tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-59884298615718431432024-02-19T15:15:04.104-08:00TransEuropa 2016: _________ St. Petersburg to VeniceCycling the 3,500km from St. Petersburg (Russia) to Venice (Italy) with TDA Global Touring.SuperDavehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11607446127488405278noreply@blogger.comBlogger70125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5988429861571843143.post-6567011564490774042016-08-17T04:59:00.000-07:002016-08-25T08:46:55.680-07:00Wed17Aug16: Winnipeg - Brandon, Manitoba (travel day)Another restless sleep, huge room (by European standards) and cold (65F on the thermostat), but at least I was able to doze until after 6am so we'll see how this helps me adjust to the jet lag. Currently down to the hotel restaurant for coffee while I edit my final photos and update my travel blog. Although my reservation was to have the Brandon Air Shuttle pick me up here at 11am, I expect their office to phone the hotel and tell me to go to the YWG Airport instead - we'll see how good I am at saying "Come and get me!" if that happens.<br />
Just after 11am, and another Olympic event has finished on the TV, so I head down to Reception to check on my Brandon Air Shuttle ride. BAS driver is standing in the lobby, looking lost, wondering what to do next because the hotel Reception has no record of me. Oh well, I tried.<br />
Four passengers in the van this morning, and an uneventful drive along TCH#1 to Brandon in nice sunny weather. Living the west end means that - once again - I'm the last to be dropped off. Kathy has been working her home office and is there to greet me at the front door. I'm home. SuperDavehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11607446127488405278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5988429861571843143.post-57621841490677612192016-08-15T21:39:00.000-07:002016-08-25T08:45:03.612-07:00Tue16Aug16: Venice, Italy - Winnipeg, Canada (travel day)Had the sleep of the nervous, all these thoughts about what I have to do today, so finally at 5:50am I got up and started packing. Went online last night and checked-in, found my seat selection was acceptable, so don't have to arrive at Marco Polo Airport too early.<br />
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Downstairs for breakfast just after 7am and the TDA is there in force, all dressed in riding gear and green reflective riding vests. Exchanged a few goodbyes and "It was great riding with you" with various people. Tron has come over from his new hotel, so the two of us watch the vans pulling out of the parking lot, follow the various riders around to the front of the hotel, and take a departure photo just after 8am as Gergo leads the group out on an island-hopping 140km riding day.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">merganser, Venice Lagoon</td></tr>
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Then it's back up to the room to hoist my red duffle bag on my back (20.8kg), a final check and turn in the key, then I'm out the door heading for the Lido ferry terminal about 500m away. Schedule says 8:40am departure but the boat arrives early with lots of fellow tourists & their luggage onboard, we're heading across the lagoon about 10 minutes early to pick up more tourists at Murano, arriving at Marco Polo Airport just after 9am.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Duty Free Shop</td></tr>
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Should have taken a luggage cart because - although the terminal is adjacent to the ferry terminal - this bag is heavy and it's about 700m to the entrance & my Air Canada check-in counter. No carry-on today because I've got everything packed into my duffle bag and the plan is to (a) watch movies all the way from Venice to Toronto; then (b) rescue my netbook during the luggage transfer at Toronto Airport and edit photos during my layover; then (c) sleep all the way on the Toronto to Winnipeg leg.<br />
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Surprise #1! Air Canada AC1907 'Rouge' has no back-of-the-seat TV screens, no earphone plugs, no magazines - apparently passengers are now expected to bring their own entertainment! Thank goodness the flight attendants were able to find me an old "Globe & Mail" or I would have gone bonkers for the 9-1/2 hour flight.<br />
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Surprise #2! Upon arrival in Canada, you no longer have to clear your bag through Customs and carry it to the Connecting Flights belt - the bag now meets you at your final destination. So, no access to my netbook for the 6-hour layover in Toronto Airport. Thank goodness for Olympics Games coverage or I would have gone bonkers.<br />
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Considering the 7-hour time change, I boarded the Toronto-Winnipeg flight at 3am Venice time, was able to sleep for most of that trip, checked into the Best Western Plus at 7am Venice time, and am happy that my body was able to ignore the conditioned urge to Break Camp & Cycle away, so I slept fitfully for several hours, but at least that's a start...SuperDavehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11607446127488405278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5988429861571843143.post-32635824314811327342016-08-15T17:49:00.000-07:002016-08-15T09:19:31.921-07:00Mon15Aug16 Venezia, Veneto, Italia (rest day, 3,505.8km YTD)Can't rightly say that spending more money on a fancy hotel room makes for a better sleep, but it was nice to wake up without being greeted by Tron's snoring. When you're on the bicycle tour, it's somewhat comforting to know that your roommate is still asleep and therefore the two of you probably haven't missed an alarm, but....<br />
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Dozed until nearly 7:30am and realized suddenly that I had to get moving for my date with a bell tower. Just missed the 8:08am ferry from Lido but caught the 8:20am boat, lined up at Campanile San Marco just after the 8:30am opening, E8 admission and an elevator ride to the top,<br />
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an entire series of panorama photos from the upper level, and then the 9am bells just above our heads began to chime.<br />
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Geez! What a cacophony! And the two bells kept gonging away for about a minute.<br />
Back to the ferry landing and hopped a boat to the hotel on Lido, breakfast with Tron and Killian until they started taking away the leftover food at 10am.<br />
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Today's plan is a #14 line ferry to Punta Sabbioni which then continues on to Burano, an island of brightly painted homes and businesses, famous for its fabrics and lace. Nice walk around the place, very photogenic.<br />
The connecting ferry does an extensive tour of the six ferry stops in and around Murano Island, before continuing on around the San Marco complex; sort of a farewell tour.<br />
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Speaking of "farewell tours", I then hopped on the #16 ferry to Fusani, a mainland terminal with a campground where I tented back in June 2011 when I passed this way on my solo self-supported bicycle tour of Italy. At that time Camping Fusani was run by 23 Australians (on work visas) and 2 Italians (the male manager and a female receptionist at the entrance). No more. The work visa program seems to have ended and every staff member I spoke with was Italian. However, not much else about the place has changed: the grocery store charges outrageous prices for food & grog, and the tree that I pitched my tent under back in June 2011 is still giving shade for tenters.<br />
Okay, enough with the reminiscing, it's back to Lido for a shower, and time to get serious about a final laundry and then packing my stuff for the flight home tomorrow morning. SuperDavehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11607446127488405278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5988429861571843143.post-30127072175815124102016-08-14T09:29:00.001-07:002016-08-25T08:44:25.401-07:00Sun14Aug16: "Hotel Atlanta Augustus", Venezia, Italy (rest day, 3,525.1km) Last night Tron and I turned off our alarms, closed the curtains securely, and didn't wake up until after 7am. Lots of other riders were up early for the buffet breakfast, with plenty of talk about who was leaving and how, I chatted with Monique (Quebecoise) who arrived yesterday to join the TDA tour heading westward. Apparently those with bicycles-in-a-box will have to arrange a 'water taxi' for E120 (!!!) to carry them and their box from Lido to Marco Polo Airport - about the same cost as shipping it from Venezia to Winnipeg. Once again, taxi drivers are living up to their international reputation for being officially sanctioned professional thieves, and no small wonder that Uber is doing so well around the world.<br />
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Purchased a 48-hour ''ride everywhere" ticket and then caught an early morning #1 ferry that goes from Lido, across to San Marco Island(s), and then along the entire length of the Grand Canal to the Railway and Autobus Station.<br />
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Walked around the northeast corner of San Marco then caught another ferry across to Murano, where they have several entrepreneurial furnace shops and produce the marvelous coloured Venetian glass that's world famous. (Check out the glass display in the town centre.) <br />
Grabbed a few supplies at the local Co-op store and found a shaded area on the water's edge - overlooking the distant island of Burano and watching airplanes take-off from Marco Polo Airport - to enjoy my own private picnic.<br />
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Caught another ferry back to San Marco and walked around the Piazza San Marco, doing my best to avoid being stomped by the hordes of tourists and found that the clock tower opens for viewing at 08h30 (tomorrow's plan).<br />
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Another ferry down the Grand Canal in the mid-afternoon when the sun illuminates all the buildings on the other side of the waterway. <br />
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Then another couple of ferry boats along the east coast of San Marco and back to the our island of Lido about 5pm for supplies.<br />
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Now that my stay in the TDA-sponsored room has expired, the hotel has re-located me to #403 for the final two days of my stay in Lido, Venezia, Veneto, Italy. As you can see, it's a penthouse suite with a double bed in the loft, a full-size bathroom and swirl-pool tub, and a large west-facing balcony with a hammock and cactus plants. Quite the change. I deserve it ... but Kathy's paying for it.<br />
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Gergo dropped by to give me my TDA riding shirt for the TransEuropa2016 tour, so we had a long and honest talk. Time for supper, so went to a seafront restaurant named Isola D Oro on the seafront facing San Marco. Took two photographs,<br />
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one at sunset while I was waiting for the menu, and<br />
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the other after my first course when the cruise ship AIDAbella was leaving port and totally blocking my view of Venezia. Notice the difference? <br />
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<br />SuperDavehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11607446127488405278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5988429861571843143.post-909993720433765862016-08-13T07:48:00.000-07:002016-08-25T08:42:08.337-07:00Sat13Aug16: Sanstino Di Levenza - Lido, Venice Italy (46.4km, 3,525.1km YTD)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Considering there was a highway over our camping site, sleep wasn't too bad at all. However, the mixture of red wine and beer did require frequent walks across the lawn to the loo.<br />
Slowly to rise and break camp, breakfast and pack a lunch, then the convoy heads out just after 8am, Gergo leading his herd of 26 cyclists on the road to Lido.<br />
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Stopped for a coffee break at 16km, Ed Sokol (USA) and I helped clear the pile of coffee cups afterwards. Slow going because of the heavy tourist traffic trying to escape the Jesolo area and its collection of amusement parks and tourist traps.<br />
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Arrived at the Puerto Bullini about 11:15am, ahead of time, and found that our boat taxi transportation would be late. Poked around for nearly an hour before we had a boat to load the bikes in, and three taxi boats for the passengers.<br />
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Taxi ride took us north through the islands into the main island of Venice, up the Grand Canal, past San Marco Square,<br />
