Ukraine

I set my alarm on my phone to wake me up at five so I could ride into Lviv as early as possible this morning. However a combination of total exhaustion from the day before coupled with the early morning darkness and cold meant that it wasn't long before I'd thrown that plan out of the window.

I did manage to get out on the road at around six thirty and started the forty or so kilometres ride to the small city of Lviv. It's my last stop on what has been a rather whistle stop tour of the country; I've been here almost two weeks now. I've been told by many people that it's a place full of charm and certainly worth a couple of days visit.

I arrived in the city later than I planned slap bang in the middle of early morning rush hour traffic. If this wasn't bad enough part of Lviv's charm I suppose is in it's medieval stone cobbled streets; a complete nightmare for my poor bike. I tried my best to negotiate the wheels over the surface but in the end had to give in when faced with a steep climb into the city itself and up and around some hairpin like corners.

Lviv isn't a big city, in fact I'd say it's more of a large town and my first impressions were very good. Lots of stunning old buildings mixed in with impressive churches; it does to a certain extent feel like stepping back in time. By this point I'd decided that the best course of action was to push the bike through the streets as I was following GPS instructions. Not only did I have to contend with traffic and cobbled paving but Lviv also has trams another total disaster for thin bike tires.

I eventually came to the hostel I'd located online, The Kosmonaut. I haven't stayed in a hostel for a while but a quick Internet search brought up a number of options in Lviv. I chose this one primarily on the basis that many people said that it has the friendliest staff in the whole of Lviv.
The unfortunate thing however for me was that it's located on the 3rd floor of a building which meant lugging my bike upstairs for the first time in a while. I checked in very early and my first impressions of the place are very good, apparently it recently underwent some renovation work and certainly looks good value for money at just over six pounds a night. I naturally went for the cheapest option the eight bed mixed dorm. Part of my reason for coming and staying in a hostel was that it's been a while since I interacted with fellow travellers so you can imagine my slight disappointment when I realized that I was in fact the only person staying here. Every cloud though and it did mean that I have the whole of a large room all to myself.

One of the great joys of staying in a apartment or hostel is getting into the shower and the shower in the I'm glad to report is excellent.
My original plan was to stay here for one day but by the time I'd showered and shaved and made a cup of tea it was already lunch time. I was still feeling a bit on the tired side when I stepped out into the midday sun to take a walk around the city.

This is the problem when you arrive somewhere by bike I'm more often than not pretty tired after riding and the next thing I know I have to get out and about and see the city.

I have a small book, well two in fact where I do all of my planning. The first book is pretty much in pieces but the second one is surviving pretty well. I take it everywhere with me and it contains plans, routes, road numbers and distances. After consulting the Internet I realize it's about 350 kilometres to Krakow in Poland and that realistically I can expect to be in the Mnichovo Hradiste in the Czech Republic to meet my good friend Kauli s I planned on the 31st of August; although there is some talk of him coming and riding with me a bit when I cross over the border from Poland. I have a little bit of time to play with so I figure if I stay here an extra day it won't make any difference.

I'm a real planner when it comes to the daily riding and how far I go but put me in a city and I become the polar opposite. My way of sightseeing is to basically walk out onto the street and just go with the flow. I have a general idea of where the main sites are and just go from there. I'm terrible for remembering the names of the buildings or statues I take pictures of but everyone has their own way of seeing a place.

I walked up the hill in the city which leads to a nice park. I was surprised when I got up to the top but also pleased in some way to see that not many people had bothered to come up here and it was wonderfully quiet. I met a couple of Polish guys who rode over the border from Poland today and are doing a mini tour of Ukraine.

I was seriously tired when I finally decided to head back to the hostel around four. I picked up some shopping from a small shop nearby and as the hostel has a small kitchen plan to do a bit of cooking later on in the evening.

I'm still alone in the hostel but it's enabled me to catch up on my blog which is never a bad thing. Well that is all you are getting for now as I'm tired and need some 'Paul time' Until we meet again...........

Today was another long yet productive day on two wheels. I was desperate to find a gas station in the morning so I could check all the football scores and download the podcast reaction to all the games. I wish I hadn't, Liverpool lost 3-0!

