Hi guys - were back in action after three very eventful days!!
What a day we have had - started off in the best hotel of the tour, chic and elegant, and then it all went downhill and descended into our worst day yet. A good title for today would be 'dogs and detours'.
By lunchtime we had cycled 70 miles and ended up in a place that should have been 35 miles. We had made a conscious decision to stay off the main roads after the stress of the previous day. There seem to be alot of Italian number plates here and mixed with the bonkers Romanian drivers makes for a lethal combination. Its scary seeing the countless elaborate memorials to perished loved ones that there are along the highways. We were actually making good time at first down the smaller roads until the road disappeared into a dirt track. Two villages and 6 miles later we were completely lost.
Added to the frustration of getting lost we had our first encounter with stray dogs - spent the rest of the day paranoid that dogs were laying in wait at every bush.
After regrouping at lunch and reassessing the situation we set off in a better frame of mind. We left the plains behind us and the countryside got alot prettier. We had reached the hills again and all the drama that they bring. The villages made quite an impression on us today. We were passing through thinking they looked abit rundown and not as stylist as the French villages but the atmosphere was brillant. The whole community seemed to be outside enjoying the cool of the evening. We are finding the Romanians hilarious and full of fun, we are getting lots of shouts of encouragement, waves and toots.
Have ended the day in an eastern block style hotel with all the glamour that this conjures up.
Gill.
Friday, 14 August 2009
Saturday, 8 August 2009
Mako to Timosoara 60 miles
Have been reading too many adventure stories on this tour, Don Quixote and Moby Dick have scrambled my brains. I don't feel at all ready to leave the saddle in 9 days time and have spent the day scheming about possible bike tour extensions. I quite fancy a mini pilgrimage to the Tempio Malatestiano in Rimini but it all looks a bit more logistically difficult than I thought in my bicycle daydream haze. Should probably burn adventure novels, get back to Scotland fast and pretend to do something useful for a while.
The riding was easy today, the road long, straight and dangerous, we are going to spend a few days avidly avoiding more of that sort. Timosoara is elegant, it has a famous orthodox cathedral and ornate building facades, lots of tiles, the whole town sparkles in the bright sunshine. We arrived at lunchtime so can appreciate it a bit more than some of the other lovely places we have passed through. It is baking hot now, too hot to eat or walk or do anything useful, luckilly the cafes here have sprinkler systems to drench you whilst you drink.
kirsty
The riding was easy today, the road long, straight and dangerous, we are going to spend a few days avidly avoiding more of that sort. Timosoara is elegant, it has a famous orthodox cathedral and ornate building facades, lots of tiles, the whole town sparkles in the bright sunshine. We arrived at lunchtime so can appreciate it a bit more than some of the other lovely places we have passed through. It is baking hot now, too hot to eat or walk or do anything useful, luckilly the cafes here have sprinkler systems to drench you whilst you drink.
kirsty
Day 21 Tiszakecshe to Mako
Our early morning stop for coffee was at a roadside saloon bar. Some of the locals were drinking down hard liquor at around 7 am. We started on flat roads then switched to a scenic cycle track recently built with E.U funding. Trouble was that the track zig-zagged around and added on lots of distance and time so we switched back to less scenic faster roads. The roads vary a lot here from smooth surfaces to real boneshakers. On the scenic routes we passed under a familly of 3 storks nesting in their wicker basket on top of a telegraph pole. We also see lots of swallows darting to and fro catching insects on the wing. Each one they eat is one less ot bite us and give us lumps all over. We have stopped in a lovely pension in a town called Mako just short of the Romanian border. Thanks for all the comments everyone has been leaving recently, it's really encouraging.
Barry
Barry
Day 20 Thursday Budapest to Tiszakecske 104 miles
Had a very productive rest day - spent most of it at the thermal baths. The setting was very Alma-Tademaesque and we were spoilt for choice with hot, cold + whirl pools indoors and outdoors and saunas galore. Came away feeling totally relaxed and squeaky clean.
Felt a bit flat leaving Budapest this am and the countryside matched my mood. I do feel a little anxious about the next stage of our tour, we haven't booked any accommodation! Made good progress through the Hunagarian Plains with the big, big sky above us. Saw our first horse and cart; we were as much a couriousity to them as them to us. We are finding that the tandem creates a reaction wherever we go - sometimes admiration but mostly they think it's comical. Kirsty's bike, however, creates alot of admiring looks and people study it stroking their chin and even take photos of it.
We arrived in Tiszakecske in good time and in confident mood; 1.5 hours and 20 miles later we still hadn't managed to leave the place! We were starting to feel a little desperate when the road we were on ended at the Tisza with no bridge in sight - a 20 mile detour to the next town now looked like our only option. Whilst standing there scratching our heads the greatest couple on earth happened to be cycling by, a few phone calls later they had sorted out our accommodation and 15 min later we were all sat having beers feeling very lucky not to be sleeping in a barn!
Nancy is back home from Tanzania safe and sound.
Gill
Felt a bit flat leaving Budapest this am and the countryside matched my mood. I do feel a little anxious about the next stage of our tour, we haven't booked any accommodation! Made good progress through the Hunagarian Plains with the big, big sky above us. Saw our first horse and cart; we were as much a couriousity to them as them to us. We are finding that the tandem creates a reaction wherever we go - sometimes admiration but mostly they think it's comical. Kirsty's bike, however, creates alot of admiring looks and people study it stroking their chin and even take photos of it.
