Gubakha is a coal town on the western slope of the Urals, and it makes no apology for it. The Kizel coal basin, a strip of black seams along the foothills of the range, was one of the main coal sources of the Urals from the nineteenth century, and the mines around Gubakha fed the ironworks and railways of the region for generations. Most of the pits have closed in recent years, as the seams ran low and the economics collapsed, and the town has struggled to find a new purpose. About twenty-six thousand people live here, in a tidy grid of Soviet apartment blocks and wooden houses, on the banks of the Kosva River.
The setting is better than the town. The Kosva runs through a wide valley, with forested ridges on either side and, in the distance, the low blue outline of the Kvarkush, a hill range that stretches north. The river is clean and quick, with gravel bars and reed beds, and in spring, it floods across the meadows. The land is spruce, fir and birch, with wild raspberries on the clearings, and the smell of wood smoke in autumn. The old mine spoil heaps, grassy now, give a strange, rolling shape to the horizon.
There has been some effort to turn the area into a sporting centre. Nearby villages preserve old ways, with wooden houses and gardens.
The ride here from Perm or Chusovoy runs through gentle country, with long, quiet stretches and few vehicles. The road is generally decent, though patched, with the occasional lorry carrying timber or coal. Surfaces degrade on the side roads, where gravel and potholes are common. Expect fog and rain in any month, and be ready for snow from October. The best season is June to September, and September, with the leaves turning, is lovely.
Fuel is not a problem in town, which has several stations, and the shops and cafés cover the basics. A hot meal of soup, pelmeni and tea is easy to find. Ugleuralsky, about twelve kilometres away, is another small mining town, and the roads between them have an end-of-the-line feel. Stop at the river for a few minutes. It is cool, clear, and flowing quietly past the hills.