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Day 43: Kaluga, Russia to Obninsk, Russia

Start: Kaluga, Russia
End: Obninsk, Russia
Distance: 78.6km
Elevation Gain: 1574ft
Elevation Loss: 1631ft
Time: 5h26m
Reading Material:Ukraine: A History, 4th Edition – Orest Subtelny
Audio Material: Diane Rehm Friday News Roundups; Marketplace; Game Theory podcast (hiatus episode)

Description
Remember about two weeks ago when I sang the praise of my Schwalbe tires? Yeah, as expected, the rear one blew out today.

The beginning of the ride was wonderful. Overcast skies kept temps comfortable; Sunday traffic out of Kaluga was light and the first 40km was on smooth, almost track like surfaces. Then, a loud “pop!” Rear tire suffered a full blow out. On inspection, the treads had starting pulling away from the wire bead. I replaced the tube hoping the tire would hold even though there was a definite bulge. Unfortunately, another 20km up the road (this time on the busy motorway) the tube exploded. Gear guru Sheldon Brown explains that this type of problem can be temporarily fixed by covering the rip but since I’m carrying a folding spare, I just swapped that out (very carefully watching out for large trucks on the small shoulder). Will need to go rubber shopping in Moscow.

Lucky timing as the threatening skies opened up with a big thunderstorm about 10 minutes later. By the time I reached Obninsk there were small rivers running down the motorway and traffic had stopped as the cars slowly navigated the water. I hid under a gas station awning with a large convoy of motorcyclists (evidently, there’s a big bike rally this weekend somewhere near here) trying to get my bearings. Found a place to stay the night where I’ll keep dry until making my final assault to Moscow tomorrow — along the same road which Napoleon made his hasty exit from Moscow if Wikipedia can be believed.

While I probably won’t venture out, Obninsk is famous as the home of the world’s first production-scale nuclear plant, opened in 1954. The city was built to house technical workers for the plant and has evolved into one of the premier Russian science cities.

Day 42: Belyov, Russia to Kaluga, Russia

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Start: Belyov, Russia
End: Kaluga, Russia
Distance: 98.9km
Elevation Gain: 2669ft
Elevation Loss: 2560ft
Time: 7h05m
Reading Material:Ukraine: A History, 4th Edition – Orest Subtelny
Audio Material: Nerdist (Paul Feig interview); Russia – The Wild East – BBC/Martin Sixsmith; Diane Rehm

Description
Bugs! The bugs in Russia are way more intense than anywhere else on the tour. In addition to swarms of flies which encase me in a bubble, I am now getting stung by large horseflies who know exactly which part of your shoulder blade it is impossible to reach while riding. Most pernicious are the suckers who find a way inside my shirt. Due to the heat, I’m usually riding with my shirt mostly unzipped. Twice bugs (a bee and a horsefly) have hit me at high speed and then become stuck in my shirt. They like to sting as they tumble around and I flail wildly. Must look interesting to the passing drivers.

Passed a nature preserve and got some good open landscape views before having to join up with the motorway again. Drank 1.5L of water and nearly 2L of apple juice (heat is not abating). Learned a new trick from Andrew yesterday. Most rural Russia villages have multiple communal water pumps along the road. The water is probably safe to drink (though, often has a slight metallic taste). But, more importantly: it’s cold! Frequent water pump showers are a great way to keep cool while riding.

For lunch I was joined by a pack of hungry and hot dogs looking for handouts. They had such sad faces but I didn’t have nearly enough extra banana to go around so decided to let them fend for themselves.

Kaluga is another medium-sized Russia city (~300,000 pop). Historically, the city served as a choke point for attacking Napoleon troops in retreat. But, more recently, it has become the center of Russia’s automobile industry. And, Kaluga was the home of Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, widely credited as the father of rocket science who published theoretical articles on space propulsion as early as 1881 (also, strange philosophical articles on futurism and eugenics). An eccentric recluse who lived on the outskirts of town, he taught mathematics and generally confused normal people. It is claimed that Tsiolkovsky was the inspiration for the Aeolia Schenberg character on Mobile Suite Gundam.

Day 41: Oryol, Russia to Belyov, Russia

Day 40: Zheleznogorsk, Russia to Oryol, Russia

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Start: Zheleznogorsk, Russia
End: Oryol, Russia
Distance: 101.0km
Elevation Gain: 2568km
Elevation Loss: 2774ft
Time: 8h14m
Reading Material:Ukraine: A History, 4th Edition – Orest Subtelny
Audio Material: This American Life; Fresh Air; EconTalk

Description
Hit the wall for real today for the first time. I’ve had this happen to me before on long day rides at home but not yet on this tour. By noon, temperatures were hitting 101 degrees F. I’m still traveling along a major motorway which isn’t the best for morale. There were several work crews paving sections of the road (got some fresh asphalt riding) and multiple times I had cars who were traveling slowly around the crews talk to me through open windows and offer some words on encouragement. About 40km into the ride, I had to battle a long climb. A few kms up the road, I found a cafe to rest, ordered some food and then just crashed. Wasn’t really able to think straight and just sat for a long while slowly eating my soup and fried rice concoction trying to get my body temp to go down. Eventually the food (and 1.5L of apple juice) kicked in and I started feeling better.

Ideally, I wanted to reach Oryol but that was another 60km and if I had to battle the oppressive heat for 5 more hours, I didn’t think I would make it. Started back on my way and, within an hour, the wind picked up and the skies started darkening. Rolling thunder over the horizon. Usually these are ominous signs but I was excited: thunderstorms mean cold fronts!

Big bolts of lightning as I passed through the tiny town of Kromy. And, then the rain. “Oh, the water!” I immediately cooled down and even though I probably could have found shelter, just decided to ride on to Oryol. The city is pretty big (~300,000 pop) and the sprawled metro area took about 10km to reach the city center along with the rest of the bumper-to-bumper traffic. Passed several shacks which looked flooded from the rain and the shoulders were covered with 3-4 inches in several places that I got to wade through.

Brought my bedraggled self to a hotel. Met a man outside who showed me his bicycle glove hand tan lines as a sign of solidarity. Turns out his name is Andrei (Andrew) and he is a journalist with a local city newspaper/web portal. After a shower and some food, I was interviewed by Andrei, his friend and a translator about my trip for their paper. I think I caused a stir in the local bike community and plans were made for an official group escort when I leave. With multiple long days in a row, I’m well ahead of schedule, so decided to spend an extra day to rest here. Will meet up with my new friends tomorrow for a local tour of the city by bike and then will ride off in my parade on Friday morning.