Dnister Radweg

The other day I was reading about the Danube Cycle Trail (to German speakers better known as "Donauradweg"), and I got this crazy urge to develop a similar bicycle route along the Dnister River (also spelled Dniestr, Dniester, Dnestr, Dnjestr, or Nistru) from the Carpathian Mountains through western and south-western Ukraine and Moldova all the way to the Black Sea. Something like this (only about 1/4 of the route is actually mapped out):

Here is a close-up of the mapped out section:

Even though I admit that it's just a crazy idea that popped up in my head, there is some rationale behind Dniester bike route:

• Both the north-western trailhead (the Dnister River source) and the south-eastern trailhead (the Dnister River estuary) are easily accessible;
• the route starts (assuming that it will be ridden mostly following the river flow although it does not have to be that way) close to the eastern border of the European Union (primarily Poland, but Slovakia is not that far away either; see this page for more info on crossing the Poland-Ukraine and Slovakia-Ukraine borders in the area);
• the route runs not far from where EuroVelo route #4 crosses the Poland-Ukraine border (at the Medyka-Shehyni check point which is only 52 km/32 mi from the town of Sambir located on the proposed route);
• the route is also easily accessible from the city of Lviv (Lvov, Lwów, Lemberg), a major tourist center with large international airport (see a list of international direct flights to/from Lviv) and train station (check out the site of Deutsche Bahn to figure out ways to get there from pretty much anywhere in Europe by train; in the query form, type in "Lemberg(UA)" instead of "Lviv");
• Lviv is only 38 km/24 mi from Mykolaiv (the closest town located on the proposed route; the traffic is somewhat heavy though; to avoid some of the traffic, one can ride 40 km/25 mi on local roads to the nearby village of Verbizh instead);
• practically all of the mid-size towns (and even most of the villages) on or close to the route within the Lviv Province are accessible from Lviv by suburban rail and/or buses (getting on a bus with a bicycle may be a little questionable though);
• in addition to the fact that the route ends (again, assuming that it will be ridden following the river flow) at the Black Sea, which is a worthy destination in itself, it also ends not far from the city of Odesa (Odessa), also a major tourist center that has large international airport, sea port and train station;
• crossing into Romania may be an option, e.g. at the southernmost Romania-Moldova checkpoint Galati-Giurgiulesti on the Danube River;
• there used to be scheduled ferries between Odesa and Constanţa, Romania (connection to EuroVelo route #6), Varna, Bulgaria (possible connection to EuroVelo route #13), and Istanbul, Tukey, but I am not sure they still operate on a regular basis (TBD);
• yet another option may be to get on a ship from nearby Izmail up the Danube River (to the best of my knowledge, they go as far north-west as Passau, Germany).

• Here are, in no particular order, a few of the tourist attractions en route:
• Akkerman Fortress (13-15th c.c., was in active military use until the 1830-ies) in the town of Bilhorod-Dnistrovskiy (the town itself is over 2500 years old):






• Khotyn Fortress (13-18th c.c.) in the town of Khotyn:






• The fortress (14-18 c.c.) and the Old Town of  Kamyanets-Podilskiy do look like a Disney movie set, yet it's all real and authentic; the town is about 17 km/10 mi north of the Dnister River, but it is definitely worth the side trip (photo credits: Dmytro Sergiyenko):






• In the Podillya region the Dnister River twists and turns around these massive hills called "tovtry"; this part of the river (roughly about 200 km/125 mi long) provides the most dramatic scenery (photo from wikimedia.org, see license info here): 



• The so-called Dnister River Canyon is also quite scenic; and it is huge - about 250 km/155 mi long:



• Charming little towns are tucked away in river bends; this photo is of Zalishchyky (Zaleszczyki):



• A waterfall here and there; this photo is of Dzhuryn Waterfall (about 10 km/6 mi north of the Dnister River, on the Dzhuryn River, one of the Dnister's left tributaries):

Just an idea at this point. If I find time and resources, I might actually act upon it...

Hurricane Irene messed up all the plans

My today's flight to Warsaw has been canceled. Now, the earliest I can get there is September 7.

Provided that

• my employer will let me change my vacation dates "on the fly", and
• the air carrier will agree to change my return flight at no or reasonable cost,

I may be able to start the ride on September 11. It means less daylight and lower temperatures (not something I am very excited about).

This is the second time I am forced to reschedule the ride (the first was from early August to early September because of a work-related schedule conflict). I am very disappointed, to say the least.

Marketing disguised as engineering

I am not an expert to write negative gear reviews (or any reviews for that matter), but this one I just couldn't resist.