We arrived in Tiszakecske in good time and in confident mood; 1.5 hours and 20 miles later we still hadn't managed to leave the place! We were starting to feel a little desperate when the road we were on ended at the Tisza with no bridge in sight - a 20 mile detour to the next town now looked like our only option. Whilst standing there scratching our heads the greatest couple on earth happened to be cycling by, a few phone calls later they had sorted out our accommodation and 15 min later we were all sat having beers feeling very lucky not to be sleeping in a barn!
Nancy is back home from Tanzania safe and sound.
Gill
Wednesday, 5 August 2009
Day 19 Wednesday 0 miles!
We are on a rest day in Budapest and will be spending the day at the thermal baths. The adventure starts again manana.
Tuesday, 4 August 2009
Day 18 Tuesday Gyor to Budapest 90 miles
I was so pleased to be back in the saddle this morning that grinding down a murderous A road in a thunder storm at a filthy hour of the day seemed like fun. After a turnoff for the Budapest motorway the road became a bit more pleasant though the thunder storms continued. At times visibility was so bad we had to stand in a lay-by just getting soaked rather than risk a road where the cars couldn't see us or standing under a tree. We had a 9 o'clock coffee so sweet the spoon stood on it's end in a bar where the hard drinking had already begun. The cycling was fast and good along industrial stretches of the not so blue Danube. We passed gigantic cement factories, Soviet era towns and some very bad public sculpture. Had lunch on a shop doorstep as it was the only place we could find shade, by then the storms had gone and the sunshine was bright.
The last 25 miles into Budapest were hellish, ground down and pushed off the road by trucks, can still feel the tension in my shoulders from gripping the handlebars tight with fear.
Budapest is fabulous, all the Hapsburg razzmatazz and everyone is blinged up to the nines. We let the side down badly. We rolled into town smelling worse than ever and looking just as rough. Our laundry routine usually involves smearing cheap, animal fat based soap over our clothes then dancing on them in the shower, the residue looks like tar. Looking for the hostel we were mingling with the fashionistas smelling like we had just escaped an institution. We've found a washing machine and are going to spend the day at the baths tomorrow to compensate. I'm so glad I packed my pearls. Dad carries on wearing tracksuit bottoms and a Villa training top, am impressed by his lack of concern about peer/mum pressure.
kirsty
The last 25 miles into Budapest were hellish, ground down and pushed off the road by trucks, can still feel the tension in my shoulders from gripping the handlebars tight with fear.
Budapest is fabulous, all the Hapsburg razzmatazz and everyone is blinged up to the nines. We let the side down badly. We rolled into town smelling worse than ever and looking just as rough. Our laundry routine usually involves smearing cheap, animal fat based soap over our clothes then dancing on them in the shower, the residue looks like tar. Looking for the hostel we were mingling with the fashionistas smelling like we had just escaped an institution. We've found a washing machine and are going to spend the day at the baths tomorrow to compensate. I'm so glad I packed my pearls. Dad carries on wearing tracksuit bottoms and a Villa training top, am impressed by his lack of concern about peer/mum pressure.
kirsty
Day 17 Monday Vienna to Gyor 104 miles
Gill and I did this stage by ourselves. As Kirsy was still unwell, she planned to take a train to Gyor and meet us in the evening.
After eventually finding the cycle way out of Vienna, we cracked on at a good pace for about 6 hours with only 30 minutes rest. We entered Bratislavia and then Hungary. The disused delapidated border checkpoint into Hungary looked like a throwback from the cold war. A few miles further on we stopped at a busy roadside restaurant. The folk around us were eating lovely food but, although the menu was in 3 languages, we couldnt understand any of them. The name of every dish appeared to have every letter of the alphabet in it. We ended up with chips, a type of gherkin and cabbage salad and coke light which went down surprisingly well.
In the evening we arraived in Gyor and were taken to our apartment for the night by our host. The apartment was a kind of 60s block with matching furniture. After a couple of hours when Kirsty eventually found us we started to enjoy Gyor. I think this is my favourite place on the tour so far. It has a mix of grandiose and ramshakle buildings and a fantastic town centre square with children running in and out of dancing fountains. On the river we saw boat club members rowing round what appeared to be ancient castle walls.
Our problem with Gyor was finding the apartment as we set off for it around 11pm. We walked about in the rain for about an hour trying unsuccessfully to retrace our steps.
Barry
After eventually finding the cycle way out of Vienna, we cracked on at a good pace for about 6 hours with only 30 minutes rest. We entered Bratislavia and then Hungary. The disused delapidated border checkpoint into Hungary looked like a throwback from the cold war. A few miles further on we stopped at a busy roadside restaurant. The folk around us were eating lovely food but, although the menu was in 3 languages, we couldnt understand any of them. The name of every dish appeared to have every letter of the alphabet in it. We ended up with chips, a type of gherkin and cabbage salad and coke light which went down surprisingly well.
In the evening we arraived in Gyor and were taken to our apartment for the night by our host. The apartment was a kind of 60s block with matching furniture. After a couple of hours when Kirsty eventually found us we started to enjoy Gyor. I think this is my favourite place on the tour so far. It has a mix of grandiose and ramshakle buildings and a fantastic town centre square with children running in and out of dancing fountains. On the river we saw boat club members rowing round what appeared to be ancient castle walls.
Our problem with Gyor was finding the apartment as we set off for it around 11pm. We walked about in the rain for about an hour trying unsuccessfully to retrace our steps.
Barry
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
