August 10, 2015 Nizhniy Novgorod to Kazan

As usual, the morning briefing was held by the bikes.  It was overcast and threatening to rain.  We were aiming for an 8:15 departure, and came pretty close.  Today is a fairly boring blog, as a standard travel day and no touring.  Therefore, many of the pictures have an element of my day-long view - the back of Dave's yellow helmet.

Valeriy Chkalov

One more statute photograph in Nizhny Novgorod.

There's lots of apartment construction in Russia, mostly ugly high rise block buildings.

Traffic was not too bad leaving this morning, probably because we passed at every opportunity.

We did get rain, which was bad enough,

but add in belching dump trucks and it wasn’t the most pleasant experience.

Fortunately, it didn’t last long.  Another day of blue skies and cooler weather.

Our route was on the M7, so it was highway traffic most of the day.

We were mostly in rural areas with fields of corn and wheat, but it appeared seemed that many of the cleared areas are not being used for anything.

This field was being plowed.

At our morning coffee break, we attracted the usual attention.  The guys are eating it up.  David, ever the gentleman, offered to let this young lady wear his coat and get her picture taken on the bike. 

Mike was right there to help in his loud American riding suit.

Back on the road, we ran into intermittent back ups,

mostly due to construction,

So we practiced our lane splitting skills.

Lunch was at a gas stop, and the small cafeteria was surprisingly good.  Dave had a chicken cutlet and I had salad.

Back on the road, with Kazan is only 155km away.  The Russian spelling for Kazan is the second one down on the blue sign.

The obligatory church picture.  It seems like every new neighborhood gets a new church.

With about 70km left to go, we pull over for a quick stretch break.  The men head out behind the shelter, but where is the ladies room?!

We weave our way through a little more construction…

And an accident. 

The other car looked worse.

Big Mike is our sweep guide.  He’s done a great job making sure the group members all wind up in the same place.  We have a wide range of riding skills and speeds, so the group tends to separate out into slower and faster riders.  It’s easy to see him at the end of the line.  

About half hour later we stop for gas.  I jump off quickly, to head for the ladies room.  Uh Oh!  None available.  We have to wait for the hotel –

it’s not far now.

As we drive over the bridge into Kazan, we’re greeted by a beautiful mosque. 

Janis and Svetlana pose for a photo while we wait on the sidewalk for the rest of the group to make it through the traffic lights.

Further down the road is a fountain…

And a sign (the yellow one) for our hotel…only 350 m to go!

And here we are.

Just need to get into the garage.  Svetlana persuades the guard to raise the gates.

And we roll into the underground parking.

Our rooms tonight are very nice - the hotel looks new.

We have a corner room!

Tomorrow will be a free day in Kazan, with a walking tour.  Kazan is the sports capital of Russia, and just completed the world swimming championships.  It is a new region and culture for us, with the first Islamic population we've encountered.  They have a long history of peaceful coexistence with mixed cultures and several languages, incluing Tartar, which we hear on the streets and see on written materials.  There was an article in the New York Times this weekend on Kazan, whic is Russia's eight largest city:

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/09/sports/kazan-a-russian-cultural-hub-finds-its-good-at-sports.html

I expect to post more about Kazan tomorrow after the walking tour.  We eagerly await news from Whidbey Island - Anna and Mike expect the arrival of their first child and our first grandchild - any day, almost certainly this week!