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and then to the island of Lido and dropped us off right at the front of the "Hotel Atlanta Augustus". Unpacked in Room #101, spread out my tent in the parking area in front of the hotel to dry it out, went shopping for supplies, and spent the afternoon watching Peter and Ozgur packing bicycles into boxes for the sectional riders. I handed over my bicycle to Peter, shook his hand, and just took it easy; getting ready for tomorrow's excursion around the islands of Venezia.<br />
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Supper was a solo affair, walked along the Boulevard leading south from the ferry terminal and found that it headed directly for the public beach, a long stretch of wide sand covered in an assortment of beached walruses and bronzed bodies. Set up shop at a table of the Beach Bar located near the exit and as 7pm approached I was able to eat supper and watch the thousands of satisfied customers make an exit towards the ferry.SuperDavehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11607446127488405278noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5988429861571843143.post-15185857628454959512016-08-12T08:40:00.004-07:002016-08-25T08:40:37.263-07:00Fri12Agu16: Ozeljen, Slovenia - Sansteno Di Levenza, Italy (106.5km, 3,478.7km YTD)Another group of cyclists arrived about 11pm last night and chatted & laughed & partied with their friends until midnight, then decided to set up their tents, pump up their air mattresses, shine their flashlights around camp and into my tent, before finally settling down about 1am. So much for a last good memory of Slovenia.<br />
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When we break camp at 6am in the morning, Nelson's (CDN) Garmin gives a reading of 5.6C, explaining why most of our group has on their leggings and jackets for breakfast. Temperature is transitory because clear skies suggest it should hit the mid-20s later on today.<br />
Riding with a group of six today, through the hills and into town with the 'rush hour' traffic, the Slovenian/Italian border shows up at the 7km mark, then it's on through town and into the countryside. <br />
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Town and street sign names are decidedly Italian, with lots of vowels and none of the superscript markings that characteristic of the Slovenian (and Hungarian) language. Architecture has changed too, with more red tile on the roofs, and little Catholic churches with tall steeples perched up on the hillsides. Gergo has another bit of twisted humour when he detours us through the gravel backstreet of a town, just because it connects the two roads that we have to travel - he enjoys these little detours.<br />
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Lunch is at 62km in a parking area adjacent to a smoothly-flowing river where future Olympians are practicing their sport.<br />
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After lunch, Kevin (AUS) and I are out into the open fields, lots of corn being grown in this region, apple orchards, and an increasing incidence of vineyards. One vineyard is advertising Merlot at E1.20 per litre and CabSauv at E1.30 per litre; I presume that you p7rovide your own container.<br />
Now the road is getting a bit scary because Gergo has us leaving a bike path and climbing up onto an elevated two-lane highway with steel fencing on each side - it's not advertised as a "motorway" but the traffic is fast-moving and intimidating so I'm relieved that the orange marking tape tells us we're heading in the right direction. <br />
2km short of our destination I stop at a Penny Market for my usual supply of grape juice and the choices are predictable - Vino Veneto seems to occupy most of the shelf space, but the prices are very reasonable.<br />
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Just a short ride further and then a sharp right turn into CasaMia, which is little more than somebody's backyard lawn with a shelter in case of bad weather. Che usual suspects have arrived ahead of me, Chris (CDN) & Cindy (USA) and Kevin (AUS), so it's time to pick a tenting spot and wait for the TDA van to return from shopping.<br />
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Tents set up in the back yard, lots of time to "schmooz" with each other, rider's meeting at the usual 5:45pm, then the announcement that it's Pizza & Beer night before our grand entry into Venezia. Many couples have decided to stay in an outside hotel tonight, so there's far too much pizza and far too much beer for us to finish. But we'll give it our best shot!SuperDavehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11607446127488405278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5988429861571843143.post-27896182065885243872016-08-11T05:59:00.001-07:002016-08-25T08:39:24.104-07:00Thu11Aug16: Ljubljana - Ozelen, Slovenia (88.0km, 3,372.2km YTD)<div>
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Comfortable sleep last night with the A/C vent uncovered so it cools off the entire room. Awoke about 5:30am out of habit but dozed until Tron's alarm goes off at 6am. Another nice buffet breakfast but I'm more worried about thirst and hydration than about carbs.</div>
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Hauled our bicycles out of the garage basement Maintenance room and up in the elevator, through the lobby, and assembled out on the sidewalk in front of the City Hotel.<br />
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Gergo leads another convoy out through the streets of town, and the route is so convoluted that it's a good idea that he didn't try flagging that first 5km.<br />
Lead group is nine riders and we burn up the first 20km at good speed, alternating between the bike lane and the curbside lane of the 2-lane highway #409. Then the grade starts and we're heading up into the hills surrounding the valley, the group stretches itself out, weaker riders start dropping back, and power takes over.<br />
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After 10km or so the grade flattens out, then begins to climb again, but this time a "15% Grade"sign appears beside the road and we seem to go almost vertical through the bush, around some steep turns, and finally crawl out at the top of the pass at 44.2km to find the TDA lunch van set up and waiting for us.<br />
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Historically this mountain pass was the choke point of a major transportation and trading route dating back more than 2,000 years, the site of a Roman fort dating from that same era, and the site of a Christian church from the 13th century (see foundations).<br />
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After lunch it\s a little bit rolling countryside, then a long mostly-straight downhill into the valley at a gentle grade. Following Mark (USA) and Nelson (CDN), we lean into the turns, they do some pedalling but I try to keep it strictly gravity driven, during one scary stretch my Garmin says that I hit 73.02kph (could be my fastest bicycle speed to date!).<br />
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Now following Chris (CDN) and Cindy, our little road merges with Highway #444 and the grade begins to flatten out, finally levelling at the 64km mark as we cruise into the widening valley. Camp Lijak is at 81km and we arrive before the TDA vans. After selecting a camping spot near the WC and the camp tables, I make a ride back to the Mercator store for the usual supplies. Lots of other cyclists making camp here tonight, so we virtually infest the place.</div>
SuperDavehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11607446127488405278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5988429861571843143.post-67359137186498845682016-08-10T09:31:00.001-07:002016-08-25T08:38:36.328-07:00Wed10Aug16: "City Hotel", Ljubljana, Slovenia (rest day)<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">bridge abutment, Ljubljana</td></tr>
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Apparently it was clear at 5am when Shirley (USA) walked up to the castle, but when I got up at 8am the clouds had closed overhead and the rain was pouring down.<br />
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Tivoli Park,Ljubljana</div>
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After breakfast I walked up to the Tivoli Park and an exhibit of contemporary paintings and pen & ink drawings by two Slovenian artists.<br />
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After that it was over to the Slovenian National Museum and the Natural History Museum for some more insights into the history of this country.<br />
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Back at the hotel for blog and photo time, my netbook computer battery registered as very low and the AC/DC charger refused to function. Short story? I now own a new Asus netbook with a Slovenian keyboard, a Slovenian instruction booklet, English language loaded on the software, and many of the keys in different places. Practicality over speed for the final week of my trip.<br />
So far I've got no Skype or e-mail, but that's what tonight will hopefully resolve.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">tourism promo photo</td></tr>
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In my opinion, Slovenia is the Nederlands of southern Europe because this friendly and outgoing people have developed a clean, well-run country, and find it in their best interests to be strong in languages - especially English - to develop their tourism industry and get along with their much larger and stronger neighbours. It's no wonder that the Nederlander tourists are so attracted to this place - it's so much like theirs, but it's all above sea level and even has real snow-capped mountains!SuperDavehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11607446127488405278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5988429861571843143.post-80340711987188860822016-08-09T08:41:00.001-07:002016-08-25T08:37:37.540-07:00Tue09Aug16: Prebold - Ljubljana, Slovenia (60.2km, 3,284.2km YTD)Slept poorly again last night, partially due to my camping air mattress. It's called "self-inflating" but since there's now a large rip in it, it's also 'self-deflating'. Wherever I'm lying on it, it's flat as a pancake under my body; when I roll over, it feels good for a few seconds and then the air cushion disappears. This tends to make a person roll around a lot, just for that few seconds of pleasure, which doesn't lead to a comfortable sleeping pattern.<br />
Quiet campsite last night for a change, perfectly clear blue sky, and lots of heavy dew all over our tents & bikes & gear in the morning. Breakfast of French toast, and today we have to make our own 'bag lunch' because there won't be a lunch van out on the road - I take two processed meat & cheese sandwiches, plus a banana.<br />
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Starting out a nice 15C today but nobody's in a rush because it's only 60km into Ljubljana (pronounced "yoob-yaana", the letter L is just there for show). Stop for a photo at the "Mlekomat", a automat machine that dispenses pasteurised and full 3.5% cream milk into your choice of container; you can even buy the 1L container at the machine!<br />
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First onto the road with Rhinda (SouthAfrica) & Liz (England) & Tron (Norway), but after Chris (CDN) and Cindy (USA) cruise by, I follow them for a bit then start riding with Mark (USA) and Nelson (CDN). Most of the TDA group have considered to pull off for the world famous (at least in this part of the world) doughnut shop at Tronjane - which specialises in huge pastry specials - but since it's only an hour after breakfast, I decide to give that idea a pass.<br />
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With so many pastry and coffee fanatics in the group, I'm soon on my own and heading for the pass at 24.5km, then comes the downhill, cruising gently all the way down to the Sava River valley floor, then a few simple turns has me heading towards Ljubljana. Zig-zagging into town, I catch up to the flagging van just a few blocks before the City Hotel, follow Peter and Vilma (Slovakia) into the lobby, and help unload some of the personal bags until mine appears. Then it's time for a quick clothing change, and I'm out on the streets to see the sights.<br />
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Into the Old City and then across the Ljubljana River bridges, then up to the Ljubljana Castle for a lengthy and informative tour (E10 @ adult). Sign at the top of the clock tower of the castle states that the visitor is looking at 1/3 of the country of Slovenia from this vantage point, amazingly small but the most beautiful and inviting country that most of us have visited. Walking down the backside of the hill below the castle takes me to through another section of the Old City and a different perspective of the streets and buildings.<br />
