Tasmania Trip

We are about to go on a 7 day trip down the east coast of Tasmania 

The Ute is loaded up with 8 bikes plus gear and I am about to pick up 4 others to travel to Port Melbourne to join others for the trip across the Tasman to Devenport 

Here is a photo of the Ute.... ready to go!

Looking forward to the trip of about 500 kms to Hobart organised by Phil Eager

Hope you enjoy the blog 

Day 4- Beechworth to Wangaratta 50 kms

Today we had an early start at 6.00 am ... for many it was after a long night of very little sleep with the band in the pub going until about 3.00am. Also there were a few die hard rugby supporters with the surprising English win over the Kiwis 

After a brief breakfast at the hotel it was off at 7.00am towards Wangaratta. We were promised a good downhill and we certainly got that!

The downhill was about 15 kms with a fall of about 450 metres. I was getting speeds of over 50 kms/ hr and I am a slower descender than many in our group. The only real issue was the cool and crisp morning with temps around 5 degrees.... the effect of the wind as we descended made for cold fingers despite long fingered gloves,

The trip to Milawa was through some lovely green country with mainly dairy cattle. Despite the green paddocks the creeks and dams seemed quite dry

We stopped first at the Milawa Cheese Factory for a coffee and cakes then proceeded on to Brown Brothers winery where we enjoyed the wonderful surrounds of the remarkable winery with restaurant and community areas. Well worth another visit sometime 

After this we made our way to Wangaratta to complete the 59 km ride and the 4 day sojourn through northern Victoria 

After a light lunch it was time to say goodbye to those journeying by train back to Melbourne so Dave Bonnett Abdy and I made our way home to Melbourne in the Ute 

Now being home for a few hours I can reflect on the 4 day trip which was well organised by Stephen Seymour and he must be congratulated on making sure we all had a terrific time

The weather was a mixture of the very hot (day 1) and the

Cold ( today and yesterday)

We were challenged on the climbs particularly the Towong Gap but all accepted the challenges and responded magnificently 

The road conditions were very good and we had very little traffic to contend with. The real joy was the comaradre we enjoyed with the group and the fun of enjoying a wonderful journey together 

It will now be rather hard to get back to life again in Melbourne although the legs will certainly enjoyed the rest

So to my fellow Wheeliebinners on the ride I say a real thank you to you all for being such great mates and to Steve a big thanks for bringing this all together 

Early morning line up as we were about to leave

A frosty and cool morning!!!

The turnoff to Milawa 

Breakfast at the Milawa Cheese Factory 

Ellio giving Garmin 191 lessons to Phil

Coffee and a chat at Brown Brothers 

The Wang sign to indicate the end to a grey4 days 

Lunch at the Wangaratta coffe shop ahead of the train and Ute trip home

Day 3- Bright to Beechworth 72 kms

Today started with 6.30 am wake up and shower to shake off the remnants of a great evening of celebration following the dinner cooked by Ellio and Ray

We were all ready for breakfast at a cafe in Bright by 7.30 ... there was a big crowd for breakfast at the cafe on blokes about our ages having bacon and eggs for breakfast... for me it was muesli and toast with coffee... a good start to the day.

As we left the rain and wind started and we headed on the rail trail towards Mytleford... it was cold and we had several stops to add layers of clothes to stay warm as the head wind gathered strength.

The ride included one climb along the trail which was a steady 3 pc for about 5kms which with a head wind was fairly hard work. The trail surface was asphalt and was really nice to ride on

We arrived at Mytleford for morning tea at about 10.30 and the food at the bakery was great.... really worth a visit if you are in the region 

After morning tea it was off to Beechworth which is another 40 kms along rail trails.... the climb in to Beechworth was with more of a tail wind fortunately although there was another steady climb of about 7kms which made for a bit of work!!!

We arrived at Beechworth at about 3.30pm and had a late lunch and warming coffee and settled in to the hotel accommodation at Tanswells Commercial Hotel.. the accommodation is a old world but the rooms at very comfortable and a warm shower was a delight!!!

The day was cold with warm breaks when the sun came out 

We had periods of shower activity which we were able to seek shelter along the way

The rail trails in this part of Victoria are well maintained and are popular... on a poor day weather wise we saw a lot of people on the track. I would imagine that warmer weather would bring more riders out 

Another great day with the guys and we had a lot of fun albeit with iffy weather 

Breakfast in Bright... good food!!

Steve had a puncture unfortunately... there was plenty of help available??

Gary and a few others at morning tea in Myrtleford

Sheltered from the rain... with a couple of ladies travelling in the opposite direction... with the wind!!!

A view of the rail trails

An interesting letter box... appropriate for the Wheeliebinners!!

A bike sculpture 

Skate lunch in the bakery at Beechworth 

Home for the night 

More photos from day 2

Here are some photos that were missed on the previous blog

At the top of the gap 

An interesting sign indicating the opening of the gap in 1895

A lilac tree almost ready to bloom 

Arriving at Bright 

Our home for the night 

Ellio cooking up a storm!!!

All of us having a well deserved dinner in Centenery Park in Bright 

A lovely sunset in the way home

Day 2-Dederang to Bright over Tawong Gap 71 kms

Before I get on to today’s ride I thought I should update you all on the dinner we had at the Dederang pub....to put it bluntly it was terrible... the food was poor and the service was very slow... we had to wait nearly 2 hour from order to get the food... they were embarrassed and gave us some free drinks to compensate which was some comfort!

The accommodation was quite good which made for a good night of sleep 

I was awake and up and about at 6.30 am and although the weather looked threatening it was warm and slightly humid 

We were on our way to the Dederang general store for breakfast at 7.30 am... and what a great breakfast it was! The store was very clean and the staff were very pleasant and accommodating. My breakfast was coffee and an egg and bacon roll very yummy!

