Took a bike trip to Braslaw, the experience was positive. The swamps are insanely hardcore, nettles over our heads, instead of forest roads there are bumps and knee-deep mud puddles. Horseflies and red flies bite even through repellent. Everything we love about MTB. We crossed the border easily, almost no line, you just need insurance, a cheap Balta or Ergo.
We crashed at relatives', so I can't help with that. On the way back, they didn't inspect our stuff. The gravel roads are often terrible, ruined by the abundance of cars and agricultural trucks. Whenever possible, we'd pull off into a meadow or swamp. As I've said more than once, a washboard-style dirt road is my least favorite thing.
Not only did we get sunburned and stung by nettles, but we also walked 1.5 km through a field, scratching our legs on chicory. Then we came across a guy who had a goose following him around like a little dog. The guy warned us there was a fence ahead. However, our motto is — trust, but verify. By the way, I asked about the goose. The man replied in Belarusian that the goose follows him everywhere and talks constantly.
The fence turned out to be quite something, about 2.5 meters tall, made of wire mesh.
We had to climb over it, right into a safari park where you can look at wild animals. We didn't know what it was and thought we'd get shot. Fortunately, the park is just for admiring.
This was probably the toughest trip this season, not counting the mountain raid in Italy. Especially considering I've been riding for the third day in a row, doing over 70 km each day.
