Special thanks to all these people in Russia.

As I travelled west I began to think there must be some kind of plot developing, a conspiracy which flew ahead of me like an invisible messenger.  I all my travels, never have I experienced such an outpouring of friendship and hospitality.  It was as if those who I came upon were not to be outdone by those I had met before.  I was always treated with respect and dignity, welcomed as someone extremely special, someone far greater than who I am.
 
• We met at a cafe just west of Novosibirsk.  You were headed east in your truck.  I knew at once that you were an adventurer.  You didn't speak English and yet you were not bashful.  You told me all about your bike trip from Riga to Odessa.  I understood.  You gave me your address and telephone number in Yekaterinburg.  You told me to call when I got to the city.  A few days later you spied me in the parking lot of the roadside motel in Kuibushev.  You pulled in and reminded me to call - you insisted I be a guest in your home. Vladimir Lagunov, thank you for being such a wonderful host.  Thank you Svetlana Lagunova, for welcoming me into your home so graciously.  You both went way out of your way, interrupted your daily affairs to show me around town - we toured museums, churches, historic sites, an ironworks, parks and the city center.  You linked me with the local America Society.  You arranged for me to give a presentation to Society members.  You got the local media involved.  You told me about places of interest that are not in the tour books and not on any maps - I would have missed the monument marking the line between Europe and Asia.  Thank you for all these things - the parties, the introductions, sharing your home and your joie de vivre; but, most of all, thank you for giving me such wonderful memories of my passage through the Urals.  Vladimir, you said you wanted to ride your bike in Europe in the summer of 2000.  I really hope our paths will come together.  I know you would be a fine travel companion.

 
• Olga, journalist and zany party maker, to you and your crew, thank you for insisting that I let you kidnap me for a night.  I left my bike locked in a watchman's shed at a truck stop on a cold rainy night at the end of August.  You drove me through the driving rain to a town 35 kilometers away.  We were going to visit some of your friends and "cover" a local election for mayor.  At 11 pm we piled into your driver's car and drove for 45 minutes into the South Ural Mountain Range.  (I thought your driver drove entirely too fast and, to this day I feel we were extremely lucky no to have ended up in one of those many roadside graves that one sees all across Russia.)  We arrived at a huge lake where we all went for a midnight skinny-dip.  Burrrrr it was cold.   But it felt wonderful.  The excitement, the constant arrivals and departures of your political cronies and fellow alumni, the ebb and flow of chatter and music, the periodical tink of glass and the outbursts of dunken laughter all made it virtually impossible for me to get any shut eye that night.  But, you were true to your word.  You had me back, reunited with Pan by 6:30 am.  Thank you for the fun diversion.  The night I spent in the Southern Urals certainly added a wonderful and unforgettable dimension to my adventures in Russia.

 
• Mornings were getting cold (2-4 degrees C).  I always looked forward to finding a warm cafe within 45 minutes of breaking camp.  On 4 September, approaching Ishevsk, I stopped at a restaurant that sported a huge statue of a moose outside.  The folks inside were not ready for the likes of me.  I pushed on.  2 kilometers later I stopped near a factory.  It was change of shift, workers were arriving and departing.  A group of guys pointed me toward your restaurant when I asked whether there was a cafe or magazine near by.  I peeked in and got the impression that your restaurant was more of a dinner bar.  As I was turning to leave you called to me and beckoned me inside.  One thing led to another and before I knew it you insisted I sit and have a full serving of shashlik, with fixings - on the house!  Your wife, son and daughter all got in the act and made sure I was full before I set off again.  They even insisted I sign my name on a large white wall next to the bar.  Thank you for sharing such wonderful kindness with a passing stranger.  May the goodwill you showed me be returned a hundredfold.  Thank you.

