Route help required in Ukraine

[Prague Rider]

Hi Guys
I am looking for some advice on a route that I have planned for a weeks time. I would like some info on the best route from Uzhorod to Odessa, I have six days to do this journey. looking at the maps, I notice there are 3 different types of roads;
Red-Trunk road
Amber-Thoroughfare
Yellow-Main road

With Red being the largest and descending in order, Can anyone help with a route or where to head for. I'm looking for info of how manageable each type of road will be as I am aware they can be bad over there.

From Odessa, I'm heading across Moldova and back through Romania and Hungary etc.

Any help would be much apreciated

 

[EyeCake]

I recently crossed Ukraine from Kharkiv south towards Odessa to Kryvyi Rih and then change of plan and straight up to Chisinau in Moldova
At first I thought the roads were great, almost European standard and much better than Russia and suddenly the autobahn degenerated into 2 lane tank testing track
In other words the quality can be very mixed and I don't think the designation will guarantee and the M or main routes can be just as bad as country roads
Good luck and hope you are not on a sports bike
GSA is fine for any of these roads if you look for the big potholes even in the cities

 

[Prague Rider]

Hi Eyecake, thanks for your reply.

I am currently in Odessa after going as far as Mykolaiv. I went north through Ivano Frankivsk then dropped down to Chernivtsi where I stayed over night. The next day I made it to Odessa after managing 600 kilometres

I have a GSA and preped it with Scout 60 tyres, extra fuel, food and water etc, as I really did not know what to expect. The roads were not as bad in the west as they were travelling further east and yes, you have to watch out for the potholes. Some of the roads did turn into what I can only describe as rubble roads with no Tarmac at all, which for me made the journey good fun.

I am using the BMW navigator IV and so far have only encountered two areas that lead me to a deadend, but armed with traditional large scale maps and finger in the air, I got through Okay.

I have only been stopped by the police once, which as I have read can be quite a common occurrence. They said that I had over taken a car and crossed a solid white line whilst doing so, which I had not. In fact I would never do this anywhere and certainly not in Ukraine, I have also been riding below the speed limit, so I knew they were trying it on. They did not speak any English, I was taken into a kind of check point cabin located in the middle of the road and together with no less than five Ukrainian policemen they tried to relieve me of 120 euros After 20 minutes of refusing to pay, they finally let me go without any charge. It was an "interesting" experience and after that I was ready for anything. I have since been through numerous check points and speed traps with no further issues.

Oh, I am rambling on a little

So, I am off to Moldova in a few days after having a break from the saddle and enjoying the delights in Odessa as well as meeting a buddy here

I hope this feed back will help anyone else silly enough.......sorry, interested enough to do this type of journey, it is like 1940 over here (not that I was around then!). People are very friendly and the only challenge is trying to answer all the questions people pose about the bike in Ukrainian or Russian

 

[ymfb]

I have never ridden a bike across Ukraine but I have visited a number of times ! Mainly in the Donetsk/Lugansk areas. The roads are generally very bad, with uneven and at times massive potholes.

The police are underpaid and see johnny foreigner as salary, they stop vehicles for any reason whatsoever and expect you to pay gryvnia or dollars but euros are also accepted.

Mostly the people are very friendly, however, don't try drinking with them!

 

[Prague Rider]

Ahh yes, I had the opportunity to drink with a couple of Russians in Prague last year, these boys can drink vodka like water. This is one pastime I have never been able to master, shame though, as local voda is cheaper than bottled water over here!

 

[Prague Rider]

So I got into Moldova and stayed in the Capital, Chisinau.
The mapping of Garmin was almost non existant and the Ukrainian sims I bought did not work either, so I purchased a local sim and 500MB of data for £2.50.
I used the maps and Google maps, I stopped to look which way to go and within a couple of minutes a local biker stopped to see if I needed any help, it so happen he was also heading south west, so I followed him until we reach Cahul border, on the way we stopped for a drink, water from a well at the side of the road and the local children were fascinated with the bikes (he had an XJ900). He said that the police do not stop bikers there, just just need to mind the speed limits, but no hassles of any other kind. I found the people very friendly and the country was so traditional with lots of horse and carts and old trucks.

I have ridden the Transfagarasan today which was amazing and well suited to the GSA as the roads were a little rough, the views were amazing, I am staying in Bicaz Canion this evening and either side are again great mountain roads, Romania is also a very traditional country especially the further north you travel towards Ukraine.

So I would recommend this trip and the countries, it really opens the mind and puts the myths to bed.........everyone should do this

 

[gavinbell]

myths to bed... it is a full moon over transylvania.... you should see what happens to my wife at this time of the month! .... and you did not stop in Brasov!!

 

[Prague Rider]

Ahhhh in fact I have just checked in at Hotel Dracula, fantastic riding in this part of the world and no one here!

 

[Prague Rider]

So went into Brasov hmmmm they are having new drainage laid in the town, so looks a bit of a war zone at the moment!

Went through the Prislop Pass, wow this was an amazing ride, ok so the roads were a little rough but that's fine because the views were beautiful and also the roads that followed leading into Hungary were twisty, once in Hungary I continued on the motorways as I had to cover 1250 kilometres on Sunday, which meant I got back and hence completed my trip at 01:30 am.

In summary, an amazing experience from start to finish, it always amazes me that where ever you ride in the world, as a motorcyclist, somehow you are never alone.

The thing is now I'm back, I want head to Mongolia for my ride next year. After living in the Uk which is where I was born, being out in Europe really opens up your mind!

Safe riding to all

 

[consigliero]

I have never ridden a bike across Ukraine but I have visited a number of times ! Mainly in the Donetsk/Lugansk areas. The roads are generally very bad, with uneven and at times massive potholes.

The police are underpaid and see johnny foreigner as salary, they stop vehicles for any reason whatsoever and expect you to pay gryvnia or dollars but euros are also accepted.

Mostly the people are very friendly, however, don't try drinking with them!

I was 4 times in Ukraina this year, last time I should meet my Czech friends in Yalta, but they even didn't enter Ukraina because of papers problems on the border. About police , this can happen when You travel by car, with bike i haven't this story. Even when on the maine road Uman Odessa, in the morning I was so happy to see fast road, nearly like highway. This make me laisy and I Haven't seen one policeman crossing this road Very slowly, I slow down a bit , giving him chance to continue his slow walk, but he was, I think , not poker player , he started to run. I decided that his friend ,which made control for a car, doesn`t want to stop me, he was to shock .

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Greetings from Baltic sea