'm having a day off at Tallinn, then two days and I should be in St. Petersburg, Russia.

Good times.

"It is enough that the people know there was an election. The people who cast the votes decide nothing. The people who count the votes decide everything" - Joseph Stalin