London to Bucharest Cycle

On the 29th we set out from Mako and crossed the border into Romania after a few kms. This milestone marked exactly 1 month since we started our trip and provided a rewarding feeling. We continued our cycle towards Timisoara on a fairly busy road, where cars were flying by us, and ended the day at 95km. In the evening, we met with Dana and Radu, Silviu's relatives from Timisoara who prepared a delicious dinner for us, as well as Adi, Cristi and Robert, Alex's friends.

On Tuesday we explored the beautiful city of Timisoara, with a vibrant historical centre filled with young people. In the morning we had an interview with Digi24, one of the biggest TV channels in Romania, giving us a fantastic chance to promote our cause.

On Wednesday, we decided to make our way along secondary, less circulated roads, even though that would mean the total distance would increase. Soon after we left Timisoara, where the temperature was 30+, we started cycling on a regional road that was undulating along forests and small villages, virtually unchanged in the last 60-70 years... except everyone was carrying a smartphone. The quality of the pavement was not great, but the absence of cars gave us the chance to cycle at a leisurely pace. We ended the day at 75km as we found an accommodation in Bocsa, a small town close to the Banat mountains in the Carpathians.

On Thursday we set off early and continued cycling towards the Danube. The route was very challenging as, in some areas, the road looked like a WWII mine zone. There were some steep climbs as well, as we crossed the mountains to reach the Danube, but the natural setting was unspoiled and the cars were very few again so we enjoyed every moment. At some point we had to climb around 450m over 5km, but the downhill that followed was great fun so definitely worth it! This led straight to the Danube shoreline, providing the perfect reward.

Exactly 1 month after we left from the London Parliament, we finally entered Romania! We still have a long way to go, over 600km.

This last stretch is by far the hardest, with non-existent cycle paths, narrow, circulated roads and increasing temperatures. The best motivation for us would be to achieve our fundraising target, as we are only £125 from smashing it! So if you haven't donated for our cause yes, now would be the best moment! It only takes a few minutes, and you will be supporting education which is a great cause!

http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/team/londontobucharest

So far, the trip got better and better with every day and Saturday was no exception as we entered the gorgeous city of Vienna.

But let's start where we left off. We woke up around 7:30 on Wednesday to see a tourer, who camped next to us, already packed and ready to go! He didn't want to talk to us about his journey, but we took the liberty of taking a picture of his bike as he was carrying easily over 100kgs. We set off around 10 and shortly saw the Danube for the first time during our trip. We then continued through country roads and cycle paths to end an exhausting day at 130km, in a campsite next to the Danube, 35km from Passau. We met a French couple here, who were on a cycle tour around Europe for around 3 months.

On Thursday we woke up around 7 to realize the french couple had already left, but we like our sleep so that's a bit outside our reach :) We set off around 9 and, after fixing Alex's flat tyre, we arrived in Passau. Here, we shot a quick video, bought some food and then set off towards Austria, where we managed our best average so far, 32km/h over 23km to the border. In Austria, the cycle path along the Danube is amazing and we cycled along it for most of the day, except for a small bit where we climbed 150m over 3km (the downhill was really fun). We ended the day at 95km and found a campsite near the Danube, where we replaced German beer with Austrian white wine as we tried to stay local :)

Friday we set off around 9 again and after a quick stop in Linz (birthplace of Hi**er), we continued cycling along the Danube. The road was very pleasant, with castles, elegant towns and impressive bridges at almost every meandre of the Danube. We met Matthias, a German tourer who was cycling around Europe for about 18months. He only had a backpack with him, which once again proves that most of us have way too many things :) we arrived at our campsite around 18:00, after 115km of cycling. We set up the tent and everything was going smoothly until, out of the blue, the strongest wind we ever saw started to blow, destroying our shelter and ravaging parts of the campsite. We soon realised our best option was to sleep in the bathroom, on the floor, which was an interesting experience, though not a very comfortable one.

Saturday we set at 9 again and by 10 we arrived in Melk which has a superb abbey, inspiration for Umberto Eco's novel, The Name of the Rose. At 11 we embarked on a cruise on the Danube between Melk and Krems, which is said to be the most scenic part of the Austrian Danube. This turned out to be true and, with our batteries recharged, we set off towards Vienna around 2pm. The road from here was slightly dull, but the quality of the cycle path was outstanding, so we did the remaining 90km into Vienna in less than 5 hours, including breaks. It was very rewarding to see ourselves in Vienna after 6 consecutive days of cycling in which we did almost 700km. In the evening we visited the city centre, which is absolutely superb.

Sunday we took the day off to recharge our batteries and explore more of Vienna.