 
• I arrived in Kazan without a contact.  I was on my way to a university to inquire about Internet access so that I might check my e-mail.  (I also hoped that I might meet someone who could arrange for me to meet with some students and teachers.)  I happen to stop outside a building where some well-dressed businessmen were enjoying the fresh Indian Summer air.  I asked them for directions to the university.  One thing led to another and I was introduced to you, Alexander Petrov, philosophy teacher.  I had stopped in front of the Kazan Banking School.  It became clear that you and your colleagues were not going to let me continue on.  I was invited inside to shower, have lunch, and then address the entire school!  (I must admit that few of the student groups I met with were as engaging as the students at your school.)  Many thanks to the Petrovs, for inviting me to stay at your home.  I will never forget the tour we took - all of you and I - to the Kremlin, from which we watched the sun set over the Volga.  It was my first sighting of the mighty Volga River!  Thank you for organizing a TV interview, a newspaper interview, a trip to the university computer lab and, most importantly, for the big party you hosted in my honor.  Alexander, I am particularly grateful to you for the time we shared in rich conversation, in spite of the language barrier.  My thanks and compliments to your daughter, Anastasia, for her role as hostess and translator.  Anastasia, keep up the good work.  I know you realize that your great achievement in English will provide opportunities not available to your friends who do not speak English.  My visit in Kazan was extremely pleasant.  Thank you all for your fantastic hospitality.

 
• To the good folks at LINT Computer, Kazan, thank you for letting me access my e-mail from your terminals.  It was truly refreshing to connect to the Internet via your server - it was fast and furrious compared to the connections I had farther east.

 
• To John Appling, RPCV, Dirctor, American Council of Teachers of Russian (ACTR) and American Council for Collaboration in Education and Language Study (ACCELS) in Nizhny Novgorod, a thousand thanks for welcoming me to Nizhny Novgorod and inviting me to stay in your apartment.  John, thanks for taking the time to show me around Nizhy and to explain the ACTR and ACCELS programs to me.  I will not forget the fabulous Geogian meal you treated me to!  Thank you also for introducing me to the Pedagogical Gymnasium.  John, you gave me two gifts that I really appreciated: a book (Angle of Repose by Wallace Stegman) to take with me and additional exposure to and insight into the life and philosophy of BG and his compositions for Akvarium*.   My visit in Nizhny Novgorod was rich indeed.  Thank you.

 
• Yulia Pritkova, when my day at the Pedagogical Gymnasium was drawing to a close, thank you for stepping forward and offering the hospitality of your home to me so that I would not have to ride our of Nizhny Novgorod as dusk settled on the Volga River valley.  You were so kind to bring me to your apartment. Your mother and grandmother were fabulous.  I still chuckle when I think about the huge bag of potatoes and cucumbers and tomatoes (it must have weighed at least 10 kilos) your mother gave me, hoping I would take it with me.  I took three tomatoes and a cucumber... and a wonderful sweet cake your mom made (I remember how humbling it was to see your mom in the kitchen at 5 O'clock preparing a breakfast feast and the cake).  I had such a wonderful visit at the school and in your home.  I truly was sorry that the road called my name - I would have stayed longer, I'm sure.  Thank you, and a very special thanks to your lovely mom and grandmother.

 
• To the US Marines serving in Moscow, thank you for welcoming me to Moscow and "Little America" by inviting me to your party at the Embassy.  Your concern for my welfare when I arrived in Moscow went beyond your mission and responsibilities to the United States and the American community living and working in the US Embassy compound.  You guys are the best.  I have lived abroad a good portion of my life.  I know of none who are more dedicated to the causes of peace and protecting democracy and American ideals than you and your colleagues serving in US Embassies throughout the world.  None sacrifice more to serve and protect than you do.  Thank you for standing watch on the front lines of freedom.  Your vigilance insures our ability to dream and turn our dreams into reality.  I salute you.  Thank you.

