Just over a week has passed since leaving Irkutsk… and now I’m back. Briefly. Tomorrow I take a train to Neriyungri to begin the very cold cycle to Yakutsk.
But back to the last week. It seems a lot has happened. Firstly I cycled to Lake Baikal – it took five days. A bit longer than expected. The first 3 nights I camped, down to -30C and the last two… well, it was hard to pass a guesthouse without spending the night indoors!
From the shores of Lake Baikal, I checked it was safe to cross and then cycled the 6km over the ice to Olkhon Island and on the the village of Kuzhir, where I stayed a few days.
This whole time I have been hoping the lake would be frozen enough to continue cycling on it northwards. Alas, when I took a trip to the north of the island and could clearly see open stretches of water, I knew this was not a possibility soon.
So I have abandoned my Baikal bike ride for now. It will still be there another year (if I’ve not had enough of the cold by then). I must say, I do rather like it here…
Anyway, forgive me for this brief summary – computer access, time and internet are in limited supply for blogging. But here are some photos, which should give you some idea what it has been like.
Good god woman ,, you are a nut case!
Well. .. I Helen one I hope to follow you
I tried to write that I admire you and hope to follow your route somehow someday. keep on going Helen!