Kidd of Speed

The weather was beautiful on April 26, 1986, the day the crap hit the fan in Chernobyl.

On that day, a series of failures of multiple systems led to a nuclear meltdown.

And, adding to the tragedy, the paranoid communist Russian bureaucracy refused to divulge the seriousness of the accident. They also refused to ask for help.

The result was the deaths of 56 individuals within hours, and thousands more within years. Radiation poisoning doesn't always cause instant demise.

However, the nature of asphalt is such that it doesn't retain radioactivity for very long. That means that even though the area around Chernobyl continues to be uninhabitable over twenty years later (and will continue to be so for many more).

Today's FamilyFirst site is called KIDD of SPEED – Ghost Town. It's an account by an enigmatic young lady named Elena who tours the Chernobyl area (taking care to stay on the asphalt) on a Kawasaki. She shares her photos and observations here. Here's her mission:

My name is Elena. I run this website and I don't have anything to sell. What I do have is my motorbike and the absolute freedom to ride it wherever curiosity and the speed demon take me. I travel a lot and one of my favorite destinations leads North from Kiev, towards so called Chernobyl "dead zone", which is 130kms from my home.

Elena loves to ride, and she also loves solitude. Chernobyl is a logical destination for such a spirit.

You will be moved by the account of her travels through the area, and her photos. Visit the site and see for yourself. It's powerful stuff.

http://www.kiddofspeed.com/

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