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Several river boat companies plying these waters so I take a 45-minute cruise (E8), before heading to the bank to convert my Hungarian florints. No matter what you've heard about the Euro being the standard currency over here, there are seven (7) members of the EEC who insist on continuing to use their own currency although our group has only experienced Poland zlotys, Hungary florints, and Hrvatska crowns.<br />
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2pm is check-in time at the City Hotel and the TDA crowd is lined up at Reception and quite restless because apparently some of the rooms still aren't ready. After Tron and I are assigned to Room #204, I head over the Mercator supermarket for supplies - he drinks about 10(!) 600mL bottles of Coke every day, I buy a couple of beer and a bottle of cheap red wine. After a shower, we take turns stretching out our wet tent fly and ground sheet from the hotel window until they're bone dry.<br />
Supper is at the Cutty Sark Pub while watching 'footie' on the 'tellie', then back to the room for photo and blog time before bedtime.SuperDavehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11607446127488405278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5988429861571843143.post-7345360675202006292016-08-08T07:15:00.001-07:002016-08-25T08:36:40.146-07:00Mon08Aug16: Ptuj – Prebold, Slovenia (92.8km, 3,224.0km YTD)<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Nice cool
evening last night, which meant we all slept well, but woke up to a clear sky
with all the tents and left-out laundry covered in the heaviest dew imaginable.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No sun up at 6am to dry things, so we just
shake out the fabric, roll it up tight as possible, and know that we’re
spreading out the whole mess of material again this afternoon.</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRlYM-M66xy-wbngizQP5ipJ44X7VvRL6P4pMIPfF5kdP8rfIJX1sVykNtP6jUhR6nvk-afir9J2m8Dt4SPkBNMl1SbAB4Nk3u4dE5wNxMrd7c9kg0MF8AW5ENPuIeHEFJGrviJrXhbk_d/s1600/P8084394.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRlYM-M66xy-wbngizQP5ipJ44X7VvRL6P4pMIPfF5kdP8rfIJX1sVykNtP6jUhR6nvk-afir9J2m8Dt4SPkBNMl1SbAB4Nk3u4dE5wNxMrd7c9kg0MF8AW5ENPuIeHEFJGrviJrXhbk_d/s200/P8084394.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Lovely
countryside to cycle through, large fields of corn in flat river valleys alternating
with hay and grain crops in the smaller farms up against the hills, low
mountains in the distance covered with small towns and tall church steeples.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Very romantic to look at, great to cycle
through.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Peter & Killian (IRE)
putter along with me for awhile, but Peter pulls ahead to make a phone call,
Killian drops back to ride with a larger more sociable group.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then I catch up to Mark (USA), Nelson (CDN),
and Aaron (USA), which works good for awhile but we cruising along a level road
between the fields and the hills when we come to an intersection where there’s
no flagging but Mark wants to turn uphill; I suggest the main road is straight
ahead, Mark’s comment is “If Dave wants to go that way, maybe we should take
the other road”; since this is obviously not a productive conversation, I head
out solo.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Riding
groupings have changed quite a bit since the sectionals came/went in
Budapest.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Married couples continue to ride
together because they’re used to each other’s pace and adjust daily to whoever
is feeling stronger or weaker.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Groups such
as “Cindy & The Bandits” have now broken up; Wayne (AUS) rides further back
with John & Peter (USA), Kevin (AUS) rides ahead by himself, Mark (USA) has
now started riding with Nelson (CDN) and Aaron (USA), Cindy (USA) is now riding
with Chris (CDN) so the two of them are usually in camp before anybody else,
set up their respective tents and just disappear.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Peter (IRE) has slowed down since he was
joined by his son Killian (IRE), so it’s easier to keep up with the two of them
– Peter is the one with the innovative thinking and route planning, Killian is
the ‘sociable cyclist’.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiYF-BC0rKIZUKtxnsWlKFy_JvaCu8D8INkJWqctoY2eK9QA-WZCfltH9pA-s_cuF_GwxTn-T1e5Clt6WtreW4cdvg5HpgyMKu95QBPwh0cSzDxf0Nztjw0q0MCy8pmd7r10cU0MRGsiyd/s1600/P8084397.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiYF-BC0rKIZUKtxnsWlKFy_JvaCu8D8INkJWqctoY2eK9QA-WZCfltH9pA-s_cuF_GwxTn-T1e5Clt6WtreW4cdvg5HpgyMKu95QBPwh0cSzDxf0Nztjw0q0MCy8pmd7r10cU0MRGsiyd/s200/P8084397.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">This morning
was a good day for wildlife.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Large buck
deer jumped out of the cornfield to my left, leaped across the road, and
stopped facing me from the harvested field to my right.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Later on a hawk was perched on a wood
cross-bar on a hydro pole eating his breakfast, probably a mouse.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Two great blue herons were checking out the
hay windrows in a field, looking for snacks; haven’t seen any storks for a few
days so I’m wondering if we’re too far south for their breeding grounds.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">40.5km to Oplotnica
and the start of a nice climb into the hills, 10% grades and large overhanging
trees, then just past the summit the lunch truck is sitting at 59km to catch us
on our long cruise down in the next valley system.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Celje is a decent sized city, but the
flagging has stopped; I waste about 15 minutes trying to figure out where to
make my right turn, when Vilma & Peter drive by in the van shouting out “This
way”; apparently they were shopping and didn’t realise that I would be passing
by so quickly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Trying to follow Peter’s
advice to follow the bike path, I get detoured and lost in the streets of
Sempeter and realise that it’s sometimes easier to just follow the stupid
highway – heavy traffic and all. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Left turn
off Highway #427 towards Prebold, then a turn into "Dolina Camp" which proves what
you can do with a house and a large back yard – put in a small swimming pool
and turn the entire area into a campground.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Several Nederlander vehicles and tents have found their way to this
corner of the world, we back-fill the rest of the available open space. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No thermal springs or water park today, but sometimes
there’s nothing nicer than an afternoon in cool fresh water, exchanging cycling
‘war stories’ and other remembrances.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The nearby Tus market proves that Slovenians know how to make great
chocolate milk; I buy a 1L container then head down to the nearby village
stream to do a quality test; five minutes later I’m back in the store to buy
another 1L container.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My, this stuff is
good!</span></div>
SuperDavehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11607446127488405278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5988429861571843143.post-31524656394838252972016-08-07T07:04:00.003-07:002016-08-25T08:35:42.008-07:00Sun07Aug16: Toplice, Slovenia – Hrvatska – Ptuj, Slovenia (82.5km, 3,131.2km YTD)<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEYqYKtZnUi-JZdrz-diJ_L8HDNzzLwyqVOzIw_2Q0QNiRES_4YFQYVNmPJUz95OPFB5gP4N41EY8bMgzKRcSLmAqQb2sVPe58PVCaC0UfV5H5BAeuiFb4YSOJUuMYQ2P8YUjgraR5pOBY/s1600/16080602+cemetery%252C+Slovenia.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEYqYKtZnUi-JZdrz-diJ_L8HDNzzLwyqVOzIw_2Q0QNiRES_4YFQYVNmPJUz95OPFB5gP4N41EY8bMgzKRcSLmAqQb2sVPe58PVCaC0UfV5H5BAeuiFb4YSOJUuMYQ2P8YUjgraR5pOBY/s200/16080602+cemetery%252C+Slovenia.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">cemetery, Bettinci, Slovenia</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Music at the
swimming pool turned off about 8pm, dozens of bats flocked west over the
campsite in the fading sunset, everybody on the site quietened down shortly
afterwards, I probably was asleep before 10pm.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Up at 2:30am for a look at the stars, camp started to rouse itself about
5:30am.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Short 78km ride today so nobody’s
in a real rush, just the usual ‘riding day jitters’.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">vineyard, New Jerusalem</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Out of the
gate about 7:30am, group of nine riders just poking along the virtually flat
farmland with fields of mature corn.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Up
past Bettinci into the foothills, then there’s a turnoff up a steep road
towards New Jerusalem, Gergo thinks this is a great side-trip and he’s right –
steep 10% and 15% grades, but wonderful views of the vineyards from the ridge
leading along the top of this range.</span><br />
<br />
<br /></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hrvatska frontier, Stava River crossing</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Inside the
town of Mihovic the flags indicate our route turns to the Right, so the TDA van
passes us and - because Peter McCartney has planned on ‘knocking off’ another
country today - we go straight ahead, down the hill towards the Stava River,
and voila! – we’re in the country of Hrvatska (a.k.a. "Croatia", although I have no idea how it got that name), another member
of the EEC.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Peter’s route on Garmin parallels the Stava
River and the TDA flagged route in Slovenia, so it’s not much longer in
distance, but infinitely ahead in ‘adventure/exploring value’.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kaffe Bar, Hrvatska</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-MZJH8OWD-gjchCEXplHLsref_EfWWFH8V2vvuN-m9czf2Z2rz3gmaa1YjMn6OoHtNYCOGzwiBVXV1oB4ADB3cyhR61ttqEOM1B38bQwF7Vz6Dm7CYcvbkorrOkAcqRsGbJ3S9phVPCkl/s1600/16080623+Bola+Castle%252C+Stava+River%252C+Slovenia.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-MZJH8OWD-gjchCEXplHLsref_EfWWFH8V2vvuN-m9czf2Z2rz3gmaa1YjMn6OoHtNYCOGzwiBVXV1oB4ADB3cyhR61ttqEOM1B38bQwF7Vz6Dm7CYcvbkorrOkAcqRsGbJ3S9phVPCkl/s200/16080623+Bola+Castle%252C+Stava+River%252C+Slovenia.JPG" width="200" /></a><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Flat
farmland along the river with more fields of corn and sunflowers, but it’s time
for a morning coffee break so we head towards a village nestled at the base of
the hills.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The local Kaffe Bar is open,
and although the locals have ordered beer at 10am on a Sunday morning, we make
do with Cokes and coffee.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Funniest part
of the experience is when I go to pay and the bar wench informs me that she can’t
give change for my Euros because Hrvatska has its own currency – the crown.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The locals understand what I’m trying to do, laugh
at my lack of knowledge about their country, and think this is a big hoot.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Oh, well.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiuCe3p58hgta5t7ZOZs_Tnmx-s8IyVl5m0mSpX0lnPQc_hL8r9XR6F3HSrJf_Aaw60sob0AxHWakjOgBCB24LkFx_L_vKQ5Tm-rIl-kVp0uMmpboTISgyT7ijdBz0TMx61J9x05S6tKrt/s1600/16080624+Ptuj%252C+Slovenia.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiuCe3p58hgta5t7ZOZs_Tnmx-s8IyVl5m0mSpX0lnPQc_hL8r9XR6F3HSrJf_Aaw60sob0AxHWakjOgBCB24LkFx_L_vKQ5Tm-rIl-kVp0uMmpboTISgyT7ijdBz0TMx61J9x05S6tKrt/s200/16080624+Ptuj%252C+Slovenia.JPG" width="200" /></a><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">We continue to
follow the Stava River westward and go leave Hrvatska but border control wants
to see our passports.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have mine handy
and turn it over, the other three only have driver’s licences so the officials
finally give up on being proper and pass us through.</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Back along
the cornfields to Ptuj (pronounced “p-tooee”) and a stop in the centre of the
Old City for lunch at a bakery – not much prepared food available in this town
on a Sunday, so we survive on miniature pizzas and hot dogs with our soft
