Clayton Cramer and Pete point to this fascinating account of a woman's bike trips through the Chernobyl dead zone.
The map above shows the radiation levels in different parts of the dead zone, which I updated for our local biker club lately. The map will soon be replaced with a more comprehensive one that identifies more features.And there are lots of pictures -- abandoned buildings, abandoned villages, abandoned vehicles, abandoned harbors, abandoned ships, an abandoned city.It shows various levels of radiation on asphalt - usually on the middle of road - because at edge of the road it is twice as high. If you step 1 meter off the road it is 4 or 5 times higher. Radiation sits on the soil, on the grass, in apples and mushrooms. It is not retained by asphalt, which makes rides through this area possible.
