Been away from internet for past few days so will attempt catchup.
Day 1, May 3 - leave Bila tsverka, my bike breaks down with electrical fault just 100m outside of town. It's raining & cold. Bike fixed, we press on over ukranian roads with potholes that would swallow a truck. Road so rough I loose my spare tyre, tyre & bike cover off back of bike. Realise that i should have secured them better. Another breakdown 60km from next hotel and it's late & getting very cold. Rescued by Lang our intrepid leader but have to be towed the 60km in the dark with semi-trailers thundering past. Martin riding behind us is pulled over by police who try to book him because my bike & tow vehicle have no tail lights.
He tells police he doesn't know us & is let off. Later Lang pulled over in towing vehicle - has pay cash "fine" to police. We get into hotel at 11.15pm.
Day 2, May 4 -so many bikes not running a lay day is declared.
Day 3, May 5- Solid run to historic castle town of Kamjenic Podilskyj. My bike seizes up on morning test run so I use another bike. Three breakdowns during day, the first close to a Scottish theme hotel so we have lunch & a beer while waiting for help. We end up having to do the last 60 or so km in the dark, arrive in town at about 12.30am - my bike has lost clutch lever 10km back so change gear by pulling on cable. My bike is stranded when we get to town & Martin heads off to hotel to get help. A Ukranian guy pulls up in a beaten old Lada and in sign language we negotiate a tow.He tows me the last 500m to the hotel, I offer to pay him for his trouble but he refuses. He push starts the old Lada and heads off after telling me that he is also a motorcyclist.
Day 4, May 6 - After a visit to the local markets to pick up assorted bike parts we have a quick run to see the local castle. Martin & I have a relatively trouble free run to our next stopover in Cernivci in the south on Ukraine. Lunch is borsch & bread at gaudy restaurant on the road. I'm trying to post picture of the castle but for some reason the i'net connection here won't let me do it. Will try to send more pictures with next update.
Comment on the bikes - the Dnyper 650s are serious rubbish. They breakdown frequently, require a huge amount of maitenance and can only be riden at 50-60kph or the engine breaks down. Sean, one of our group has had no brakes for 3 days and has to stop using a combination of change downs through the gears and putting out his feet. Although part of the theme of this adventure was the use of the old bikes, the unreliability of the bikes is a major issue.
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