Ivo 2008

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NORTHERN HEADWINDS

-- 2008

Vologda-Onega-Ladoga 2008

by Ivo Miesen

Table of Contents

Day One: Vologda to Onega1.

Day Two: Onega to Ladoga2.

Day Three: Onega to Ladoga3.

Related Links4.

An early morning in July. A few cab-loads of b ike-less foreigners arrive at an unmarked sports-hall near

Vologda trainstation. There they meet a few dozen semi-locals who are busy unbagging their bikes. A few

minutes later and ou t of the sports-hall the b ikeless foreigners re-emerge, now properly equipped with bikes

and everything. Frantically everyone starts to check his bike, load the bikes and fill the bo ttles. Some have a

lot to do, others are ready to go in five minutes. When most are ready the organiser and his daughter start

to distribute brevet-cards and frame-numbers. More frantic running around as the few happy souls

possessing knifes or scissors are raided to facilitate a good moun ting of frame-numbers. Just as everyone

has calmed down again the o rganiser calls all to cycle to the local Kremlin.

We manage to evade a small rain shower and parade down the centre. Sadly hardly a soul is watching,

6h30 is way too early for the average Russian. At the square in front of the Kremlin we meet o ther riders.

Some have just arrived in town, others had time to do some sightseeing in the previous days. Again the

organisers distribute essentials while the rest take their time ta lking and admiring the Kremlin. Finally, long

past the official start hou r, Mikhail sends us off with the instructions to ride in small groups to the outskirts of

town and wait there fo r the official start.

The neutralisation is, as usual, quite nervous. I manage to jump a group since the potholed and busy roads

slow the not so experienced down. From the first kilometers on, I'm glad tha t I've chosen a sturdy tourer as

my steed. Those on mountain bikes are working hard on the asphalt, those on skinny tires have to slam the

brakes each time a pothole appea rs. In between the busy sections I have a chance to see the others. The

usual selection of international audaxers: sinewy old chaps, nervous youngsters and a wide selection of

bikes. Shortly before we reach the assembly point at the outskirts I see a road-sign for the turnaround-point,

Medvezhegorsk, a mere 650km away.

As Mikhail sends us off a mad dash ensues. On one of the first hills I'm dropped from the first bunch.

Together with Avi, I manage to keep them in sight for quite some time. As I see tha t we don 't get any closer I

decide to ride a b it slowerblowing it in the first section is a bad idea . Avi climbs a lot better than I, so I lose

contact with him after a while. Not that I'm nervous about that, there should be many riders behind. And

indeed, not long thereafter I hear a mainly German group approaching. With them I continue, riding at the

back on the good sections of asphalt and moving up front when the potholes appear. They seem to be

afraid of risking their bikes. I ride quite o ften in Flanders so I know that bikes can hand le a great deal of

abuse.

The route-sheet mentions a caf and a scenic view after 50km. At the bridge I stop and admire the view.

Nearly everyone in the group doesn't look around but keeps on pushing it. While admiring the view, some

others whizz past.

OL 2008--Northern Headwinds--Ivo Miesen http://cycling.ahands.org/vol_2008.h

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The wind is quite favourab le at the moment so I don 't mind riding alone. In fact, I enjoy itmore time to see

the scenery and no p roblems with short stops to admire the view. 112km from the start is the first turn, left to

the Kirilov Monastry. Nearly immediately after the turn, I see the first rider encoun tering mele doyen du

peloton. Another rider is in ho t pursuit, followed by the first organ ised group. On ly one other organised

group appearsshortly before I enter Kirillov. Most riders are riding on the ir own. About 100m before the

monastery, I'm flagged down by one o f the o rganisers. Just beh ind the stalls selling tourist parapherna lia is

the controlthe usual Russian style, out in the open but with food and drinks.

A few lonely riders are still heading towards Kirillov when I head out, back to the main road. Wind and heat

slow me down. At some parts of the route the asphalt has melted. Sanitary stops have to be performed on

the asphalt now, the sandy shoulders are a no-go area now, unless you want to spend several minutes

scratching the stones from your tires. Luckily, I still have a tailwind after I turn back on to the main-road.

