Eternal outskirts of Moscow and beyond (LOTS of pics!)

markz · Mar 15, 2020

goatman said:
i don't why but I just got a kick out of you cutting the rubber whiskers off the tires.

I have to ask, why? better traction on pavement?

Oh
"cutting" you say
quite odd indeed

I do like to pick at them, its just a thing I do. I dont pick them all, its just something I've always done. If I am sitting on the train with my bike, I might pick at them if my hands dont get dirty. But maybe 3 at most. If I am bored.

goatman · Mar 25, 2020

when I looked at the wastelands and nischenkas new home. is Russia going to rebuild the wastelands? or is it just so the highway can cross over it? weve had nice sunny weather and 10*c, really nice riding weather. hope all is well

funny thing about your pictures, I have so many questions and don't know where to start, more please

Skorohod · Mar 26, 2020

markz said:
Find your spot out in the bush, pack up your rations and Smirnoff Vodka.

Nah, i'm gonna stand my ground 8)

goatman said:
i don't why but I just got a kick out of you cutting the rubber whiskers off the tires.
I have to ask, why? better traction on pavement?

Yep! Whiskers on that particular tire is extremely thick (about 3 mm or so) and long due to outdated production technology. They need to be cutted, or on hard surface (or ice) tire would be unpredictably slippery.

markz said:
I do like to pick at them, its just a thing I do. I dont pick them all, its just something I've always done. If I am sitting on the train with my bike, I might pick at them if my hands dont get dirty. But maybe 3 at most. If I am bored.

I feel you, it's like popping bubble wrap! Just irresistible.
But on that Petroshina one can't easily pick whiskers THAT thick :lol:

goatman said:
when I looked at the wastelands and nischenkas new home. is Russia going to rebuild the wastelands? or is it just so the highway can cross over it?

Yep, that wastelands not just random wastelands - they usually products of some undeveloped construction projects. But land is valuable in Moscow, so they all inevitably will be used for some highway or park or residential building or else.

goatman said:
weve had nice sunny weather and 10*c, really nice riding weather. hope all is well

This week in Moscow we have nice weather as well - sunny and up to 14 C today. But i've been swamped with work last weeks and all this corona apocalypse around is not helping at all... So no rides last weeks except commuting to work. Next week all Russia goes to erm... "mandatory holidays", but it's gonna be very bad for business. We'll see, what comes next.

goatman said:
funny thing about your pictures, I have so many questions and don't know where to start, more please

You welcome to ask more questions, i'm glad to answer them all

There are about 6 trips i've not posted yet, so more photos will come despite all quarantine measures.

goatman · Mar 26, 2020

when I look at the wastelands, I see buildings and it looks like everyone threw their personal belongings out their windows and just left. what happened, where did they go. if things got bad you would still need a roof over your head. so I get a dark thought but maybe they were moved to a new building and left all their old stuff behind?

Skorohod · Apr 11, 2020

goatman said:
when I look at the wastelands, I see buildings and it looks like everyone threw their personal belongings out their windows and just left. what happened, where did they go. if things got bad you would still need a roof over your head. so I get a dark thought but maybe they were moved to a new building and left all their old stuff behind?

Oh, i see now, you asking exactly about particular abandoned site! That's not a wasteland, that is closed and abandoned Sacco and Vanzetti nonwoven fabric manufacture. I'm doubt, that something fabric-related was there for last years, probably just real estate renting for some number of small firms. I've seen that before - some tenants don't bother to move their things to new place and just leave it there. Their old things mixed with rubble of demolished buildings make some post-apocalyptic sightseeings, i'm agree.

goatman · Apr 11, 2020

your alive! glad to see your still with us. is your 2 week holiday over now? I heard in Russia that you guys could buy masks and gloves at the grocery store and no one was hoarding stuff. it was beautiful here yesterday, t-shirt weather, went for a ride down to the serpentine river there was people everywhere.

Skorohod · Apr 14, 2020

goatman said:
your alive! glad to see your still with us. is your 2 week holiday over now? I heard in Russia that you guys could buy masks and gloves at the grocery store and no one was hoarding stuff. it was beautiful here yesterday, t-shirt weather, went for a ride down to the serpentine river there was people everywhere.

Yes, i'm alive and well for now, thanks

"Holidays" not over yet, all country grounded for the end of april at least. Masks and gloves not widely available, at least in Moscow. But no panic-buying eather, people of Russia submerged to the stay-at-home quarantine with dignity. I'm personally left my apartment only four times for the last month, an all of them were related to my rides to office (lots of stuff necessary for my work was left behind there). My wife sewed me a mask and i've been provided with form that says my presence at work is necessary. So no joyrides yet...

Skorohod · Apr 14, 2020

Despite lack of snow through 2019-2020 winter in Moscow, i've managed to ride few times right after snowfalls. Looking back at my photos from passed winter one can think, that winter in Moscow actually happened this season... but it's not

There only 5 or 6 snowfalls and snow cover lasted only for couple of days after them.

But in the end of autumn i've been in preparation for winter season anyway. I've bought self-screwing studs from Aliexpress and started to convert my Petroshinas to studded winter tires:

Skorohod · Apr 14, 2020

After studding i've waited for snow for week or so. And when first proper snow has fallen to Moscow ground i've immediately went to Bitsa forest park to test my tires:

Skorohod · Apr 14, 2020

Skorohod · Apr 14, 2020

But wait a sec... it is wearing of the studs or i just seeing things?

