The most unusual way to celebrate the New Year in Moscow has been found: steamed with elk

Over my long journalistic practice, I have heard stories about unusual, even extreme options for celebrating the New Year. In the labyrinths of underground quarries. At the locomotive tender. In a mobile bathhouse equipped on the shore of a forest lake…

On the eve of the current annual “changing of the guard” – the 2023rd “passed the post”, the 2024th “accepted the post” – due to various subjective reasons, the author of these lines had to make a choice: either to celebrate the holiday, sitting “in one person” at home in front of TV or…

And then a creative plan was generated – since the circumstances were this way, marking such a time milestone in an original way. I even presumptuously believe that this is a real exclusive: to raise a glass on the occasion of the New Year, although not leaving Moscow, but in the forest, getting there by bicycle. And to complete the ambience, it is desirable that the largest wild animal that can be found in the territory of our metropolis, the elk, be alive nearby.

Where is the chance to do something like this? Of course in Elk Island.

Climatic conditions were favorable for the implementation of the piece project. The weather on the day of December 31 in the capital was warm – above zero, only in the evening the frost promised by forecasts began to gain strength, however, until such an important holiday moment, the sub-zero temperatures outside had not yet had time to become too severe. But Mother Winter added a fairytale-like quality to nature, dusting everything around with the last snowfall of the outgoing year.

Of course, the transition from plus to minus inevitably caused ice. But in the arsenal of the MK reporter there is a reliable remedy against it – studded bicycle tires. So there was no concern about whether it would be possible to safely ride the bike a few kilometers from home to Losiny Island.

So, forward, towards the new year 2024!

It started in the evening, at the beginning of the 12th, and pedaled almost the entire way to the accompaniment of cannonade: the people, without waiting for the cherished strike of the Kremlin chimes, put into action the stored pyrotechnics to greet the coming Year of the Dragon.

As expected, Elk Island was met with complete desertion. On its main “highway”, the Paper Clearing, covered with fresh snow, there are only a few traces left during the day.

I drove a few kilometers in the hope of meeting one of the horned “owners” of the local forest areas (the practice of past rides on Elk Island suggested that elk in winter quite often come out of the thicket to the rough human paths). However, my hopes were not destined to come true this time.

Meanwhile, time was running out. I had to celebrate the New Year solo. Five minutes before the chimes struck, I parked at one of the benches, turned on the TV broadcast on my smartphone, took out a mug and a container with a drink (juice, dear readers, it was fruit juice!)…

The idea of ​​a New Year’s “exclusive” was eventually realized. But this time I had to clink glasses with my own “iron horse” with two wheels. But still – hurray!

And then it was time for surprises.

Firstly, I still had a rendezvous with a moose. Already on the way back, the four-legged handsome man suddenly “showed up” at the side of the road. The forest animal, apparently, was alarmed by the pyrotechnic cannonade that burst out with renewed vigor in the first minutes of 2024. Its roar, although muffled, reached even this remote thicket of Elk Island, far from the capital’s population, and the animal went out to the deserted road, trying to understand whether there was any danger. In response to my congratulations, spoken out loud from a distance of three or four meters, “Happy New Year!” the four-legged man did not even move an ear, continuing to stand motionless. But he didn’t want to be photographed: while I was reaching into my pocket for the camera, the elk, sensing some kind of trick, turned around and quickly disappeared among the palisade of trees.

In addition, other inhabitants of the New Year’s “Losinka” were found. On the territory bordering residential areas near the Yaroslavskoye Highway, in an area where several recreation areas are equipped, a couple of cheerful companies settled down, deciding to continue celebrating 2024 in the fresh, although already noticeably colder, air. The appearance of a strange “irrational” character riding a bike from the dark depths of Losinoostrovsk caused a reaction of hospitality among this audience: “Hey, man! Hey, Santa Claus! Drop your bike, come here, let’s have a drink!”

No, I didn’t leave him. And I didn’t covet free booze. Therefore, having shouted back the traditional “Happy New Year, Happy New Happiness”!”, he drove on. As it turned out, we were in for another surprise.

An unusual meeting in this situation took place during the return along the same Paper Clearing. Against the background of the forest wall darkening along it, I suddenly saw a skier. The guy in a tracksuit looked calm and skated quite competently.

Having slowed down and said appropriate congratulations, I asked him about the purpose of the New Year’s race. The answer sounded unexpected: “Yes, I lost a bet with a friend a few hours before the holiday. And the condition was set as follows: if you lose, immediately after the toast, while the chimes are ringing, you take your skis and roll 4 kilometers along Losiny Island from Losinoostrovskaya Street to Prokhodchikov Street. My friends took the time to drive me to the starting point by car, and then went to meet me at the finish line – with the corresponding “prizes” in glass containers. Now I’m heading there, working off my loss!”

My New Year’s trip “to visit the moose” ended successfully. The cycling marathon, at least formally, turned out to be of unprecedented duration. After all, he spent a whole year on the road: he left in 2023 and returned in 2024.