Ukraine (local)

Having in 2001 experienced how nice a country Ukraine in many ways is, I returned for more riding in 2002. During about two months I rode 3927 km in Crimea and along the Dniepr river. I arrived in Ukraine by boat from Istanbul in Turkey and left the same way. Since last time I was in Ukraine things have improved; better food (now one can have Ukrainian made cornflakes and musli), the cities also look better. Surely Kuchma is doing something right. One thing hadn't improved though - the horrible mentality in most state-owned hotels. Luckily there are several types of alternative accommodation. Ukraine is cheap and during two months I spent less than 1000 USD. On the whole I enjoyed the riding as much as the previous year, not that Ukraine is always pleasant, but it is rarely boring. There is something special about riding in Ukraine, the contrasts, it's socialist history, the absence of western tourists, the light, the Ukrainians, well, I can't exactly put my finger on it but nice it is.

The itinerary/places where I slept was as follows; Feodosia - Ribatche - Jalta - Feodosia - (Kerch) - Feodosia - Strelkovoe - Dzankoj - Feodosia - Otradnoe - Feodosia - Kurortnoe - Sudak - Jalta - Lyubimovka - Pribreshnoe - Mirnyj - Meshvodnoe - Khorli - Lazurnoe - Golaja Pristan - Kahovka - Kamjanka Dnieprovka - Nikopol - Dniepro Dzerzhinsk - Komsomolsk - Chigirin - Cherkasy - Prokhorovka - Kedina Gora - Khorol - Komsomolsk - Dniepro Dzerzhinsk - Novomoskovsk - Vasilivka - Strelkovoe - Feodosia - Belogorsk - Bakshisaray - Inkerman.

All about cycling in Ukraine. Routes and detailed info for Kiev, Carpathians, and Crimea. Trip reports and pictures of trips. General info on Ukraine, transportation, weather, getting your bike on the train, etc.