Although the wind aids me, the heat reduces my progress. We really enter remote backyards now, hardly

any traffic and enormous distances be tween villages. The few p laces with facilities are clearly marked on the

route-sheet though. Nothing serious happens until the 200km control. Next to the service-station is a small

caf/restaurant. I profit from the opportunity and get myself a decent meal. At the control, I see the lead

rider ready to pack.

The con trollers warn me tha t the next stretch is very remoteno services for most of stretch. Probably the

heat has numbed me, as I forget to check the contents of my pack. Every few dozen kilometres I see a few

farmsteads partly hidden in the forest. The on ly village of any size is halfway down this stretch, about a

kilometre from the route. I turn towards it. No shop is directly visible. I ask a few youngsters bu t they only sayto me that the village-shop is already closed. Back on the main-road I check my pack and see that I only

have a bag of d ried apricots, my emergency rations. Since it's only 50km to the next control, I stuff the

apricots in my pocket. Just as I want to head on, a tandem appears. They stop. The riders are from St.

Petersburg and started nearly two hours after the o thers. We continue on togetherfinally, a riding partner. I

immediately ride a bit faster, munching some apricots from time to time.

Slowly it starts getting a bit dark; not really dark thoughthis is the area o f the white nights. It's near

midnight when I finally see the control at a small lay-by. A small campfire is alight. The midges have a lready

found it. As I try to ea t, I remark that my stomach didn't like the ap ricots. The early start and ensuing

sleep-loss in the night before departure combined with the stomach problems make me decide to have a

small kip. The controller hands me a sleeping bag and I doze off. An hour or so later I awake again, halfway

frozen and luckily not eaten alive by the midges. Now my stomach accepts food.

The controller gives me some info on a diversion abou t 30km further on. I easily find it and am again gladabout my choice of steed. The whole diversion is quite sandy and lany. Dawn already starts as I pass the

small gauge railroad-station. Not much later, the sky is aflame and I stop fo r some pictures.

I head on in search of the first open shop. Luckily, the controller handed me some supplies. No more riders

are expected, so he doesn't have to budget. The tandem riders were still asleep when I left, just as another

rider who is packing.

While passing the canal towards Lake Onega I see a few cruiseships ferrying their guests up north, probably

to some monastery island or to the city of Petrozavodsk.

The small town of Vitegra has some open shops, 150km behind the service station. Finally I can restock on

food and cola. Not that that helps much. With the full daylight, the wind reappears. This time not as a

tailwind but as a stiff headwind. Halfway to the control, I stop and have a small kip in a sheltered location. I

reach the control around closing time, in a fairly bad shape. I take advantage of the tents and have anotherkip.

I leave the control more than an hour after the closing time. I know that I have no chance to catch up for the

next 200km, the next controls are 50km apart from each other, so I'll loose too much time at the controls.

The strong headwind will make a fast ride be tween the controls impossible. But I also know tha t I'll get an

extra few hours later this day since I pass the 600km mark. So, I still set out. Most others don't make this

calculation and pack. Again, a lonely ride.


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Not far from the control, I pass the border between the Vologda Oblast and the Karelian Republica

republic with a very scenic reputation. Although the route-sheet mentions a few degraded roads, I'm not too

much bothered by them. In fact, I'm more pleased by the occasional stretches of excellent road.

In fact, the day is quite uneventful. The route leads through large forests with a few villages along the

stretch. Only one of them, Pudozh, has some facilities. Here the next control, in a school is located. Finding

the entrance door takes me some time. When I enter the school my phone rings, the controller asks me

where I am. Having a local phone -number is quite handy during this ride, a lthough it did cost me some timein the days before. I had to do some communicating with the organiser when one of the German riders

ended in the hospital after cutting his leg when falling in a restaurant.

In the school, ano ther rider is sleep inganother DNF. When I leave the con trol, I restock for the rest of the

day. Not much chance to resupply for the next 200km. The next control, I nearly overshootI'm already past

the village and I have to turn around to find the scouts camp. A sort of place I know from earlier holidays in

Russia. A small group of controllers is still around, tea is still ready and a ho t meal rapidly appea rs.

