On this day twenty years ago, the number 4 reactor at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant had a steam explosion that lead to a meltdown and the worst disaster in this history of nuclear power. Today the nearby town of Pripyat, Ukraine is empty. The surrounding area is still a dead zone, heavy with radiation and almost totally void of human life. It's therefore the perfect, if eerie, place to drive. Or ride, as Elena does with regularity and documents on her website. More after the jump.
[Update: The whole ride-the-bike-through-the-dead-zone story might be fake, as unearthed here. But the pictures are still good. Hat tip to poster MeatFarley]
The radiation exposure isn't too bad as long as you stay on the road. Step more than a few feet off the tarmac and you'll wish you were wearing a lead codpiece. The entire area inside the dead zone is frozen in time. One building has posters for the 1986 May Day parade that never happened. There are apartments filled with photographs and personal effects that the inhabitants couldn't bring with them when they were evacuated. In other places nature is taking over and reclaiming the land. Give yourself a some time to check out this photo tour, there's are a lot of pages, but it's definitely worth the time.
Chernobyl Revisited [kidofspeed]
Related:
Chernobyl accident [Wikipedia]
Creepy, Creepy Nuclear Plant Car-Affecting Creepiness in Wales [internal]