drinks.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwZ-CEeh_WcvJwIyrkvja8N9pHzGpA6JABy2mTmckyO5Jss2DRcd6oUxdgjUlE8val0mXqSfc9qOFyTC_nXfFSwZd0jPU1_G2jeEgVStigArthTIfTNSGhsP8qWb9dODSVu3elNC99wljK/s1600/16080628+Camp++Terme%252C+Slovenia.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwZ-CEeh_WcvJwIyrkvja8N9pHzGpA6JABy2mTmckyO5Jss2DRcd6oUxdgjUlE8val0mXqSfc9qOFyTC_nXfFSwZd0jPU1_G2jeEgVStigArthTIfTNSGhsP8qWb9dODSVu3elNC99wljK/s200/16080628+Camp++Terme%252C+Slovenia.JPG" width="200" /></a><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Today’s destination
is the "Camping Terme" site just across the river from Ptuj, and we roll in about
1:30pm with 82.5km showing on my Garmin.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Lots of riders are still out on the road so apparently most of us have
decided to just take it easy today.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Set
up the tent, shower, laundry, and lots of time to just relax in the afternoon sunshine.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> Bought a ticket for E6 to the Thermaln Park water park and splashed around in the water, down a water slide, floated on an inner tube, etc. just to cool down; it works.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">After the rider's meeting and supper, its blog and photo time over at the affiliated Grand Hotel Primus which has good internet service. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Good sleep last
night, floor-length door wide open to the lake, distant bursts of lightning in the distant sky,
swirling wind patterns buffeted our door, but lots of cool fresh air.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Tron has a lovely snore pattern, almost melodic, but insists that I
didn`t really make much of a sound last night – liar! (but a real nice guy).</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Woke up
about 5:35am, but dozed until Tron`s alarm went off at 6am.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Last night`s storm ripped my swim suit off
the bedroom railing, but in the morning I went down to the deck again and found
that somebody had picked it up and put in on a small table.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And nearly dry, too!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Great!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Bags down to
the lobby by 6:45am, rider meeting suggests that our route is only 107km – 20km
shorter than the original itinerary – so we`re so sad that there`s not a dry eye
in the house.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Boo-hoo.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Nice buffet breakfast, had a table out on the deck
with Ed & Eric & John (USA) knocking back enough calories to put us out
on the road in style.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Very nice `cream
of wheat` porridge but terrible interpretation of potato pancakes.</span></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqjdZI0aHTxJJsX1R9PNGDwa5lWpJZQ9rpMu8HQowXB3EZIgFRcowN4DryESnfIQ_L9JmHa85d-Vz24BWGheE4jmXnwfX8jygvKrGHYaymX2ZWmVmRQFfhLcOZTeLK8NzDhUbEt4ms0rGN/s1600/16080602+pump+jack%252C+Sarwida.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqjdZI0aHTxJJsX1R9PNGDwa5lWpJZQ9rpMu8HQowXB3EZIgFRcowN4DryESnfIQ_L9JmHa85d-Vz24BWGheE4jmXnwfX8jygvKrGHYaymX2ZWmVmRQFfhLcOZTeLK8NzDhUbEt4ms0rGN/s200/16080602+pump+jack%252C+Sarwida.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Away around
8am with Dan & Shirley Frye (USA) chasing Gergo & the flagging van down
the streets of Keszthely until they pull ahead in the countryside.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Lots of rolling hills and small villages
along Highway 75, a couple of operating pump jacks suggests that there`s a bit
of oil in the ground underneath this terrain.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Apparently
my bicycle has an instinct that draws it towards Croatia.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Being in Croatia is not necessarily a bad
thing because Croatia is in the European Economic Community, but the problem is that it`s not on our
projected route.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While doing a lovely
downhill glide, weaving S-turns through a large town at 49km, I miss a
right-hand turn with the road towards Besco.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Garmin suggests that my current highway was heading towards an
international border (viz. Croatia) so I turn around and pedal uphill into the
wind to rejoin the TDA flagged route.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
Found the flagged turn, but j</span>ust a few kilometres further on I`m overtaken by a van hauling a
trailer, who then slams on his brakes and makes a right-hand turn, I swerve
left to avoid him and then check my instructions again – wasn`t that where I
was supposed to make a right-hand turn?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Why does Garmin say that my current road is heading towards
Croatia?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, as I turn around and
am heading back up the road to check things out, Peter & Killian McCartney come
screaming down the hill past me, ask me if I’ve got a problem, so I just tag
along and follow them southwest.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A few
kilometres later all three of us realise that we’re off the grid, and Peter
suggests we cut cross-country to join up with Road #7405.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Okay, because he’s the Garmin expert.</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYdxuTIEHBCB1zZ1vTOGzGVAhuyEvOIqIDk1sEDE5DTYZEYdrahyphenhyphenIvQ3CuX7Oq6D26sBTI-CORiKX8iNmz8l18kQLhsPl8gYxHkkVibk4hyphenhyphenDL84L5jM0DQRO85S7184UaGUJlxs5VtrGem/s1600/16080604+SuperDave+south+of+Becso.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYdxuTIEHBCB1zZ1vTOGzGVAhuyEvOIqIDk1sEDE5DTYZEYdrahyphenhyphenIvQ3CuX7Oq6D26sBTI-CORiKX8iNmz8l18kQLhsPl8gYxHkkVibk4hyphenhyphenDL84L5jM0DQRO85S7184UaGUJlxs5VtrGem/s200/16080604+SuperDave+south+of+Becso.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Our first road northwest is well travelled,
with nice men in green vests leading us towards a demonstration of heavy
agricultural equipment – tractors and the like - and a large parking lot for the viewers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Nice idea, but not our priority right now. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So, we
turn around, wave to the nice men in the green vests, and head up a smaller paved road, that turns
to a smaller paved road, that leads to a gravel road, that turns into a dirt road alongside a reservoir, that
turns into a mud road that was apparently used by some of the tractors going to
the “ag show”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The three of us dismount and push our
bikes uphill through the slop, then along a valley trail, then up through a
farm yard (nobody lives there anymore but the plums are ripe and taste great), then onto a gravel track with no inhabitants but the four-wheeled vehicles parked alongside are
registered in the current year, so Yahoo!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> w</span>e’ve obviously found
civilisation again!</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzpnlxr0xHv-9HuLXPzkg9fmLhXuCXzHRqXs0bcux77KCIhJhharCcJjyvU5gqB-cLtM_6W9T2iQSRDbU89bUsIrgwiQxYID78z1NctKItRyf19yhqItUWgX12yzl5Yf8QBbdZ5J0Ns-ok/s1600/16080605+lunch+stop%252C+Porszombat.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzpnlxr0xHv-9HuLXPzkg9fmLhXuCXzHRqXs0bcux77KCIhJhharCcJjyvU5gqB-cLtM_6W9T2iQSRDbU89bUsIrgwiQxYID78z1NctKItRyf19yhqItUWgX12yzl5Yf8QBbdZ5J0Ns-ok/s200/16080605+lunch+stop%252C+Porszombat.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Down and through the
forests of western Hungary, we merge with a paved road that resembles details on the 65.3km
instruction on our TDA itinerary, so I’m only 9km off the recommended schedule.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Since we’ve missed the TDA lunch van, this
calls for a short stop at Porszombat for Cokes, chips, and ice cream – quality sources
of sugar for cyclists - with a barmaid that obviously got left behind when her generation left this town and headed for the Big Smoke.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">We l</span>ocated that
first orange TDA flagging tape at the 73.5km left-hand turn (82.5km on my
Garmin) and it does provide a certain amount of relief, but I wonder why my bicycle
kept wanting me to take me to Croatia.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Sure, it was only about 20km away, but… focus bike … focus ...</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX8lHscxNlyQVCYAMD5IVBj1fYxtiipI2sN4L5X837mv_vhsumZIkZxX_OlR1pgpJEkfJ5roskj3kDg77IJjxRDNEyX3NhthzV-f64_Dc4brG05nmCxTQWiWnoBotkddGqMDfJFpN2GM84/s1600/16080608+Peter+%2526+Killian+McCartnely%252C+Slovenia+border.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX8lHscxNlyQVCYAMD5IVBj1fYxtiipI2sN4L5X837mv_vhsumZIkZxX_OlR1pgpJEkfJ5roskj3kDg77IJjxRDNEyX3NhthzV-f64_Dc4brG05nmCxTQWiWnoBotkddGqMDfJFpN2GM84/s200/16080608+Peter+%2526+Killian+McCartnely%252C+Slovenia+border.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1goIs0OtpbLWW9MZ_1NEGIAV_objFeSJ6kj7yA0FSsLXIosPBCuFIb20u66XXHqp9gFST24kX42ipEWtato-kg048TmLX4QH5aM_1noGWYGjxfPcXdVUEdiEBfwBsjrd38duMCYnUSnLY/s1600/16080622+inside%252C+Camp+Terme+3000.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1goIs0OtpbLWW9MZ_1NEGIAV_objFeSJ6kj7yA0FSsLXIosPBCuFIb20u66XXHqp9gFST24kX42ipEWtato-kg048TmLX4QH5aM_1noGWYGjxfPcXdVUEdiEBfwBsjrd38duMCYnUSnLY/s200/16080622+inside%252C+Camp+Terme+3000.JPG" width="200" /></a><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Slovenia is
another international border crossing and another bureaucratic infliction of
red tape what with the Customs Inspectors, the Immigration Authorities, show your passports, obtain another foreign currency, etc. Oops! Forgot. We're still in the EEC. Well, there is a sign that says "Slovejia".<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And a photo opportunity with Peter and Killian.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>None of the other usual concerns apply,
because this is the EEC, after all.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Minus Britain, of course, whose exit date is yet to
be determined.</span><br />
</div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqs2n0L11QExupPkG3W2my6tuly0jdAxvcGIhPEZYjHQ9K_fRVnA-DXKXtYUEuCfJjbutn832qETChum_03TyrECfmucOSVgJvWZwSLKs_WXmmH2O7GXNSSpACdEhKz5FhOn0GjDdzdU0d/s1600/16080611+camp+kitchen%252C+Camp+Terme+3000.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqs2n0L11QExupPkG3W2my6tuly0jdAxvcGIhPEZYjHQ9K_fRVnA-DXKXtYUEuCfJjbutn832qETChum_03TyrECfmucOSVgJvWZwSLKs_WXmmH2O7GXNSSpACdEhKz5FhOn0GjDdzdU0d/s200/16080611+camp+kitchen%252C+Camp+Terme+3000.JPG" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">"Camp Terme" is a resort complex that was built
over a pool of black & warm mineral water bubbling to the surface at a temperature
of just over 40C.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Chalets, hotels, RV
sites, campgrounds, and thousands of people enjoying the big warm wet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A couple of dozen cyclists won’t even be
