I’m riding today through Penza, Kuznetsk, Syzran and Samara. I will be watching the rear tire closely. I plan to stay in a Holiday Inn and stay an extra day in Samara to do some sightseeing and work on my blog. The ride to Samara was uneventful, good road all the way except for road construction. This is a large city and again the map on the internet looks easy but it never works out that way. The traffic was heavy in Samara and I was driving too slow for most drivers and they didn’t like it. Along the Highway M5 I met Sergei and his partner Natasha. They invited me to their house to stay and I also met many of their motorcycle friends. I was provided with a secure place to park my motorcycle and then the party started. A lot of motorcycle riders, riding a variety of years of Honda and Harley-Davidson motorcycles, showed up. I showed them a picture of my 1941 H-D chopper. They were impressed. I met Andrey and his English-speaking girlfriend, Vasilisa, who spent the night interpreting for me. Andrey is a professional artist. Most of the guys were pretty impressed that I was riding motorcycle to Valdivostock, Russia. Some thought I was a little nuts. The hospitality was great. Pretty soon I was collected up and we went to Sergei and Natasha’s flat. Natasha and Sergei cooked up a traditional Russian dinner of dumplings, cheese, ham and vegetables. I drank almost a litre of water. They thought that was a bit odd. I was dehydrated from a hot day in my red riding suit. The plan for tomorrow is some sightseeing in the town. This city dates back to the cold war days and was the home of the Russian Space Program; a super secret city and it wasn’t even on the map! It was time to retire for the evening.
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