Butterflies and Flat Tyres

I have now been in Irkutsk for 11 days and things at first went from bad to worse. I was towed here by an amazing Russian couple who found me on the road. We had a great adventure getting to Irkutsk together and I was very sad when they left…

I have now spent a week in Irkutsk and although it is a nice city and the church people have made me feel very very welcome I not only do not want to overstay my welcome but I desperately want to get back on the road. I should be collecting…

My dad on his adventure biking trip in South Africa back in the 80s, and people wonder where I get it from 🙂 At 80 (now 82, 2012) and still on a bike 🙂 My brother Anthony (ant) when he got his new bike a few years ago. My newphew Mathew…

what a day … spoke to the mechanic who said bike is fine he fixed the hole in the radiator and now it is ok. I am VERY worried as I know about the hole and have been toping Dizzys radiator every day and trying to limp him to a…

 We finally set off to find a truck to take the Dizzy to Irkutsk to a mechanic. Well again no luck the drivers are just not having any of it, so once again we must tow Dizzy the now last 100km to the city. Uuuggghhh I hate this part but…

Joans cousins live on lake Baikal in a very small village and in a very traditional Russian house. I fall in love with them instantly they are fantastic. We arrive with no prior warning as Joan does not have their telephone number, at 10:30pm Kolya and Valaria are overjoyed to…

It’s fun riding with another bike again and we stop at lake Baikal for a swim and park the bikes right on the pebble stone beach  (DAMN it’s freezing so I wussed out and just got my feet wet) Hope back on the bikes and about 15km later Dizzy just…

Dizzy and I head off and I feel great again, I just love riding this and am once again happy and content but beginning to feel like I am in Groundhog Day and cannot get of Russia as the Km crawl slowly by. I do about 650 or so km…

So much has happened since my last blog I do not even know where to start so I will go back to the hotel that reluctantly let me stay. Since I was so panicked about my visa situation and the hotel not wanting me to stay I could hardly sleep…

This leads (I have no idea how but it does) to my eating habits while on the road. My last 3 dinners have consisted of 1) a tin of sardines and a packet of strawberry biscuits 2) a cup of jasmine tea and an apple 3) a bag of almonds…