Two Wheels

This spring and summer have been all about the bike. After a long and terrible winter, it’s been super therapeutic to be out in the sun for hours rolling through the Ukrainian countryside. It’s been so interesting watching the seasons develop out in the fields. I’ve gotten tons of exercise and have seen more of my region than most Ukrainians I know.

As you should already know, I have two bikes here: a single speed Ukrainian clunker called Belo and a slightly better-than-walmart mountain bike called Arty. I’ve more or less given Belo to my site mate Mattison and I ride Arty when we go out.

Most of our rides are completely adventurous. We take off in one direction out of the city, set our internal compasses in one direction, then take whatever dirt roads catch our interest. These rides have really opened up my eyes to the beauty of the steppe. Rivers, hollows, hills, plains, villages, ponds, pastures, cows, goats, forest, babushkas, and wheat. Tons and tons of wheat. We’ve seen it all. We’ve watched the fields change color. We’ve gotten stuck in foot deep mud. We’ve navigated through herds of cattle. It’s definitely back country riding.

Sometimes we here about natural wonders nearby and head out to find them. There are these natural white cliffs that for some reason poke out of one hill in a city not too far away. But they’re not typical stone. The best I can describe it is a kind of chalk. It makes for a rather gorgeous sight. They are easy to access and climb around, so it’s easy to get a good view from the top. We also found this small canyon nearby which has cliffs of its own. The access trail was a pretty good drop which made things interesting. There’s a nature preserve and a lake which has also been excellent to ride around.

Here lately, we’ve taken to linking up cities. We’ll pick certain cities or villages and take off on long circuits. The longest we’ve put together so far was 60 miles. We look at a map before we go but rely on the locals for the rest. It’s excellent to walk up to a taxi stand and set off an argument about the quickest way to get to X on a bike. Of course the initial reaction is “you want to go WHERE?” And then there’s “you’re coming from WHERE?” We’ve had some really interesting conversations. But we’ve never been hopelessly lost.

A few weekends ago we went on an organized ride put on in a neighboring city. It was focused on touring the history of Orthodoxy in the area. So we went to significant villages and churches, saw a couple crosses, and listened to a priest or two. Unfortunately we didn’t understand much of the history that was related to us. The organization of the ride was great. We had the full support of a lead car and a SAG wagon. Water was provided as well as any mechanical aid we needed. The pace was miserably slow, so we ended up being on the bike for around 10 hours including all our breaks. Near the end of the ride we turned off the road and found people cooking over a fire and setting up a picnic in a small clearing in the forest. We were surprised when we learned they were cooking for us. They had Ukrainian kulesh, porridge, fried fish, cucumber salad, the works. We were hoping for hotdogs and hamburgers, but this was much more culturally appropriate, of course. There were nearly 30 people from around the area on the ride and everybody made it all 40 miles. Me and Mattison had to ride 10 miles each way to get to the start so we ended up having another 60 mile day. The ride was free, so from what we gathered, it was a local Orthodox church reaching out to the community.

We’ve met a local mechanic in a nearby city and have made friends with him. It’s been interesting going and just sitting at his shop and watching the community come by and get their bikes fixed. He really knows his stuff. He makes building a wheel, one of the most technical and difficult repairs a bike mechanic can do, look like child’s play. It’s so obvious his shop is an integral part of the community. Everybody who comes in seems to know him. And a look around the city shows that cycling is popular, and I would bet our mechanic friend Andre has a lot to do with that. He’s let Mattison and me work off our debts to him. If we need him to fix something for us, we’ll take care of his more minor tasks while we’re waiting. Once he did a quick fix on my bike for nothing, or else I had saved up some credit somewhere.

Sometimes I feel like Arty has saved me. I’ve come out of a deep dark place from this winter and bike rides have been the only thing that gives me a lasting fulfillment. It feels so good blowing off energy and regaining muscles. It’s done wonders for my mood and state of mind. It’s also opened up parts of summer I wouldn’t have been able to enjoy otherwise. For example, our last couple rides have simply been to test out the different ponds in the area. I thank God for my bike and the ability to ride it. It’s made all the difference.