Wow! Tailwiind all the way!Oh good point!
And all the way back, please.Wow! Tailwiind all the way!Oh good point!
Let us know how you get on - I assume it will be blogged?I might post on here while on the road, and I'll tweet #stzozi.
But there'll be less and less night the further we go. The Solovetsky Islands are about one degree south of the Arctic Circle, so when we're there sunrise is about 1 hr 45 mins after sunset.Let us know how you get on - I assume it will be blogged?I might post on here while on the road, and I'll tweet #stzozi.
The blogging will probably happen once back. I don't know, I always admired Deano who could post such wonderful blogs whilst on the road. Don't think I'll be able to do that. But I'll touch base on here with updates on how Salvatore and I are getting on. Don't think the walls of the tents will protect him from my night terrors, which I haven't told him about yet :).
Promises to be truly epic.Try this one: Bee Patrons (http://www.beekeeping.com.ua/html_en/zosym_en.html)
There's not much about St Zozimus and what there is, is inconsistent. According to this site (http://saints.sqpn.com/saint-zosimus-of-syracuse/) he was born about 570 in Syracuse, whereas Bartleby (http://www.bartleby.com/210/4/091.html) says he lived in the 5th century and doesn't mention Syracuse. No one says anything about bee keeping! Which is a shame.
So go on - how far is it?3300km, thereabouts. I was disappointed when I found out it was around the 3000km mark. For a long time this area was un-googleable, so it was 'far'. Now there is a limit, it's 'just over 2 LELs'.
[ferry crossings don't count!]
Do either of you speak any Russian?I got really into learning Russian for a while, but then these last 6 weeks, I've had less time and all my knowledge seems to have evaporated. I might do a bit of cramming before we go. Salvatore has been learning also.
Hold on a minute, aren't we forgetting something of vital importance here >:(
Two chums, leaving for foreign climes, yet in two pages of Bon Voyage, we have not even mentioned a beer related send off WHATSOEVER. :o
I find that quite disturbing and have decided something must be done about it. :smug:
H
If nothing else, that site explains why Andrij might get a bee in his bonnet!Promises to be truly epic.Try this one: Bee Patrons (http://www.beekeeping.com.ua/html_en/zosym_en.html)
There's not much about St Zozimus and what there is, is inconsistent. According to this site (http://saints.sqpn.com/saint-zosimus-of-syracuse/) he was born about 570 in Syracuse, whereas Bartleby (http://www.bartleby.com/210/4/091.html) says he lived in the 5th century and doesn't mention Syracuse. No one says anything about bee keeping! Which is a shame.
Fantastic!!
Have a great ride Salvatore & Swarm_Catcher. Never mind the bees, though, what about the midges?!
Looking forward to hearing all about it.
If you are going through Copenhagen - when do you think you'll be there? As I seem to spend most of my life in the area at the moment I'd love to hook up for dinner if we're there at the same time....Hi Liam,
Liam
Wow! Came across this quite by chance. What a wondeful trip. It sounds fantastic and can't wait to see photos / blogs etc+1 to the above from Charlie; came upon this by chance (OK, when I saw beer send off mentioned by Hummers ;)).
Bonne route!
Hold on a minute, aren't we forgetting something of vital importance here >:(
Two chums, leaving for foreign climes, yet in two pages of Bon Voyage, we have not even mentioned a beer related send off WHATSOEVER. :o
I find that quite disturbing and have decided something must be done about it. :smug:
H
Shouldn't that be "two pages of доброго пути"?
A good journey it should be "Die Buk".I used to visit Solovetsky Island a couple of times in the summer months it is a very special place ,you will find it very interesting and the monestary used to be a gulag! If you get the chance to stop over in Archangel you will have a good time and the peeva is great.zhaliyu vam schastya good luck
peevafred
a very special placeThat's the sense I get. We're going via Kem, so Archangel will be for another day.
a very special placeThat's the sense I get. We're going via Kem, so Archangel will be for another day.
It's not going to be a randonee nor a holiday. It's a pilgrimage.
Here is what Pavel Florensky had to say about Kem:
Pavel Florensky
October 13, 1934
Kem' is a disgusting city. Dirt everywhere, all grey, dull, sad, can't think of anything worse.
Please don't burst my bubble with 21th century reality checks ;)
Your bubble won't be burst.The whole area of is very interesting and you will meet interesting people who will be only too pleased to show you around . The coast of the White Sea (bela morya) is called Pomorye and the people Pomors . Although they are sometimes called treski yedi (cod eaters).The wooden houses and churches have been there for a few hundred years and are still in use. You should see Birch bark items and carvings(Shemogods) The Russian for Birch Bark is beresta I,m sorry that I am not computer savvy enough to get the Russian alphabet up.
You will have a very interesting time. O and did I mention the beer :D :thumbsup:
Pump? Toothpaste? Visa? Keys for when you get back home? To turn the oven off? To tell the bank you're going to be taking money out of cashpoints in foreign climes? To tell the National Library of Ireland to do their own photo research for a while? Sudocreme/Conotrane? Brooks tension adjustment thing? Spare SD cards (or equivalent) for camera? First aid kit? Russian/Finnish/Swedish/Danish phrase books? To cancel gym membership? Passport? Spoke key? Water purifying tablets? Flapjack?No, it's none of those. Els has my passport with a shiny Russian visa (or so I am led to believe).
All ready to go.Now I'm panicking ... . Will everything fit in the car! I said it would be a squeeze, but geeezz! We'll be sitting bolt upright, nose touching windscreen. And that might be the best scenario! I'll keep calm and carry on finishing my work.
What have I forgotten? (I *always* forget something.)
