Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Later, Chris said that all he had done was ride through without stopping. It made
me wonder about the stories and rumours we had left in our wake since beginning
at Petrozavodsk.
Gradually, the forest began to encroach again. I rode until darkness without
lunch breaks, and met my goal of 100 kilometres a day.
I slept no more than one or two hours a night. I thought a lot about Bruce and
my family, and felt uninspired to write in my diary. Yet I knew that the experiences
of the past few days would last as some of the most memorable of the journey.
At one stage I came across a detour sign on a section of the road that had been
closed for repairs. Ignoring the sign I rode over the rough gravel and was soon con-
fronted by the hulking shape of a steam-roller edging closer and closer. It stopped
twenty metres from the bike and the driver stepped out. As he approached, you
could see that his enormous stomach stuck out so far that any attempt to make his
tracksuit pants and shirt meet was in vain. His arms angled out, following the con-
tours of his torso.
'
Privet!
' he boomed, before falling silent. He was well over six feet tall and al-
though his face was thrown into shadow by a weathered cap, it was obvious that he
only had a couple of teeth remaining.
'
Privet!
' I replied. And another silence ensued. 'Um, I am from Australia, I am
riding a bike,' I started.
But before I could even finish the sentence, he lunged forward, double chins
wagging, and grasped my hand. The handshake was so vigorous it felt as if he was
going to pluck my arm from the socket.
'Australia! Wow! Do you realise that you are the first foreigner that I have ever
met? I have seen them on television, and even from a distance. But to meet an Aus-
tralian! I would have thought that I would meet a Chinese person or a European
before someone from your end of the world!'
'Yes … Actually I am trying to ride to Novosibirsk at the moment,' I replied.
'Well, why don't you take a photo of me before you leave? You can show it to
everyone, and tell them that I am the fat man of Siberia. I've been working these
roads for thirty years!'
Despite his bulk, he seemed a gentle man. And the way he spoke of his children
and job indicated a rare kind of integrity. After signing a photograph for his chil-
dren, I went on my way.