The discussion at breakfast and dinner last night was all about the Tawong Gap ride with horror stories about the gradients being over 20 pc!!! So it was with some trepidation that we took off towards Bright 

The first stop was Mt Beauty after about 40 kms. This part of the ride was through the Kiewa valley essentially following the river. Very pretty ride with a couple of bigger hills to test the legs for the Big One!!!

Arriving at Mt Beauty at about 10.30 it was on for coffee and cake at the bakery. The bakery was excellent and the choices of cakes was great. We also bought our lunch rolls to have at the top of the Gap!

Then it was off for the climb up to the top of the Gap. The climb was about 9kms and about 750 metres so an average of about 10pc which was a bit of a test for us all. All of us completed the climb including Ray who drove the Ute up and then was driven back down by Rob to do the ride on his own... well done to everyone!

At the top the weather started to turn ugly with rain so we traveled down to Bright carefully. The downhill was quite steep with a lot of bends and was through some interesting country.

Coming it to Bright we passed through groves of walnut trees and saw some delightful lilac trees 

Arriving in Bright at about 3.30 pm it was time for a celebratory beer in the pub to await our rooms being ready 

Bright seems a very lively town with pretty avenues of trees and with a very lively town centre. In a funny way it reminds me of Queenstown in NZ as it seems to attract peoplywith a sense of adventure whether it is bike riding, Bush walking or skiing....

The hotel we are staying at is delightful with rooms just having been renovated and wonderfully clean

Tonight is Ellios dinner night and if the past is any gauge it will be a splendid feast for us all. Dave Little is in charge of the drinks and has promised us some good wines to accompany our dinner 

Today was a wonderful day of riding with a real sense of accomplishment having ridden the Towong Gap

The sense of being a true Wheeliebinner is great for us all

Looking forward to the next 2 days 

Looking along the Kiewa river 

The turn off to Mt Beauty 

The boys and Ute at the turn off

Morning tea at Mt Beauty

Note the boys in discussions about the climb!!!

The Garmin map of the climb 

Note the colour purple indicates the steep parts

The start of the climb... looks ok???

Halfway up looking out over Mt Beauty 

At the top

....and celebrating!!!

Day 2-Dederang to Bright over Tawong Gap 71 kms

Before I get on to today’s ride I thought I should update you all on the dinner we had at the Dederang pub....to put it bluntly it was terrible... the food was poor and the service was very slow... we had to wait nearly 2 hour from order to get the food... they were embarrassed and gave us some free drinks to compensate which was some comfort!

The accommodation was quite good which made for a good night of sleep 

I was awake and up and about at 6.30 am and although the weather looked threatening it was warm and slightly humid 

We were on our way to the Dederang general store for breakfast at 7.30 am... and what a great breakfast it was! The store was very clean and the staff were very pleasant and accommodating. My breakfast was coffee and an egg and bacon roll very yummy!

The discussion at breakfast and dinner last night was all about the Tawong Gap ride with horror stories about the gradients being over 20 pc!!! So it was with some trepidation that we took off towards Bright 

The first stop was Mt Beauty after about 40 kms. This part of the ride was through the Kiewa valley essentially following the river. Very pretty ride with a couple of bigger hills to test the legs for the Big One!!!

Arriving at Mt Beauty at about 10.30 it was on for coffee and cake at the bakery. The bakery was excellent and the choices of cakes was great. We also bought our lunch rolls to have at the top of the Gap!

Then it was off for the climb up to the top of the Gap. The climb was about 9kms and about 750 metres so an average of about 10pc which was a bit of a test for us all. All of us completed the climb including Ray who drove the Ute up and then was driven back down by Rob to do the ride on his own... well done to everyone!

At the top the weather started to turn ugly with rain so we traveled down to Bright carefully. The downhill was quite steep with a lot of bends and was through some interesting country.

Coming it to Bright we passed through groves of walnut trees and saw some delightful lilac trees 

Arriving in Bright at about 3.30 pm it was time for a celebratory beer in the pub to await our rooms being ready 

Bright seems a very lively town with pretty avenues of trees and with a very lively town centre. In a funny way it reminds me of Queenstown in NZ as it seems to attract peoplywith a sense of adventure whether it is bike riding, Bush walking or skiing....

The hotel we are staying at is delightful with rooms just having been renovated and wonderfully clean

Tonight is Ellios dinner night and if the past is any gauge it will be a splendid feast for us all. Dave Little is in charge of the drinks and has promised us some good wines to accompany our dinner 

Today was a wonderful day of riding with a real sense of accomplishment having ridden the Towong Gap

The sense of being a true Wheeliebinner is great for us all

Looking forward to the next 2 days 

Looking along the Kiewa river 

The turn off to Mt Beauty 

The boys and Ute at the turn off

Morning tea at Mt Beauty

Note the boys in discussions about the climb!!!

The Garmin map of the climb 

Note the colour purple indicates the steep parts

The start of the climb... looks ok???

Halfway up looking out over Mt Beauty 

At the top

....and celebrating!!!

A view from the top looking towards Mt Bogong

Interesting plaque recording the opening of the road in 1895

A lilac tree which is starting to flower 

Our final destination 

.... and home for the night 

Day 1 - Wodonga to Dederang-54kms

The day started early for the guys catch the train to Wodonga... 9 Lycra clad gents made there way through the Metro Trains network to Southern Cross Station at about 6.00 am . Abdy, Dave and myself had a sleep in and left Surrey Hills at about 7.00am.

The folks going by train were directed at Southern Cross to the bus depot for the trip to Wodonga... always a bit concerning at often bikes are forbidden on busses.... not this time.