It always seems that I make some very mundane observations about my daily rides but I hope that others may find them interesting in a somewhat quirky way. Today I came across the future of petrol stations. I'd seen these stations before but only in cities and therefore never needed to go in. It's a petrol station run by a company from Azerbaijan. They are very striking from the outside, clear, smooth rounded surfaces with beautiful dark glass windows. I swear I'm not going over the top here but they really look more like that of a space station as opposed to a petrol station. I even felt bad when I went inside; I just rolled out of some field carrying a little bit of dirt I guess and probably not looking the best and suddenly here I am inside this wonderfully sleek interior, all white and more importantly sparkling clean. If anyone is riding in this part of the world look out for them they are called 'Socar'

NASA inspired gas stations in Ukraine.

It was here that I also met the station manager Voller who spoke near flawless English. He explained to me that since the country was awarded Euro 2012 a lot of things such as roads and services have improved. He seemed almost slightly embarrassed when I told him that it was the nicest gas station I've encountered in over 12,000 kilometres.

However that comes at a cost and it's a tad more expensive than it's competitors but the chocolate croissant and doughnut I devoured for breakfast were first rate.

I'm not sure the cleaning lady quite shared Voller's enthusiasm in seeing me as I headed off to the immaculately clean toilet with my wash bag and ragged old towel under my arm. As soon as I left she was in there like a shot to remove any dirt I'd left behind!

I've been told that the further West one goes in Ukraine the more European or to be more specific Polish things become. As I mentioned yesterday the scenery has changed quite significantly and the stronger Russian influence in the East is gradually being replaced.

Heading West but the Orthodox churches remain as spectacular as ever.

I met a very interesting local guy at around 130km. The first thing I should say about him is that he bore a striking resemblance to the character Hannibal Lecter minus the crazy face mask you understand. Despite the fact that he was riding an extremely old rickety bike he seemed determined to keep pace with me. He spoke very good English and as we rode side by side he informed me that he lived in the US previously for twenty five years. He was a really interesting guy, if somewhat slightly eccentric. In the brief time we spent riding together I found out he worked construction in the States and also worked in casinos in Las Vegas, he was now a beekeeper.

As hard as I tried I still couldn't shake the Hannibal thing and rather bizarrely it seemed to influence the way I answered his questions. He was off to see a concert at a nearby church and asked if I'd like to go with him. When I declined his invitation he asked where do I usually sleep; I answered in a field and then quickly changed my response to “but tonight I'll be in a motel” Paranoia was really beginning to take over, he was friendly enough but his almost identical appearance to that of the feared, yet fictional serial killer was enough for me to set my mind racing. After about five kilometres riding together he turned off and wished me good luck on my way but perhaps it was just my imagination but I could swear there was a small glint in his eye!

I pushed on into the early evening and by the time I stopped just after 190km I was totally beat. I was at the point where I didn't really care where I slept and some tall trees lining the road gave me the perfect camouflage from the traffic on the road. I just about summoned the energy to put up the tent, inflate the mattress and boil up some hot water for the instant mash potato I purchased earlier in the day before crashing out for the night.

The sun comes up much later in the morning these days which makes getting out of bed or the tent in this case much harder. My new sleeping mattress went down a treat and just made it even harder to drag myself out of my shelter to pack up the bike. It's also much colder in the morning now and the days of packing up while just wearing my shorts as the sun beat down upon me seem to be well and truly long gone; now it's all about layers and warming myself up for the day ahead.

Once again the road was great today and I'm finding myself riding through more forest now as opposed to vast open fields; it makes a nice change.
The weather picked up later on in the day and I was able to dispense with the jacket and revert back to my t-shirt.

Ukraine has lots of these designated sites which are great for stop at and having a rest or even just taking a stupid picture of oneself.

Again I hope it doesn't seem like I'm writing much less these days but not a lot happens to be quite honest. I just continue picking up my right leg and follow it with my left and do this for a good eight hours or so. The pace is good but certainly not strenuous.

I did meet a couple of really friendly policeman on my ride today. They were doing their routine speed checks and flagged me down. It was clear they hadn't stopped me for breaking the speed limit but they were just interested in why someone would be riding a bicycle through their country.
It's funny when I meet locals one of the first questions they seem to ask is “Have you had any trouble from the police?” And the simple answer is no. I think if memory serves me correctly I've only been asked for my passport twice; once in China where it was taken into the police station to be checked and once by a soldier as I neared the Uzbekistan border in Kazakhstan. It's interesting how we have a natural tendency to look upon the police with a certain level of mistrust. I usually give them a small tip of the head as I pass and as I say I've not experienced any problems.

