September 21, 2013
It always rains in Latvia: And that is a sure fact
I had a couchsurfing host organised in Riga and so my first day in Latvia was spent cycling as fast as I could to make sure I got there. That was okay though because there was only one road going from where I was to Riga and it was the busy main one with lots of trucks, so I didn't exactly want to take my time. Things were made worse by the fact that it was raining and visibility was poor and although the road did have a shoulder it was used as an extra lane by a lot of slower trucks so it was hardly the safest road in the world. This was Latvia's contribution to the Eurovelo 10 bicycle route, a disappointing one after the joys of Estonia.
I took a smaller road into the city of Riga, although this was worse because there was no shoulder and just as much traffic. Just to confirm Latvia as the worst place to bike tour ever, there were also absolutely no street signs towards the centre of town and I actually found my way by following a bus that had 'Center' on the front of it. I found my host Arturs apartment at seven but there was no answer. He told me that he would be away until midnight but that there would be someone home to let me in. This, it seemed, was a lie. I went to a nearby park and waited for an hour but there was still no answer when I went back and so then I went off to explore the old town.
It was a Saturday night and the town was alive with people. I considered checking into a hostel and going out to party but I gave up on that idea when I remembered that I didn't have any clean clothes. Instead I just sat and watched from benches as everyone else had a good time. There were a lot of pedicabs. Some of them were sleek modern white limo-esque things with cool lighting and music playing and I decided to talk to one of the guys sitting on one of these pedicabs. He wasn't very friendly at all and didn't have much interest in talking with me (something that is known in the trade as 'pulling a Nikolay.') He did tell me that they had to pay 70% of what they earned to their boss. This is different from most pedicab companies where you pay a fixed amount to rent the thing and whatever you earn over that is yours and I wondered how the boss could know how much everyone made but apparantly there was a camera in the cab and he watched everyone. The guy told me if I didn't need a lift he wanted to work and turned away from me and so I tried speaking to another pedicabber but he was as reserved and unfriendly as the first. He told me that they had to pay 50% of what they earned to their boss and I realised that the first one had probably been exagerrating so that I felt sorry for him and gave him money (something known in the trade as 'pulling a Nikolay.')
| Heart | 0 | Comment | 0 | Link |
I went back at eleven but there was still no one home and so I walked around some more and tried again at twelve when finally Artur's sister was home and I could get inside. Artur himself came home at three in the morning. I was looking forward to meeting Artur but it was raining the next day and he didn't want to walk around town in the rain so I went alone. Looking to escape the weather I soon found myself in the Museum of the Soviet Occupation, which turned out to be one of the most depressing experiences of my life. Latvia suffered terribly during and after the Second World War and I was quite frankly despairing for the human race by the time I had been through the whole museum.
Returning to the twenty-first century I felt a wave of relief that I was able to step outside into the free world, rain or no rain. I looked on the city with a fresh outlook and I marvelled at how well the Baltic states seemed to be recovering from their turbulent history.
The next day there was blue sky when I woke up and I quickly hit the road to try and make the most of it, but it was raining again before I was even out of the city. The rain only got heavier as I made my way south towards Lithuania. My stay in Latvia was going to be a brief one, but who wants to spend a long time in a country where it always rains? On this particular day it was coming down in torrents and I was making slow progress as I kept stopping to hide in bus shelters. I would sit for a while, dripping, getting cold, then decide I was going to be a man and carry on cycling. Then when the next bus shelter came into view I would decide that I had been quite enough of a man and would just stop and be a wimp again for a few minutes. Half an hour later I would man up again and continue, and so it went on.
It was nearing the end of the day and I was sitting in one of these bus shelters and wondering how much of a man I would have to be to cycle on and find somewhere to put up my tent, then put up my tent in the rain, then climb into my tent sopping wet and try and sleep in such horrid conditions. Then a miracle happened. A man walked up to me and asked me if I would like to sleep in his house, which by chance and good fortune was right across the street. Norman actually lived in a flat opposite, but he owned this old wooden house which he planned to knock down and rebuild, and he said I could sleep in there for the night. So he let me in and showed me around and left me there in peace. It was so great to see inside one of these wooden homes that I had been cycling past all the time. It was very simply furnished but there was a big wood stove that I sat by to keep warm, throwing logs of firewood on and drying my clothes above it. I was touched by the kindness of this good samaritan, and pleased that I had a happy memory of Latvia to take with me.
| Heart | 0 | Comment | 0 | Link |
LATVIA SUMMARY:
Time: Three days
Distance: 311 kilometres
Best bits: Well, I suppose I would have to say that the best bit was when Norman asked me if I would like to sleep in his house.
Worst bits: The constant rain, perhaps?
Top tip: If you can find a way to attach an umbrella to your bike, I suggest that you do.
Today's ride: 311 km (193 miles)
Total: 6,501 km (4,037 miles)
| Rate this entry's writing | Heart | 1 |
| Comment on this entry | Comment | 0 |