noticed. I head up to<span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif";"> the supermarket and liberate some alcoholic libations; a can of beer for Wayn<span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif";">e("B<span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif";">ecause you're y<span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif";">ou"), a can of b<span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif";">eer for <span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif";">Killian (Peter doesn't drink, so it's a cheap round), and two for me.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif";"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif";"></span></span></span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Ri<span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif";">der's meeting at 5:55<span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif";">pm, supper at 6pm, dessert because<span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif";"> we <span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif";">missed Mark<span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif";">'s b<span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif";">irthday in Budapest on our 'rest day'. How come he's still the youngest if he's only t<span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif";">urning 52?</span></span></span></span></span></span></span> Geez, we're a bunch of geezers. Finally time for the photos & blog before bedtime. </span>SuperDavehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11607446127488405278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5988429861571843143.post-59291570976048453342016-08-05T08:41:00.000-07:002016-08-25T08:32:55.251-07:00Fri05Aug16: Balatonalmadi - Keszthely, Hungary (104.2km, 2,930.8km YTD)No matter how tired you are, when the campground bar doesn't close until 11:30pm there isn't much chance of quiet. Gradually getting quieter but several kids still riding bikes and running around, electronic music from out in the distance, suddenly at 12:35am a distant and familiar voice shouts out "Shut the f*** up!". Apparently Chris is not happy, so I'll probably hear more about that in the morning. All told I get maybe 3-4 hours of sleep before the sound of tent zippers tells me that TDA riders are getting active and packing up their stuff.<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbLj89HYrohIv1K3YcW_vT-KB3enyDsQqKAVtYop5O6dPflpEjhP-0jpUpNCpK0zcnK3E6ypLpFwhWzdT49l6SMzaQ0zPalCc37QwdKOK0dSLjy_4mpttKQEJp4hMVEsCNdALZBM-IzxYf/s1600/16080503+SuperDave+%2526+wood+arch.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbLj89HYrohIv1K3YcW_vT-KB3enyDsQqKAVtYop5O6dPflpEjhP-0jpUpNCpK0zcnK3E6ypLpFwhWzdT49l6SMzaQ0zPalCc37QwdKOK0dSLjy_4mpttKQEJp4hMVEsCNdALZBM-IzxYf/s200/16080503+SuperDave+%2526+wood+arch.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">wooden arch, Lake Balaton Bike Trail</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Breakfast and then a slow start to the day. Gergo says its only 75km along the lakeshore to a hotel at Keszthely so Peter - sweep rider - and I leave well after the crowd has departed. We catch up to the first stragglers - John & Peter (USA) - at a coffee bar on the peninsula, Peter stops and I start climbing the bike path on the hill up to Tihany.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tihany Abbey, Lake Balaton</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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Nice views from the summit, and then a long glide down to the ferry terminal, before turning back along the lakeshore and heading back towards our planned route.<br />
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Several other TDA riders pass by before I catch up to John & Peter (USA) with Wayne (Australia), we stop for lunch, meeting a parade of three elephants (the circus is in town!), and finally pull into the Hotel Helikon in Keszthely about 2:15pm and a temperature of about 33C. Ouch! and a sore butt to boot.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">atrium, Hotel Helikon, Keszthely</td></tr>
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Tron (Norway) is my roommate tonight, and hopefully for the remainder of this trip because he's also going as far as Venice. Shower, laundry, a small walk in Lake Balaton - a dirty brown body of insipid water with pieces of weeds floating on the surface. Want to estimate the coliform bacteria count?<br />
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Then things start going wrong this afternoon. Small things. First thing is that I starting getting leg cramps while I'm lying on my towel after the swim; hasn't happened before, not enough salt? Then I get back to the room and find that my shower towel has blown off the balcony railing to places unknown. When I finally convince Reception to give me a new shower towel, I slip in the bath tub and yank down the shower curtain. Then when I turn on the shower again it's pointed a Tron's towel and soaks it completely. When I go to edit my photos, I find that I've deleted that editing program in trying to create enough space to download my photographs, and I can't figure out how to upload and replace it (from now on my blog may get unedited photos). After supper I realise that my grey shorts have been ripped off by the thunderstorm that struck during supper, so now I've got nothing except full length pants to replace my cycling shorts a ride. Then the internet goes dead because of the storm. Heading for a triple zero evening... <br />
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SuperDavehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11607446127488405278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5988429861571843143.post-73354114652259060222016-08-04T11:03:00.000-07:002016-08-25T08:31:35.197-07:00Thu04Aug16: Budapest - Balatonalmadi (128.9km, 2,826.6km YTD)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Roommate comes into the room just before 6am this morning, having slept somewhere else for the past three nights. No way that I had a 'single room' because (a) I couldn't lock the door at night (just in case he came back after I was in bed or arrived before I woke up in the morning); (b) roommate was a registered occupant of that room; and (c) I always had to be aware that somebody else had a key and could come into the room at anytime (sort of put a crimp on my evening cross-dressing fashion show thoughts). But the break was still a nice change from Monday afternoon when he trashed the room and then disappeared.<br />
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Convoy assembled in front of the hotel and departed just before 8:30am, crossing the river and then heading southwest through the Budai side of the city. Gergo loves convoys because it eliminates the need for taping, and eliminates the possibility of riders getting lost in the myriad of streets leading out of town. At the 7.4km mark he waves us forward and then pulls off to load his bike into the van, so he can ride ahead and tape the rest of the day's route. As per usual, a TransEuropa2016 rider knows that s/he is on the correct route because if the wind is in your face then you must be going the correct way; today the wind is SW15kph so the riding is normal and tough.<br />
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Today's itinerary suggests that we're going to climb over 1,000m today but the grades are short (<1km), not very steep, and frequent. Largest film studio in Hungary is off on our left hand side.<br />
Rolling farm land all the way, the harvest is well in hand, and most of the fields have straw that's been bailed into the big cubes.<br />
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Lunch at 71km is on the edge of a field of corn. There are a few small towns along the road, but nothing like the high density of population that characterised the country of Poland. Sun is hot and beating down, hardly a cloud in the sky, temperature around 30C, and I'm sucking water out of the Camelback at an alarming rate so it eventually runs dry, and at 105km I stop for a 1L bottle of Coke to carry me through.<br />
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As I reach the bike path around Lake Balaton, I encounter Cindy/Kevin/Mark who are asking directions from a local and following him inland. However, my 'gut instinct' says that if we're aiming for a campsite that's on the lake, just keep to the roads close to the lake until you reach the day's travel distance, so I barrel along willy-nilly and arrive at Yacht Camping at 128.9km - pretty close to the theoretical 130km and by 2:40pm too.<br />
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TDA has been given six separate sites, each about 8x10 metres, which by European standards is lots of room for parking, cooking space, and 20 tents. I set up my tent in a corner, lock up my bike, string up my clothes line, shower, laundry, refill my Camelback, and then head to the supermarket for some grape juice. Riders keep arriving throughout the afternoon, setting up their tents and going through their destination rituals.<br />
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Rider meeting at 5:45pm with one direction (viz. turn left at the gate at cycle for 75km and follow the bike path), one destination (Hotel Helikdon), and the announcement that there will be no flagging. Supper at 6am is chicken and rice (which is getting blah and quite monotonous) but the corn-on-the-cob is excellent. Now, as the sun sets behind the hills, it's time for blog and photos. <br />
<br />SuperDavehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11607446127488405278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5988429861571843143.post-87736860000342910502016-08-03T08:31:00.000-07:002016-08-25T08:30:47.252-07:00Wed03Aug16: "Hotel Zenit Budapest Palace", Budapest, Hungary (rest day)What does a bicycle tourist do on their second consecutive rest day in a major city? Well, if they have a 48-hour pass on the Hop-on Hop-off Bus & riverboat, they'll probably just ride around all day on buses and boats.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">statue, The Citadel</td></tr>
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This statue faces east, the direction from where the Magyar peoples left their land in the steppes of southern Russia in the 9th century and conquered the inhabitants of the Carpathian Plain in order to establish their new homeland along the Duna River in Europe.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">church, Budai</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td></tr>
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The cities of Budai and Pest amalgamated in the late 19th century, and the resulting city is filled with churches of several different Christian denominations: Calvinist, Catholic, and Lutheran seem to be more dominant.<br />
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"All you can eat and drink" buffet for the equivalent of CDN$30.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Szechenyi Thermal Bath, Budapest</td></tr>
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Budapest is located over several thermal springs that bring hot (76C) mineral water to the surface, where it is collected and piped into thermal baths located all over the city.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Zsinagoga, Budapest</td></tr>
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It's a miracle how a Jewish synagogue managed to survive WW2, possibly because the Hungarians were 'in tight' with the German Nazi party from 1934-1945 and their country didn't suffer the same depridations as other European nations.<br />
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This evening I went out for supper with Judy & Tim Sole (NZ) who are leaving the tour tomorrow morning after cycling from St. Petersburg to Budapest. There are at least four sectional riders joining the TransEuropa2016 tomorrow morning (and the latter three below joined us for supper):<br />
a) Killian McCartney, son of "Bristol Pete" McCartney, avid marathoner who will be competing in a marathon in Britain the weekend after he flies home from Venice;<br />
b) Rhinda (South Africa) who rode with me on the Bamboo Road 2013 and still remembers our 'rest day' searches for the massage parlours in China (a.k.a. "a happy ending");<br />
c) Nelson (Vancouver, BC) who also rode with me on the Bamboo Road 2013, got lost with me one day in southern China, and immediately called me "SuperDave" when he saw me in the hotel lobby on Monday afternoon;<br />
d) Tron (Norway) who also rode with me on the Bamboo Road 2013 from Penang to Singapore.<br />
So, starting tomorrow morning there will be even more cyclists on this tour than I knew BEFORE our group arrived in Budapest. Wonderful!SuperDavehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11607446127488405278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5988429861571843143.post-58058405766048896802016-08-01T21:37:00.000-07:002016-08-25T08:29:45.550-07:00Tue02Aug16: "Hotel Zenit Budapest Palace", Budapest, Hungary (rest day)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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[06:30am] Roommate never came home last night. Apparently he rode solo into Budapest yesterday so when our TDA caravan arrived at 4pm, he had already trashed Room #217 and was gone. Couple of wet towels were hung up in the bathroom, a partial glass of beer was sitting on the sink, the bathmat was soaking wet and hanging inside the shower stall, there was litter in both garbage containers, his personal bag was sitting on the open floor near the window (near the bed he always prefers), and his helmet/shoes/water bottles/gloves were on and under the desk. So, as per usual, I made do with the space that was left over: chose the bed space near the toilet wall, got a clean towel from Reception, and worked on my photos & blog in the Lobby (so that I wouldn't disturb the gear he'd left around the desk). But when I woke up this morning, he hadn't been back. Maybe he got lucky? Who knows?<br />
