A 3,000-mile journey to Russia – by bike!

A cyclist from Stone pedalled all the way to Kaliningrad in Russia – an epic journey of over 3,000 miles in just six weeks taking in 10 countries.

Gordon Taylor, aged 56, rode 3,070 miles to be exact, cycling from Stone to Harwich and then through Denmark, Sweden, Poland, Germany, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Ukraine, Lithuania and Russia. And most nights he slept in his tent. What an amazing experience! Here’s a superb report of his adventure from Gordon himself…

I’d spent four exhausting days in the Ukraine, but the soldier at the border to Poland was adamant – I couldn’t cross here on a bicycle. He circled another checkpoint on my map, the only one where pedestrians and bicycles were allowed, and helpfully worked out that it was a mere 210 kilometres away (more than 120 miles) in completely the wrong direction. I tried to explain, with the map and helpless gestures, that I was spending my summer holiday trying to cycle to Russia, meandering through as many countries as possible, but he was unmoved.

The Ukraine had been the toughest country so far. I’d been shocked by the ramshackle villages, the appalling road surfaces and the apparent lack of modern industry and agriculture. Men were working in fields with scythes, pitchforks and one-horse carts. Women were selling things at the roadside, often just a couple of pairs of shoes or a bowl of potatoes. Teenagers, bizarrely, were mostly engrossed in their mobile phones, although the young ones always waved to me and called out.

Cycling here had been hard; I was tired from picking a route through the vast potholes and brick-patched repairs like a kayaker through rapids and fighting for the occasional ribbon of smooth tarmac against rusty buses and ancient, overloaded trucks. I was also bemused by their Cyrillic alphabet – the indecipherable signposts and place names which made navigation quite stressful.

I’d come to the eastern side of Europe deliberately, to stretch my comfort zone and to see a bit of the world that was new to me. I wasn’t a cycle-touring novice, having ridden across the USA and Australia in the past decade, as well as thousands of miles in the easier parts of Europe, Scandinavia, Canada and the Far East.

Despite being 56 and considerably overweight, I knew I could ride a bicycle all day, covering a hundred miles if necessary, before finding somewhere to sleep – mostly in my tent in a forest, or (preferably) in a cheap room in an “Agroturystyka” farmhouse.

The ambitious target this year was Kaliningrad, in the separate bit of Russia that is part of the Baltic States. I’d worked out a rough route that should take me six weeks… cycling from Stone to Harwich, thence across Denmark and Sweden before taking a ferry to Poland.

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An anti-clockwise circuit of that fast-developing country would allow me to nip back-and-forth into Germany, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, the Ukraine, Lithuania and (finally) to Russia. Every single country used a different language and a different currency – facts which added considerably to the mental challenge.

My best memories, always, are about the people I meet. Everyone I spoke to, in every single country, was pleasant and helpful, despite my abysmal efforts to communicate by words, gestures or pictures.

Shop assistants would painstakingly count money from my confused hands; people were patient if I needed directions, waitresses in cafes would laugh as ordered food, seemingly at random, from their menus and (best of all) farmhouse hosts would let me use their washing machines. Summer cycling kit acquires a distinct aroma after a week or so which is best addressed by a ninety-degree wash.

My impasse at the Ukrainian border was solved by nice people too. Ivan and Vira (off duty policeman and teacher of English respectively) spotted my predicament and calmly put my bike and kit in the back of their van and invited me to hop in the front.

We got into Poland just four hours later, after interminable queues and checks by soldiers with guns, soldiers with clipboards and soldiers with screwdrivers (to check behind door panels.) I tried to pay Ivan and Vira for their help, of course, but they refused point blank.

We did exchange many laughs, plus photos and email contacts though. They went off to do some shopping and I gratefully turned north, towards Lithuania. I arrived in Russia two weeks later, exactly on the date allowed by my visa.

I’d ridden a shade over three thousand miles in six weeks, with just three rest days… feeling quite pleased with myself and eternally grateful to my wife who lets me do these crazy journeys. That was an amazing summer, a great experience and a fabulous a bike ride.

Getting home was much easier; I just packed the bike in a big bag and caught a flight.