The souls travelling with me in the Ute had to negotiate the early morning peak hour to get to the Hume freeway which is always testing. After some time on the freeway near Avenal Abdy and Dave thought they could not see Abdy’s bike so we stopped and sure enough it was not there... it had fallen off somewhere between Surrey Hills and Avenal.... what a bugger!!!

We thought it pointless to retrace our trip and continued on with the thought of renting a bike at Wangaratta our final destination in 4 days on Sunday...sure enough there was a bike shop that had the right bike for Abdy...so it was on to Wodonga to meet the train/ bus travellers !

We arrived at about 12.30 and after exchanging stories about our adventures so far it was time for lunch and get on our way... leaving about 1.30 pm !

The first few kms were very pleasant... then BANG !!!it was hills!!! And more hills and the Garmin was sending me red messages about the gradients in red!!

Anyway the scenery washreayand the downhill in to Jacandanda was joy so we could have afternoon tea at the Bakery... very nice ginger beer 

After this it was on to Dederang and after negotiating a couple of hills it was pleasing to have another downhill in to the pub arriving at about 5.30 pm

The day was hot so most of us enjoyed a pleasant and cool beer in the very pretty Kiewa valley.

It was a challenging and long day but enjoyable with the guys 

Arvo tea in Yackandada

A welcome relief from our water boy Dave!!!

Th e road ahead on a downhill in the Kiewa valley 

Frank with dead foxes draped on the fence

Dederang at last!!!

Home for the night in the pub 

Upcoming Trip through North East Victoria

On Thursday we begin a 4 day ride from Wodonga to Wangaratta through some lovely country in north east Victoria 

There will be some hills as we travel near some of the "high country" but the views and country at this time of the year should be great 

I am riding with the Wheeliebinners group of 13 riders which should be great.

I will be making posts each day of our adventures 

Day 40- final day in Paris

This will be my final blog for this trip 

After breakfast at the hotel it was time to pack the bike bag and head out for a final walk around the area near the hotel 

The Avalon Hotel is located near Gard de Nord and the area is quite varied with some areas having homeless people on the streets and others being very upmarket 

The walk along the Paris canal was interesting... this is a canal that links with the Seine river 

I had a light lunch in what seemed to be a Jewish restaurant which had delightful hummus...

After a walk which included a look at Gare de Nord and Gare de Est I headed back to the hotel to watch the end of the first stage of Le Tour

As this is the last blog I did a few facts on the trip. They are as follows:

- distance travelled 3101 kms- Chris said it was 3400 kms so don’t know what the difference is???

- average kms per day 103 kms

- total metres climbed 13483 metres 

- total cost of trip excluding air fares- AUD 7500 or about $ 180 per day including account meals etc 

It has been a great trip and I have learned a lot about myself and the world

I have met some wonderful people and had some great times as well as some challenges 

Finally I want to thank my dear friend Chris for being my riding companion on the trip... your friendship means a lot to me and I hope we can do something like this again 

Now for the photos....

A view of the Paris canal

Some riders I saw near the Paris canal

They were wearing Le Tour yellow....

Day 39- Bucharest to Paris

It was an early morning again to catch the plane to Paris..

Up at 2.30 am was not a good time for me but I was unsure how long it would take to get to the Bucharest airport and all the cabs in Bucharest are small and I was unsure how the bike box would fit in the cab... having said that there was no plan B!!!

Anyway the box was able to be accommodated with some ties in the boot of the cab

To my surprise I arrived early at the airport and the check in counter was not open so had to wait for about half an hour before check in

The flight to Paris went over the French alps which was interesting.... several of the highest mountains still had snow on the peaks

I arrived at CDG Paris at about 8.00am and after clearing passport control etc was at the hotel at 9.30am and luckily the room was ready by 10.00 am

After a shower it was off to have a look nearby the hotel. It is located in a very nice area not far from Gare de Nord 

I walked to the Republic square and had a salad lunch then headed back to the hotel for a sleep... the weather is hot again in the low 30’s 

I arranged with Jerome Vidal to pick up my bike bag at 5.30 pm the hitch is about a half hour walk from the hotel 

Arriving early I was able to find a cafe to have a cool lemonade whilst waiting for Jérôme... in the meantime I received an email from Chris that he had made Costanta so I rang him to congratulate him on his achievements and wish him well for the rides to come...

Meeting Jérôme was great and we had a beer to chat about my adventures and his coming up in the Pyrenees..

After collecting the bike bag it was back to the hotel and off for dinner 

As I am doing this blog I am in a restaurant having had snails for an entree and looking forward to whiting for main course 

The street is very busy, the restaurant is a buzz being a Friday evening and Paris is alive!!!

The only issue is smokers !!!

It has been a good day but I am looking forward to being home

Now for the photos 

Republic square where I had lunch 

Jérôme after the hand over of the bike bag..

Wonderful guy...

My hotel for the night...my room is the balcony on the 4th floor 

Day 38-Clean bike, box bike and tour Bucharest

Today I woke at about 7.30 am ... A far cry from the 5.30am starts of recent weeks.Bit funny but I do miss the early morning wake-ups by Chris with his happy greetings in the morning.

After a good breakfast at the hotel it was off to clean the bike and bike bags. This is really important as the Australian customs folk are very particular about dirt and gravel on sporting equipment. So this took some time with the help of a fellow from the maintenance section of the hotel.

It was then off to the local bike shop to box the bike for the plane trip to Paris after which I will ditch the box for my bike carry bag which I will use for the trip home

I have been very lucky to have Jerome Vidal who looked after the bag in Paris.... Jérôme’s parents looked after Chris and I on our last bike ride in France as Warm Showers hosts...