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[17:30pm] Buffet breakfast at the hotel then out at 9am to catch the Hop-on Hop-off Bus for a double-decker tour of Budapest. Lots of historic and interesting sights:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixEHjRz3xKRKriVoloWnNS7ndnTUmkVAdXnOI0z6wFsxX2xsAwNFCIZs5hOY_AkS4olSCJGbK2cPcVuNpDAT7Mv8zE2KH-ASUzKfESl1j39-n4BxSUxjIjJ98S9tlWiTWYB_Q2lPQLsXtt/s1600/16080202+Chain+Bridge%252C+Budapest+%2528640x480%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixEHjRz3xKRKriVoloWnNS7ndnTUmkVAdXnOI0z6wFsxX2xsAwNFCIZs5hOY_AkS4olSCJGbK2cPcVuNpDAT7Mv8zE2KH-ASUzKfESl1j39-n4BxSUxjIjJ98S9tlWiTWYB_Q2lPQLsXtt/s200/16080202+Chain+Bridge%252C+Budapest+%2528640x480%2529.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chain Bridge, Budapest</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Castle, Budapest</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Heroes Square, Budapest</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Heroes Square, Budapest</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">SuperDave at The Citadel, Budapest</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Citadel, Budapest</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">St. Stephen's Basilica, Budapest</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hungarian Parliament Buildings, Budapest</td></tr>
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Riding an open-top bus and open-top tour boat in the sun on a hot day is quite de-energising, about 3:30pm it's time to call it a day and head back to the hotel for a shower, then edit photos & the blog. <br />
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SuperDavehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11607446127488405278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5988429861571843143.post-72327381894701103872016-08-01T12:04:00.002-07:002016-08-25T08:25:48.261-07:00Mon01Aug16: Hollókő - Budapest, Hungary (125.4km, 2,697.7km YTD)Thunder and lightning and heavy rain about midnight last night, but the windows were wide open so the air was cool & fresh, and not a bug to bother us.<br />
Last night I noticed that the bells on the restored Catholic church revived the medieval practise of having a loud and extended ringing of the evening bells at 8pm to encourage the farmers/workers to go to bed. What we learned this morning is that they also revived the medieval practise of having the morning bells ring loudly and for an extended period at 5am!!! This is far too literal a revival to encourage tourism. And today our breakfast won't be ready until 7:30am because the first bus up to this village from the towns below doesn't arrive until 7am with the staff who will be preparing our food. Ah, the delights of staying overnight in a 'tourist trap' town.<br />
Because we have to catch the 1pm ferry across the Donau (a.k.a. Danube) River at Vac, some of the slower riders headed out before 7am so they could be sure of finishing the 86.5km ride in time. Cloudy and cool and calm this morning, occasional spit but no real threats of rain, great weather for cycling. <br />
Very hilly terrain between Holloko and Vac, and then Gergo takes us on a big long detour to a Electronic Recording Museum; problem is that we will arrive before they're officially open, and he can't get ahold of anybody to see if they'll open earlier just for us. They're not, we can't, so we've pedalled an extra 15km on a rough patched oil surface side road just for the exercise.<br />
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Cindy (USA) and the Bandits (Kevin, Aus; Mark, USA; George, Swiss) seem to have more energy than me this morning and I'm having trouble keeping up to them. However, a large group of us are together at the 67km lunch stop and ready to make our final run into Vac.<br />
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I leave the lunch van first, and several km down the highway catch up to Gergo - who's flagging the route from his recumbent bicycle - and his wife & son Laurence on their own bicycle. After riding and chatting with the three of them (well, I don't exactly chat with Laurence because he's 6-months old and barely speaks Hungarian) for awhile, Cindy and the Bandits pull by, so I join the four of them in the final stretch into Vac. <br />
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Our group arrives at the ferry landing at 12:03pm, just after the noon sailing, and enjoy a cold drink and/or ice cream while the rest of the group staggers in. Ozcar, the 'sweep rider', makes it to the ferry ramp just as we're buying our tickets and boarding - you can't get any closer than that.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">convoy assembly point, Buda </td></tr>
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On the Buda (a.k.a. west) side of the river, we form a convoy and follow Gergo downhill and downwind southward towards Budapest. The bicycle trail is a series of disconnected stretches of asphalt, which we attempt to stitch together, alongside the Donau River or on either side of very busy Highway #11. I rode along this same highway back in 2005 on my solo self-supported bicycle tour, but traffic has picked up markedly since that visit.<br />
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Our route crosses a bridge to the Pest (a.k.a. east) side of the river, then after the obligatory group photo in front of the Hungarian Parliament Buildings just before 4pm, we pull into the Zenit Budapest Palace Hotel. Nice old building just one block off the river, but the view completely blocked by a new concrete Marriott Hotel that totally blanks out the sun after 1pm.<br />
Shower, laundry, then a 2km walk to located a bike shop to purchase a new 11/32 8-speed cassette & chain for the bike. Seems that these lower cost bicycles and my particular slow cadence causes inordinate wear-and-tear on the drive train: most people get 10,000km out of a cassette & chain, I've barely made it past 3,000km on the unit and its already threatening to jam and break.<br />
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There's a 2km pedestrian street that parallels the river immediately behind this hotel, full of restaurants, and shops, so George (Swiss) and I enjoy a final supper together. Then we continue our walk to let the meal settle and enjoy coffee & desserts at a small bakery. The end of a good day, and the end of a chapter on a rider relationship with George that has made this trip so endurable. Hopefully we'll meet again in Zurich when Kathy and I are in Europe next April, because it's my turn to buy the coffee & desserts for him and his wife. SuperDavehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11607446127488405278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5988429861571843143.post-73605082298120369292016-07-31T08:36:00.000-07:002016-08-25T08:24:44.423-07:00Sun31Jul16: Arlo - Holloko, Hungary (105.9km, 2,572.3km YTD)"Cultural differences", that's what it must be. Apparently some Hungarians go to a campground to party all Saturday night, and they - and the campground management - have no regard for any people who are actually there to sleep. Electronic music pounding all night, the laughing / shouting / attempted singing by drunken idiots, the barfing on the tree alongside my tent, and the last tittering gaggle of young ladies staggering from the WC and back to their tent at 5:23am. Not too restful for us who came to rest up. <br />
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However, the morning promises nice clear skies, 16C temperatures, and the riding day starts off with a downhill glide from the campground through Arlo and back into Ozd, turn left, and we're off westward on some new highway.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">wood statues, Tar</td></tr>
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Gergo is having us skirting the outskirts of Budapest counterclockwise to try and bring us in along the Donau (Danube) River. Good roads, light traffic on a Sunday morning, lunch van at 62km, and the temperature is starting to getting fairly warm.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">four-plex accommodation, Holloko</td></tr>
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Route turns right up into the hills above Highway #27, and climbs, and climbs, and ends up at the 'ghost town' of Holloko which has been restored as a 15th century 'tourist trap'. The houses have been renovated for four-plex accommodations, bars, gift shops, ice cream parlours, wine tasting cellars, etc. and anchored by a church in the middle.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kacsic Castle, Holloko</td></tr>
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Above the town is the castle built by the Kacsic family during the 14th century, also partially renovated and turned into a museum, filled with period furnishings and several plaques of the area's history.<br />
The late afternoon sun provides some drying time for camping gear that got moisturised during last nights outing, and then it's time for 5:45pm rider meeting. SuperDavehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11607446127488405278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5988429861571843143.post-78968395826718156082016-07-30T08:41:00.002-07:002016-08-25T08:23:50.212-07:00Sat30Jul16: Kosice, Slovakia - Arlo, Hungary (136.2km, 2,466.4km YTD)<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI57KSYJ7icgnDfVM6Q5j2im8vhcTMOAhvz_azOVrZinuLdXYMzBpPjSDVExX_yAwtv5NU3SwElqk73DDfipGNxbiict8LyzSBx05PJNjbvr1gQ53LRnzAvVcO7SjzbBpDCZsI26pOIWjn/s1600/16073002+garage+preparation%252C+Hotel+Yasmin+%2528640x480%2529+%25282%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI57KSYJ7icgnDfVM6Q5j2im8vhcTMOAhvz_azOVrZinuLdXYMzBpPjSDVExX_yAwtv5NU3SwElqk73DDfipGNxbiict8LyzSBx05PJNjbvr1gQ53LRnzAvVcO7SjzbBpDCZsI26pOIWjn/s200/16073002+garage+preparation%252C+Hotel+Yasmin+%2528640x480%2529+%25282%2529.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">storage garage, Hotel Yasmin</td></tr>
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Couldn't sleep well last night but got my act together at 6am, showered, packed, and down to the lobby. Rider's meeting at 6:50am outlining details of the 137km that represents our longest day of the Tour. Another lovely buffet breakfast, then a convoy away from the Hotel Yasmin after 8am, Gergo leading the caravan to the southern outskirts of Kosice.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">steel plant, Kosice</td></tr>
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For some reason Gergo wants us to pass through and see the old industrial steel plants that made this place famous in eastern Europe, but all I notice is that the tour adds on 10km to our day's schedule. Initially I'm heading down the road with (Bristol) Peter, but when he passes Dan & Shirley (USA) I decide to match their pace instead.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqHo43tGfhKUIgTqy1IP2oThT1LOl3Cq02U88kLy9wrfi2eV08vNlYu9lPloAIHQ9JV9EPWZtwHaULQeB9iWkPLX76RJBF88UOwuAZtyMoI9FvAjBdhpNM_C1sZzhMCUDLpAeD8kQ0HoCO/s1600/16073009+sunflowers%252C+Komarovche+%2528640x479%2529+%2528640x479%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="149" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqHo43tGfhKUIgTqy1IP2oThT1LOl3Cq02U88kLy9wrfi2eV08vNlYu9lPloAIHQ9JV9EPWZtwHaULQeB9iWkPLX76RJBF88UOwuAZtyMoI9FvAjBdhpNM_C1sZzhMCUDLpAeD8kQ0HoCO/s200/16073009+sunflowers%252C+Komarovche+%2528640x479%2529+%2528640x479%2529.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">sunflowers, Sokofany</td></tr>
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Lovely flat valley with plenty of agricultural usage, high hills on both sides provides great scenery,<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Turnanod Hrad (Castle)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhFgkLhmGcD4yrqfCAzcMDM2kax4OZNW7ir_2WH_9mVOkZdebIuqxE4GKZBs56ofgvfu9WOmEuxy5P34toNUa9Z9paK3YoFUu8hfFrpT2tdmTc_a-fzZz_dXVjTjtX1urFkLcaJC0KAO0J/s1600/16073011+Turnanod+Hrhad+%2528castle%2529+%2528640x480%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhFgkLhmGcD4yrqfCAzcMDM2kax4OZNW7ir_2WH_9mVOkZdebIuqxE4GKZBs56ofgvfu9WOmEuxy5P34toNUa9Z9paK3YoFUu8hfFrpT2tdmTc_a-fzZz_dXVjTjtX1urFkLcaJC0KAO0J/s200/16073011+Turnanod+Hrhad+%2528castle%2529+%2528640x480%2529.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Turnanod Hrad (Castle)</td></tr>
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one prominent hill has the Turnanod Hrad (Castle) perched on top. There's lots of traffic on Highway #58 but a nice wide shoulder, then we're turning south towards the border of Slovakia and Hungary.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhALxmr1ItirT3sKaT04feYUKY-5_coGi715mqkuj0GgYWp_fkaMU6GvNjxQhu_Was5icOREwaXHpkA-t80u97_MHNpqIyELQl7AZ8ta85La8X-op_ccEVGx9OWoSqm0oLp7Nms611q4YZX/s1600/16073014+elk%252C+%2528640x486%2529+%2528640x486%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="151" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhALxmr1ItirT3sKaT04feYUKY-5_coGi715mqkuj0GgYWp_fkaMU6GvNjxQhu_Was5icOREwaXHpkA-t80u97_MHNpqIyELQl7AZ8ta85La8X-op_ccEVGx9OWoSqm0oLp7Nms611q4YZX/s200/16073014+elk%252C+%2528640x486%2529+%2528640x486%2529.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">cow elk, Tornanadaska</td></tr>
