27th Aug - Weather turns in Siberia

Aider woke me up at 7.30 to try and persuade me to have a lift to with him 300km North order to "save my muscles". I had really been enjoying the ride through this area of Russia and so I did not really want to get a lift on this part and then bike on the flat, busy part of Siberia. I wanted to enjoy the mountains. It was raining really heavily and he suggested that if I did not want to go with him then I could stay an extra day at his house and just relax.

I went for a 15km run around the area to stretch my running muscles and loosen off my legs. I had been wanting to for days and so it felt really good but I was cold and soaked by the time I got back and so the idea of me spending the day in the warmth out of the rain seemed very appealing and so I decided to stay.


This very salty, milky pasta was for breakfast. Certainly different to what I normally have.

I had a good afternoon writing some diary entries for China (1 month ago), playing with my GPS tracks of bike rides and enjoyed having lunch with Aysulu and Mike. It was very interesting to see how Siberian families live.

I had a good natter with Aider when he got back having sold his car. It was great to talk to a local that spoke such good English.



This was Mike trying on my Russian Army hat :-)

I had a lovely chilled day sitting in the warmth while it rained heavily outside. I was cold and so Aysulu lit the fire for me in the Yurt.

Yurts are really only used in the summer as it is too cold in the winter. They provide extra space for the family. Most Yurts are self contained with a bed or two and a kitchen area with a stove but often no running water.

The family ate their meals in the Yurt but I was the only one sleeping in there. It was lovely and cosy. A great place to spend a couple of nights not having to put my tent up!