I had spent some time occupied by the thought that my time on the final weekend of August would be divided approximately equally between exploring the delights of Kazan with a friend, and travelling to and from Kazan by train.  Instead, I was presented with a wonderful opportunity to participate in the Downside Up Fourth Annual Charity Bike Ride.  Naturally I seized it - and went to Kazan the following weekend. In the weeks leading up to our major annual fundraising event, the Downside Up office in Moscow was hectic. Participants were registering from different parts of the world, our Children’s Centre was piled up with donated supplies for the riders (no touching!!), sponsorship money was coming in and there was a feeling of excitement in the air.  

Most importantly, some parents of children who attend the centre were to participate for the first time – Filipp Lentev’s mother Yulia, and Vanya Alekseev’s parents Maya and Sasha.  The day approached – last minute bookings were made, the route was checked, supplies were loaded, and people arrived from England and the United States.  I imagined what it must feel like to ride a bike, bought myself a pair of tracksuit pants, found my sneakers and headed off to the Hotel Ukraina to meet up with the other participants.  We set off on Friday night for Rostov-Veliky in a convoy of two buses, a very large truck for the bikes, and a mini-bus.  The evening was spent there making acquaintances, seeing old friends, and generally enjoying each other’s company.  This certainly went along way to helping us help each other through the more difficult parts of the ride, although caused a few problems with getting up in the morning to start on the first day…

The first day of the ride saw a large percentage of the population of Rostov-Veliky standing at the base of the town’s 17^th-century Kremlin, watching 55 keen participants try out their bikes.  With seats adjusted and everything under control we headed off - a wavering mass of colourful Downside Up T-shirts and caps against the countryside.  The Russian landscape is especially picturesque in August and cycling is an ideal way to see it.  The road became difficult about 20 kilometres into the 50 we had to travel before lunch that day with seemingly never-ending uphill sections, uneven roads and a head wind…..even so, a number of participants made it all the way, and everyone enjoyed lunch of shashlik, salad, and a lie down.

After lunch we enthusiastically coasted the remaining 20km into the Volga city of Uglich, where we would spend the night. After a rest and dinner there we were treated to a spectacle of Russian singing and dancing.  Inspired and in good spirits after the day’s efforts, a number of bike-ride participants felt persuaded to test the waters of the river at around midnight.  Warmed and relaxed by traditional post-swim vodka and some lusty nighttime singing, we went to bed and woke refreshed for the 50 km ride toward Pereslav-Zalesskij. 

Once again the scenery was gorgeous – green after the summer, and the ride through villages with their colourfully decorated wooden houses and curious onlookers superb.  The flatter and better roads allowed more time to enjoy the sights, in contrast to the previous day when at times the sight of otherwise pleasant hills had nearly driven me to despair.  Rural Russia in the summer offers a glimpse of life rarely seen elsewhere – we lunched by the side of the road overlooking a river and watched people herding cows, scything crops, digging vegetables from their gardens – with domed Orthodox churches dotted around and fine local produce to eat this created a tremendous atmosphere.  Afterwards, the final 25 kilometres was almost a pleasure….having grown perhaps too accustomed to riding, I felt that my physique had changed to appear permanently in the throes of pedalling - which made walking very difficult – but above all everyone felt a great sense of achievement and satisfaction as we loaded the bikes and headed back to Moscow for showers and a celebration dinner at Cafe Chevignon.