FWIW, decided (upon medical advice and that my fingers/wrist feel wierd) it was too soon to be riding a bike for the distances I had planned. So flew to Tallinn on Monday, fixed dicky fuel tap (now bike runs, which is useful... it didn't before... then left bike parked there), took a bus to St Petersburg yesterday and now doing the backpacker/tourist thing here. Taking train to Moscow on Saturday, then home par avion next Tuesday.
Looking forward to decorating the lounge when I get home.
What I've learnt so far in St Petersburg is:
- traffic cops pull over poor looking people in older Russian cars
- flash cars with blacked out windows are driven by tossers at stupid speeds and the cops don't bat an eye
- 20 to 30 year old Russian women look great in mini skirts or demin
- Russian bus drivers drive as badly as their chums on the Indian subcontinent
- The Russian for yes/no/thank you/vodka/

- if you ride a HD chopper with straight through pipes and ape hanger bars you don't need to wear a crash helmet and are allowed to ignore speed limits (probably similar people to the flash car drivers mentioned above). All other bikers seem to ride normally and wear a helmet
- it rains a lot in St Petersburg
- I hate taking buses/trains. Riding bikes is much more fun
- Physiotherapy on fingers recovering after they have been broken, hurts like hell
, but "no pain, no gain"
Should be riding in tiime for Autumn/Winter. Great
Likely to be at the Mendip HU meet, so hope to catch up with people there.
cheers
Chris
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