Front tire seems normal:

But stud on the rear tire is obviously have been eaten away:

Ok, let's go home and take a closer look. BTW, there a frozen cat on icy Moscow sidewalk:

Ah, those bastards sold me studs from some soft alloy instead of promised wolfram carbide core studs! It's takes only 20 kilometers on tarmac and 10 kilometers of snow trails in forest to reduce my studs to round patch of metal in tire pattern block:

But despite the studs fail, my Petroshinas performed very well on all sorts of winter conditions! They've been predictable and safe on ice, aggressive in deep snow and well-controlled on tarmac. The only thing that i've not got used to is reaction of spaced blocks on tire pattern to longitudinal road irregularities (road paint, cracks - that sort of stuff).

That's all for this week!

Skorohod · Apr 22, 2020

A little trip in search of right manhole to enter underground canal of Filka river.

Entering to ravine (which is actually a riverbed):

Trying a manhole... oops, wrong one:

Filka river is buried underground for half a century, but a bog is still there:

Trying another manhole:

Bingo:

The right enter to Filka is found, time to ride down a river and see what is what:

Railway to former Western river port of Moscow:

Old "american" or "shatura" style power transmission towers mixed with new ones:

Skorohod · Apr 22, 2020

Well, that is definitely a dirty road:

Fili train station pedestrian underpass is closed. Red ad on the right says "loans":

II-68 panel-block building:

Skorohod · Apr 22, 2020

A cat on a fence:

Tsar-stump:

Road down to Fili:

Skorohod · Apr 22, 2020

Ok, time to use acquired intel and go for a walk underground:

That was a cold night. Frozen air flowing through storm drain caused appearing of underground icicles:

A little rest stop over an underground waterfall:

Old brick canal under our boots, and central heating tubes over our heads:

Long and grueling walk down underground river:

And amazing views from Filka river mouth:

Moscow streets in the night on our way from underground river to above-ground-subway:

In a subway car:

That's all for this week!

goatman · Apr 22, 2020

I have to ask, why do you search for the right manhole? is that part of your job? it looked like the heating pipes passed through the tunnel and don't run in the tunnel and I guess that's just a storm drainage?

Skorohod · Apr 23, 2020

goatman said:
I have to ask, why do you search for the right manhole? is that part of your job?

This is one of my hobbies (draining as a part of urban exploring). Most active years was... from 2002 to 2006, i'm guess. And after 15 years of another types of activities we just decided to revive good old fun and went to Filka

goatman said:
it looked like the heating pipes passed through the tunnel and don't run in the tunnel and I guess that's just a storm drainage?

The two big pipes not seen in this pic, but you can see them in the end of this video:
[youtube]YkZKF8tblpo[/youtube]

As you see, pipes lie on the steel beams in some sort of "second storey" of a tunnel. That short tunnel was build around 1958-1961 for passing water from Filka and heating pipes under railroad or road or subway line (i'm not sure). May be just experiment of reducing costs or something like that.

Skorohod · May 1, 2020

February of 2020, just a rideabout through Moscow.

Just a wasteland under a pale grey sky (and a П-3 panel building in the back):

Two 1-МГ-601 buildings (the one on the left is renovated, the right one in vanilla condition):

The dome of particle accelerator of The Institute of Physical Chemistry and Electrochemistry RAS:

П-46 building in the back:

Two П-44 buildings:

П-3 panel buildings of 1980 Olympics Village:

Look at this photo, how much cheerful it loooked back in 1980: https://pastvu.com/p/104450

Skorohod · May 1, 2020

Samorodinka river underground canal outlet:

Skorohod · May 1, 2020

View of Ochakovo-Matveevskoye district:

Skorohod · May 1, 2020

MSU mian building:

Two boys just sitting on a garage roof, just how in good old times. There is a hope for today youth if it's not all shopping malls and smartphones for them :lol:

That's all for this week!

goatman · May 1, 2020

you know at the blue drain, the samorodinka river. have you ever panned for gold there?

Skorohod · May 5, 2020

goatman said:
have you ever panned for gold there?

No, i'm not

But i've known of people, who search for metall conglomerates in old underground river canals and had a rare success. Old coins, that sort of stuff. As for Samorodinka - it's underground part is too young (that river has been buried in late 60-s) and clean. Maybe some lucky one can find there lost earring washed down a strormdrain, but odds are dismal.

goatman · May 5, 2020

Skorohod said:
goatman said:

have you ever panned for gold there?

Click to expand...

No, i'm not But i've known of people, who search for metall conglomerates in old underground river canals and had a rare success. Old coins, that sort of stuff. As for Samorodinka - it's underground part is too young (that river has been buried in late 60-s) and clean. Maybe some lucky one can find there lost earring washed down a strormdrain, but odds are dismal.

this Russian youtuber has just starting uploading, lots of gold there.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kv_ULWNzH8c

Skorohod · May 5, 2020

goatman said:
this Russian youtuber has just starting uploading, lots of gold there.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kv_ULWNzH8c

Well, i'm pretty sure it's not near Moscow. All known "places of gold" is deep in Siberia (speaking of stereotypes, lol), thousands and thousands kilometers from capital city. If you're interested, you can start from this map or some wikipedia articles and google some additional information for yourself from there.

Eternal outskirts of Moscow and beyond (LOTS of pics!)

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