I would rank today as one of the most difficult so far on stage five of the run Around The World. I had a very good sleep and felt very safe next to the elevated postition near the cycle track that I’d found in Halych.
I had a few conversations with passing locals about my journey as the hatch end was open to allow some fresh air in.
I packed Chappie up and got the day underway at 0900. It soon became obvious that my Google Maps route was non existent in reality. I quickly plotted a new route to Turnopil and unfortunately had to backtrack for a mile. Despite the decent sleep I felt very tired and my left ankle was still very sore. I took a painkiller at 1000 and thankfully the pain eased about an hour later.
A drunken man approached me in Halych and acted quite aggressive in his speech towards me. He was too close for my liking and the only words that I could make out were “Money, Money, Money". I showed him my clenched fist and he moved on.
I then passed through a village called Tustan’ and then past a quarry where a security guard asked me for a photo. After the village of Medukha there were a series of climbs that got steeper and longer. Each climb took a lot out of me. My heart sank whenever I could see the next climb in the distance.
As I passed a building in Pidlisne two very drunken men staggered out. They could hardly stand up. I could sense them getting closer behind and making an effort to catch up to me. One man stumbled to the side of the road. The remaining man followed closely and kept peering into Chappie’s basket. He muttered some words that, if they were in English, I think I’d struggle to understand. He veered off to my left into his house thankfully.
I made it to the village of Panovychi after 15 miles. I was so tired considered setting up camp there but it was full of livestock roaming the street.
I pressed on up a steep climb that lasted for a mile and a half. That climb was the toughest that I’d ever faced with Chappie and I had to stop to collect my breath every few minutes.
A man on a horse and cart stopped me and shook my hand when I told him where I was travelling from and to.
The climb got steeper and I was surrounded by flies and some strange wasp looking creatures.
On this hot sunny day it all added up to a physical challenge that was pushing me to my limits. There’s no way that I could stop and I just had to keep putting one foot in front of the other. Chappie felt like a ton weight!
At 1730, I eventually made it to the summit and, to my delight, there was a clearing. I setup camp after 16.5 very tough miles. I quickly climbed inside Chappie and dozed off with the sun beating into the hatch end.
I woke up at 1930 feeling very delirious. I didn’t even have any energy to do any cooking.
I placed the mosquito net over the rear hatch to allow the fresh air in and to keep the bugs out.
Sadly, there’s no way that I’ll be able to make it to Turnopil in time to watch the England game tomorrow. I’m 13.5 miles behind schedule.
Tomorrow’s priority is to either cook some food or buy some. I’ve been running on empty today.
