Blue Lake

It’s called Blue Lake because that’s the color your body turns when you go in the water. It was 39 degrees! We started out well. We all gathered at the bike rental place. (I rented a bike for this long trip because my folding bike only has one gear and I needed something for the hills.) By the time we were all set to go it was 10:30. Bike rental for the entire day? $8.20. But now the problem was, the place didn’t rent helmets. I had mine with me but Sonia, the other one of us who used to ride everyday when she worked in Oxford, needed one. There are surprisingly a gazillion bike rental places in Kazan, so Ravil called around to several of them with no luck. He found one place that wanted to charge her more for the helmet for the entire day than the bike rental cost us. Finally we found a place where she could get one for about $1.50 for the day, so we headed in that direction. Now we were good to go. We had packed all sorts of goodies for a picnic, now all we had to do was get there. The first half of the trip was through the city. We were on the sidewalks the entire way. All we had to do was avoid hitting pedestrians. And, where there were no ramps on the sidewalks, we had to ride up and down the curbs to cross the streets. Once we go past the stores and the large apartment buildings, we rode past some of those beautiful wooden single family dwellings. The latttice woodwork around the windows is really remarkable. Then the sidewalk ended and the road narrowed. There was a shoulder for a little bit, but the soil around here is so sandy, it’s like riding on the beach. Then the shoulder ended too. So we stuck to the pavement as much as possible. we had lots of trucks behind us beeping their horns because they couldn’t pass. Tough bananas. They had to follow us down the hill and wait unti we got into the next town so that we could pull over. So, we finally got there. There are no real signs directing you there. Ravil just used the app on his phone to find the way. He had been there before so he basically knew where he was going. Once you turn off the paved road, you end up on some dirt paths, some with ruts a foot deep. Cars drive down there all the time and it is a mess. It’s like a mountain-biking course in some spots. We stopped at one spot where a couple of other cyclists took some pictures for us, then we headed on to the like. There were a ton of people there. Some were wild camping. Some were grilling. And a ton of people were standing on the single pier debating whether they should go in the water or not. We went halfway up the hill to eat our lunch and observe the situation. Then we decided to do it. Ravil was already to go. Remember, he’s the one who jumped into the ice water in the middle of January! It took me a little more time to work up my courage. I went down the steps into the water up to my knees. It was so cold, my ankle bones hurt. I had to get out. I did it again. Same result. After watching Lorene and Fouad get in, I worked up the courage to go down the ladder and jump in backwards, but I didn’t put my head under. That was enough for me. We all stood around on the end of the pier joking and laughing with the other people who couldn’t decide whether they wanted to go in either. Everyone enjoyed watching the others suffer! After we dried off sufficientLy, we got on the bikes and rode a couple of miles farther to another lake. This time we crossed a super busy highway before we hit the dirt roads with the ruts. This lake was exactly as cold but the swimming area was much more attractive. There were three piers to jump off of and picnic tables at some spots. But there were no bike racks and no benches at the changing area for people who just wanted to sit and watch. Lorene and I went for a walk while the others stayed with the bikes. Then we two stayed while the others hiked. Then Lorene and Ravil were brave enough to go swimming again. I had had enough. Then we headed back into town. We needed more stops this time but we made it. First we returned Sonia’s helmeT, then the bikes and w3 ended the evening at Fouad’s place with some take-out food. It was a great day. The weather, aside from a few sprinkles, was perfect, the ride mildly strenuous and we were all exhausted. I really slept well.