Tuesday, June 16, 2009

9 June 2009 Ukraine






Wake up, clean up and set about the day’s tasks. First I purchased another day at the hotel and second I needed to purchase some motorcycle insurance. I asked the people at the reception desk who spoke immaculate English and they told me of a bank 300 meters away that sold vehicle insurance. I also asked them to write in Ukraine that I would like to purchase motorcycle insurance for one month in the Ukraine. They did that which later proved to be very useful. I changed some Euros into Ukraine money. While I was doing that a guy looked over my shoulder and watched everything I did. He looked to see how much money I purchased, he listened to the teller count the money and watched me put it in my wallet. I hate people like that, like they can’t keep their nose out of other people’s business. As I walked to the bank I noticed almost all the women sixteen years old and older wore high heels. I had to wait some time in the bank to be waited on and watched the customers come and go. The height of the heels ranged from about 4 inch spikes to the average 3 inch spikes for women 28 to 40 and the over 40 group tended to have heels with about 1 inch square bottom. Just an observation. I eventually was waited on and purchased the insurance for one month for $27USD just in case I had an accident or to show the police that I’m a responsible person. Which might reduce my fine in case I was caught speeding. So back to the hotel and I begin to update this blog. I just sat down on the computer and there was a knock on the door. I thought it was a housekeeper but it was Yuri. I was a bit surprised because I hadn’t been able to contact him. I was going to try later. So there he stood, with his two daughters Edita and Renata. I invited them in. The room was a mess with motorcycle clothes laying everywhere. Yuri said “let’s go. I have some motorcycle friends I’d like you to meet.” I asked him if we were taking the motorcycles. He said, “yes you can ride with me.” So I grabbed my coat and helmet and out the door we go. We get outside and guess what Yuri is riding? A 750 Honda RS sport bike. An older model but very fast for Ukraine. So I’m about to get on the thing and the girls give explicit instruction on how to ride on it. Hands on the gas tank to brace yourself for hard braking but nothing to hang onto for fast acceleration. The two girls were riding a Honda sport bike 90 to 120cc. I never saw one in the U.S. so I assume it’s a European bike. Renata was driving that bike and off we go to visit Victor and his friends. Victor owns a small repair shop for motorcycles and does some custom building of motorcycles. We talked about motorcycles in the Ukraine and the United States. I showed him and his friends my 1941 Harley-Davidson chopper which I built. He was impressed. All the time we were talking, Victor’s wife and Yuri’s daughter would sneak off and bring back food and drinks. I think Renata and Edita got a little tired of listening to motorcycle talk. Yuri left and brought back another motorcycle which he left to have some work done on it. After some conversation about the motorcycle and tinkering we all said our goodbyes. I took some pictures of Victor’s motorcycle creations and thanked him for his t-shirts, and Yuri, his daughters and I left for his house. We wove in and out of traffic with my knees almost rubbing on car doors. Renata was riding her Honda and Edita kept up with Yuri. I was impressed. I think Renata is sixteen year old and can ride a motorcycle in the bumper to bumper traffic without any problems. She should teach motorcycle safety classes to American women. I think she could teach them a thing or two. We arrived at Yuri’s home. He showed me some pictures of his motorcycle friends out riding motorcycle and having fun. Also Renata singing/performing on stage. I’m sure its a video her father will keep for a long time. It wasn’t long after we arrived when Natasha, Yuri’s wife, cooked and had supper ready to eat. I was well fed while I was in Yuri’s company. We then continued surfing on the internet. We were looking at motorcycles on e-bay and we were having some difficulty communicating. Somehow Natalie showed up in the nick of time and acted as our interpreter the rest of the night. We spent a lot of time on the internet which Natalie interpreted between Yuri and me. One of the last things we did was listen to Renata sing and play piano and then sing a folk song from Ukraine. A great voice and I’m sure she will go far. I finally got home about 12:00 a.m. A great day with good people.

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