To my surprise, the village shop in Pudozhgorskyhalf a km from the roadis still open and has a good

supply of cyclist food. I restock again, happy to have enough now. I try to send an SMS to Mikhail with my

expected arrival time at the next con trol, but can't get it sendprobab ly my credit has expired. Luckily the

controllers phone me. They ask me if I have a problem with a flying control. That suits me quite well in fact,

less time loss at the con trol. An hour or so later I see a car appea ring with bikes on itit looks like anothe r

rider has packed. We all stop by the roadside. They still have tea in the rmos flasks and some food. I leavebefore the midges find me and head on into a chilly night.

Luckily I have enough warm clothes to survive this night. Around 3h00 in the morning my thermometer in my

watch gives 6 as the temperature that although it's heated a bit by my body. I manage to keep on going

for most of the ride, I only need a short kip in a bus-shelter. The emergency blanket is absolutely needed in

this temperature. A nearby lake even looks qu ite foggy, since the water is a lot warmer than the a ir. In the

early morning I pass the locks of the Belomoro-Baltiysky channel. A faded "No Photography" sign is hardly

visible. Knowing the Russian habits I already expected this. So I stop and just admire the view. I transfer

some things from my bar-bag to my pocket and immediately a guard appears. I show him that I only

transfered some innocent things and he wishes me a good journey.

Just after the locks, ano ther problem appears. My shou lder hurts. An old injury, related to my jobthree

years ago, I had an inflammation in my shoulder. So, direct action is needed. I raise my handlebars and

decide to look for a pharmacy in the next town, Medvezhegorsk. I anyway have to restock on credit for myphone.

When entering Medvezhegorsk, it's too early to look for a pharmacy and a phone-shop. I need to ask

around to find the turn-off to Velikaya Guba. 23km further is the control. I see a few riders returning to the

main road, I'm less far behind them as expected.

Since the control has already somewhat more relaxed opening times I win back a bit on the time schedule.

I'm not yet within the time limit again, bu t gaining ground. The controllers tell me tha t I'm a bit late, bu t still

give me my stamp. I crash ou t between two othe r riders in a tent.

After an hour of sleep, I eat at the control and retrace to the outskirts of Medvezhegorsk. There are several

shops before the crossroads, but I have to retrace to the centre for some other errants. I rapidly spot a

phone-shop and replenish the the phone-credit. Then I ask for a pharmacy, but all pharmacies are closed.

For my shou lder, I'd need some Ibuprofen cremethat helps a lot in this stage o f the injury. But the re'snone to be hadit's Sunday morning and all pharmacies are closed.

I don't have the time to hunt around for the pharmacy, so I go back to the outskirts of town and head on to

the main road. The next 64km are mind-numbing. They are along the M18the motorway from St.

Petersburg to Murmanskin this area still a wide road, although not wide enough to be a realmotorway.

Only the first bit is a b it scenicfor the rest, it's straight as an arrow, with forests to the left and right. And o f

course the wind has turned again, another headwind for another day. Slowly I grind forward, the only

distraction being a dropped bottle. I turn around on the road's shoulder, misjudging the firmness of it. My


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front wheel slips away and I tumble. No real harm done, I retrieve my bottle and carry on.

Finally, the crossroad turning to G irvas appears. Finally, some smaller roads and better she lter against the

wind. To my surprise, I see Claus coming back towards the main-road. That's not according to the road-book,

and I didn't expect to see any riders that soon. The control is well signposted and the road-book is accurate,

so I easily find the control. Mikhail and h is team await me, the first control I reach within the cut-off since a

day and a half. I even have the time to sleep fifteen minutes before carrying on. Outside, a bike waits for

transportone of the riders sheared off his crank. Luckily for him, Mikhail loaned him his own bike. From

Girvas on, the route is very scenic. I immediately enjoy it and my speed improves. That, although I stop a

few times to enjoy the scenery.

In Spasskaya Guba, I stop to resupply. When I enter the shop I hear the saleslady saying to a customer

that the re were loads of cyclists passing today. In these remote villages forty cyclists passing in the same

day is already a big happening. I restock on various necessary things, like cola and chips.

Some 50km after Spasskaya Guba, I'm on the M18 again. This time near Petrozavodsk. I visited

Petrozavodsk last yeara nice town, with some beautiful rainbows. And yes, again the re are rain-showers

and rainbows. Just south of the town is another control. Aga in I reach it well within the cut-offFinally, I'm

back in the ride.

