Aug 22, 03 | 11:39 pm - * Part III Preview *

Greetings Bob Perkowitz,

Europe2003 Part III is the last two weeks and 1,000 miles of a 3,600-mile ride from Lisbon to Moscow. Charlie Walker and I (Bob Perkowitz) will ride from Poland, through Belarus and western Russia following this itinerary.

---DATE--- --KM-- --MI-- NIGHT IN
Fri Aug 29: 000 000 Krakow, Poland
Sat Aug 30: 161 100 Tarnobrzeg
Sun Aug 31: 128 80 Lublin
Mon Sep 01: 161 100 Brest, Belarus
Tue Sep 02: 000 000 Brest, Belarus
Wed Sep 03: 204 127 Baranavky*
Thu Sep 04: 155 096 Minsk
Fri Sep 05: 072 045 Barysau*
Sat Sep 06: 164 102 Orsa (Orsha)*
Sun Sep 07: 123 076 Smolensk, Russia
Mon Sep 08: 166 103 V'as'ma*
Tue Sep 09: 114 071 Mosajsk*
Wed Sep 10: 100 062 Moscow

Given the change in culture, alphabet, government system and economic standards vs. the USA, Australia and Western Europe, this promises to be the most interesting riding we‚ve done yet. Belarus, for instance, is a de facto dictatorship with 30% unemployment and 60% inflation and a per capita income of less than $3,000. This spring, The Atlantic Monthly ranked it among the most unhappy countries in the world. We can‚t find hotels in the cities above with the *‚s. We‚ve stopped shaving and will be carrying second wallets.

All that said, we‚re expecting a safe ride, an interesting and rewarding expereince, and a good adventure. You never really know a country until you ride through it at 15mph/25kph though...

For those of you who‚ve followed along through the USA, Australia and the first parts of the europe2003 rides (www.perkowitz.com) you know the routine - every few days you‚ll be getting an email notice when the website photo journal is updated. As always, we welcome your emails or guest book comments, both of which can be posted on the site.

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