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Start: Yaroslavl, Russia
End: Rybinsk, Russia
Distance: 90.5km
Elevation Gain: 1699ft
Elevation Loss: 1489ft
Time: 6h04m
Reading Material:A World at Arms: A Global History of World War II – Gerhard L. Weinberg
Audio Material: Marketplace; Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me; Stuff You Should Know

Description
Today begins the final ~900km push on to St. Petersburg.

A straight ride up P151 to Rybinsk. Decent pavement except for a 2km stretch on the outskirts of Yaroslavl which was recently stripped in preparation for road work. Grooved pavement is probably one of the least bike friendly surfaces I’ve encountered.

Stopped in the town of Tutayev and visited the exquisitely beautiful Church of the Resurrection. Tutayev is a single town located on both sides of the Volga but without a bridge. To get to the other side of the town, you either need a boat or travel 40km to Yaroslavl or Rybinsk. There were several interesting cathedrals and towers on the opposite bank from me but figuring out how to flag a private ferry with the bicycle seemed too complicated. I admired them from across the river and spent my time in the church I could reach.

Simple ride into Rybinsk — a town probably most famous for being at the confluence of the Volga at ancient times and, thanks to Stalin, on the shores of the Rybinsk “Sea”. The Sea was formed in 1941 by the creation of a huge hydroelectric dam. At the time, it was the largest man-made body of water in the world. Today, the power output of the dam is minimal and the ecological damage debated, not to mention the 150,000 displaced people and nearly 633 villages which lie under the water. I’ll be getting an up close view as I travel up the eastern shoreline the next two days to Cherepovets.

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Start: Suzdal, Russia
End: Ivanovo, Russia
Distance: 84.5km
Elevation Gain: 1273ft
Elevation Loss: 1239ft
Time: 5h31m
Reading Material:Leningrad: The Epic Siege of World War II, 1941-1944 – Anna Reid
Audio Material: Marketplace; On The Media; Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me; Nerdist (Tig Notaro interview)

Description
Left the picturesque golden domes of Suzdal for the gritty textile city of Ivanovo. The merciful dark clouds and resulting cooler temps (hovering around a pleasant 75F) made for easy (if not overly exciting) riding on the motorway.

At several locations, passed men on the side of the rood selling assortments of industrial-sized samovars, gramophones and fake landscapes. I presume geared to the Muscovites on family holiday through the Golden Ring looking for a slice of pastoral Russia?

Ivanovo was the center of Russia’s textile industry and its history is closely intertwined with early worker strikes, revolts and possibly the first example of a local soviet before the Bolshevik revolution. The city seems on hard times since the last textile factories closed in 2000, however it has multiple universities and is trying to rebrand itself as a “City of Youth” — even qualifying as a contestant for the title of European Capital of Youth 2015. From my vantage point, however, I just saw lots of cars and a city grid where nearly every sub road was unpaved and potholed.

Tomorrow, I get back to the pastoral and meet up with the Volga.