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| Leaving the customs area and entering Russia |
0700 hours on a Wednesday morning and we are ready to depart for Moscow Raceway. Our convoy of 6 trucks, a van and trailer, begin our journey on what I can only describe as roads with a lot of bumps. After an hour of this, we have only managed to drive 50km and I am so glad that my truck has a seat with air suspension. The next 50km is interspersed with some even deeper holes in the road and several railway crossings that we can only drive across if we reduce our speed to 10kmh. Then, suddenly, we see a sign for the M9 motorway and as soon as we are on this motorway, the road becomes nice and smooth due to the new tarmac that has been put down. Now when I say its a motorway, I am lying. It is just a single carriageway on both sides and it is so new that they have not even marked the white lines down the middle. But it is smooth and free of bumps and holes.
SHEER BLISS.
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| The M9 motorway ! |
Unfortunately, this luxury ends as suddenly as it started and we are now driving on a mixture of broken, old road and the large holes are back again. It is proving difficult to maintain an average speed of 40-50kmh. Occasionally and seemingly in the middle of nowhere, the road transforms again and we can drive at 80kmh. This never ending change from good to bad driving conditions is frustrating. The road is is very straight and if only we could maintain a good average speed, we would be at Moscow Raceway in 8 hours.
We reach a town called Velikiye Luki and my heart sinks. This is the section of road that the other Truckies, who had set out before us, had warned me about.
IT IS DIABOLICAL.
Over 150km of dirt, dust, holes, bumps, roadworks, broken concrete and tarmac, crazy Russian car and truck drivers and some sections that are so narrow that you have to stop to let the oncoming traffic pass.
AND THIS IS THE M9 MOTORWAY.
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| Is it a motorway? I do not think so. |
We can only drive at a maximum of 20kmh or we will break the truck or the racing cars and equipment that we are carrying. Other trucks and cars pass us on our left and right sides, as and where they can, but even they are driving at only 30-40kmh. The countryside is just forest and marsh land with absolutely nothing to distract us from this torturous road. We drive past some stalls which are selling animal furs, probably from illegal hunting or trapping. With the sun shinning and the temperature close to 30 Celsius, I am not tempted to stop and buy anything. The air outside is full of insects. mosquitoes, dragonflies and some very vicious looking flies with big spikes on their noses, I do not know what they are called but they almost seem to be attacking my truck as we drive at such a slow speed.
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| Animal furs and live eels for sale by the side of the road. |
The skies are getting dark and rain is on its way. Thunder and lightning greet us as the road conditions seem to improve. The town of Rzhev is being barely visible through the dust storm that has started and then the rain starts. It rains so hard and the temperature drops from 30 Celsius to 19 Celsius. 20 minutes of torrential rain and wind and the sun bursts through and steam rises from the hot road surface.
AND IT IS A ROAD. A proper road
Gone are the bumps and holes and we can increase our speed to 90kmh. This is more like it !
After 13 hours of driving, the M9 motorway actually becomes 2 lanes and finally 3 lanes and
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| Russian lighning |
It has been a very, very long journey and I am glad that I have done it and so are all the other Truckies. And I know that we are all just as eager to leave.
Sorry Russia, but the journey for the Truckies has not been a good one.
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| Not far to drive now. |
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| Arriving at Moscow Raceway |