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A cow elk is spooked beside the road, and you're tell that they're rare because of the number of cars that stop to view it. Another 10km down the road is an ATM where we can access quantities of Hungarian 'florins', another country that thinks they can individually do better printing their own currency rather than support the Euro.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">stork, Aggtelek National Park</td></tr>
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There's quite a bit of hill climbing in today's itinerary, including passing by the UNESCO cave regions of Aggtgelek National Park.<br />
Then it's down into the valley areas again, a 'Pepsi stop' at a small bar in Seresyzfalva with Dan & Shirley, and we're enroute to Ozd.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Camping Suvadas Liget, Arlo, Hungary</td></tr>
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Co-op grocery store at 127km is our restocking/shopping centre before the final few kilometres to Camping Suvadas Liget. This small local campground has a lake for swimming and non-motorised boating, a bar & snack restaurant, and comes stocked with the rowdy group of overage over-consuming older adults - hopefully, they'll be passed out by nightfall.<br />
Set up the tent, shower, laundry, and then I can relax and appreciate my surroundings. SuperDavehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11607446127488405278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5988429861571843143.post-69409705552978925462016-07-29T07:17:00.002-07:002016-08-25T08:20:42.797-07:00Fri29Jul16: "Hotel Yasmin", Kosice, Slovakia (rest day)Forgot to turn off my watch alarm before going to bed last night, so it woke me up at 6:05am. No trouble dozing until about 8am because this physical body is tired! When you're moving and cycling every day, there's no indication of any need for a rest, but when that routine ends..... Full stop.<br />
Went downstairs for breakfast after 9am, ate slowly and focussed on the food that we don't normally get at small rural hotel buffets. Then out for a walk around Kosice, where the nearby Old City was built on a river plain and protected by two large branches of the Hornad River. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc4UFRaD933i0LopcOHabyZnndajyPbEmRuxPFyyXJLnbQMywDejQBt7V4eNnbh0vhVK7YR5QZgwAkLqB3bXI5jugjS3OPBJTiH4PJoTEllM8m8hOZ2_NzY6avp3FtO6H5Xg4pqhAP6ul1/s1600/16072903+St.+Elizabeth%2527s+Cathedral%252C+Kosice+%2528640x478%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="149" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc4UFRaD933i0LopcOHabyZnndajyPbEmRuxPFyyXJLnbQMywDejQBt7V4eNnbh0vhVK7YR5QZgwAkLqB3bXI5jugjS3OPBJTiH4PJoTEllM8m8hOZ2_NzY6avp3FtO6H5Xg4pqhAP6ul1/s200/16072903+St.+Elizabeth%2527s+Cathedral%252C+Kosice+%2528640x478%2529.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">St. Elizabeth's Cathedral, Kosice</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9f4XgiAHYbHhdrJ6OvDU-YMZxc5_QRLMb2EB35k8zR3yUcuAg5VDYQ0vqbNaW7wbyng0nmcogwWXdeU3M2bU_xwOzo4F8xkYh6hNSL4auQGWfcSuUsLNkaNGi1xFWurhxUaeuSx9MI76y/s1600/16072911+St.+Elizabeth%2527s+Cathedral%252C+Kosice+%2528475x640%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9f4XgiAHYbHhdrJ6OvDU-YMZxc5_QRLMb2EB35k8zR3yUcuAg5VDYQ0vqbNaW7wbyng0nmcogwWXdeU3M2bU_xwOzo4F8xkYh6hNSL4auQGWfcSuUsLNkaNGi1xFWurhxUaeuSx9MI76y/s200/16072911+St.+Elizabeth%2527s+Cathedral%252C+Kosice+%2528475x640%2529.jpg" width="148" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">roof, St. Elizabeth's Cathedral, Kosice</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Plague column, Kosice</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">interior, University Church of the Holy Trinity</td></tr>
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A small caffeine lunch of coffee and chocolates with George, then it's back to the hotel to clean the crap off my bicycle, and oil up the chain for our next five days of cycling toward Budapest. Housekeeping has done my hotel room so I can also string up my clothesline again and do another load of laundry. With that work out of the way, it's time for another shower, then photos and blog time. SuperDavehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11607446127488405278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5988429861571843143.post-47335486848896941532016-07-28T12:46:00.003-07:002016-08-25T08:19:53.030-07:00Thu28Jul16: Bandejov - Vsysny Tvarozec - Kosice, Slovakia (131.6km, 2,330.2km YTD)Yours Truly was the last tour rider in to the Kosice hotel today, and he couldn't be prouder. What a great day! These kind of days don't happen often enough in a person's life, so they have to be remembered and treasured. Details below.....<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ed Sokol & his ancestral villages</td></tr>
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This morning after breakfast, the rest of the TDA group and right at the STOP sign for the scheduled ride south to Kosice, but Ed Sokol and I tuned left at the STOP sign and headed up to visit his paternal ancestral village of Nizny Tvarozec (viz. Lower Tvarozec), about 18km northwest of Bandejov. Ed had been there about 15 years ago, but that visit was a blur so today he had the birth certificate of his grandfather Mikhail Sokol and wanted to check out all the possible family roots by talking with residents and checking the files of the local municipal offices.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtmjpgCk0303Dzp5Xm2yNlWzn_E_J_5SoA9RzNaI3jyrlpLMkVhJS2yPwNe3t5ZE9gEsQyAVVPytJToGS7dv_6sKKCbOJgxIki1ojaPFPWYuYVMYWxv9HghRxzgqKlSg16qMbh4gIPyVN5/s1600/16072805+Romany+village+%2528640x480%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtmjpgCk0303Dzp5Xm2yNlWzn_E_J_5SoA9RzNaI3jyrlpLMkVhJS2yPwNe3t5ZE9gEsQyAVVPytJToGS7dv_6sKKCbOJgxIki1ojaPFPWYuYVMYWxv9HghRxzgqKlSg16qMbh4gIPyVN5/s320/16072805+Romany+village+%2528640x480%2529.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Romany village, below Nizny Tvarocez</td></tr>
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We started riding in a light fog, temperature about 18C, and it turned into a nice clear sunny day. Highway #77 has become a nice paved road and we turned up into the hills to the village of Sverzove, then further on we turned right and encountered a Romany camp in a side valley below Nizny Tvarozec. Romany (or Roma) are the transient (a.k.a. gypsy) field workers that every farmer needs but nobody trusts. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">helpful residents, Vysny Tvarozec</td></tr>
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English may not be a common language in the small villages of Slovakia, but Peter (who used to work in England) led us to the two church cemeteries in Vysny Tvarozec and introduced us to other people were also enthralled by the Slovak birth certificate and endeavoured to do everything they could to help us out. The only Sokol still living in that small community just happened to be away from home.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sokol relatives, Nizny Tvarozec</td></tr>
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Cycling back to Nizny Tvarozec, Ed met a family whose surname is Sokol, so they're undoubtedly related to him, but nobody could figure out the exact connection. When we turned to leave, the older (est. 80+) Sokol woman began to weep, and the younger (est. 60+) Sokol woman gave Ed a big hug (maybe they're cousins?), but the menfolk couldn't have cared less and went back to their carpentry work.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">guard post, Slovak frontier</td></tr>
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We cycled back to Bartejov, arriving about 11:30am after 38.8km of genealogy exploration, so Ed decided to head for the station and take the train to Koscie. My choice was to find the TDA flagged ride to Koscie beginning on Highway #656, another 90km or so, and start in the middle of the day, about 4 hours behind everybody else.<br />
Early afternoon on a hot sunny day, what can possibly happen? Well, for one thing the thunderstorm clouds rolled in, thunder and lightning, and then it began pouring rain about 1pm. Rain makes the flagged route a bit more difficult to follow because the flagging tape gets stuck to the poles and is more difficult to see and follow. However, after a series of interesting events that would take far too long to recount, I made it into Kosice about 4pm, pedalled around the Old City for awhile, and finally asked for directions from a bartender at the Luxor (advertised as an 'Irish bar').<br />
Hotel Yasmin is a very fancy hotel by TDA standards. The concierge spotted me picking up my bike lock in the box outside their front door, helped me find the storage locker in the underground parking garage, escorted me to the Reception desk, where I found out that I was given a SINGLE room for our two day stay in Kosice. Hooray!<br />
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Room #704 has a king-size bed, a bathroom larger than some of the hotel rooms we've had to share over the past 3-1/2 weeks, so after stripping off my rain-soaked and gritty bicycle clothing, that 30 minute soak in a tub of hot water was just 'what the doctor ordered'. About 6pm I returned to the Luxor and thanked the bartender for his assistance, then had supper while the EuroSports channel replayed highlights of the 2016 Tour de France (most of which I missed). Turns out that my 20ish waitress had worked in England for several years, was trying to figure out what to do with her life, ended up chatting with me frequently, so it wasn't long before she had heard the 1995-2016 history of my own family. Don't know whether those memories helped her, but it sure felt good to reminisce.<br />
Back to the hotel room to finish off my laundry in the sink, and then hang it up on a clothes line strung across this huge bedroom, while watching Rogers Cup tennis on television. Boy, am I ever a happy guy! And full of it, too.SuperDavehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11607446127488405278noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5988429861571843143.post-33752186358904722502016-07-27T08:32:00.003-07:002016-08-25T08:18:46.625-07:00Wed27Jul16: Rzeszow, Poland - Bardejov, Slovakia (120.5km, 2,198.6km YTD)Yes, three guys can sleep in the same room without undue acrimony. But it sure would have helped in the hotel manager had turned on the A/C because - although we had lots of air flow at 23C all night - it was down to 17C outside by morning.<br />
Peter McCartney is up at 4:50am, dresses, and leaves at 5am; then Chris Wille gets up and turns on his computer and plunks away with every key stroke having a 'boink' sound component, but I just lay there and dozed until 6am. After all, 45 minutes is lots of time to log onto Skype (to see if anybody cares), check my e-mails, shower, dress, pack, and get the bag down to the van for loading. Buffet breakfast is quite nice, a few dishes different from the ordinary, but these hotels have to realise that most cyclists travel on scrambled/fried/hard boiled/etc. eggs and meat in the morning. <br />
Away by 7:30am, Peter catches up to me, we chat, I miss a turn, and realise that either I go back or stick with Peter and his Garmin for the rest of the morning. Okay, let's up the tempo and stick with Peter.<br />
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Many people continue to live in their old log homes, but some newer homes even have an old log home in the side yard, likely the first family home, which has been kept in great shape and freshly painted.<br />
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Peter`s route is different because he dislikes L and R turns and changes of direction, so his Garmin route may involve main highways rather than small rural roads. One of his side trips goes past a castle overlooking the city of Krosno. Once I overtake him on a downhill stretch (because fat people travel faster due to gravity) and while cruising along suddenly realise that I have no idea where I'm going or whether I should be thinking of turning. Oops! Follow the man with the Garmin.<br />
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When the two of us arrive at the lunch truck my Garmin reads 67.7km and the guys following the flags have 66.7km - really no shorter, but interesting. After lunch with Ozcar there`s a long screaming downhill to a river valley, and then some marvelous rural - almost alpine - cross-countryside along the southern edge of Poland. One section goes through a National Park where there are warning signs out for wolves and bear: who knows the last time they spotted a wolf, but bears are definitely in the area.<br />
