Saturday 17th September
By
morning Marigold had a flatty thanks to a slow puncture in her front right tyre.
We had known about this issue since we started our trek across Russia but in
our characteristic lazy fashion had decided just to pump it up as we went and
leave it alone. This turned out to be the brand new tyre we had fitted back in
Ulan-Ude but it only lasted 5 days. What a let down!
Now
that Will and Isaac had departed our company, this posed a significant problem
since they had the pump. Our own pump broke way back in Mongolia because Rich’s
foot doesn’t know its own strength. Stuck in the middle of a busy city, 3000km
from home and dragging a saggy ball sack on the front axle was the unfortunate
scenario we found ourselves in. Nonetheless, as industrious as we always are,
we set about on a wild goose chase across the city in search of some compressed
air. We were instructed to go here, there, then over there until finally we
found a tyre shop with a magic air gun. Ten seconds later and we were back
rolling again ready to drive towards St. Petersburg.
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| This is literally the only photo we have from this day |
The
stretch between Moscow and St. Petersburg was surprisingly amongst some of the
most serene driving we had encountered on the rally. Feeling big time and
untouchable, we decided to take a chance and go on the toll road, a decision we
got emphatically right. Not a single car passed us the entire time we were on
the 5.5 rubles per km highway. In the way of a monetary comparison, you could
buy BHS off Sir Philip Green for 73 rubles. 650km later we settled into a
quirky little hostel in St. Petersburg and started to acquaint ourselves with
our fellow roomies. Rich was doing especially well to charm two Russian ladies
who he thought were laughing at his jokes, comedic timing and impeccable
delivery. In fact, they were laughing at the massive six inch trouser rip just
below his arse crack he had sustained climbing on Marigold in Mongolia. Flesh
was on display; it wasn’t pretty. With that lashing of embarrassment and weary
from another long day of travelling, we hit the sack.
Posted by: Rich