I leave the control shortly before the controllers do. They have to return to St. Petersburg for work. Now it's

clear to me why the start is on a Fridaymost controllers are needed on Saturday and Sunday, the days

when volunteers are quite available. Leaving a control before closure time is a luxury for me during this ride.And even more, the wind has died down in the late evening. So finally I can make some progress.

But not for all too long30km from the control major roadworks are announced. I'm flagged down when

arriving there. The road is completely unpaved now. A long line o f trucks and cars waits at the start of the

section. I have to wait and lose va luable time. After a long pe riod o f waiting, I ge t the signa l to start. Nearly

immediately I have to shift downthe road is in the first stage o f reconstruction. The rain-showers of the

previous days have softened the sand down and created many muddy sections. During the whole day I've

been riding to the south, so no more white nights. I have to negotiate whole sections by the light of my head

torch and half an E6. I estimate my speed at 10-15km/h. Faster is impossible. The whole section is a bit

longer as the announced 5km. And above all, my shoulder doesn't like it.

Finally, the roadworks and and I arrive in the village of Pryazha. I decide to g ive my shou lder a rest here.

After all, one of the few hotels on the route is located here. I doubt if I can find any other accommodation

between here and the control. Without shoulder troubles, I'd have continued, especially since there's hardlyany wind nowa situation from which one normally ought to profit. I find the hotel. It takes a good ten

minutes to wake up the night watch and be allowed in. I'm relieved of 500 rubles and enter the small room. I

decide on three hours of sleepthat should be enough to take me to the finish. But, I have to gambleI've

lost well over an hour due to the roadworks and I don't have three hours in hand. This gamble will only work

if the headwind ceases.

Three hou rs later, I wake up and start out ag ain. It's still 59km to the control. When I reach the turn of to

Kotkozero, the wind has reappeared. It's even stronger than yesterday. During the ride to Kotkozero, I see

the results of not sleeping enougha truck-driver stands next to his jackknifed truck. He fell asleep, got onto

the shoulder and over-corrected on the soft shoulderBad luck for him.

I reach the Ko tkozero control after the cut-off, but the controllers are still there. Immediately, I'm supplied with

food and drinks. When I ask them if there's a pharmacy in the village, they ask me what I need and then

head ou t. Within ten minutes, they return with something for my shou lder troub les. I hope it's still on time.They have to leave the control soon, but if I need I can still sleep there. But the lavish sleep stop in Pryazha

was enough, so I decline the offer. Since they are heading on to the finish, I hand them my night gearI

can use any he lp available.

A few km after Kotkozero, I return to the M18 . The wind has p icked up enormouslyI hardly make progress.

The road is again mind-numbing. I stop less, than 20km before the control, at the first roadside restaurant. I

have a good lunch while I check my maps. I see two possibilities to escape from the M18both unpaved. I

decide on the one sticking closest to the M18. The other one will be several dozen km's on unpaved road of


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unclear quality. I won't risk that.

A few km after the restaurant, I turn right and immediately onto a gravel road. Only once I have to stop due

to whee l-spin on a small climb. But my map is not all too de tailed and in the next village I have to ask

around. The only source of information available wants to point me to the main road again. I keep on asking

for the small road so he finally points to a earth-road not far away: "Follow that one, and keep left," is the

advice, while he returns to his house.

The road directly turns into a track. I'm not much faster here than on the M18 with it's headwind. The roadtwists and turns, at the end I won't have gained any ground with this one. Finally I see a village appearing.

Now the next question: how to get back to the route?

From afar, I see an UAZ (Russian jeep ) appea r. I wait for it and flag it down. The young lady inside points

me in the right direction. Through a very scenic village I ride to the west, into the headwind. Just after I'm

back on the course, I'm slowed down even more. The very scenic road along the river is completely exposed

to the wind. I delay my decision until the turn-off, 10km further on. Then I'll know if I'll have a headwind or a

tailwind for the remaining 200km.

