Suzdal to Nizhniy Novgorod - August 9, 2015

The morning briefing today was just outside the lodge rooms, by the motorcycles.  Today will be easier because we are avoiding the M5 highway used by the big trucks and taking back roads instead.  Hopefully there will be less lane splitting and crazy riding than yesterday.

 

Today was a very pleasant ride through many small villages and farmland.  There were quite a few church ruins.  

 

This one dates from the 12^th century.

 This particular church was built in the 13th century in the town of Miet.  Miet roughly translates to “toll” in English.  This village was on a very busy trading route at one time.  Tolls were collected from travelers at this church.

After the revolution in 1917, the churches were either closed or converted to secular uses.  It wasn't until after WWII that communities were again allowed to worship in the churches.  Many cities and towns were able to restore them by collecting donations but the poorer rural communities could not gather the resources to rebuild their churches.

 Even though it is in ruins, people still come by to pray at its doors.  I watched as this man rode his bicycle up, dismounted, bowed his head, and made the sign of the cross.  He stood there several minutes in prayer.

We then rode a dirt and gravel road for about 10 km.  Very rough, with lots of potholes and loose soil.  But everyone handled it well and came out safely on the other side.

 We saw an unexpected car and even a semi on this section of road.

Once  we reached the end of the bad section, we all took a break and waited for everyone to make it through.

Further down the road we came to our a Lenin monument in the middle of a village.  It’s well maintained, so we’re guessing the town folk still admire him.

 

 While stopped, a curious youngster came over to get a closer look at the bike.   He doesn’t look too happy here, but I think he liked it - maybe another future member of the adventure motorcycling club.

 

 We stopped at a roadside café for a quick lunch of soup.  Dave and I ordered a meat stew, as defined by Svetlana.  It did have some slivers of meat – not sure what kind – but it also had a lot of black olives.  Not David’s favorite thing.  Oh well, better luck next guess.

After lunch we headed out for Nizhniy Novgorod, less than 70 km away. 

 We noticed a lot of roadside stands selling fish as we approached the Volga River.

 

 Traffic was still light as we pass over the Volga River Hydroelectric complex.

 

and locks.

 But we knew the smooth sailing couldn’t last forever.  

So it was back to the old tactics of riding on the shoulders and in the opposing traffic lane. 

 

Train track crossings can be a little tricky on a motorcycle.  Dave had to be careful to hit them as perpendicular as possible so our tires didn't slip out from under us.  It’s especially stressfull when there’s a bunch of cars around. 

 This guy was part of the problem.  That’s Alain, on the other side.  It must be intimifating for a swarm of big BMW motorcycles to suddenly surroind you!

 As we approached the city we crossed the Volga again. 

 

 This beautiful church sits at the end of an island in the middle of the river.

The kremlin (fort) sat high on the hill as we entered town. 

 We parked the motorcycles in a secure area behind the hotel.

 Afterwards, Mary Jane, Steve and I went to explore the kremlin and the town.  Below are some of the things we saw.

As we walked across the grounds, a young couple must have heard us talking because they came over and in very good english asked us where we were from.  We told them the United States and they were incredulous.  

 

 This young lady is making a few extra rubles allowing pedestrians to hold her owl.

Dinner tonight was at a restaurant on Bolshaya Pokrovskaya Street, a pedestrian walkway.  Again a very good meal. 

Tomorrow we will ride into the major city of Kazan.  This will be a cultural shift, with the first large Mosque, and people with a diffferent language and lifestyle.  The world swimming championships are underway there, so traffic may again be a challenge.