Out of the city: What if she isn't an alien?!

September 14, 2013

A few hours later I got up and prepared to leave. Юлия was still on reception because the other girl was late and also because aliens don't need to sleep. There was a grand goodbye for me. Even Borat came out to shake my hand and say goodbye. Юлия looked really sad to see me go.

"Don't worry," I promised her "I'll see you in six years."

This was meant as a joke because we had said that after I'd cycled around the world and she had finished medical school, then we could be together but she seemed to be taking it rather seriously.

"Yes" she said then looked up a word on the computer, "it is nec..cee..sa..rreey"

And then I said final goodbyes to everyone and Юлия looked even more sad and then I walked out the door thinking 'well there goes the most beautiful girl I'll ever turn down.'

I decided to get some pictures of me with the bike and some of he sights, just to prove I was really there

Pretty common sight in Russia. The old fender bender is more of a fender destroyed

Cycling out of the city was similar to cycling in - I could do it all on the sidewalks and trails and avoid the chaotic traffic. It did take quite a while because most of the pavements had high kerbs and I had to bump the bike up and down them, but it was a small price to pay for not dying. I moved through an area of much more modern tower blocks which actually looked really nice and there were lots of green spaces and parks and then I was out of the city and still following the coast, but now travelling back west towards the Estonian border.

After several hours a sudden horrifying thought struck me dumb - 'WHAT.. IF... SHE... ISN'T... AN... ALIEN?! WHAT HAVE I DONE?!'

Cycling on the sidewalks out of the city

Out of the city and following the coast again

Beyond the city I had been once again moving through thick forest next to the coast. As the day was drawing towards a close I approached a small town. I considered camping before it but to my right was the beach and there were people out and about, and to the left a railway line ran fifty metres through the woods parallel to the road, so camping on that side would be a noisy affair. I decided to press on through to the other side of the town. But at the beginning of the town there was a roadblock with a couple of military guys in camo gear stopping random cars. Most of the vehicles were being waved through so I figured I would just ride nonchalently past. Of course they ordered me to stop.

I told them I only spoke English and the first guy pointed me in the direction of the second guy. I don't know why he did this, because the second guy didn't speak any English either. Nevertheless it was fairly obvious he wanted to see my documents so I gave him my passport, migration card and registration slip from the hostel in St Petersburg. I was confident everything was in order and was preparing my "If you try to fine me I will have to phone my embassy. And I'll have to borrow your phone because I don't have one" speech as the guy looked at my registration slip and shook his head. He looked at me and pointed back down the road from where I had come. "Saint Petersburg" he said. I wasn't entirely sure I understood. He pointed at my registration slip. "Saint Petersburg" he repeated and again moved his arm to point back the way to Saint Petersburg. Yes, he really did want me to cycle 70 kilometres back to St Petersburg, because that was after all, where I was registered. I wanted to ask him how the hell I was supposed to register in another town without being allowed to get to another town, but it would have just come out as 'where's the stadium?'

Not really wanting to cycle 70 kilometres in the wrong direction I tried cycling around the booth when I thought the guys weren't looking, but one of them saw me and advanced towards me repeating "Saint Petersburg" and that ominous pointing arm. "Yes, yes, I get the message, Saint Petersburg" and I decided this was the moment to stop pushing my luck. Stories of Russian officials inventing fines and looking for bribes are notorious and I did still have about 70 cents worth of rubles left which I really wanted to keep for buying bread the next day. So I pedalled away from them and cycled back the way that I had come. Once I was out of sight of the silly men I rode my bike into the woods where there was a trail which ran parallel to the road and rejoined the road safely on the other side of the roadblock.

Today's ride: 70 km (43 miles)
Total: 5,532 km (3,435 miles)

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