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Cycling Amsterdam - Moscow

Way to Russia Talk Lounge Forum Index -> The Rest of Russia

Author	Message
cyclochris Just Starting Joined: 10 Mar 2007 Posts: 4 Location: England	Posted: Sat Mar 10, 2007 8:08 pm    Post subject: Cycling Amsterdam - Moscow Amsterdam Berlin Warsaw Minsk Moscow I leave on the 28th of March and am due to enter Moscow on the 22nd of April. I'm 100% set and have accomadation booked throughout the trip appart from a few nights In Belarus. My nights in Russia will be at Smolensk, Vyaz' ma and Moscow. Any extra information on those towns is greatly appreciated. Thanks for your time
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mev Frequent Guest Joined: 01 Apr 2004 Posts: 28	Posted: Sun Mar 11, 2007 2:13 am    Post subject: Chris, just a note that I am cycling from Amsterdam to St Petersburg close to the same dates that you are traveling. Plan is to leave Amsterdam on 26th or 27th March and cross from Estonia into Russia around 20th of April. I will be traveling further north than you but would be curious about your route across Germany. My overall plans are describe here: http://www.bikerussia.com/plan --mev, Mike Vermeulen
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cyclochris Just Starting Joined: 10 Mar 2007 Posts: 4 Location: England	Posted: Sun Mar 11, 2007 11:37 am    Post subject: What i'm doing feels like a walk in the park now compared to what I just saw on your website i'll e-mail you my route outline Thanks Chris
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claudinedp Just Starting Joined: 04 Jul 2007 Posts: 4 Location: South Africa	Posted: Thu Jul 05, 2007 7:05 pm    Post subject: Advice needed Hi Chris, I am planning to do this trip next year and wondering if you could give me some advice? When would be the best time of the year to do this trip? I see you did it end of March to April and I was also considering this time. As my budget is limited, I would like to camp whenever it is possible. Is this possible and safe/legal? Any other advice like routes or even an account of your trip (if you have a journal/blog) would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Claudine
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cyclochris Just Starting Joined: 10 Mar 2007 Posts: 4 Location: England	Posted: Sun Jul 08, 2007 7:07 pm    Post subject: Hook of Holland – NETHERLANDS 20 (12) Den Haag (Hostel YHA) 59 (36) Amsterdam *** (Hostel YHA) 89 (55) Apeldoorn (Hostel YHA) 159 (9 Osnabruck – GERMANY (Hostel YHA) 130 (80) Hannover (Hostel YHA) 80 (49) Wolfsburg (Hostel YHA) 94 (5 Stendal (Camp on map) 128 (79) Berlin *** (Hostel YHA) 2 Nights 97 (60) Frankfurt Oder 90 (55) Swiebodzin – POLAND (Hotel Lubuski / Hostel in School / Campsite on map) 110 (6 Poznan (Hostel YHA) 101 (62) Konin (Hotel Konin) 132 (82) Lowicz (Hotel Aneta / Camping in nearby Nieborow) 86 (53) Warszawa *** (Hostel OKIDOKI) 2 Nights 142 (8 Zambrow (Hotel Zambrow) 74 (45) Bialystok (Hostel YHA) 95 (59) Vaukavysk - BELARUS 60 (37) Slonim 51 (31) Baranavicy 144 (89) Minsk *** (Hostel) 76 (47) Barysau 133 (82) Orsa 121 (75) Smolensk – RUSSIA 163 (101) Vyaz’ma 230 (142) Moscow *** (Hostel Napoleon) That was my original plan but in the end I did some longer days and cut some towns out. I did 21 riding days in all 1836 miles was my final milage. I definatly recommend spending a day in each of the capital citys theres lots to see and hannover in germany is well worth a day too I reckon I only spent the evening there and wish I had more time it's a lovely city. Accomadation in Holland, Germany & poland is widly available but not so many hostels in Poland. Belarus I camped 2 Nights and stayed in a budet hotel in Minsk for a couple of nights if there is accomadation in the other towns it's well hidden and to be honest I felt more comfortable in the forest. Belarus Rubles are only available in Belarus so be sure to take lots of American dollars they seem to be well excepted there. Food was a worry of mine but just stock up on what you can in garages theres atleast one every 30 miles or so. Russia there are lots of motels but still lots of forest so if needs be you can just camp. What I did in Belarus and Russia is cycled till night fall turned off the road into the forest camped left at day break I never had any bother. Take atleast a -5*c Sleeping bag though because in April the temperture one night dropped to about that in Minsk but the rest of the time it was quite dry and fairly warm warm enough for riding anyway. Be sure to get a visa for both Belarus and Russia! Anything else drop me a line and i'm happy to help
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claudinedp Just Starting Joined: 04 Jul 2007 Posts: 4 Location: South Africa	Posted: Sun Jul 08, 2007 9:31 pm    Post subject: Thanks Thanks Chris, for the very useful information it's going to help me a lot. I think I might still bug you with more questions a couple of times. Would you recommend April as the best month weatherwise to go? What about June? What did you use for navigation, did you buy maps beforehand? If you did buy maps over the internet, I would appreciate the website name (I live in South Africa, and it's very difficult to buy proper roadmaps of other continents here). Did you need to learn some Russian beforehand? Thanks again Claudine
