Day 14, Rostov na Donu – Volgograd

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Day 478km
Trip 4938km
Bike 9963km

Today was probably the toughest day so far. 40' and tarmac roads filled with loads of traffic and trucks. Trucks smelly and slow, giving off more fumes than the average coal mine in western europe. The tracks cut into the asphalt by the trucks are more than ankle deep and add to the whole picture since they the bike wobbly when crossing them- and cross them you must (approx. 10.000 times a day) when overtaking the smelly beasts 😉

The landscape didn't really do much to make the day more interesting- streches of several hundred km of wheat or sunflower or simply nothing. All relatively flat and the only thought that did cross my mind was "why would anybody in his right frame of mind try to conquer this vast. nothingness"? But then neither napoleon nor hitler were known as being very sane.

Overall I think I got to my personal limit (or very close anyway) today- mentally and physically. Having stomach cramps the whole day and something that feels like a cold (was actually shivering when arriving at the hotel), doesn’t help when driving for almost 8h in these condotions.
Ah yes, my bum is getting sore too- another day and I will start bleeding I guess. Any suggestions?

One of the funny moments today was the small stop next to the road, when a whole russian family took the chance to pose and have pictures taken in front of the bikes 😉

Ok, will try to relax and find a soup to eat something. Staying at the Bank Hotel- 7th floor, on top of a bank 😉