Here is the picture of the product:

As one would expect these days, the backpack comes with really fancy coffee-table-book-quality tags with all kinds of buzz words: "technology", "patented", "solution", "therapeutic", "comfort", "lifetime warranty", etc. They even let you feel the comfort by carefully placing two oval-shaped gel-filled bubbles onto one of the tags that tells you to "press" and "feel the difference".

The two oval-shaped gel bubbles apparently represent the oval shaped protrusions in the areas that come in contact with your lower back and your upper back visible in the picture above. Apparently, they are meant to provide some comfort and some airflow, which they probably do to some extent although the bigger ones in the lumbar area do not seem to be prominent enough to actually let the air flow between them, but that is not the point. Not the main selling point that is.

The main selling point is this:

The area that comes in contact with the lower back is actually a zippered pocket that goes all the way down and underneath the stiff bottom of the backpack.

The pocket contains an inflatable vinyl pouch

that, according to the manufacturer's web site, "automatically adjusts to your body’s shape and alleviates weight load, providing maximum comfort". The pouch comes pre-inflated, but, again, according to the web site, one "can adjust lumbar support with a simple air pump". The company claims that the vinyl "bladder holds air for 2-5 years without refill".

The idea sounded kind of interesting, and for 1/3 of the price (MSRP $69.99) I bought it. I did not buy it with any specific purpose in mind, so it sat in my closet for about six months and, yes, it did hold air during those six months. However, when I put about 10-11 lb into the backpack and took it for a short bike ride, the pouch/bladder was flat after less than three hours. Again, that is not the point - maybe, I just got a defective one.

The point is that the cover that hides the valve of the air bladder is:

• more prominent than the surrounding oval-shaped gel bubbles,
• located right in the middle of your lower back (I have no idea why they couldn't place the valve somewhere where it wouldn't come in contact with the body),
• made of rubber (not the stickiest kind of rubber, but still stickier than the surrounding material),
• not smooth since it has this X-shaped cut in the center to allow access to the valve.

Unless you are wearing this backpack over a heavy winter coat, the rubber valve cover will partially remove a few square inches of skin off your back in about two hours or less. Guaranteed!

P.S. I was not really testing the backpack. I was simply trying to figure out if I should carry anything on my back during the bicycle tour of the Ukrainian Carpathians. I could have used any other backpack, and it just happened to be this one. I was so impressed (read "disgusted") by the marketing shamelessly disguised as "advanced technology" (by the way, even the name of the company also includes the word "technology") that I just had to write about it.

EU-Ukraine border crossing by bike or on foot

To my own surprise, the page on border crossing between the European Union and Western Ukraine at the 2011 Expedition Greenthorn web site has become a big hit. Looks like I am not the only one planning a bike ride of the Ukrainian Carpathian Mountains.

I completely re-wrote the page (even though I have absolutely no time right now). Now it includes all the information on the topic I have been able to find. Check it out and let me know if you have recently crossed the border by bike (or on foot with a bicycle, or hitched a ride across the border with a bicycle) at any of the check points in question.

Motivation... kind of...

In this scene (in Russian - see the English translation below) Baroness Jacobine von Münchhausen with her lawyer and lover, Heinrich Ramkopf, are trying to make the case that her husband, Baron von Münchhausen, is insane:

Ramkopf (reads): To-do list of Baron Karl Friedrich Hieronymus von Münchhausen for May 30, 1779.
Duke: Intriguing.
Baroness: Very.
Ramkopf (reads): From 8 am to 10 - exploit.
Duke: What does that mean?
Baroness: It means that from 8 to 10 am he has an exploit scheduled. Well?

The scene is from Mark Zakharov's 1979 Soviet television movie The Very Same Münchhausen. The film tells the story of Baron von Münchhausen after the adventures described in the famous book, particularly his struggle to prove himself sane. In the movie, Baron von Münchhausen is portrayed as a non-conformist living in a dull and conformist society.

From 8 am to 10 - exploit ;-)

Got the bike

At last, a steel 29er hardtail mountain bike is sitting in my basement. It is a fairly known brand whose line of steel hardtails seems to have small, but somewhat cult-like, following.

Right away, I had the stock cheap hydraulic disk brakes replaced with better mechanical disk brakes and the stock 11-34t cassette - with 12-36t cassette (the largest 9-speed cassette there is).

These are my first, mostly visual, impressions:

• Next to my standard MTB (26-inch wheels, frame size 18"), it looks like a monster truck next to a Mini. Those 29-inch wheels are huge.
• If you are under 5'8", a 29er is most probably not your thing. I am 5'8.5", and the smallest (15") frame size with very slanted top tube barely gives me enough stand-over clearance not to feel that my private parts are endangered.
• Another potential problem is that I might not have enough clearance for a large seat bag. At least 8" clearance from the saddle rails to the top of the rear tire is required, and I am not sure I am going to have that much (might have to get a "skinnier" seat bag).