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mev Frequent Guest Joined: 01 Apr 2004 Posts: 28	Posted: Mon Sep 24, 2007 7:17 am    Post subject: I am not Chris, but I also bicycled a similar route in April, so will give you my answers to those questions: > Would you recommend April as best month weatherwise? April this year was occasionally cold and wet. Typically June will be warmer and also have longer days. > What did you used for navigation? Within Russia, I used oblast maps that I bought in various cities. An atlas of Russia with good coverage in European Russia is also available via internet or at various stores. > Did you need to learn some Russian beforehand? Learning more language helps the overall experience. In my opinion, more is better. Is it possible to cycle without any language? My guess is yes, people are generally helpful...but learning at least alphabet and basic language is a good thing. --mev, Mike Vermeulen
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claudinedp Just Starting Joined: 04 Jul 2007 Posts: 4 Location: South Africa	Posted: Tue Sep 25, 2007 3:29 pm    Post subject: Amsterdam to Moscow Hi! Thanks for your reply, I have been watching your website updates on your trip to Vladivostok, very inspiring! Are you taking a rest now or already planning a next expidition? May I ask what bikes you used? Did you have to modify your bikes for carrying luggage? Also, what type of tyres did you use? Did you buy your bikes in Amsterdam or fly them over? Claudine
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claudinedp Just Starting Joined: 04 Jul 2007 Posts: 4 Location: South Africa	Posted: Tue Sep 25, 2007 3:46 pm    Post subject: Sorry about all the questions, this is the first time we are attempting a trip like this so I have a lot of questions.. Did you experience a lot of problems with the conditions of the roads or is it generally tar roads? Did you take out medical aid/insurance for the trip? Any unforseen problems along the way you would have planned for had you known? Thanks again!
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mev Frequent Guest Joined: 01 Apr 2004 Posts: 28	Posted: Fri Sep 28, 2007 12:01 pm    Post subject: Some quick replies to questions asked above: > Did you experience a lot of problems with the conditions of the roads or is it generally tar roads? Between Chita and Khabarovsk is approximately 1600km without asphalt. Otherwise, except for road construction areas, other roads were asphalt. Road conditions were highly variable. West of the Urals, there were some poor roads such as M7 between Nizhny Novgorod and Kazan but also some good roads. East of the Urals, roads were more consistent and better than I expected. The sections without asphalt were at times very challenging. > Did you take out medical aid/insurance for the trip? Yes, I took out a travelers medical insurance policy > Any unforseen problems along the way you would have planned for had you known? Nothing very big. There are some small things I might have done differently (e.g. bring a different camp stove) but no big things. > Are you taking a rest now or already planning a next expidition? I've been resting in Vladivostok before flying to China to do some more bicycling. > May I ask what bikes you used? My bicycle was a Trek 520 touring bicycle. My cycling partner had a custom bicycle. These are mostly standard bicycles, except we had both front and rear racks added. I flew my bicycle to Amsterdam and my partner lives in Amsterdam. > Also, what type of tyres did you use? Schwalbe Marathon Traveling by bicycle is a good way to see Russia in a different way, particularly outside the big cities. --mev, Mike Vermeulen
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cyclochris Just Starting Joined: 10 Mar 2007 Posts: 4 Location: England	Posted: Sat Oct 20, 2007 2:34 pm    Post subject: sorry about the long delay in reply. nice one mev glad to see you made it think i'll check your site out next. april for me was great weather only one blizzard in belarus lol 2 days of drizzle in poland i was burnt to a crisp the heat was insane for april. The best time for a cycle tour is the early/late summer so you get the light and less of the heat. bike was a 'ridgeback - velocity' with added bar ends rear and front racks 'topeak' 2 panniers front 2 panniers rear 'creek 2 peak' double walled 700c hybrid tour wheels continental - contact tour tyres [2000 miles one puncture] belarus is the tricky place for maps you really need one before you arrive as i did i could not get one anywhere in poland before i crossed the boarder unless i wanted to buy a map of europe. http://www.mapsworldwide.com/sku_29831.htm that is the map i used for belarus drop me a line direct minion666@hotmail.co.uk if you need anything safe riding
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