Cycling

Things are always changing in Ukraine, and certainly a great deal changed since I'd last visited back in late-summer 2003.

One of things that caught me off-guard this time, was the large number of cyclists in Kyiv. Back in the day, you'd frequently come across a fellow riding from one village to another on a basic upright bicycle. (The kind of bike that is now tragically hip and on sale at the Jack Spade men's boutique on Bleecker Street in my hood for a crazy number of dollars.) Back then, the bike would be a beat up grey-black thing that was likely to have survived WWII. The rider would wear a cap and a worn blazer-jacket. I rarely saw a cyclist within city limits.

This summer, I saw many people zipping through the traffic on their mountain bikes. Several wore helmets. (!!) Some were doing some pretty technical maneuvers on the dirt trails on the banks of the Dnipro.

Apparently, cycling has hit Kyiv. Here is a short video piece about mountain biking in the mountains of the Carpathians in Western Ukraine.

Unfortunately, I never got a picture of someone cycling in Kyiv. Please post one in the comments section here if you happen to have one.