[rtwdoug]

Yes, I know……..
Ive been dickin around, and fallen WAY behind on finishing this. But, as Im now in Bulgaria, & taking off next week to ride around the black sea, and then back to the US to do the Cannonball in september, I am gonna TRY to get this finished.

From Vladivostok, we headed north, then west. First stop was Ussurisk, where we had been invited to spend the night with Alexei & his family. They had a banya (sauna) out back with a bedroom in it.

We didn’t try the banya, but it also doubles as a shower/washroom.


The next morning we headed out, 600km to Khabarovsk

Alex & Poly



It’s a pretty boring ride, but there was a slow truck in front of us, and I was fixin to pass it, when I noticed the left rear tire acting funny, so I motioned to Poly & we slowed down. Not long after that, the wheel started wobbling, then shot off to the left. When the frame of the truck hit the ground, it also made a sharp left. Close call!



We got to Khab about midnite, found the ‘harley café’ & called a guy who Sasha had put us in touch with. But, I guess he had something else to do, as he couldn’t make it. I had heard of the HD Café here, but it turned out to be a Russian yuppie bar, decorated in Americana. It pretty much sucked, & was expensive. We did meet some nice people tho, & they were trying to help us find a room, but then we met another biker named Efgheny, who insisted we come to his house. By now, its almost 2am, & poly was beat, & not very happy, so we went with him.
He had a garage for the bikes, & made room for us in his small flat. More Russian hospitality! The next morning, we hit the road early. Its going to be a lot of long days to get to Europe!
After leaving Vladi, I was feeling like a BMW rider, as my final drive was starting to fail (the chain was worn out after the road to magadan) I didn’t realize it when I was in Vladi, & the shops were closed in Khab today, so I thought I’d just get a chain in Chita.
I kept it oiled & loose. It was noisy, but seemed ok for now.