I spent a lot of the day thinking about the upcoming football season. It doesn't matter how old I get I still get that tingle of excitement before the big kick off although the wild optimism that used to accompany it has now I'm glad to say lessened. I debated whether I should try and stop and find a hotel for the night so that I could perhaps watch the football but then I remembered that I'm no longer in China and that there is now only a two hour difference between here and the UK and I no longer need to stay up until ten at night to catch a game.

I once again found myself a nice field for the night overlooking a nice valley. I'm about 220km from Lviv I guess and if I really wanted to push it I suppose I could make it there tomorrow. However my plan is to probably ride about 180 and then arrive early on Monday morning but as I've come to realize on this trip I'll get there when I get there, it's as simple as that.

As per usual when I stay at somebody’s house I always plan for an early start but this never ever materializes. I woke up this morning around eight thirty and noticed a cup of tea next to my bed, I mean really you don't get service like this even in a hotel, spoiled rotten.

Natalie was not only kind enough to escort me from her apartment to the correct road for Zhytomyr but also drove to the nearby hardware superstore where she picked up some extra fuel for my stove.

There isn't too much to report these days whilst riding but I do have to say that the roads in Ukraine are very very good. You can always guarantee though when the road is good then the wind will turn against you which once again seemed to be the case today.

My favourite roadside restaurant in Ukraine, is it Topw? or Topuy? Whatever it is it serves up top notch food.

I'm a little concerned about the weather. I'm a typical Brit when the weather is very hot it's 'too hot' but now there has been a drop in the temperature and the odd drop of rain it's 'too cold' We are a hard bunch to please. I've been told though that this weather is pretty uncommon for this time of the year and that the warm weather should return. I sincerely hope so as I'm not quite ready to wave goodbye to the summer just yet.

Yes that is a rocket

I was well stocked for my ride with a whole assortment of goodies which meant I didn't have to bother stopping during the day and despite the fact that I left around eleven I was still able to make good ground and reach Zhytomyr by the end of the day.

I met a very helpful local truck driver at the gas station who noticing me consulting my GPS directed me the right way to Rivne.

According to this Paris is just 1949km away although I've planned for a little more

Ukraine has plenty forest lining the roads which makes wild camping very easy. I found a lovely little spot not far off the road and deep in amongst the trees. It's been a while since I had fuel for my stove so I made the most of it by firing it up for a nice evening brew.

I was also looking forward to sleeping on my new inflatable mattress so kindly given to me by Yuri.

Well short entry today folks as not much happening, hoping to make near to Rivne tomorrow about 200km away.

I decided to stay an extra day in Kiev, I didn't feel as if I'd really seen all of what I wanted to see yesterday.

I was partly persuaded by a dinner the previous evening. As I mentioned in my last post Natalie's parents have just returned from their very own epic trip around Russia by train. Her mother Helena had prepared a special meal to celebrate their return. I had heard Yuri (her father) talking busily on the phone earlier that day and heard the words – velosiped (bicycle in Russian) and Kitay (China) uttered in excited tones. About half an hour before dinner was served Yuri's best mate also named Yuri turned up at the apartment. It turns out that Yuri is something of a keen cycle tourist himself having toured in England and Greece to name but two countries.

Helena served up what can only be described as a mammoth meal enough to feed fifty. Natalie spent most of the evening acting as a translator as both Yuri's fired different questions to me about my trip. Likewise I had many questions for Yuri and in particular about his time in England. He loved, by all accounts the English countryside but couldn't understand why angry farmers would come and usher him off their fields! Wild camping is far easier in this neck of the woods.

Yuri, Natalie's father had come to me before dinner and asked in a rather clandestine way if it would be possible for me to drink with them at dinner. I'm not sure why he felt the need to ask perhaps he thought I was in some way now this finely tuned Olympic sportsman who had totally abstained from alcohol consumption.

Ukraine like Russia and Kazakhstan before are very big into their 'toasts' I'd experienced this integral part of a meal way back in Almaty, Kazakhstan when I'd also been invited to toast a young lad on the occasion of his 16th birthday.

