Blagaveshinsk

Sergej havde allerede advaret os mht. vodka-oversvømmelserne i Blagaveshinsk, og det samme havde kiwi-motorcyklisten Justin Cury. Efter Svobodniy var næste stop altså Blagaveshinsk. Der var kun 120 km dertil, men det er perfekt når man som os ikke fik slået røven i sadlen før kl. 6 om aftenen.

Som sædvanlig her i Rusland var gutterne fra klubben Blagbike i Blagaveshinsk mødt op ved bygrænsen. De ledte os til klubhuset, købte mad og, ja selvfølgelig, vodka. Igen nogle fine folk, og som sædvanlig blev vi hængende et par dage længere end vi burde. Denne gang var der i det mindste en grund til forsinkelsen, for de var i stand til at skære os et par toppakninger, hvis vi ville vente. På det tidspunkt havde vi ikke flere ekstra af disse tilbage, og den på min Nimbus kunne ryge når som helst.

Pakningerne blev nydelige og var ventetiden værd. De var gjort i et specielt materiale fra Det Ydre Rum, kaldet 'kosmisk toppaknium', et materiale der kun findes i denne del af Rusland. Da folk her sjældent har reservedele i reserve (beklager, kunne ikke lade være), bruges pakningsmaterialet også på deres højkomprimerede sportsmaskiner, og i vores tilfælde virkede de virkelig fint. Prisen på knap 100 kr. var også tilpas, så hurra for lokale håndværkere der ved hvad de gør – der er for få af den slags tilbage.

Som man kan forstå, blev vi behandlet ganske vel, helt efter standarden hos russiske mc-folk. De printede endda et billede af os og fik os til at signere, så husk at se efter på billedvæggen næste gang du er i byen.

Nåh ja, der en enkelt ting at tilføje: Vi gik tidligt i seng for at kunne komme tidligt afsted næste morgen, men alt forgæves. Kl. 4 om morgenen blev vi vækket af en Andrei og tre piger, af hvilken én var en ægte Ivana (dog ikke den originale internet-Ivana (?!?)). Alle sammen var stive af syre og i festhumør, så vi kom ikke i seng igen før kl. 7. Og vi kom heller ikke tidligt afsted på motorcyklerne.

Sergej had warned us about the vodka floods in Blagaveshinsk, and so had the great Kiwi-rider Justin Cury, or Just Enough as we had used to call him, though that have nothing to do with the story. After Svobodniy the next stop were Blagaveshinsk anyhow. It’s only about 120 kilometers, but perfect when you don’t get your ass on the saddle before 6 PM.

As normal in Russia the guys from the Blagaveshinsk club Blagbike met us just outside town. They took us to the club house, bought food and, yes of course, vodka. Very nice guys, and as per normal we stayed a night or two longer than we should. This time it was even a reason for the delay, they were able to make us head gaskets if we waited a bit. We were at this time very short on head gaskets, we knew it could blow on the blue bike any time, and we did not have one single spare.

The gaskets were nice and worth waiting for. They made them from a special material from outer space called cosmic headonite and this material is only available in Russian Inner Far East. As spares are sparse (sorry about that one, couldn’t help writing it) here they also use them on high comp sport bikes, and in our case they have also worked terrific. The price was also low, about 15 US dollars, which is about half of the price for a stock gasket for the Nimbus. Hooray for local craftsmen that know what to do, too bad it’s too few left.

As understood, and as per standard for Russian bikers, we were taken good care of. They even printed our photograph and made us sign for a trophy, so look at the photo gallery on the wall next time you’re in town.

And yes, there were one more thing to add. We went early to bed for departing early next morning, for no use. At 4 AM we were woken up by a guy called Andrei, and three girls, of one was a real Ivana, though not the original internet-Ivana. All dead dog drunk, wanting more of a party. We were dragged out of our beds, and didn’t get to bed again before 7. We didn’t move on that early this time either.

Den nye toppakning, 'Made in Blagaveshinsk'.

The new head gaskets, made in Blagaveshinsk.

Reception in the club house.

Billedet af os på væggen. Heldigt at de kunne nøjes med et foto, og ikke vores hoveder på en plade, som jægere plejer at gøre det.

Our pic on the wall. Luckily they just wanted the pic and not original stuffed heads like hunters do.

Lookin' good as always.

Vitamin and his trike.

"Få røven ud af sengen og kom herned. Den er kun 4 om morgenen og festen er lige startet."

"Get your ass outta bed and down here, it's only 4 in the morning and the party has just started".

Ducati comes from a saying in North Norwegian dialect, and means "You, what time...".

Ivana kan lide Nimbus, den bedste mc hun nogensinde har set...

Ivana likes Nimbus, best bike she'd ever seen....

Ivana kan også li' Stella....

Ivana also liked Stella....

Og hun kan li' at blive fotograferet...

And getting photgraphed....

Ok, nu blir det her lige i overkanten for en blog om en mc-rejse. Men vi respekterer også at nogle af vores læsere ikke gi'r en hujende fis for motorcyklerne, men heller tager en god s******...

Ok, this is getting too much for a blog about a motorcycle trip, but we must also respect that some readers don't give a flying fuck about motorcycles but rather like a good w***...

Det her er ok, for der en mc på billedet.

This one is ok, there is actually a bike on the pic.

Dette billede er tilegnet Løvaas Motor, www.ducati.no, som donerede en Ducati fjeder vi skulle bruge til sidevognene.

This pic is dedicated Løvaas Motor, www.ducati.no, that donated us a spring from a Ducati that we used on the sidecars.

Byens mest berømte statue: Den erotiske general. I baggrunden på den anden side af floden ses Kina.

The most famous statue in town, The Erotic General. In the background across the river is China.

Gæt hvor gammel denne bygning er. Send svaret til KGB Landslotteriet og mærk kuverten '1967'.

Guess how old this building is. Send the answer to the KGB lucky draw and mark the envelope with "1967".

Ude af byen.

Outta town.