Larry joins for 109 km
Greating from Ivankiv
Short stop with liquidator


Mountain Bike Trip Map: July 30, 2006
Day 25-Ukraine, Korosten - Ivankiv :
Complete Log entry for Christian

Emma and I awoke and packed as usual but today Larry will replace Emma so I removed the modification and raised the seat before breakfast. Emma slept in and I left at 7am sharp. The road was unbelievably flat and straight for about 20 km and aside from some minor parts that were under repair, remained that way for the rest of the trip.

Larry was the physical education teacher from the center and was as strong as a tractor. He kept up really good despite the strong head force winds. I spent the day using mixed one word sentences like "roadgood" or "rainno" or "15good25tired". By the time we reached half way Larry was sweating a little and he had stopped talking all together. He was tired but I still couldn’t shake him. He was still keeping up.

Emma and Vlad met us just at the 100 km point and then followed us into town where we found the center and had a traditional Ukrainian welcome from the Ivankiev staff.

A really cute girl in a traditional Ukrainian headdress and shirt presented Emma with bread and salt for a welcome. I was really touched and Emma was too. This center seemed to be mostly run by girls and it had a more nurturing environment. Seemed like a really caring atmosphere. The director of the center was great and had a snack prepared for us upon arrival. We had a girl translator who turned out to be really nice and honest. She translated all of our conversation and the usual questions that we have found to arrive at each center. "Why did you decide to do the trip" etc... We were shown our room which was in an office at the center. We dropped our bags and toured the center where the director showed us how and where everything happens. You could tell that it was a safe environment for the people that the center serves. And it was just next door to the hospital.

After the tour of the center we took a tour of the town and some of the local cultures. There was a nice park with memorials everywhere. There was also a grave in the center where the liquidators rested. It was kind of sad to see that there was a couple of youth next to the fresh flowers drinking alcohol and yelling. I could see that this town really needed the center.

After the tour we went right to bed. I was exhausted