Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
to suffer any serious breakdown, and he assured me that he'd set up camp and wait
twenty kilometres from Tyumen. We agreed on a contingency plan (we'd leave a
telephone message with Sergei if anything went wrong), then he cycled off and I
realised with mixed feelings that this would be the first time in four months - the
first time since I'd been torn apart from Nat back in Sydney - that I would be com-
pletely on my own.
Stopping in cities always complicated things for me, and our break in Ekaterin-
burg had really affected my mood. After one or sometimes two weeks of settling
into a simple life of cycling we'd reach another major city and dive into a hec-
tic world of shops, crowds, parties and people. Our basic lifestyle of cycling and
camping went straight out the window, and after a few days of living the 'civilised
life' I always ended up feeling emotionally drained and exhausted.
We'd stayed in Ekaterinburg for four days and we'd had a great time. Physically,
the break had done us good. Our bodies had had a chance to recover from the
strains and stresses of riding heavy bikes day after day. I was feeling fresh and
ready to go but mentally, when it came down to it, I was completely stuffed.
The near escape from horrible death at the hands of the maniac policeman had
shaken me and the effort of being an interesting and agreeable guest in a foreign
language had also taken its toll.
I climbed onto my bike the next morning and set off feeling tired and fuzzy
headed. I pedalled constantly towards a distant horizon, paying barely any attention
to the hills, forests and villages that I passed. My thoughts were dull and repetitive.
What should I eat for dinner? How far do I have to go today? When can I be
bothered to fix that niggling squeak in my hub? A flash of unexpected perception
hit: I could suddenly understand what it must feel like to be a car. I pushed on,
the spark of romance gone from cycling, just trying to cover the miles. Finally, I
judged that I'd gone far enough for the day and made camp. In the morning, after
another long night of dreamless sleep, I was feeling more alive and ready to go.
As I rode, I pondered what seemed like a strangely circular contradiction. We
needed to stop in a city every few weeks or so to recharge our bodies, but after a
few days of resting in a city, I needed a few weeks of riding to recharge my brain!
It didn't seem to affect Tim in the same way, and as the miles passed I wondered
why.
One of the beauties of cycling is that pedalling alone on a long, empty road
allows a lot of time for protracted and uninterrupted trains of thought. After the
first few thousand kilometres, the riding becomes second nature and the body can
