Flat section
After a very good camping night, I packed up, loaded my bike and headed for Dobromyl. It was much hillier and the road was much worse than I remembered. It was however, quite beautiful countryside. Some parts of the road were so bad that they reminded me of the worst roads I've ever seen in Albania. Oncoming cars would be in both lanes as the struggled to find ways to avoid the pot holes. In Albania, with heavy traffic, it looked like an automotive ballet as the cars swerved from side to side. Here, with light traffic, it just meant I watched the cars coming at me to know what part of the road I should use when I reach where they were.
I almost made it. I was less than a km from Dobromyl when an especially nasty pothole caused my repaired front rack to move into contact with the wheel. The wheel survived, but the rack didn't. I guess it is just as well since I have a better chance of getting it replaced in Przemsyl than any other place on my route before I leave eastern Europe. Przemsyl is a neat city so, unlike Dobromyl, it won't a boring place to be stuck in for a few days. Depending on timing, I may also do some riding in south eastern Poland which is a beautiful area to ride in.
I, with the help of a Ukranian who held my bike for me while I worked on it, removed the destroyed rack and put the bag from that side on top of my rear rack. Then I rode, limping, to Dobromyl. He wanted money to buy beer so I gave him enough to get a half liter of decent beer. It was well worth it just to have him hold the bike while I worked on it.
I immediately found the motel I had stayed at before and, at 11 AM, got a room for the night. It was a bit difficult to find someone at 11 AM, but a lady riding by on her bicycle saw me and helped. Then the lady from the motel called a young woman who had some English and things went smoothly. A totally different experience from my other Ukraine lodging experience. Now I'm waiting on lunch which I thought we arranged for 1 PM, but they have down for 1:30. After I cleaned up, I walked around town taking pictures. Since it was Saturday morning, it was good time to take pictures with many people out in the streets. Lunch, which they prepared just for me, but without asking what I might want ;-}, was good. I, hopefully, will get breakfast at 8 tomorrow.
This a good place run by nice people. I had wondered if it could survive in Dobromyl, and I see that its character, which was intially a lot more cosmopolitan, has adapted. I suspect their main income is from dinner parties like the one that is going on downstairs tonight. If you ever happen to be in Dobromyl ;-}, it is a good place to stay.
I'm now planning to ride my, crippled, bike back to Przemysl and get a rack - probably have to order it - there. I'm not in any hurry now since, at best, I can't talk to folks at any bike shop till Monday. I may spend Sunday night in the town where I ate lunch day before yesterday. If I can get to that town without further bike problems, the ride to Przemsyl,other than getting across the border, should be relatively easy, Getting back to that town which is on the road to L'viv will be a challenge with an ill handling bike and bad roads. But I know from having ridden it before, that it is also pretty ride.
Flat section
Steep hill
Pretty country!
Yet another Orthodox church
I took this picture from where I stopped to adjust my rack after encountering some really bad potholes on a steep downhill
The good road section which lulled me into the section where my rack died
Where my rack died
A view of Dobromyl from my hotel
The road I'll be riding tomorrow
note the tire tracks showing the path cars take because of the potholes