Getting the bike in the box back to the hotel was interesting as I caught a local bus .... I am now an official “fare evader “ as the process of paying bus fares is so complex that advice I received was to simply hop on the bus and take my chances.

Anyway it worked...

After sorting out some tape to close the box I decided to take  a “ big bus” tour of Bucharest. It took about an hour and was very interesting and I was fairly impressed with the public buildings and the parks... the big issue here is the number of cars on the road and being parked everywhere and I mean everywhere!!!Seems parking on the footpath is legal which makes pedestrian progress difficult... this seems to be a real problem in most of the big cities in Europe. Something we need to think about back home 

After the big bus trip I decided to buy a new pair of sneakers as the sneakers I have been using on this trip have fallen apart and despite several cleans they stink something bad!

The shopping mall I visited was fairly basic so finding a suitable replacement pair was difficult and I normally have a 30 minute rule on shopping... not completing the expedition inside 30 minutes.... I just made it!

After finding my way back to the hotel I then sorted out my final packing with most of my gear going in the bike box 

As I do this blog I have the TV on listening to CNN who are talking about the the extreme heat in Europe over the past week. Seems global warming is here to stay...

Now for the photos

Christian packing my bike carefully... he forgot to pack the back wheel and had to bring it to me at the hotel...

Bike packed in box ( minus back wheel as I found out later)

This bike shop in Bucharest is great!!

Big bus tour.. photo of parliament building 

(Temporary Backup) Day 37- Zimnicea to Giurgiu- 62 . 2 kms

Today was a really early start to the day with us awake at 5.00am todo most of the ride before the heat set in

Breakfast was a bowl of muesli being some leftovers from an earlier breakfast in the ride that Chris carried with him...

We were on the road by 6.00am and we made really great time on reasonable roads for the journey to Giurgiu.

Along the way we saw the farm workers coming out on the roads from the towns to start their day of work.

The farming here is very much manually based with very little mechanisation. The tractors we saw are very old but most of the hard lifting is done with horse drawn carts 

The other interesting thing is the animals such as sheep,goats and cattle are largely tendered by shepherd type labor.

Several times on the ride we had to watch the road for farm birds like hens chickens and the like who were on the roads.... all very interesting 

Arriving at Giurgiu I was able to book on the train to Bucharest in the afternoon so I have a 5 hour wait...

Based on this Chris and I found a cafe where we had a coffee and lemonade ( home made with honey to sweeten the taste)

At about 10.15 Chris and I said our goodbyes and Chris continued his journey for the day to Rousse on the other side of the river.

It was sad to say goodbye to Chris after being riding companions for 5 weeks. We had a lot of fun and faced a few challenges along the way which were met with the usual ANZAC spirit. 

I finish my journey here after traveling over 3400 kms ( distance from Melbourne to Perth) with a wonderful friend and for the most part untroubled riding 

I am a lot fitter for the travel than at the start of the ride and a lot wiser on traveling in Eastern Europe.... to be frank the lack of riding infrastructure including good roads and bike paths together with a lack of the creature comforts that we experienced in France,Germany Switzerland and Austria made the trip harder

Having said that I am glad to have done the trip with Chris...

I am sorry I am missing the final leg of about 350 kms to Costanta but appreciate that circumstances prevented this with my passport issues 

On the other hand I will be kind of glad to get home to see the family. The only issue for me will be adjusting to the cold Melbourne weather

I should say a word or 2 about my bike....

It held up very well over the trip however I really underestimated the road conditions and changing tyres for the latter part of the journey was a good decision. The fact is that ordinary road tyres do not like ruts and potholes which was the problem I had with punctures. Also some of the EuroVelo 6 route was in very poor surfaces which often meant losing grip and control.

The other lesson learned from the trip is to regularly service the chain.... most days daily as the crap from riding really plays havoc with the chain and gears on the bike.

Other than this ,which was largely my fault for not doing proper research ahead of the trip, I cannot complain about my “faithful steed”!!!

The train trip from Giurgiu to Bucharest was pretty uneventful with a change of trains involved at some town I cannot pronounce... the train stopped at a siding and I and others had to climb off the train cross train tracks and get on another platform to board the train to Bucharest...

Managing with the bike seemed relatively easy 

On the way on the train I took a decision to upgrade my stay in Bucharest to the Sheraton hotel which had cheap rates on booking.com so I am now sitting in the main restaurant with some fine food and a beer.... I have had only 1 beer in 3 weeks!!!!!

Having a shower with fresh soft towels is something to savour when you have been staying in cheap hotels and hostels

Been a great last day but sad in a way to say goodbye to my travelling buddy Chris 

FYI my weight in the shower was 71.5 kgs .....

I hope I can keep some of the weight loss as I go back to normal life...

FYI I included a photo of the trip I have made

Now for the photos.....

Chris and I at the end of the ride as we go our separate ways 

Safe riding Chris!!!!

Today’s ride.... my last one for this trip....

The whole route for the ride is shown below..... courtesy of Chris....

Day 36- Oryahovo to Zimnicea- 137.5kms

Today was hot and I mean HOT!!!

You will see in the photos a shot of the Garmin in the middle of the day where the temperature was over 40 degrees.... you might say we were silly to do the ride in the heat but we need to be at at place called Giurgiu tomorrow so abcan catch the train back to Bucharest to then fly back to Paris to meet the connection with Etihad home 

The day started early again with breakfast at the hotel which was “gobbled down “ as we thought we had to caythe 7.00 am ferry across the Danube to Romania.... so we rushed down to the ferry terminal and cleared the border only to be told the ferry was going at 8.00am ..... bugger!!! 

We knew that the day was going to get hot so waiting for an hour was a real blow 

The ferry crossing was good and it gives a real chance to see the river from a different angle . Here the river is wide and the flow is significantly slower than further upstream.

