Some Grow up, as Some Grow Old...

But what about the kid, who never learnt the rules..

OK, I've got a lot to write about. Got to Kiev, the capital of Ukraine, about 2pm yesterday and I'll be leaving tomorrow morning heading for the border with Slovakia so I've only got today to update this, pick up some supplies and see the city. No rest for the wicked...

I left Bryansk the next day feeling a little groggy, the miles were putting up a good fight and I had a few thoughts that involved finding the nearest train station and getting the hell out but I stuck it out and eventually I landed at Sevsk, 30kms from the Russia Ukraine border. A pretty boring day.

 The road goes on and on and on...

The highlight of the day was cycling through a wood that was absolutly infested with butterflies.

 The next day I got up early and span the 30kms to the border. Left Russia no problem, the border guards didn't even bother to look at my registration documents. They gave my passport and visa a quick glance and then spent the next twenty minuites asking me aboout the trip. Classic questions :"how far?", "Where do you sleep?" followed by gasps and nods of approval. The situation was the same on the Ukrainian side with the head guard coming out, shaking my hand and saying "God bless you".

When people ask my why I do this I often have trouble answering. To be fair its stupid; leaving the comfort of your home, all your friends and family for a few months of physical torture and discomfort. Well, these past few days in Ukraine may help you to understand...

About 20kms into Ukraine I got a puncture, as I was repairing it by the side of the road this local geezer rolled up.

 Got chatting to him in very broken Russian, the guy was so happy that an Englishman was cycling in his country, it was quite heart warming. Within ten minuites of meeting me he'd invited me back to his house to stay the night and drink some vodka. Unfortunatly I needed to get a few more kms under my belt before I stopped so I declined his kind offer. I did, however, have a drink from his 'water' bottle. As soon as I unscrewed the lid I could tell it wasn't water, some Shane McGowen-esque mix of hard liquor, still took a swig though. For the glory of Great Britain ;).

A few kms down the road my shoddy puncture repair gave out, the tube was ripped so I decided to stick a new tube in. Somehow while I was doing this I managed to get in a water fight with a few local girls ;). Ukranian ladies, very easy on the eye. Eventually I managed to get the puncture fixed and get back on the road. I think I managed about another 15 miles before the next encounter.

I was sitting outside a shop enjoying one of the simple pleasures in life, crusty bread and camembert when this motley crew crossed the road to come and chat to me. As you can see a few of the group were a bit worse for wear.

Yeah, no prizes for guessing whats in the cup. The guy on my left was hammered, in this picture I'm actually holding him up. While I was there he must have fell over about a dozen times. Fairplay to the lad though he was still drinking and smoking like a trooper. The only guy who spoke any English was the guy taking the picture. He kept pointing at his drunk mates and saying 'people are good..'.

Anyway after a good hour toasting international relations between Ukraine and Great Britain I left the group and headed off up the road to find a motel. Every time I leave the road and try and pitch my tent I get eaten alive by mosquitos, its not even funny, so I've been staying in Motels along the E101. They're pretty cheap so its not a problem.

I can't remember where I stayed that night, I think it was somewhere near Baturyn. I didn't get to the motel until 10pm and by that time the vodka was catching up with me so I hit the sack pretty quick.

The next day I woke up pretty early with a mild hangover. The good weather had deserted me and the rain was coming down by the bucketload. Still what you gonna do, ring your mommy and cry down the phone? So I chucked my waterproof on and hit the road.

After about 25 miles I saw two guys on a horse and cart, they were waving at me and shouting, so I waved back and carried on. About 1km down the road I stopped and they caught up with me. 

More friendly people! Got the map out and showed them my route, had a bit of a chat over a smoke and a cheeky 11am vodka.

The party never stops in Ukraine! I'll be surprised if I don't come back from this trip with some liver damage.

That night I made it to a place called Kipti, its on the junction where the M02 meets the M01 before the road heads south to Kiev. By this point I was off the map, reasoning that there must be a motel at the point where two main roads meet, right? Wrong.
I pushed my bike around the village for about half an hour before I decided to ask one of the locals if they knew anywhere I could camp. I'd heard of Ukranian hospitality but what followed was unbelievable.

I asked this guy if he knew anywhere I could camp. Within 5 minuites I was in his house with a cup of tea and some hot food, within 10 minuites he'd made a phone call to one of his friends and found me a place to pitch my tent, in a local wood. His wife even filled all the water bottles on my bike and gave me a blanket because she was worried I'd be cold! Now flip the situation and imagine a Ukranian cyclist in the UK... like I said we could learn a lot.

Spooky!

I left early the next morning, Kipti to Kiev is around 100kms. I took this picture at Kipti looking back down the road. Going by the signs its 900kms from Moscow to Kiev.

So yesterday after about 6 hours pedaling...

I love it when a plan comes together....

So I'll be spending today in Kiev, I'm stopping at a Hostel in the centre. I've got a lot of admin to do but If I've got time I'll post an update on here tonight when I've seen a few of the sights. Feel free to drop me a comment or e-mail and I'll respond tonight.

“Advertising has us chasing cars and clothes. Working jobs we hate, so we can buy shit we dont need.” - Chuck Palahniuk, Fight Club