So, why did I buy a 29er?
Primarily, out of curiosity - had never ridden one and really wanted to try. Also, since I was not going to ride a full-suspension mountain bike (something I had considered at one point), I assumed that bigger wheels, combined with wider tires and a steel frame, might make my ride more comfortable compared to the aluminum hardtails with 26-inch wheels and relatively thin tires I had ridden before. Whether my assumption was correct or not, I will find out in less than three months.

Update:

I finally took my new bike for a few short rides. Here are the pictures...

..with the stock saddle...

...with my preferred saddle.

It does look kind of dorky, but rides pretty nicely, although I wouldn't call it a life-changing experience (which I sort of expected having read all the hype about 29ers).

The handlebar feels way too wide. I will probably refrain from cutting it since I will need room for a lot of stuff mounted on it, but I need to come up with some way to alternate hand positions. I will, most probably, install bar ends, which will also make the handlebar feel narrower.

The thumb-only SRAM shifters feel weird after Shimano (I kept trying to shift with my index fingers), but not too bad not to get used to. Getting a 12-36t cassette was definitely a wise move, although, with extra 20-25 pounds of gear, that might still feel like not enough (I must focus on hill work in the remaining months).

I am not sure about the pedals yet. The initial plan was to install my PD-M647, but that means I will have to do all the walking (I am sure, there will be a lot of walking) in my MTB shoes that are more like instruments of torture when it comes to walking.

Choosing the right bike

Considering a full-suspension mountain bike

Choosing the right bicycle for a long-distance ride that includes a variety of terrains and riding surfaces is hard. Being on a tight budget makes it even harder. And, since I generally tend to "agonize" about such major decisions, the fact that three months before the start I am still not sure what I am riding should not come as a surprise.

During my 2010 visit to western Ukraine, I did some recreational riding (as one can easily tell from the photos, mostly touring local espresso places) on a no-name fully rigid aluminum bike shown below:

Obviously, riding this thing over the Carpathian Mountains is absolutely out of the question. In fact, it has never even been considered an option as this bicycle was built exclusively for "coffee shop touring".

Even though in 2010 I mostly stayed on what technically were "paved roads", the experience was painful, to say the least. In fact, it was so painful that, when I returned from Ukraine, I promised myself that in 2011 I would get "all the suspension money can buy".

These photos show what an average paved back road and a good unpaved road in the part of Ukraine I am going to are like:

Even some side streets in big cities often look like the pavement has not been repaired since Emperor Franz Joseph.

Believe me, they feel a lot worse than they look.

Call me crazy, but, despite all the contraindications, I have not completely excluded a full-suspension mountain bike option for this ride. The reality is such that I will most probably not ride a full-suspension mountain bike this time around (primarily due to budget constraints), but, for the sake of factual accuracy, I would still like to explain the rationale behind my considering a full-suspension bike:

• Nobody in his right mind would attempt to ride a full-suspension mountain bike around the globe or even across a continent. There have been precedents of riding the Great Divide on full-suspension mountain bikes, but still the absolute majority seems to ride hardtails choosing reliability over comfort. Unlike those rides, the 2011 mountain bike tour of the Ukrainian Carpathian Mountains is pretty short (under two weeks and just about 300 miles). So, it seems safe to assume that the risk of suspension failure during such a short tour is fairly low.
• Full-suspension bicycles require more frequent maintenance (that is also more difficult to perform, especially, in the field) compared to hardtails and, even more so, compared to fully rigid bicycles. Again, due to the short duration and distance of the 2011 tour of the Carpathians, this issue seems... well... like a "non-issue".
• The very nature of mountain biking in the mountains obviously means that one has to go up and down. Going up may or may not mean actually riding up. Pushing and, even more so, carrying a bike is not only tiring, but also time-consuming. Still, mountain biking in the mountains in most cases should be more efficient than hiking since the time one looses on the non-rideable ascents can be made up for on flats and descents. If those flats and, especially, descents have really rough surfaces, a full-suspension mountain bike should "be faster" than a hardtail. I have not been able to find any scientific backing for this intuitive belief of mine, but Matt Pacocha's semi-scientific experiment described in the July 2009 issue of VeloNews ("A Racer's Edge, Which is Faster: Hardtail or Full Suspension?") seems to support it.

Disclaimer:

The above is purely my "theoretical musing" and should not be considered practical advice.

Update:

There is no reason to continue theorizing about "the right bike" since I have purchased the bike for my 2011 Carpathian MTB tour. If interested, see the blog post Got the bike.