After the crossing we had to clear Romanian customs which was simple and it seems that the temporary passport is not causing any problems 

As we rode on the day was starting to heat up so we opted to take regular rests and either eat an ice cream or other food and drink water or other drinks.... the amount of water I drank today was staggering.... I reckon I was drinking a water bottle every 20 kms!!!!

I also found later in the day I was getting very drowsy and having a Coca Cola really pepped me up... normally I am not a Coke drinker but this seemed to work for me... Phil Eager one of my riding pals back home got me on to this.... well done Phil!!!

I think the locals along today’s route also thought we were mad riding in the heat as on many occasions we received claps and welcomes from the locals sitting on the side of the road. On several occasions we were high 5’d by local children on the road... all very friendly really. 

Over the past couple of days we really noticed how 3rd world parts of Bulgaria and Romania are... there was a lot of horse drawn wagons which are used for farm work and the people seemed to be doing a lot a manual work with sickle and synth. The other thing is that in many towns there are vacant buildings like factories which have been deserted many years ago and the supporting infrastructure like housing has been left to rot...

Many of the towns have older people living in them and we saw some of the younger generations dotted in the towns. Seems to me that the young want to live in the bright lights of the big cities.

Getting back to today’s ride.... we had a day of over 12 hours riding and recovering and were glad to arrive at our Airbnb home which is air conditioned..... yeh what a relief 

Having the home to ourselves was great and the owner had stocked the pantry with eggs and tomatoes and Chris made a delightful omelette for us both... going out for dinner in the heat would have been too much 

I must say that the day was a hard one for me and I found the heat really drained my energy... I am glad it is over and am looking forward to bed

Tomorrow is the last day of riding for me as I leave Chris at Giurgiu  .... be sad not to go all the way with Chris to Costanta but the muck up with my passport prevents me from doing this.

Be sad to leave but in a way I am glad to be going home to see the family 

Now for the photos 

Border crossing from Bulgaria 

Trucks stacked on the ferry 

The ferry crossing the Danube 

The Garmin tells it all....40.8 degrees!!!

Home for the night.... with AC!!!

Today’s ride... hot and long 

Day 35- Calafat to Orayahovo -150.6 kms

Today’s ride could be summarised with 2 words....hot and long

Let me deal with the HOT part first.... 

The day started with clear skies and cool temperatures in the mid teens. But as the day wore on the temperatures were in the mid 30’s and as we were in the saddle.... so to speak for about 11 hours with stops for coffee, lunch and afternoon drinks we wore the brunt of the hot weather 

The LONG part relates to the 150 kms we traveled during the day. As I said earlier we were in the saddle for over 11 hours. This is our longest ride on this tour and the second longest on the Chris/Peter bike trips 

The day was supposed to start early but the room we had for the night had no natural light so we could not see the sunrise as we have done on most mornings on this ride. So we were up and about at 6.30 am and all packed to leave at 7.00 am. 

Finding a bakery at Calafat proved to be a real difficulty so we settled for a stall selling some sort of local bakery delights .... they were edible but not what we had in mind!!

After breakfast we were on our way and the first challenge was to cross the border between Romania and Bulgaria which was not a problem... not so for the many trucks which were lined up to get clearance.... 

The good news is that my temporary passport seems to work well thank goodness!

After crossing the border it was a short hop to Vidin where we stopped for coffee. 

As the day was heating up we decided to head to the halfway town of Lom ( 75 kms) doing our usual 5 km alternative leads. There was one big climb in the morning of about 300 metres over 2 kms which cleared the cobwebs 

By the time we reached Lom the temperatures were in the mid 30’s and we were parched and in need of s drink and light lunch. We found a nice cafe that served salads and bitter lemon drinks.... I have become a real fan of bitter lemon and lemonade on this ride!!!

The lunch break was almost an hour and with the heat we needed to get our energy back for the ride ahead 

The ride for the next 50 kms was on variable roads some good surfaces but some really bad roads as well 

We had one 2 km climb of about 300 metres on a cobblestone stone road!!!

At the 120 km mark we found a town large enough to have a cafe and I had to Coke’s and a Fanta in short order... I am finding that Coke provides a short hit of caffeine on hot days which helps to maintain energy on the longer rides

After drinks it was on to Oryahovo where we arrived at the hotel shortly after 7.00 pm. To say we were glad to arrive would be an understatement.... 2 bitter lemons a shower certainly mad a big difference to how I felt 

We ordered dinner which were titled “meat balls “ but were in fact meat patties 

It is interesting that today we ran across a couple doing the EuroVelo 6 ride ... they were fro Germany. We had a good chat 

At the hotel we ran across 2 young girls doing the ride from Holland ... we first met them out of Belgrade on the EuroVelo 6 route just before I had my bag/ passport mishap 

It was great to catch up and have a chat about our respective adventures 

The hotel we are Stuart tonight is excellent and it is air conditioned and has good food and we can wash our gear... something that is really needed now 

It is now 9.15 and I will be in bed after a long day in the heat 

Now for the photos.....

A delightful drink of homemade lemonade....

The border crossing in to Bulgaria 

Early morning on the the days we crossed in to Bulgaria 

A view from the top of the hill hill on one of our climbs 

Home for the night 

The 2 girls in the photo are the ones we first met outside Belgrade 

Today’s ride 

Day 34 - Orsova to Calafat - 136.2 kms

The day started early again with us up and about at 5.30 am

The aim of the day was to ride to a bike shop in Drobeta to get a few things seen to on our bikes then move on for the red of the ride. The bike shop was at the 30 km mark

The first part of the ride was on a busy main highway with a lot of trucks. Later cycle.travel took us on some very seedy back roads to the bike shop. We arrived at the bike shop at 9.00 am and unfortunately it was not open.... we have been assured that it will open this morning so we found a coffee shop to have a coffee and wait in a more comfortable place.