Nearly immediately after the turn-off at the edge of Lake Ladoga, I sense that it's a lost battle. The wind is

completely western today. So, to the side or even sometimes a headwind. No chance for a tailwind and I'm

already 1- hours behind the closing times. I decide to call it a day and contact Mikhail. He tells me tha t I

can keep on going, they will be at the finish until noon the next dayeleven hours after the closing of the

control. Without the shoulder troubles, I'd have accepted this offer, but not nowI don't want to risk myshoulder for a mere HD finish.

I check my map for possibilities to travel to Sortavala. There's a railway-line in my direction. So I decide to

check at the nearest railway-station. That railway-station takes a long time, only in Vidlitsa is onejust 5km

before the next control. In Vidlitsa, I head for it, but they tell me that the next train to Sortavala leaves

tomorrow morning. I decide to head on to the control. It's one of the best Baltic Star has on offer, at a very

scenic location on the shore of Lake Ladoga. I recognise the road from previous rides here. Since I didn't

push it, I arrive there 2 hours behind closing time. The controllers are still there. I tell them that I quit, and

settle for tea and a hot meal.

Now there's only the problem of my return to Sortavala to be so lved. The controllers tell me tha t there's an

elderly German couple at the beach. They intend to travel north. So I strike up a conversation with them. It

would be no problem to hitch a ride with them, but they on ly leave in the morning, far too late fo r me.

When I return to the controllers they have already phoned the next control. They'll give me a ride to the

Pitkjaranta, from where I can go to the finish with the Pitkjaranta controllers. My bike is shoved into the car

and we head on. Part of the ride I sleep.

When we arrive in Pitkjaranta , not all riders have arrived yet. At least Claus and one o f the Austrians are

missing. As usua l in Russia, I immediately get food and drinks. Then I sleepno po int in wasting a good

moment of sleeping.

When I wake up, Claus is still at the control despite the late hour. He tells me tha t he had set out from the

control, but had to return due to a back injury. In contrast to me, this is his first DNFa b itter pill to swallow.

When we all sit in the minibus to Sortavala, it's a hard ride fo r Claus. Each po thole he feels in his back. We

arrive in Sortavala, when nearly everyone is already asleep in the finish control. I join the sleepers, and on ly

have a look around town in the next morning.

Post-mortem

Now, writing a few weeks after the event, I know tha t this ride is feasible for me: It was the shoulder which

caused me too much time loss. I had to sit very upright to lessen the pressure on it. And twice I had to stop

and sleep at an un-tactical momentespecially the sleep-stop in Pryazah cost an enormous delay. The

shoulder-problem was clearly caused by my job, especially by the extra work-pressure the week before

setting out. I already had problems with it during the last day of work. The headwind caused me severe


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delays. Had the controllers interpreted the rules very strictly, I'd have been DQ'd be fore the 500km mark.

Finally the starting time caused me some delays. I had to wake up at 5h00 in the morning, Russian time,

which was 3h00 in the morning for my body clock. So I lost half a night of sleep. This caused the need for

two sleep-stops in the first night. Normally I can ride the first night without sleeping. So I lost 2 -3 hours due

to th is starting time.

The LEL start time of 8h00 am combined with the one-hour time-change with home is greatthen I can gain

lots of ground in the first night and create a comfortable time-cushion. This time-cushion was lacking now.

The road surface was mentioned by many as a problem point. For me it was no t. The right selection o f bike

and tyres is needed here, a good tourer equipped with 35mm tyres works great for Russian roads. A

mountain-bike slows you down too much on the asphalt, a pure racer is punishing on the bad sections and

causes time-loss due to punctures.

I'll certainly return for anothe r ride with Baltic Star, be it a rerun of Vologda -Onega-Ladoga or one o f their

other rides.

Related Links:

Baltic Star Randonneurs Homepage - Vologda-Onega-Ladoga 2008

Randonneuring in Russia by Jim Trout - Seattle International Randonneurs - 2000

Bike marathon around Lake Ladoga from "PetersburgCity.com" (2001 )Ivo's Crackpot-1000, a Hill too Far (UK; 1998) PDF

Ivo's Dodging Potholes in Bulgaria (SVS-2002)

Ivo's 2005 tour through Ukraine (and Travel Tips!)

Ivo's 2006 tour through through the lands of Kalmuks and Circassians

More of Ivo's great Photos!

Ivo leads brevets in Maastricht.


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