 
• Peter May,  I cannot list all the reasons I have to thank you - some things just cannot be shared here and now.  I just want to say, I am extremely glad our paths crossed and that we forged a quick friendship.  The time we spent together in Moscow, and St. Petersburg, couldn't have been better.  I feel we have walked in each other's shadows for twenty years.  We view the world in no uncertain terms, complimenting each other's personal perspectives.  Our paths have not exactly paralleled the other's; but, like brothers who have gone off in different directions, each, I feel, has helped to satisfy the other's alter ego.  Congratulations on your marriage to Aimee.  God bless and keep you in the light of love, health and happiness.  Thanks for being so involved in the NMR.  We took Moscow by storm, didn't we?

 
• And Bill Pendleton, gentleman, diplomat, gracious host, friend, what an amazing friend you turned out to be.  With the faintest recollection of our brief meeting in UB, you let it be known that, for all intents and purposes, I was to be your guest during my stay in Moscow.  I told you I appreciated your offer and that I wouldn't stay more than 3 nights.  I stayed for 13!  I really appreciated the opportunity to stop and breathe for a few days.  Moscow is so different from anything that had come before on the New Millennium Ride that I really needed time to stop, take stock of where I had been and the new world I had arrived in.  Your apartment has got to be one of the classiest apartments, certainly the best-located apartments in Moscow. From there I was able to walk and ride anywhere in Moscow - and I explored the entire city.  I packed a lot into those days; and yet, I remember the time for the relaxation and civilized comforts I enjoyed in your home and sharing your company.

    Bill, I enjoyed our many meals together, our tours of the city (parks, architecture, markets, restaurants, etc.) and our shopping excursions too.  I enjoyed our lengthy conversations.  I do not believe I ever met a more relaxed host - even when the washing machine regurgitated all over your bathroom floor you  remained the model of decorum and patience.
    Finally, thank you for hosting a great farewell party.  I am sure all your guests had a great time because there was lots of good food and laughter dominated the evening.
    I am really happy to know and count as a special friend the mild-mannered globe-trotting banker from Oklahoma.  I look forward to sharing more laughs and adventures with you, Bill.  Thanks for enrichening the New Millennium Ride adventure.
 
• Konstantin Mosenkov and Makina Banoluzyanskaya, thank you for agreeing to provide a mail drop for a box of souvenirs, gifts and redundant articles sent to Moscow from Krasnoyarsk.  Two days out of Krasnoyarsk, I began to doubt the wisdom of sending cold weather clothes ahead:  the temperatures plummeted and the NMR entered a period of more than three weeks of near constant rain.  The weather deteriorated to the threshold of discomfort; in the end, I fell the right decision was made.  The day after I picked up the two boxes sent to your office, Fall and much brisker termperatures arrived.  Thank you for your help.

• Valery N. Zelenin, VP Foreign Relations, Novgorod State University, thank you, sir, for welcoming me to Novgorod the Great, the University, for arranging for me to meet with the upper level students, for introducing me to Raquel Kangas, and for your enthusiastic support of the mission of the New Millennium Ride.  Thank you also for contacting the local TV station.  Their interview and timely broadcast prompted people to come to the roadside for a glimpse of the man who had just ridden from Seoul, Korea.  As I rode out of town on October 6, 1999, folks shouted greetings and good wishes in English as well as in Russian as I passed.  Thank you.

• Thank you Raquel Kangas, PCV, first and foremost for agreeing to accommodate a fellow American, sight-unseen, at a moment's notice.  I really enjoyed my stay in your very comfortable, resplendent with all matter of civilized conveniences "grass hut".  I appreciated your insights into Russia, the history of Novgorod, the politics of education, Peace Corps Russia, and the many other subjects we talked about.  Thank you also for letting me visit and address your students at the University and The Music School.  Finally, Raquel, thank you for taking me out to lunch at that really neat restaurant in the Kremlin.  In my humble opinion, anyone who visits Novgorod should eat there!  Thanks Raquel - I wish you great success as you finish your extended tour in Russia.

