Laurie Schmitt was driving down her country road near Streator early Friday evening when she saw two bicyclists stopped on the side. She thought they were stranded.
Karina Guliyants and Evgeny Zavyalov, who are Russian, told Laurie they were taking a break.
Laurie, who lives on 1550th Road northwest of Streator, invited them to stay with her family. They stayed two nights over the weekend with Laurie, her husband Brian and daughter Cassie.
The boyfriend and girlfriend started their trip Aug. 1 after flying into New York from Russia, logging about 60 miles most days. They plan to reach Los Angeles by Dec. 1.
In an interview Saturday, they said they were avoiding the beaten path. To reflect that, their YouTube channel and Facebook page are called “Get out from the ordinary travel.” They’ve taken video of themselves with a drone that can follow them.
Their backpacks contain a tent, sleeping bags, clothes and items for cooking.
“Walmart is our friend, and so is McDonald’s,” said Karina, 28, an architect.
The two have known each other for a year and a half. Evgeny, 33, has taken plenty of cross-country journeys before, including in China, India, Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Vietnam. This is Karina’s first big trip.
Interestingly, Evgeny has never ridden cross country in Russia. It’s too long between towns as one gets near Siberia, he said.
The couple are generally following the path of two famous Russian writers who traveled the country by car in the 1940s.
“The American people are friendly and hospitable,” said Evgeny, a surgeon. “Americans smile.”
There’s not as much public smiling in Russia, he said, but when people smile there, they mean it.
Other impressions of the United States?
Everything is bigger, they said, pointing at the Schmitts’ refrigerator, which is average for the United States.
On the road, larger cars dominate, particularly red pickups, Karina said. And they notice people like big containers of soda.
Every day, they see people mowing their lawns. That’s not something they witness often in Russia, where most people tend to let their lawns grow.
They believe all the mowed lawns add to the nation’s clean appearance.
Cassie said mowing is “so normal” for Americans.
“I love that you think it’s funny. That’s cute,” she said.
The couple also noted the U.S. flag flies seemingly everywhere. In Russia, they said, the nation’s flag mainly flies on government buildings.
On his forearm, Evgeny has a tattoo of a bicycle. Karina has no such marking, but she may get one.
“I might do that in Los Angeles,” she said.
Laurie said she was glad she ran into the Russians, because it made the weekend interesting.
“We’re going to take them out for dinner tonight,” she said.
Comments
Add comment