After coffee we were in contact with the owner of the bike shop and were able to get our bikes serviced.

I must John did a wonderful job of checking brakes, wheels , chains, crank etc.He had a wonderfully clean workshop and was very thorough in what he did.

My big problem was not enough oil on the chain and I will need to get my crank checked when I get home.

The whole serving was about 2 hours and the bikes were a lot better for it...there should be a similar service for the riders!!!

After having a light lunch courtesy of the local supermarket we were on our way for the remaining 90 kms.... bearing in mind we started after lunch at about 1.00 pm ... this was gooto be a long afternoon. 

The ride was mostly on a major artery road and the surface was great... there was plenty of shoulder to allow us to be off the main part of the road but the traffic was terrible. For a Sunday the numbers of trucks was amazing.

Chris and I took turns on doing 5 kms each and as it was very hot ( early 30’s) we used the change over as a time to have a drink to keep the fluids up.

This worked really well on a very busy road and although the ride was challenging with a few short climbs, the time went well.

We arrived at the accommodation at about 7.00 pm completely knackered ( Aussie term for being tired) and checked in to our room. I would love to know how many times our room is not on the ground floor on this ride.... well for tonight we have a room the first floor which is accessed via a staircase outside the hotel much like a fire escape. The stairs themselves are probably spaced at normal height plus another half which after a long ride is the last thing you need.

Before we had a shower, the first thing we did was to down a soft drink.... I had 2!!!

Today was a good day of riding with most of the ride being done in the heat of the day 

Getting our bikes serviced by John was a real win for us both as the bikes rode well after their service 

Tonight it will be a quick dinner and bed!!!

Now for the photos.....

John and I in the work room getting my bike seen to!!!

Chris doing the same with his bike

All happy after the bikes were done

I would thoroughly recommend John!!

A view of the country we rode through in the afternoon 

3000 kms up.,.. time to celebrate... with more kms to come 

Accommodation for the night and stairs to climb!!!!!

Today’s ride

Day 33- Moldova to Orsova - 99.1 kms

Today started a little later as we had breakfast at the hotel at 7.00am.The breakfast was scrambled eggs but it was more like an omelette.

The morning was beautiful and the hotel we we’re staying at was perched on the top of a rise with a lovely view of the Danube. The Danube near here widens significantly to be more like a lake.

After saying goodbye to our very kind host Corina we were off on the ride at a little after 8.15 am.... gee a late start for a change.

The ride today took us through gorge country where the Danube winds it’s way through some hilly country with sheer limestone hills.

The gradients were not great apart from 2 hills towards the end of the ride.

Most of the day the weather was in the mid 20’s although on the climbs at the end it seemed that the temperatures were higher. 

We made very good time and were at the halfway point at about 50 kms in what seemed to be no time and celebrated with a drink and coffee at lovely restaurant on the side of the road that looked out over the Danube... the hosts were terrific and we enjoyed coffee ( tea as usual for Chris) and a freshly made lemonade... very refreshing.

After the break it was on further up the road where we saw plenty of the locals out enjoying the day. A big activity seems to be fishing where we saw mostly men seated on the banks of the Danube, camping and fishing.

Seems that there are very few women doing this.... 

The men seemed to be very relaxed often with a beer on the table at the early hours of the morning....

At the 90 km point we stopped for a drink and salad before tackling the big climbs. The cafe we stopped at seemed quite fashionable and in a quite up market area 

The climbs were quite short and sharp... about 2 kms for the first and about 1.5 kms for the second. In both cases there was a lovely downhill to cool off and get our breath back

We arrived at Orsova at about 3.00 pm and found a cafe for a drink( bitter lemon) and an ice cream.... I must admit I have never had so much ice cream and bitter lemon in my life but is sure refreshes on hot days. 

The apartment we are staying in at Orsova is very large and spuwith 2 bedrooms, a kitchen and a family room.... such space we have never had before all for $50 Aussie a night 

After having a shower we organised to go on a boat trip up the river to have a look at the gorge and some of the sights. It covered some of the territory that we had covered on our ride , but it was good to see from the river.

The trip took about an hour and the speedboat was filled with local Romanians who were interested in what we were doing.

After the boat ride we found a local cafe beside the river for dinner.... we shared a huge mixed grill with chips which we both could not finish 

It was a good way to finish another day on the trip

Now for the photos....

Chris with our host ( Corine) in Moldova after breakfast...

Early morning on the Danube as we left our hotel 

A work boat travels downstream with 9 barges attached...

Another view of the Danube 

Our hosts at morning tea... a delightful spot in a newly renovated accommodation hotel 

I think this is a haystack????

This was carved out of stone and represents early settlers in the region... it took 10 years to complete 

Another view of the gorge 

Looking down river...

... at dinner contemplating the world!!

... asleep on the boat ride back to Orsova 

Home for night.... second top level with a view of the river

Unfortunately we had to climb a lot of stairs 

Today’s ride 

Day 32- Travel to Belgrade by bus then Kovin to Moldova - 95.3 kms

After a big night of sleep....I was in bed by 7.30 pm and woke up to have a brief chat to the passport guys back in Oz at 1.00am. The guys in Canberra we reassuring that my temporary passport would be issued today.... but you never know!

I was awak at about 7.00am feeling very apprehensive about the day because if I did not get the passport today I would not get it until after the weekend....if this were the case then my ride would be over for this trip and I would have to leave Chris and find my way to Bucharest 

So we had breakfast in the local bakery in Kovin and caught the bus in to Belgrade 

After reaching Belgrade I rang Biba at the Embassy and she informed me that the approval from the Australian authorities had come through and the passport could be issued....hoooooraaaay!!!!