• Luiza Gultyaeva, Hospitality Manager, Tzarskoye Selo, I thought we met by chance.  Then you told me you had seen me as I rode through Pushkin Tzarskoye Selo.  You came to find me after I inquired about taking my bike onto the grounds.  I would have liked to have a picture of Pan and me in front of the Catherine Palace.  What you had in store for me was a great deal more fun.  Not only did I get a brief tour and an historic summary of the Palace, I also got to visit an area of the Palace not open to the general public.  Thank you for inviting me into the Czar's hospitality suite and for laying out a rich and wonderful spread.  I will always remember our intimate luncheon, that huge table, the regal chairs and the large painting of Catherine, her eyes watching our every move.  I was privvy to attentions reserved for the state's VIP visitors.  Thank you, Luiza.

• Alex Krasnenkov, General Manager, Astoria Hotel, thank you for putting the hospitality of the Astoria at my disposal.  We never met, but when your son, Dennis, who was studying in the US as an exchange student hosted by my godson's family in Vermont, told you about the New Millennium Ride and my imminent arrival in St. Petersburg, you suggested I stay at the Astoria!  You e-mailed Dennis.  He told my godson, Jordi.  Jordi e-mailed me.  I called you, and arrangements were made.  I'm sure it was hard for your staff to imagine the world and life-style I left for the few days I was treated to the elegance of your hotel.  Everyone was more than accommodating and my stay under your roof was luxurious in the extreme.  Thank you for the wonderful treat.

• John Cairns and Lydia Leontieva, Hospitality managers, Astoria Hotel, thank you for your warm welcome and for seeing to the special needs involved in my visit at the Astoria.  Thank you for your interest in the New Millennium Ride and for your comprehensive answers to my questions about St. Petersburg.  Thank you also for letting me use your computer to take care of some NMR business.  I look forward to visiting the Astoria and seeing you again when I return to St. Petersburg.  Thank you.

• Galina Farmina, I think you must be the classiest tour guide I've ever met.  Meeting in Novgorod was a wonderful circumstance.  Thank you for inviting me to call you when I arrived in St. Petersburg.  Thank you especially for agreeing to spend a day with me - I will never forget the relaxed pleasure of our walking tour of St. Petersburg.

• Marina Anatolievna Karaganova, thank you for agreeing to let me tag along with Pete and Aimee during their visit and tours in and around St. Petersburg.  I really enjoyed your low key, well-informed and multi-dimensional approach when sharing local history and the stories of the notable characters who played in the drama of Czarist Russia.  I am particularly thankful that you gave us time to savor the sites and the stories.  It was an added bonus that your connections gained us entry where other could not go!

• Konstantin Sholmov, thank you for stopping me while I was passing through Vyborg.  You cannot imagine how our meeting led to others and yet others that became international introductions and friendships.  I enjoyed reading the story about the New Millennium Ride you wrote for your paper - that's a great picture by the moose!  Thanks for your hospitality and particularly for introducing me to the great teachers and students of Vyborg Gymnasium.

• Thanks to the many police who helped me along the roads.  It is wonderful to say, from Mongolia to Finland, never once did any law enforcement ask to see my passport or other document of identification!

• Thanks to the many kiosk owners and attendants who were always cheerful and often extremely generous with gifts of food.

• Thanks to the motorists who would stop me on the highway.  Your gifts of food, drink, even money were remarkable and always humbled me.  I hope my fellow Americans will take note and offer random gifts of kindness to long-distance bikers when they are seen on America's highways.  You, more than any other group, help to dispell the sad myths of what many believe should certainly befall foreigners traveling across Russia.

• Finally, Russia's border guards - thank you.  You were friendly and efficient.  Twas a pleasure to enter and sad to leave Russia.

*For those of you interested in Akvarium, check these sites.

 

Russian site:	www.planetaquarium.com
Bodhisattvas of Babylon:	www.digitalfunk.com/akvarium
Official English Site:	www.aquarium.ru