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I stop at the last convenience store in Poland at a village called Ozienne and use up my zloty coins to buy ice cream, Pepsi, and an energy drink. The lady counts carefully, then shakes her head when she realises that I'm a bit short of change, but says nothing. Hooray! That sugar loading should get me up the final grades to the border and down into Slovakia. The sun is merciless and temperatures must be above 30C, but with enough sugar in the bloodstream, a cyclist just keeps rotating the feet around and around and around, at whatever speed the body can maintain. At the 102km point, Gergo wants us to turn left on a dinky little farming road, oil surface with plenty of patches and holes. For a distance of about 6km this trail looks like a cruel joke, but then it turns into another valley system and connects with a paved road that screams downhill right into the suburbs of Bardejov, connects with a bypass that leads under the Old City area, and then up to the art-deco Hotel Sardis complex. "Complex" meaning there's a 3-storey building with a furniture store, a clothing store, a bar, and a dinky little reception desk that services three levels of dinky little rooms all on the west side of the building. And no ventilation system. It's like being booked into a sauna. After my shower, I hang the laundry out on a line under two pine trees in the hotel parking lot; not classy, but functional.<br />
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Then I take a slow walk (great exercise for working out those knotted muscles behind my shin bones) around the Old City, nice stone walls and bastions, with a huge basilica in the Town Square. However, what I really need is a bank to change Polish zloyts to Euros (Tranka Banka), and a store that sells fermented grape juice, and - can you believe it? They have a Tesco supermarket just down the street, fully air-conditioned, about the size of a Wal-Mart, and with enough selection to make the thirsty cyclist drool.<br />
Back to the room for some blog time before supper. The usual rider's meeting has been cancelled because Gergo is still out on the highway rounding up stragglers; boy, will they ever be exhausted. Supper at the hotel, sharing a table with Eric & Ed (New York). Tomorrow morning, Ed Sokol is skipping the scheduled bike ride and heading up into the hills to visit his ancestral home, and I've offered to go the 18km (and back) with him on our bicycles. Hopefully we & our bikes will catch an afternoon train to Kosice and reach the TDA group's hotel before supper. What the heck!SuperDavehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11607446127488405278noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5988429861571843143.post-91821909686596638162016-07-26T06:03:00.001-07:002016-08-25T08:16:19.050-07:00Tue26Jul16: Sandomierz - Rzeszow, Poland (113.2km, 2,078.1km YTD)The overnight road noise from Highway 77 was incessant and soothing, because tents don't stop much except a few drops of moisture. My self-inflating air mattress has now proven to be self-deflating, something to do with that large rip in the lower seam. Other than that, the night was a success.<br />
I have a towel somewhere in the pack, but stopped looking for it some time ago when I realised that it would never dry on a tour cyclist's schedule - the best method is to take a shower, body wipe with the hands, put on a swim suit, and just wait for air drying to complete the job - low humidity helps.<br />
Porridge with mangoes for breakfast, pack a couple of peanut butter & jam sandwiches for an emergency lunch, fill up my Camelback in anticipation of another hot day on the road, and we're off. <br />
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Gergo has us heading cross-country for about 10km along dikes bordering the Vistula River, before settling down into the more familiar secondary- and tertiary-road network. Peter hops out of the van and joins me at 19km which is strange because I'm the 3rd rider and he's supposed to be "sweep", viz. after the 23rd rider. He proves his worth by quickly yelling at me when I miss a couple of easy flags, and seems to enjoy cruising along with me at 26-28kph.<br />
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There's a lovely wood church at 55km near a small community in the middle of a region of pine tree plantations.<br />
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When we arrive at the lunch van at 67km, Gergo reminds Peter that he has to wait for ALL the riders before leaving, which could be a couple of hours or so. Although this group isn't too spread out after the first 67km, with "Coke stops" and "pastry stops" and "ice cream stops", the last half of a day's ride can become very stretchhhhhhhhed out. Normally I arrive before 1pm, however, the last riders usually don't arrive until after 4pm. (Peter recounts a sectional rider from TransEuropa2014 whose normal speed was 10kph and she didn't normally arrive at the destination until after the Rider's Meeting and the start of supper at 6pm. Every day!)<br />
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Gergo has a logistical problem at 85km because of some road construction at a bridge underpass, so I catch up to the flagging van and give them an impetus for the next several minutes. After that, they're gone and I'm on my own again.<br />
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Getting hotter now, temperature probably close to 30C, and the route follows no definable direction or pattern. First we're climbing, then we're descending, first we turning southeast, then we're heading southwest, an interesting way to appreciate the countryside but the map also confirms that it IS the shortest route from point A to point B. Finally see a fallow deer alongside the highway, feeding on a crop of alfalfa, but looking very scrawny and undernourished.<br />
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The final turn on our itinerary is right and then up a little gulch, and 1.8km further our trail enters the property of Team Uchwat and the "Hotel Dwor Maria". Team Uchwat is a "horsie training facility" and the Hotel is the newly-constructed accommodation for the "horsie set" who come to train and compete at this facility.<br />
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This place is very active and 15 teenage girls are in residence and going through their paces. Our group of 26 cyclists and staff should be merely a blip on their young impressionable conscious remembrances of the week.<br />
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SuperDavehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11607446127488405278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5988429861571843143.post-9545349882275371262016-07-25T06:06:00.001-07:002016-08-25T08:15:20.458-07:00Mon25Jul16: Radom - Sandomierz, Poland (108.8km, 1,964.9km YTD)Terrible sleep, considering this is a hotel night. This hotel has NO ventilation on the upper accommodation floor, except for a little window in each room, and since our room faces busy Highway #9 about 150m away, the choices are (a) close the window and suffocate in your own sweat, or (b) open the window and listen to the heavy traffic. In addition, the people in Room #107 next door are smoking in their toilet/shower area and - since the exhaust fans don't work - the smoke is infiltrating our toilet/washroom area and stinking up the whole joint. I went down the Reception twice to ask them to either (a) tell the people in Room #107 to stop smoking, or (b) change our rooms. Their response was that it's not permitted to smoke in your room. TripAdvisor is going to hear about this.<br />
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Cleaned the chain this morning, nice buffet breakfast at 7am, away by 7:30am, and the zig-zagging begins. Gergo has a fiendish way of trying to keep a straight line route from Radom to Sandomierz but it involves zigging left on every little farm road and then right on the next narrow farm road, climbing 11% gradient hills and swooping down into little river valleys then thumping across those narrow little bridges, just to hold a course approximating 174 degrees.<br />
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It's a wonderful way to experience the countryside, to enjoy the cherry<br />
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and apple orchards, the golden fields of ripening wheat, the quaint little farming villages; but it's a hell of a lot of work and concentration for a cyclist. After all, most of his sharp turns are at the bottom of steep hills when you're crouched down over the handlebars and approximating the speed of sound, voila! orange marking tape on the left!! Brake hard, turn when you're under control, then realise that you haven't shifted down and are still in the 8th gear of the upper range of gears. Yeech! Time for start all over again.<br />
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Dan & Shirley (USA) catch up to me at the 78km mark and I tag along with them to 'get my head back into the game'. We stop at an ABC mini-market at the 92km mark and the Gatorade and chocolate bar do their magic. Although we leave the store together, I leave them in the proverbial dust. Zig, zag, merge onto Highway #77, swoop into and through Sandomierz, down the hill on the bicycle path, crank a hard right at Camp Browarny, and it's over. Turn off the Garmin at 108.78km, Chris and Peter have already arrived (so what's new?), head over to a nearby service station for 1L of Cherry Coke to toast my arrival.<br />
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Pitch the tent close to the TDA van so I don't miss the call for supper, showers at the Handi-Cap WC are lovely, do my laundry in the dishwashing sink, then re-hydrate my body while I do some blog/photo time,<br />
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Sandomierz is quite properly famous for its Old City, so after supper is out of the way, George and I climb up the hill behind our campground for a closer look at the town square and assorted buildings.SuperDavehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11607446127488405278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5988429861571843143.post-81245510331031887512016-07-24T06:22:00.000-07:002016-08-25T08:14:34.340-07:00Sun24Jul16: Warsaw - Radom, Poland (118.9km, 1,856.1km YTD)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Stranger and stranger. Last night Roommate comes back from the 10km Warsaw Uprising Commemorative run and brings me a Polish Underground armband - I thank him profusely, because I thought they were only for the runners; an hour later he drags his mattress & bedding off the boxspring and sleeps on the floor under the window.<br />
Up at 6am, packed slowly because Gergo doesn't want our bags downstairs in the lobby before 6:45am, rider's meeting indicates we will have an 11km convoy out of town and then head south to Radom. Counting Saturday's 'rogue breakfast event', this is my third buffet breakfast at the Hotel Ibis for a two day room registration, and the food variety nearly matches the Tallink Hotel in Tallin, Estonia.<br />
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Convoy departs about 8:15am into nearly departed streets on a warm, calm, Sunday morning.<br />
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A sign connecting the food chain "Mcdonalds" with a "McFit" fitness/wellness club is a real hoot: maybe one day Mcdonalds will actually start running their own fitness centres.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">private game park, 70km</td></tr>
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Gergo wishes us well at the 11km mark and I realise that I've forgotten to turn on my Garmin - better late than never, but that screws up all the kilometrage marks on the itinerary. I find myself riding with Peter McCartney, who has programmed in his own route on his Garmin and asks whether I'm with him or with the marking tape - easy decision. Peter will always pick the most direct route, so today we miss out on the standard dirt and cobblestone route that Gergo favours, and make a bee-line for the lunch truck at 65km, arriving about 10 minutes ahead of Chris.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">streamside frolics, 90km</td></tr>
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The three of us team up in the afternoon, but once again the pace comes close to burning me out. Temperature started out at 20C and is now nearly 30C, and several local people have the right idea of cooling down and enjoying a swim, sunbath, and frolic in the stream on a Sunday afternoon.<br />
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Highway around Radom is old and in poor condition, but we reach the "Hotel Lesny Dwor", a very nice highway hotel, new, classy but basic, Gergo must have been able to negotiate a good price for our little group.<br />
Tonight's room assignment has me with Peter McCartney. Time for a shower, laundry, and then some photo/blog time in the hotel courtyard.SuperDavehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11607446127488405278noreply@blogger.com0