[MuleX2]

Found this on a visit to City Lights Blog this morning.
Interesting reading, I thought it should be shared.

http://www.angelfire.com/extreme4/kiddofspeed/chapter1.html

Thanks Ed Kemmick!

http://www.billingsgazette.com/citylights/

It's finally warm enough to take the mules out!!!

 

[bikeaholic]

re

i read that the other day and that is just amazing :shock:

i would love to make a ride like that-although its got to be weird

and by the way -is she a hottie or what? :shock: and rides a kaw too :lol:

 

[axledeep]

I'm speechless .
Very powerful pictures................

 

[bikeaholic]

re

indeed

 

[jonesie619]

WOW!

 

[Whitey]

wow, amazing read and pictures :!:

 

[TommyLTD]

Wo

That made the hairs stand up.

 

[Mizz ZZR]

Brings home just how lucky we are eh....

 

[David S]

Ghost town...

I remember he event but that really brings it all home. I was in Asia at the time so felt a bitsafer than many Europeans.

Wow, thats an amazing website, and isn't she cute, and rides a great bike, wow. How come she as to live in Ukraine!

Good luck to her

 

[D-Day]

I read about this story about the same time this was posted, but never posted it personally. I figure I'd resurrect this thread for anyone who hasn't seen it.

 

[Alf]

Seen this before, very interesting story...

 

[Svetlana]

D thanks for resurrecting this old thread. I have not seen Elena's photo diaries of her trip through Chernobyl before but now I have read through them four times and have bookmarked them as well. I've known several Ukrainians who were forced to leave their homes, belongings and livelihood behind after the explosion. It was a very powerful thing to listen to one older gentleman tell me of a very odd shaped tree that where 'his people' we hung from by the Nazi invaders and which later became something of a silent monument, looming ominously over the land after Chernobyl. On page two of Elena's diary, I saw this tree myself.

To a Soviet historian, the dead-zone of Chernobyl is filled with things waiting to be resurrected... like an archeological treasure. But to any human, it is simply a powerful statement. Wow.

She would have been a great resource for some of my old reserach and papers, I might have to try to email her.

 

[alec]

That's pretty creepy...I remember reading this a long time ago for history class in high school and again in post secondary:shock:

 

[gpzrider]

As I recall, there was a lot of controversy over this when it first appearred. It seems that by the time the smoke cleared the whole story was pretty much proven a fraud. The motorcycle was her husband's, and the only time she was in the zone was with a guided tour in a car with a tour guide. An article appearred in the LA Times July 6, 2004 that pretty much covered the hoax. But, the pictures are still haunting and the facts of the disaster are true.

 

[andrushok]

Yep, this is real life. I heard about some people which returned back into "Chernobyl Zone" and even born babies there. Many people (espessialy Russinas) wants to live in place where thery were born. Radiation means nothing for them.
I was in Kiev (~ 200 km from Chernobyl) when that happened (26 April,1986) I knew nothing about Chernobyl catastrophe, because Soveit Goverment hided this "news" from Soviet people. I came back in Moscow in 1 May and hopefuly did not "catch" anything wrong. The wind was from other direction. I new about that a month later.
I never been there, it is still "restricted zone".

 

[Idaho]

First time I have seen her site. I was certainly impressed. Many times she has a most unique way of putting her thoughts into words. I like how she writes.

Chernobyl:
I have not seen a better example of how optimism was, is and will continue to be crushed. The wasteland created by the invisible enemy thrives in deadly silence and waits for the arrogance of man to return.

For all that we knew before this happened and for all that we know now...in the name of mankind, I have to wonder if we have learned anything at all.

It is my intention to vacation and take some time to visit Russia/Ukraine area this spring. I had made that decision a long time ago. But having read this article it will make for another very interesting part of the journey. I will definitely learn more before I leave.

I will visit your site often. Thank you. Stay safe.

 

[Anonymous]

I lived in North Norway at that time, we were in some of the more distant fall down zone. Those who got hurt the most was people living of raising reindeer/caribou of the saami people. The radiation was most prevalent in the lichen that grows on rocks and cliffs. The radiation in reindeer meat was as high as 25000 bequerel..........I lost two couisins to cancer a year apart. One was 32 and left a wife behind, my other coisin only became 34 and she left behind two small children age 5 and 9 :frown: Cancer has increased with 50% since 86 in my homeland where I came from. So all if this is 99% more than likely caused by long term effects by the Chernobyl incident.