News from the Baltic - Issue 1

We are now in Latvia, Estonia passing by in a flurry of pine forests, blonde hair and rosy round cheeks. Yellow is a popular colour for farm houses in Estonia - it was blue in Russia - probably to make them stand out in the snow. I have been reliably informed it is also a bear's least favourite colour, and it seems to work, as we have not as yet seen any bears. Nor have we seen moose, deer, fox, beaver or any of the other animals that are meant to be lurking in the woods.

On crossing the border I converted my Kroones to chocolate and local liqueur. The chocolate's gone but I am still to share the grog with my fellow stout hearted riders in the 'Back Nine', as we are known. A formidable bunch including Kendy and Rick from North Carolina, Catherine from Ontario, Stewart from Poole, Bill from New York, Don from Echuca and Sally and Stella from Vancouver. The expertise includes a doctor of palaeontology, a professor in IT, a social research data analysis, a community worker, a nutritionist and a welder, so it's a wonder that we can agree on anything as simple as the route but so far we are managing. We have also begun to ride in a paceline which has helped drag all the newer riders along and helped us make okay times in the awful surface conditions and weather.

Stewart's always a good target

Stewart's stitches are out and his arm is in good shape. We have had no further drive by shootings.

Riga, like Tallin, sports an old city with quintessentially cute buildings, some brightly coloured and others decorated in a variety of styles including Baroque, Classical, Art Deco and original medieval, which surround a market square. In Riga there are amber sellers in abundance as well as the knitted and crocheted goods and it is quaint to see the stall holders while waiting for trade, ply their craft. At noon we went to an organ recital of Handel and Bach in Riga Cathedral. Very peaceful, as well as cool. The streets are cobbled and narrow, few cars allowed into the centre. I keep seeing reference to blackamoors and have discovered that in Riga, also a Hansa city, the Blackheads - a group of young unmarried merchants and sea captains - took as their patron saint a mythical moor, St Mauritius. The Hanseatic League was an economic alliance of trading cities which established a trading monopoly from the 13th through to the 17th centuries, according to Wikipedia.

I struck up a conversation today with two young men, one of whom is a graphic designer and the other a painter of Trompe d'Oeill throughout Europe on contract to the rich and famous. Both said living in Latvia was good now but could barely recall pre-1991, and relied on their parents' stories about the hardships endured under the USSR.

Our camp grounds have been very pleasant surprises, grassy and treed, even one with a swimming pool. Showers have been adequate, although the principle of temperature always dogs the last in: cold showers and warm beer. I chose a room and a beer on one evening - only $20AUD including a beer - and was very glad I did as it poured with rain as the lightning flashed. Dinner that evening was spent huddled under a picnic shelter.

The country rolls by in grassy splendour and sometimes we ride through birch or oak or pine forests. There is an abundance of water in Latvia in the form of lakes and streams - I stood and watched a young chap fly fishing in a lily filled stream the other morning. I have seen only one small mob of sheep, a couple of herds of cows and little else in the way of animals. I have smelt pigs and that lovely scent of silage on more than one occasion. Lots of hay has been made and awaits carting. Each house has its veggies and fruit trees and all look very healthy and lush. Flowers bloom in abundance and every house has a couple of pots of marigolds or petunias or the like at its entrance. Window boxes spill more flowers and then there are the beds filled with delphiniums, liliums, zinnias, roses and ground cover. As this area is covered in thick snow come winter they must work like the devil to have such splendid gardens.

Food - lots of pickled herrings, bland cheeses, mayonnaise salads, cold beetroot soup as well as hot borscht. I guess the tourist trade makes it hard to work out what is traditional food and what isn't but the supermarkets give some indication in their smallgoods and delicatessen sections. This morning for breakfast in the hotel I ate grated beetroot salad, a cabbage salad, cheese, egg salad, scrambled eggs, fried potatoes as well as tea and toast. I could have also had tomato, cucumber, little boys, cereal and sticky jams and pastries. Along the way we have been stopping to buy water and for those who prefer, ice cream and soft drinks. Coffee shops are hard to come by although we did find a gem right on the beach yesterday although getting stung by a wasp spoilt it a little.

There have been hundreds of stork sightings in Latvia. One even flew before us for two or three kilometres the other day, stopping every now and then as if leading us. They are nesting on chimneys, electricity poles, sunning themselves on hay bales and roofs and foraging in marshy ground to pick up the odd frog I suppose.

And so tomorrow we cross the border into Lithuania. I have too many Lats to convert to chocolate this time.

Statistics for those who are interested in such detail
17 July to Luhtre Talu: 94km, 19.2 average, 4hrs 50mins - hot and humid and relieved by a dip in the pool on arrival
18 July to Metsakula: 117km, 18.5 average, 6hrs 17mins hot and 35kms of dirt, gravel and sand
19 July to Limbazi: 120 km, 18.1 average, 6hrs 35mins hot and more dirt, corrugations, gravel and sand
20 July to Riga: 85km, 18.2 average, 4hrs 40mins of not so hot, busy busy roads after a pleasant dirt and gravel beginning