World Tour 2005 - Ukraine

Ukraine

05-21 Same day! Now the Ukrainian border. Have to pay again because I don't have the exit stamp from Moldova. It's not even their country but they insist. OK here is the $10 again.

The train comes into Odessa station. Looot of people on the platform. It's a stampede. They rush into the train by the 4 doors and windows. They want a seat. We are still inside. WOW! Finally I go through all these people with my bike. Re-enter again to get my bags. Lost nothing. Nothing broken. My first impression of the country is not that good. Cycle to the "Passazh". Odessa's best budget hotel which was once it's grandest. The inside is a bit shabby but the structure is grandiose. Lot of marble and columns. $10/night (but no hot water)

It's only 1 o'clock. I walk 10 min. I'm in front of the Opera & Ballet Theater. Yeh! ballet tomorrow. Ticket : $2 incredible. The city is really nice and warm. Walk along the boulevards and seaport. Have dinner at "Fidel-Havana Club". It's like the best outside cafe on "Les Champs Elisee". The food is really good. But you come here not only to feed your stomach. But to feed your eyes. The street is closed to traffic. It's for watching people. I would say "women". It's "La Riviera" or "Hollywood" for the Russian elite.

I'm going to stay a few days. Did some shopping. Vodka, caviar. It's cheap. WHAT A DAY!

05-22 They have an Internet cafe in the hotel. Wow! Big flat screens and the best speed I've seen in Europe up to now. Have to go to the ballet. It's at noon.... I'm very lucky for the shows. The ballet is Chaykovskiy's Shchelkunchik. Hum! In English "Nutcracker". Right after I go to the beach. 30 min by bus to Arcadia. Crowded. The water is clean. Back to Odessa. Not as many people as yesterday strolling on the streets. Have dinner at the restaurant next to Fidel : McDonald. They have a terrace as well.

05-23 Bureaucracy! Took me 5 hours and two trips to the train station to get a ticket for tomorrow. The lady at the ticket window was making 2 or 3 tickets and taking a 10 min brake every time. At the information window the other lady answered me with a loud "niet" when I asked if she spoke English. And for every question you much pay some money. I saw the three persons in front of me paying. And it's the same at other information counters across Ukraine. Wow! Another racket! I hope it's not going to be like that in every communist country. But I found a nice person to help me when it came time to ask for my special piece of luggage : the bike. So going to Simferopol. From there I'll start cycling around Ukraine.

05-24 Waiting for the train. No special wagon for luggage. When there is no such car you can take your bike inside for an arbitrary fee set by the coach conductor. I hate that. Another racket. So removed the wheels to fit the bike in the overhead compartment beside my couchette

05-25 21 hrs of train. Long but not so bad. Staying here (Simferopol) for the night. Will start early tomorrow. Direction : a beach near Sevastopol.

05-26 My best day ever. 112.5 Km for a total of 1202 km. Started a 7:00AM and stopped around 6:00 PM . Sevastopol : nothing to see. Not even worth a picture. So down to the coast where I camp. My first swim into the Black Sea. The water is crystal clear. So, why Black Sea?

05-27 My toughest day ever. Same hours as yesterday but only 65.3 km . Sometimes 2 km in one hour. I was walking and pushing the bike. 100m and resting 2 minutes. Sometimes 55 km/hr downhill on the brakes. Dangerous. Too many hills. But made it to Yalta.

05-28/29/30 Yalta : very nice city. I'll stay a few days. A problem this morning. My shoes were a bit smelly so I put them outside by the window. In the morning, no shoes. Had to buy a new pair. Trying to visit a school but school vacation starts the day after tomorrow. Hey, their summer vacation is 13 weeks long !

05-31 Hey! I'm still in Yalta. Met some teachers this morning at a school. Probably will go again tomorrow. Everyday I enjoy swimming. Very nice city and cheap and people are friendly. I could live here.

06-01 Already June. But I'm on schedule. Visit a school in the suburb of Yalta. Met the principal and have a talk with some students (12th graders). Interesting. But tomorrow I'm moving on. By bus to Feodosia. Only hills between here and there and not small.

06-02 I'm in Feodosia. Something is missing ......? The sun. My last rainy day was in France.

06-03 Feodosia. The sun is back. Still a bit fresh but it's only 8:00 AM. Yes 8:00 I got up early and it seems that this Internet place is open 24/24. Back from Koktebel. The beaches aren't that good. Overrated! Getting ready for the Arabatskaja Strielka. A 120km long sand spit just east of Crimea. So a 134 km ride for tomorrow (Feodosia-Strelkovoe). Am I going to be able to do that in 1 day? There is absolutely nothing on the way. Only wild nature with the sea on both side.

06-04 Written on 06-06 Back to the world of the Internet. Made it! Made it!. Left at 6:00AM . That was a tough ride. When I said not much that was true. Not even trees. Only grass. And what a road! Sand and bumpy with light front wind. Did the 138 km in 11 hr. Couldn't even stop for brakes. Too many flies and mosquitoes. Had to set up the tent quickly at lunch time to shield me inside. More drinking water would have been fine. So total 1413 km.

06-05 Not too tired. So did 113.3 km. Stopped about 25 km before Melitopol. Camped. Didn't sleep much. Soaked again.

06-06 Did 113.2 km Hey! My average is going up. Find a cheap room in Vasilivka. My right hand small finger is a bit numb.

06-07 Only 82 km today! Made it to Zaporizhzhya. Find only an expensive hotel but need a good rest and a hot shower. They even charged me for the parking of my vehicle (bike). But has TV with satellite channels and the breakfast is buffet style. Visit of the Cossack Museum on Khortytsia Island. Today problem with two fingers !? Vibrations of the bike ?!

06-08 Finally reach Dnepropetrovsk. Took the decision : THE BIKE PART OF MY TRAVEL IS OVER. I have two friends here. A young Ukrainian couple. They are helping me selling my bike. I'll stay a few days. They are cyclists as well. I met them on the road about 2 weeks ago.
A few reasons for the switch :
1. Camping - Everywhere in Europe when I camp everything get completely soak during the night. Humidity is maybe higher over here. And when the sleeping bag is wet you freeze.
2. I thought that using a bike I would have the chance to meet more people . Nada. Wrong.
3. Save money - Not much. When I have to put the bike in a bus or train I have to pay extra here in Eastern Europe (In France it is free). In hotels I have to pay extra to store the bike or use the parking !!
4. And what I mainly wanted to do by bike, France and Ukraine, is done.
5. And since 3 or 4 days I have a small problem with 2 fingers. Too much vibrations? My average distance last week was over 100 km/day.

06-09/10 The bike is sold. Here in Eastern Europe you can buy mountain bikes for cheap. Sold my $700 US bike for $200 . With that money I buy a nice backpack. I give the tent & sleeping bag and all the accessories to my two friends. Final score: 1822 KM

06-11 Birthday party in the countryside. The family of my friends.

06-12 By train from now on. I'm in Kiev. Heavy rain since yesterday. And from now on it's going to rain almost every other day until I take the TransSiberian from Moscow. Lucky I sold the bike.

06-13 Kiev - The sun is back. Visited a looooot of churches and the catacombs. Really special.

06-14/15 Lviv - Nice city. More churches. My last city in Ukraine. Leaving this evening by bus to Krakow (Poland).

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