We made our way to the Embassy by foot and had an orange juice and saw my dear friend Biba who issued me with my new temporary passport..... yehhh!!

We then took a taxi back to Kovin which is about 50kms from Belgrade with a cost of 72 Euros.... very cheap and quick compared to the bus 

We then quickly packed and were on the road by 1.15 pm...

Great to be on the bikes again after 3 days in suspense whilst the passport issue was resolved 

The ride that Chris had mapped out whilst I was sorting out my passport was to Moldova in Rumania 

The first few kms were interesting in that I had to get used to the new tyres which are bigger than normal road bike tyres and somewhat slower with big treads 

Anyway it was great to be back on the bike again ... we agreed that with busy roads we would do 5 km alternate leads as a way of making the ride a little more interesting. We also agreed to have some distance between us as the traffic was heavy and there were big trucks on the road.

About 25 kms in to the ride with me leading it was Chris’s turn to take the lead and I could not see him so I waited... and waited....and waited and he was not there. I then back tracked about 1.5 kms and there was Chris on the side of the road with a flat tyre. After fixing the tyre to the bike.... it went flat again .... so we changed tubes again... and blow me down if it went flat again. Luckily we had another tube so Gaya very good check of the tyre we replaced the tube successfully.... whew we had no spare tubes if it went flat again!

So on we went...

The next big challenge was the border in to Romania which required checkpoints from Serbia and in to Romania. I was told by the Embassy to present both my old and new passport at the Serbian checkpoint which worked thankfully. For the Romanian checkpoint I only needed to present my new passport which worked like a charm .... I must say I was  relieved that it all worked as the Embassy advised.... thanks Biba!!!

Shortly after crossing the border there was a relobig climb of about 7 kms.... much like the 1:20 back home. The ride down the other side was excellent with good speed being achieved on good roads

We arrived at Moldova at about 8.00 pm ( note there was a time shift of one hour when we crossed the border) and as the hotel we are staying at is out of town...we went a local supermarket to get some dinner.

Arriving at the “ big fish” hotel was a relief as a 95 km ride in 4 hours 30 minutes was a fairly fast ride after a break of a few days 

Today was a good day with much achievement 

Now for the photos...

Selfie with a rider from Morocco 

Interesting guy who won an ultra marathon and was a representative at the Sydney Olympics

A disused railway bridge in Belgrade we say on the way to the Embassy 

My new and old passport 

A man who was at the side of the road when Chris had his punctures ... he gave us coffee and water. The coffee cups had Marshal Tito on the side 


Above...Chris and I just short of Moldova 

Below- home for the night 

...with an interesting view of the river/ lake

Today’s ride

Day 32- Travel to Belgrade by bus then Kovin to Moldova - 95.3 kms

After a big night of sleep....I was in bed by 7.30 pm and woke up to have a brief chat to the passport guys back in Oz at 1.00am. The guys in Canberra we reassuring that my temporary passport would be issued today.... but you never know!

I was awak at about 7.00am feeling very apprehensive about the day because if I did not get the passport today I would not get it until after the weekend....if this were the case then my ride would be over for this trip and I would have to leave Chris and find my way to Bucharest 

So we had breakfast in the local bakery in Kovin and caught the bus in to Belgrade 

After reaching Belgrade I rang Biba at the Embassy and she informed me that the approval from the Australian authorities had come through and the passport could be issued....hoooooraaaay!!!!

We made our way to the Embassy by foot and had an orange juice and saw my dear friend Biba who issued me with my new temporary passport..... yehhh!!

We then took a taxi back to Kovin which is about 50kms from Belgrade with a cost of 72 Euros.... very cheap and quick compared to the bus 

We then quickly packed and were on the road by 1.15 pm...

Great to be on the bikes again after 3 days in suspense whilst the passport issue was resolved 

The ride that Chris had mapped out whilst I was sorting out my passport was to Moldova in Rumania 

The first few kms were interesting in that I had to get used to the new tyres which are bigger than normal road bike tyres and somewhat slower with big treads 

Anyway it was great to be back on the bike again ... we agreed that with busy roads we would do 5 km alternate leads as a way of making the ride a little more interesting. We also agreed to have some distance between us as the traffic was heavy and there were big trucks on the road.

About 25 kms in to the ride with me leading it was Chris’s turn to take the lead and I could not see him so I waited... and waited....and waited and he was not there. I then back tracked about 1.5 kms and there was Chris on the side of the road with a flat tyre. After fixing the tyre to the bike.... it went flat again .... so we changed tubes again... and blow me down if it went flat again. Luckily we had another tube so Gaya very good check of the tyre we replaced the tube successfully.... whew we had no spare tubes if it went flat again!

So on we went...

The next big challenge was the border in to Romania which required checkpoints from Serbia and in to Romania. I was told by the Embassy to present both my old and new passport at the Serbian checkpoint which worked thankfully. For the Romanian checkpoint I only needed to present my new passport which worked like a charm .... I must say I was  relieved that it all worked as the Embassy advised.... thanks Biba!!!

Shortly after crossing the border there was a relobig climb of about 7 kms.... much like the 1:20 back home. The ride down the other side was excellent with good speed being achieved on good roads

We arrived at Moldova at about 8.00 pm ( note there was a time shift of one hour when we crossed the border) and as the hotel we are staying at is out of town...we went a local supermarket to get some dinner.

Arriving at the “ big fish” hotel was a relief as a 95 km ride in 4 hours 30 minutes was a fairly fast ride after a break of a few days 

Today was a good day with much achievement 

Now for the photos...

