It’s all around us

A bit of background to this idea first.

In 2013 I left Kazakhstan to go to Russia. My dream at the time was to enroll in a theatre academy in Saint-Petersburg. Theatre arts and cinema attracted me a lot, despite the fact that I was in the maths-physics department at my high school. When I wasn’t running, skiing or studying I would usually sing or dance or read about artists like Vertinsky https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Vertinsky or filmmakers like Tarkovsky https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrei_Tarkovsky. After 4 days and nights on a train I was finally in Saint-Petersburg. However, the enrolment into that cherished academy failed as I didn’t have a costume for the dance part and I didn’t even try to go to other academies which I now see as a blessing in disguise, because I wouldn’t have been able to stay in Saint-P for 5 years or more – the city is charming but has its own downsides like glasgow-style weather and ever-grey sky. And I love the sun.
Eventually, I got enrolled in Saint P State Uni, at the faculty of Liberal Arts and Sciences. The first months were quite miserable as my dorm was out of the city and it took me 2.5h one way to reach the uni. The dorms itselves were weird, there were quite some drug addicts – a huge problem in Russia since the 90s, especially in the province, 20 y.o. girls with babies, different shady peeps… After 2 months I realized that it’s time to move to the city centre and started working three jobs to save for moving – waiting tables, reception, leading events – there was a bit of everything. Sometimes my shift would finish too late for me to catch the last train so I would sleep in a 24/7 Subway on Nevsky prospect and then go to uni in the morning. 😆 Now it’s funny – back then it was not easy of course. It was damn hard at the time.

By January 2014 I was disillusioned by the faculty, which was a quite prestigious one, but lacked soul, and I caught myself on returning to the idea of organising a longer trip, now by bicycle. After several weeks of pondering, the decision was taken – I informed the uni administration that I am not studying anymore – and yes, my residency and all depended on that, but I just never warned Russian authorities that I quit studies. I focused on working and saving up for the trip which started to form in my mind:

1. Buy a bicycle, bags and so on
2. Get a Shengen visa for Europe
3. Leave Saint-Petersburg and cross into Finland
4. Cycle 5000 kilometers to reach Gibraltar and climb the famous rock overlooking the Strait of Gibraltar and Morrocco

The idea fueled my motivation, I was blooming with joy and determination. Of course, I told my good friend Lina who walked with me in the steppe a year before about this plan. She was fascinated as well, quit her univerisity in Omsk, Siberia 3000 kms away and came to join me to work and save up towards the trip. There was not much information available about traveling by bike at the time, and we read scarce forums of adventurers and gathered all the info we could find. We were sharing a room with 2 other girls (yeah, 4 in one 16m room) in the centre of Saint-P and were eating very modest dishes to keep all the money we earned (maybe 300 euros/month) to buy bikes and gear.

The preparation was intense and there was a feeling of a big big adventure coming up. We had just turned 19 both of us and were running around the city looking for the best deal for bikes and bags, tents and cooking stuff. Finally, we got 2 Cube bikes (similar ones in case there was a problem and we would have the same spare parts) and the rest of equipment. That was also the time when I got my first smartphone, a little refurbished HTC – to be able to have some navigation for the roads and not to carry maps. To add a little touch of color to our bikes, we had also bought 2 little Kazakhstan flags and attached them to handlebars.

And yes, these tyres were not suitable for normal roads – we would understand that later. But well, two young girls with zero bike touring experience can be forgiven, you live you learn as they say.
The route was also quite clear for the first half of the journey: Finland – ferry – Sweden – ferry – Denmark – ferry – Germany. Then we would see if the weather looked fine, we would cross the Alps in the south of Germany and Switzerland, if no – we would cycle through the Netherlands, Belgium and on to France. There were some relatives to visit on the way – my uncle in Berlin and Lina’s relatives close to Hamburg. Othwerwise it was a “wild” world out there, the first time in Europe, no friends or acquaintances on the horizon just yet, just the road and Gibraltar somewhere out there. The goal was to finish the journey on the top of the Gibraltar rock sipping tasty milk oolong tea that we would bring from Russia.

Just a week before leaving – we decided to leave on the 6th of August – Lina got into a little accident, thankfully not hurting herself, but the bike’s wheel was a bit damaged. I had a friend who worked at a bike shop and who fixed it for us for free, knowing about our big adventure and wanting to help. Our friends in Saint-Petersburg thought we were completly insane, but still supported us as they could. Good times good times.

And here it was, the day when we would take a train to get out of the city, camp and cycle towards Vyborg and then the Finnish border. Holy jeez, nearly 10 years ago.

In the next post I will write about the first half of the trip which includes accidents, broken bones, existential crises, wonderful people and countless baguettes. And, of course, hundreds of kilometres. 🛣️🚲

Have a good day,

Lots of love,

Lucy