Home » Russia » Some days in the life of a Siberian Cyclist (5000 km through a Siberian winter)

Awakening an hour before dawn to the sound of a digital alarm clock located in the layer between my 2 wooly hats, I remember where I am. A thousand kilometers from the nearest city, and (besides my fellow Siberian cyclist, Al) probably over 50 km from the nearest human being. Our tent sits in an icicle shrouded forest, half way across a vast glacial valley which stretches and winds its way westwards to the plains of Yakutia.

Some days in the life of a Siberian Cyclist (5000 km through a Siberian winter)

Rob Lilwall
2007-12-01 14:29:16

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and blizzardy range of coastline mountains, out of which we descended to catch a glimmering hope filled sight of the port of Vanino.

From here, a ferry took us across the sea to the oil rich island of Sakhalin, which lies just north of Japan, where we recuperated for a few days under the kind hospitality of an old school friend Alexis Fletcher... and then, before we knew it, we were wheeling the bikes into Russia's final bureaucratic obstacle - passport control. The passport official scrutanised my photo and face unusually carefully and then let me through with a serious nod. A few minutes later, as we headed for the ferry, Al and I chuckled as we realized that we had accidentally got our passports mixed up with one another... we had raced our bodies to the limit in order to stay within the strict parameters of our visa, all so that an official could let us out of the country with the wrong passport!!

I suppose this illustrates one of the most ridiculous and frustrating aspects of the New Russia - the Russia which still has not shaken off some of the most dehumanizing aspects of the Soviet Union - the desire of officialdom to drown and control people through power, fear and paperwork. With the old regime gone, fear and power have become the playthings of the ubiquitous mafia, whilst the paperwork mega-machine continues to exist - incompetent and stubborn and determined to stifle all creativity and enterprise. Several people we met expressed that they believe it will take two whole generations before Russia will be free from this haunting past

Finally, I must emphasise how grateful I am towards all the wonderful Russian people who helped us on our way through the last 5000 cold and difficult kilometers. I am profoundly challenged by such kindness - can I ever learn to be so generous myself?

...and now suddenly, a quick 5 hour ferry journey later, here we are in Japan, enjoying the hospitality of some big hearted Catholic nuns, and the extraordinary comfort of Japanese hot tubs (as opposed to 2 showers a month if we were lucky in Siberia) and electronically warmed toilet seats (as opposed to a minus 35 outdoor squat loo!!). Over dinner on our first night, my head swirls as the conversation breaks between French, English and Japanese, and all the while I keep beginning my sentences in Russian. It may take a few days to get used to it, but I think Japan is going to be fun!!

Many, many thanks to all those people who have supported me so far with wonderful encouraging emails and prayers. Also, for all the amazingly generous contributions to work of Viva Network - I've now just passed the 1000 pound mark on my effort to raise 10,000. One of the big reasons I'm doing this ride is to help the really amazing work which Viva Network do for street children and children at risk around the world... please do spare a thought for them if you are wanting to give to a charity this Christmas.
www.justgiving.com/cyclinghomefromsiberia (you can give very quickly online at this site, and it will automatically do gift aid for you too... you can also see how much I've raised so far).