Selfie with a rider from Morocco 

Interesting guy who won an ultra marathon and was a representative at the Sydney Olympics

A disused railway bridge in Belgrade we say on the way to the Embassy 

My new and old passport 

A man who was at the side of the road when Chris had his punctures ... he gave us coffee and water. The coffee cups had Marshal Tito on the side 


Above...Chris and I just short of Moldova 

Below- home for the night 

...with an interesting view of the river/ lake

Today’s ride

Day 31- Rest day again!!

Today was supposed to be the day I collected my temporary passport from the Embassy in Belgrade so we awoke early had breakfast at the local bakery and readied ourselves for the bus trip. But alas .... I received a phone call from the Australian Embassy to say that they had not received the official permission from Australia to issue the passport so our plans went out the window 

Instead we spent an hour or so reorganising the rest of the trip recognising that I will have to “peel off” at Bucharest and not go all the way to the Black Sea. That of course assumes that I can get a passport and not be stateless as I am now!

I must admit that when I saw the Embassy staff member cut off the magnetic strip off my passport it gave me a sinking feeling of being out of control of my life.... I am in the hands of the beauracrats to move out of Serbian soil!

To get a feeling of moving ahead I said to Chris that I would return to Belgrade to get a new rear tyre, having only purchased the front tyre yesterday.

So I caught the 11.40 bus and after catching a taxi, I managed to find the ProBike shop in Belgrade. The weather was quite hot at about 35 degrees so having plenty of water was important.

After successfully getting my new rear tyre I managed to find a nice bakery for a sandwich lunch. I must admit the cost of living here in Serbia is very cheap with sandwich rolls only costing about a dollar or so....

After the lunch it was time to find a taxi back to the bus depot for the bus ride back to Kovin where we are staying 

I arrived back at the hotel where we are staying at about 5.15pm

I am hoping that the passport situation gets sorted tomorrow as it is Friday and being stuck here over the weekend would be very frustrating....

I must say that both Chris and I are getting to know Kovin quite well

The town is about 50 kms from Belgrade and it seems to have a real family friendly feeling about it. The families are out at night for dinner in the town square and everyone seems happy 

Anyway that’s enough for today.... hoping for better news tomorrow 

Now for some photos .... not many today 

Local bike culture 

..... and again 

Tram in Belgrade 

Another tram in Belgrade 

They remind me of the trams you see in Jason Bourne movies 

Day 31- Rest Day to sort out my passport!!!

Today was a compulsory rest day courtesy of my lost bag yesterday 

After confirming last evening that the efficient lady at the Australian Embassy had canceled my passport we awoke early to take the bus ride back in to Belgrade to visit the Embassy to get a temporary passport 

The Embassy hours on the website said they were opening at 8.00 am so we resolved to catch the 6.00am bus in to town not knowing how long it would take us to get to the Embassy or how we were going to get there.

The bus ride went over much of the territory we covered yesterday including passing by the scene of the second set of tyre punctures I received after riding on the very overgrown track!

The trip in to Belgrade was interesting in that we picked up a lot of the locals who were either on thoway in to the big smoke to shop or to go to work....all very interesting.

We arrived at the bus station in Belgrade which is an old railway station and got our bearings for the walk to the Embassy which was about 2 kms. We arrived only to find the Embassy opened at 9.00am. Fortunately there was a good cafe outside the Embassy building where we had breakfast of a coffee and fruit jogurt.... very good after an early start. 

When I went into the Embassy at 9.00 I was informed that Biba the lady in charge of passports was out for the morning and would be back at midday or thereabouts. Having to wait was not a real problem as we had brought my front wheel to see what could be done about changing the tyres to a more robust tread. We walked to 2 bike shops without success....

Facing another challenge we decided to have a coffee in a cafe and consult google for an answer... and we found a possibility on the other side of the river....

As the day was getting hot we took a pink taxi organised by the cafe owner to the shop... fare was very cheap.

The shop owner was just what was needed to advise me on the best options for new tyres and I settled on a Shauble delta cruise plus. It will make the going a bit slower but hopefully better on the unmade roads and bike tracks.

The shop is called ProBike and I would recommend it to anyone in Belgrade. The owner speaks very good English.

In the meantime the lady at the Embassy had called me on my mobile and advised me to get a passport photo and be ready to have an appointment at 1.30pm. 

We returned to a shopping mall recommended by the Embassy to get the photos organised and had lunch in the food court.

After lunch it was off to see Biba at the Embassy....

She confirmed that my passport had been canceled and that I needed to get a temporary passport.

I filled in all the forms to do this including a statement on the circumstances surrounding the theft of my bag.

Biba was very helpful and said that the passport would be ready tomorrow afternoon. I must say the Embassy was very friendly and helpful in my predicament and I could not be more happy to have a way forward.

Filled with jubilation Chris and I made our way to the bus station and caught the bus back to Kovin arriving back at about 5.00pm

In preparation for the next stage of the journey, we cleaned our bikes and riding bags and started to think what the next few days would bring.... on bikes!

I think I will struggle to get to the Black Sea so I am thinking I might travel by bike to Bucharest then catch a plane to Paris for the return home. This will have given me well over 3000 kms of riding so I won’t be disappointed 

Anyway as I have learned over the past few days planing ahead can be a curse as challenges crop up all the time, particularly in 2 nd world countries like Serbia 

The day was a pleasing one for me as we resolved the problems regarding my passport and sorted out a resolution to riding on unmade roads....

Now for the photos.....not many today unfortunately 

Me outside the Embassy....with wheel in hand

Tomorrow I take the back wheel to get a new tyre 

Getting my photo taken in the shopping mall 

Chris at the bus station looking after my wheel with new tyre 

The information about the new tyre.... for those technically minded.....