The man left Moscow on June 11, to cover one thousand kilometers across the European continent. With eleven tiers rubbed off along the way, he was entering the Spanish capital, Madrid, on wheels wrapped in rubber stripes.
Initially, Ksenchak had planned to travel as far as Lisbon, but as he was approaching Madrid, the 65-year-old felt he was too exhausted to make it to Portugal. "The trip wasn't without hardship," the traveler conceded. "I was freezing in Russia and Germany and I had mountain passes to overcome in France and especially in Spain."
Ksenchak recalls that as he was doing the final section of the trip, across Spanish highland, a man passing by in his car stopped to help him ascend a steep slope. He also laments that his wheelchair, not intended for active tourism, would turn down if there was a strong wind blowing, and he often had to spend nights out in the open.
"I crossed Russia, Belarus, Poland, Germany, Holland, Luxembourg, France and Germany, and all along my way, I met people willing to help, offering food and accommodation," he says.
Ksenchak is now staying in the Russian Embassy in Madrid, where he has been provided with temporary lodgings.
