Romanian Charm

Latest on Neil

The latest news we have had on poor old Neil is that he is now conscious and talking, which is a great thing. He unfortunately developed a lung infection for which he had to be given antibiotics but has responded well. He also underwent further surgery for compartment syndrome in his leg, but it also all went well. The doctor is happy with his current status but he has a long way to go. But it is good news that he and his humour are back in the world!

27-Jun-08: Buda & Pest
Hungary: Budapest – Rest Day

I think my last blog came to you from Budapest on my rest day, which as per usual was mostly consumed by sightseeing as achievable around necessities such as laundry and internet. Although still making it to bed at a pre-midnight hour on the night of my birthday, the night had been a relatively late one considering the long day we had, so the better part of our rest day morning was spent sleeping in! Although, I think I managed to cover the major sights of interest whilst fighting with my better judgment to get out of the oppressive heat. But did treat myself to an afternoon massage, which was a little disappointing in its impact on my tight muscles but did manage to send me to sleep on a number of occasions, so I suppose cannot have been bad in all respects.

28-Jun-08: Bring on the Tailwinds!
Hungary: Budapest to Kesckemet
100km, 3h 55min riding

We were warned that roads would start to get worse as we head further east and today saw the first of the deteriorating conditions. The previously smooth bitumen is becoming increasingly rough and ready with pot holes and bears the uneven scars of repair upon repair, all of which makes for a pretty rough ride.

Notwithstanding the rough roads, a sub 4 hour ride covering 100km for the style of riding we are doing is considered a very good day and our fastest to date, particularly considering that the first 20km was a slow group ride out of Budapest which took an hour. We rolled into camp at 12.30pm.

The evening camp was located next door to a huge water park where everyone in town seemed to be stationed in an attempt to combat the heat! The music (in mostly English) was pumping and children screaming, so we could hardly avoid paying a visit to see what all the fuss was about. None of us took to the water given the un-pleasantries likely due to the number of children in the water, but did station ourselves at the waterpark bar for the afternoon where we chatted and some practiced for the following nights Orient Express talent quest...

29-Jun-08: The Orient has Talent...
Hungary: Kesckemet to Szeged
111km, 4h 35min riding

We were a mostly tired bunch heading off today as sleep was interrupted by a group of rowdy local campers who thought it a great idea to hurl themselves through hedges located directly behind our tents and sing to loud music all night long! Thankfully we were blessed with another day of tailwinds as the temperature was also baking hot, even as we set off at 7.30am.

Knowing full well that motivation levels to walk any substantial distance into a nearby town once showered are slim to none, we rode straight past the camp site and directly into the town of Szeged to ensure we got some sight seeing in. We meandered around the town on our bikes and drew attention with our signage affront out bikes reading “Paris to Istanbul” or “Paris to Beijing” as applicable. An interested local started talking to us all about a trip and where we were all from, which was nice and gave us a little background on the town in which we were staying. We then found a little cafe and had some cake, ice cream and cold drinks before retracing our tracks 4km back to the campground.

Henry, the tour company founder, said his goodbyes tonight but not before having been pulled aside by numerous riders with feedback, mostly constructive complaint, regarding the operation of the company. Some have had substantial issue with the quality and quantity of the food and the general organistion of and communication between staff and riding customers, both of which I would agree there is definitely room for improvement. But the feedback appears to have been well received and it will be interesting to see how it now affects the balance of our journey.

On a more positive note the night was concluded with the first Orient Express 2008 talent quest, which was organised by a few motivated and talented members of the peleton. What had initially appeared to be an idea which may not bear any talent turned out to be a very enjoyable show, with quite a few riders demonstrating their singing, poetic, comedic and engineering talents. The subject of many entrants was Carl & Rita, the tandem two, who graciously enjoyed their being fodder for comedy as much as we did.

30-Jun-08: Road to Nowhere
Hungary/Romania: Szeged to Timosoara
121km, 5h 25min riding

Today started with a short 8km ride to the car ferry which took us across the Danube. Whilst waiting for the ferry we all compared our respective dog weapons in preparedness for crossing into Romania and facing the notorious wild dogs. Sticks, pepper spray, tasers, stones tucked into bike shorts...some sticks looking more like logs...we laughed at the prospect of the first poor friendly dog getting more than it bargained for in saying hello as we are all on edge and very fond of our ankles!

After the ferry crossing we found ourselves riding on a very bumpy, long, straight road into a headwind and spirits which were lifted by the preceding 2 days of tailwinds were decidedly less positive. The one pearl on the road to nowhere were many fields of beautiful sunflowers which afforded good reason to stop and take a breather from the headwinds to take photos.

The border crossing between Hungary and Romania is our first to date which has been an official border crossing with check points and need for passports so we were all keen to just get it over and done with without incident. Thankfully this was the case and 2 stamps and a few minutes later we entered into Romania, the poorest country in Europe.

We were told that the wealth of the country would become evident almost as soon as we crossed the border and it proved to be the case. The style of buildings and housing is still very European but more rustic and most evidently in a very poor state of repair. To our surprise the condition of the road surface improved, which was a pleasant surprise, but there is absolutely no road shoulder to ride on and a good 6 inch drop from the bitumen surface to the rubble beside the roadway. As a result the ride in to Timosoara along a highway required a high level of concentration to avoid falling off the edge of the roadway whilst still staying as far away from cars passing at high speed from behind!

After lunch my energy levels faded rapidly in the persistent heat and headwinds, but knowing we still had 60km to go was more of a mental challenge than physical. You can either let the situation get the better of you or you can attack it. We attacked. Head down and peddle hard in to the headwinds and just get it over and done with became the focus, as did the 10m of white road line in front of me. Kind of like the running mantra “just to the next light post”. And eventually we made it into Timosoara at about 5pm local time, as we have gained an hour in crossing the border.

We are all very impressed by Timosoara, especially having been primed for Romania being Europe's poorest country. It is my favourite so far. It is a very beautiful city full of pedestrianised plazas and beautiful buildings and no wild dogs! After changing and resting for a little while we headed around the corner from the hotel into a plaza and found a nice bar/restaurant for dinner which included some local specialties, most of which were well received, but I could live without ever having cured pork fat again!

01-Jul-08: Sleep In & Siesta
Romania: Timosoara – Rest Day

Today has been a battle between wanting to see things and wanting to avoid the heat, but so far we have managed a good balance of both. We are getting better at not having the essential rest day tasks destroy a good day and have seen quite a bit and rested quite a bit.

We have retreated inside for the afternoon to escape the heat and are now about to head back outside for a bit of pre-dinner sight seeing.

So I will leave it there for now x