Russian-born former Edmonton student nears finish on a ride from Moscow to central Siberia
The ride will take Pavlov and his teammates 7,000 kilometers to the finish
There are many adventures in the cycling world. Taking to the open road on two wheels, adventure, as much as anything else, is the name of the game. Here at Canadian Cycling Magazine, we’ve had the privilege to share the stories of many riders who hit the Canadian asphalt, whether it’s a long or short haul.
Canada, of course, is the world’s second largest country. Can you imagine doing the same across the world’s biggest?
That’s what Nikolai Pavlov is doing. The Russian-born University of Alberta masters graduate, the Edmonton Sun reports, is “making up for lost time,” exploring a country of origin he never had the chance to discover when he left Russia before the age of 18. Now 30, Pavlov, after a dozen years abroad, decided that the best way to experience his homeland is by bike. According to the Edmonton Sun, he scratched that itch the moment he returned to Russian soil, leaping almost immediately into the saddle as part of a team venture called “Long Way Home.”
Today, Pavlov is nearing the finishing stretch of a mind-boggling haul for even the most ambitious of riders: 7,000 km from Moscow to the heart of Siberia, after kicking off on May 12.
“Finishing stretch,” though, on a Russian scale, means Pavlov still has a thousand or so kilometres left.
The ride doesn’t have an underpinning political message, though, the Sun reports. “I wanted to get away from that,” the rider said. “The government is one thing, and what is happening politically is one thing, but at the end of the day, Russia and Canada share a lot in terms of environment and landscape.” After arriving in Canada in 2004, Pavlov spent a lot of time in Vancouver Island. In B.C., he met Colin Angus, who navigated Russia by bike. Pavlov then felt an urge to explore and to depict what his home country is truly all about.
“I wanted to share with my Canadian friends my home country,” Pavlov said. “I wanted them to see that Russia is not exactly what it is often portrayed in the media.”
The route thus far, Pavlov said, has been a lot of highway and flat stretches. He’s now riding close to 200 km a day, with the challenge of the dirt roads, elevation and river crossings of Siberia ahead. It also means taking a somewhat spartan approach to accommodation.
“Now,” Pavlov said, “we camp on the side of the road.”