This time it was very much Yuri who was in charge of toasting. He produced a bottle of cognac and proceeded to fill both mine and Yuri's glasses. The first toast went to the 'travellers' at the table and by that Yuri meant me, Helena and his good self. Ten minutes later we were raising our glasses to Olga as she prepares for University. I managed to jump in with my very own toast third time around and thanked them for their hospitality and wished health and prosperity to the whole Ukrainian nation.

By now the cognac was flowing freely and the two Yuri's despite their age continued to fill their glasses with a kind of cheeky, youthful glee. Once the bottle was finished Yuri reached down for a bottle of vodka, Yuri two made no objection but the women of the room spoke up and it was promptly put back on the floor.......I'd escaped!

Yuri asked lots of questions about what equipment I have and if I'd had any problems, he was particularly interested in my sleeping mat and when I explained to him that it had a small hole in it which I'd thus far been unable to locate he promised to return the very next morning with a new one for me. I told him it really wasn't necessary but he insisted.

The 'boyz'

The evening was a roaring success and I went to bed stuffed full and with that warm feeling that only the contents of a bottle of cognac can produce.

When I awoke in the morning I finally decided and not due to a hangover I might add to stay an extra day.

I'd become intrigued by the story of the legendary football match that is said to have taken place in Kiev during the second world war, that of the so called 'death match' I won't go into the details as you can find them here on this Wikipedia link http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Death_Match The general story goes that a group of workers from the local bakery factory took on members of the German Luftwaffe in 1942 and beat them. The upshot of this was that members of the team were sent to prisoner of war camps and some of them were said to have been executed, although a German court of law found recently that there was no evidence of this. It is said that the game itself was part of the inspiration behind the Christmas holiday classic 'Escape to Victory'

The entrance to the Start stadium

The game has gathered something of almost mythical, legendary status amongst locals and the events are somewhat clouded.

I decided to pay a visit to the rather run down and neglected stadium of 'Start' or formerly Zenit Stadium. It was pretty derelict to say the least and had fallen into serious disrepair. There was a monument however erected near the entrance which is I assume is in memory of those brave and inspirational souls who lost their lives. According to Wikipedia it bears the inscription in Ukrainian:

For our beautiful presence
They fell in a fight
For ages your glory won't fade,
The fearless hero-athletes.

I was in full blown stadium overdrive mode at this point and from there I proceeded swiftly on the venue for the Euro 2012 final the Olympic Stadium. Unlike the stadium I visited a day earlier I was this time allowed to go and walk around the outside although the security guard was insistent that I leave my bike with him at the gate. It was a real shame to see that they actually run tours of the stadium but unfortunately these are carried out every weekday except Thursday.

Nevertheless I enjoyed my short stroll around the stadium and the small yet impressive museum next to the club shop.

It wasn't long after that that my decision to not leave Kiev today was fully justified as it began to pour down with rain. I was forced to take cover for a good half an hour under an archway.

Once the rain had cleared I set about ticking off the last of the things I wanted to see in Kiev. One of Kiev's most striking landmarks is that of the 'Mother of the Fatherland' statue which was erected as part of the museum of the Great Patriotic War from 1941-1945. It actually stands at over one hundred metres high. It seems that the monument divides opinion and I've been told is more popular with foreign visitors who see it as a symbol of Kiev. Some have argued that it's something of a monstrosity but I have to say while it's not the kind of thing you'd want in your back garden it's quite impressive all the same.

I was pleased that I'd managed to see a little bit more of Kiev. It's certainly a city that warrants much more time but isn't that the case for most places?

And one more thing.....Kiev and its homeless dog population.......at least these ones much preferred a nap as opposed to chasing myself and the bike saliva dripping from their teeth

Helena was waiting for me when I got back and despite the fact that it was four o'clock she still insisted on feeding me some Borsch, apparently she made a batch especially for me as news that I'd yet to sample 'real' Borsch had reached her. In Borsch terms it was certainly up there with the best.

Helena prepared one final supper for us and Yuri also returned in the evening with another map of the Ukraine. In typical male fashion he had managed to coincide his visit with the serving of dinner and was duly invited to stay.

Once again I've run out of superlatives to describe the hospitality shown to me. I learned some much from sitting around the kitchen table drinking endless cups of tea about life in the Ukraine both past and present. I once again cannot thank Natalie, Helena, Olga and of course the two Yuri's for making my time in Kiev a memorable one and of course how could I forget Brian the ferret.