(http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5324/8790708253_ddd1d09deb_m.jpg) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/johnspooner/8790708253/)
ObligatoryYACFmeme: spork?Have the spork. The spork is lighter than the route sheet.
ObligatoryYACFmeme: spork?Have the spork. The spork is lighter than the route sheet.
Just seen this tread ::-)Saturday 1st is when we'll be there.
You will pass within 100 m of me nad my flat. I'll keep looking for you, please inform me if you want lunch and company
on the day you ride to Cph.
I live in Køge 40 km south of Cph.
All ready to go.
What have I forgotten? (I *always* forget something.)
And the answer is:(click to show/hide)
I couldn't find any for sale in that London this morning. I'll have to see if there are any in Belgium.
Just seen this tread ::-)Saturday 1st is when we'll be there.
You will pass within 100 m of me nad my flat. I'll keep looking for you, please inform me if you want lunch and company
on the day you ride to Cph.
I live in Køge 40 km south of Cph.
That day, we'll be setting off from camp site Tappernoje and Køge is about 35km in. It's one of our longer days at 176km, with 60km in Sweden. So an offer of company and helping us with finding lunch would be much appreciated!
Russians and Finns have beards. This is partly due to the razor blade shortage but also because their after shave is made of herrings.
Tailwinds to you!Your wish (or benediction, or whatever) has been granted (for the first 1.6% of the journey)
John Spooner @John_Spooner
TAILWIND thru Flanders. 50km done. #stzozi
Bought three eggs from a beekeeper this morning as we had no other food. Did a deal with John, he could have the last two cuppa soups.Did you know he has an egg antipathy? I think you could have negotiated harder.
swarm_catcher @swarm_catcher
Who said we'd get tailwind all the way? #stzozi
Wow! Tailwiind all the way!
Quoteswarm_catcher @swarm_catcher
Who said we'd get tailwind all the way? #stzoziWow! Tailwiind all the way!
Sorry Chris S - I've just reported you.
Bought three eggs from a beekeeper this morning as we had no other food. Did a deal with John, he could have the last two cuppa soups.Did you know he has an egg antipathy? I think you could have negotiated harder.
Russia! Palaver at the border, but eventually 1 lady and 2 men in big hats said I could come in. Now in posh DRY hotel. Stoziswarm_catcher
Milestone reached! We're in Russia, far from home and far from dry. #stzozi
And they are still together.True! When they cleared me to go through to Russia but brought out the men in big hats for John, I thought: "You can't separate us!"
And they are still together.True! When they cleared me to go through to Russia but brought out the men in big hats and rubber gloves for John, I thought: "You can't separate us!"
Had a really long day yesterday with a late start for getting John's back wheel fixed at bike shop. We now both have had a broken spoke. Good old John really wanted to stick to schedule, so we cycled till 11 pm, when we started to look for a wild camping spot. Did the ritual of setting up tent, settled for eating and the heavens opened. Thunder and lightening all night. Slept the worst of the whole trip. Set off in the rain this morning, getting a little too cold for comfort, but John and I spurred each other on. After all, it was border crossing day today! That meant only 60km also, as I envisaged queues and delays. I practically sailed through, but John needed the assistance of two officials in big hats with rubber gloves (again) before the women without a hat would stamp the stamp.
Now in hotel room with balcony perfect for drying tents on. There is cake tasting on offer ...
Only 5 cycling days left, would you believe.
John Spooner @John_Spooner 51m
We've just been interviewed on our impressions of Solovetsky by a crew from national TV channel Russia 1. #stzozi
Well, they took their 7th ferry trip this morning and made it to the Solovetsky Islands, their destination. It looks like they had to revert to a Plan B in Russia when the the road they were using ran out and they had to retrace to where they'd started that day. Plan B involved a train journey.
After the pilgrimage I was in need of a holiday! I've caught up on bee and allotment work, and only now begin to feel like looking back. There are also wonderful distractions such as Wimbledon, cricket, rugby and Le Tour...
A write-up and photos will certainly follow.
In the mean time I leave you with an image of me in my puffball to shar pei morphing stage. Giggle away ...
(https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-wwFR9C83p2M/UeF9O741jKI/AAAAAAAATv8/EPo4qMmowvA/s400/IMG_0614.JPG)
places where all you can hear is birdsong (until you start off again, when all you can hear is the crunch of tyres on gravel)Aaaaaaaaaaaaah ooooooooooooh! Crunch crunch! :)
(http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/ff320/jspooner99/stzozi_0178_zps797605f6.jpg) (http://s238.photobucket.com/user/jspooner99/media/stzozi_0178_zps797605f6.jpg.html)
Excellent writing, John. What a trip that was. And what memory you have! I will be re-reading this a few times.
Excellent stuff! I couldn't help smiling about the use of log tables for writing post cards. Napier, Kepler or Euler?Reminds me of the 'joke' Mr Henderson the maths teacher used to tell about the snake furniture Noah made to enable the adders to go forth etc etc.
Superb stuff, a great read and some amazing photos. Didn't quite go to plan, but the best adventures never do!
Latest (penultimate) instalment, covering our stay on Bolshoy Solovetsky Island.What a good write up of your trip. It brought back lots of memories for me. It has been some time since I last visited Solovetsky Islands .It seems that they are trying to make it a better known tourist destination. There has been a lot of painting and refurbishing by the look of your pics. I travelled overnight by ship from Arkhangelsk so I can't comment on your rout to the Islands. I have told of your adventure to my Russian friends (who are keen cyclists) they were very impressed. And yes beluga do pass by there. :thumbsup:
Includes some token cycling.
Part4 (https://yacf.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=76135.msg1572363#msg1572363)
It was so hilarious. Some of the caps being worn by the guards looked like dinner plates on steroids. They were enormous.