Day 33. Wednesday. June 22.

 Petropavlovskoe to Charysh River Bush Camp 19

Distance: 130 km

Cumulative Distance: 3350 km

Time: 6 hrs 39 min

Speed:  19.6 km/hr

Feet Climbed today: 3300

Cumulative Climb: 71,098  ft 

AHR (Average Heart Rate) 103 bpm

Punctures so far: 2.     

Altitude tonight: 825 ft

Being Midsummer Night, the sun stayed high and warm in the sky last night. Couldn't even attempt to go to bed till things cooled down. Heavy showers were in the distance in two different directions. I walked up along the bank of the river to pass the time. When I did eventually settle down, got a great night’s sleep.   

Place covered with fog and haze when I emerged this morning. Quick breakfast and on the road being given a 80% chance of rain. We started out together but I generally rode solo; we leap frogged each other many times and met up at lunch. Rear lights were in full use and visibility ahead was down to a short distance.

At the 10 km mark with a little rise away from the river, the sky cleared and all got warmer. But the road surface changed also...for the worse. From there till 40 km it was gravel but not like a few weeks ago.

 This stretch involved the first climb and descent of the day over a cloudy ridge complete with bus shelter on the remote top. It was a glorious gradual descent with scarcely a ar in sight.

Later we had a stretch from 50 to 56 km of broken pavement. Again it was easy to pick a smooth passage due to the lack of traffic. From lunch on it was mostly friendly off-road except for the last 7 km from Karlovo to our camp.

Plenty of the same crops and grass on both sides of the route today. Farmyards and cows on the way out during the early hours of the morning. I didn't drop into any fields to examine the growth. With the gravel and broken pavement all attention was given to the few feet ahead.

It was a rolling day, climbing just over 3000 feet and giving it all back. Most of the stiffer rolls were on gravel needing a lower gear. There was one long climb on Tarmac just before lunch introduced by ’8% for 4.6 km’ and then an easier gradient for the final 2 km to the lunch stop on a breezy chilly top at 65 km.

Some great panoramic views of meadow and crop during the second half of the day. Dropping into the village of Lemachikna shortly after lunch, disused piggeries first caught the eye. Cycling through the village, most dwellings seemed abandoned. I wonder is this a monument to collectivisation?

Had a couple of episodes with dogs to day but all ended with them retreating to safety.

Tonight (Bush Camp 19) we are on the banks of the Charysh river, a fast flowing one that swings north to join the Ob. A pleasant breeze is blowing and keeping the mosquitoes at bay. Hope it remains that way as it gets cooler.

I notice that the number of hits on the blog exceeds the number of kilometres I have cycled. Let’s keep it that way.

A nice day’s cycling and a respectable distance covered. Tomorrow will be longer.

Thank God for the health and thank God for the energy.