Bike trip in Hungary with my friend Andrei Ozizu (june 2009)

In the beginning of june me and a friend of mine decided to have a nice bike tour in Hungary. Andrei who is an experienced cycletourer from Buzau, but who lives and works in Bucharest, travelled till Arad by train and from there he pedalled till Dorobanti village where it was our meeting point at a thermal spa. I cycled till there about 60km. We enjoyed very much the first day, taking a swim, sunbathing, drinking beers and talking to gorgeous girls in tantalizing bikinis. Then we cycled about 25 km till we entered Hungary at Turnu customs. We pitched our tents near the border behind some bushes.
The next day we cycled 50km through the steppe under a sweltering heat till we reached the town of Mako where it was time for us to have a tasty lunch at a restaurant.
We also tried the local beer which is not so bad, indeed.


We were enjoying our meal on a terrace and we were happy to see people of all ages, and of all sorts, cycling to and fro. Even old hags were using bikes here.


Cycling is such a healthy way of life. It is so pity and a shame that in Romania we can not see so many bikers like here in Hungary, the mentality of our people is still precarious.
Dear citizens, if you want to lose weight and enjoy life, you would better start cycling like the hungarians do!


Beautiful girls were also cycling to our sheer delight, and we kept on snapping photos.


Then we cycled another 30km on a secondary road till we reached Szeged. We started visiting this lovely town. We liked very much the center.


The cathedral was very impressive, too.


Around the cathedral was a huge and magnificent palace. We stopped to rest a bit on a wooden bench.


In this town we saw many gorgeous girls on two wheels.


This town is crossed by the mighty Tisza river and our big river Maros is flowing into Tisza at the entrance of Szeged. There are some interesting and modern bridges over Tisza here.


Then we erected our tents in a clearing next to a forest not far from Szeged.
The next day we cycled on secondary roads with almost no traffic.


Soon we had to cross Tisza by ferryboat. The weather was so hot.


We were lucky to find great cycling tracks and so our trip in Hungary was very enjoyable under these circumstances. There were plenty of cycling ways of good quality even between localities.


My Kona Sutra bike works smoothly. Andrei is a fit cyclist, sometimes we cycle with 30km/h. Plenty of cycling tracks will be still finished in Hungary.


All of a sudden I run into a dead badger. It seems the great hungarian steppe is full of wild animals.


Then we enjoy a nice sunset in the middle of the wilderness.


Soon we find a good place to camp behind a old cottage. The next morning we snap a picture of this wild spot.


Andrei is a great fellow-companion, very resilient and always joking. Thanks to his GPS we cycled on safe secondary roads with light traffic.


We have to face a scorching heat so I'm very pleased to take advantage of some water when I come across it.


This day we have to make many halts, we even spend 3 hours in a lovely touristic place where we have a lake to swim and a pub to refresh ourselves with some beers.
Later we admire another wonderful sunset and we pitch our tents not far from Budapest near the Danube.


Finally we get to Budapest, one of my favourite cities. We immediately climb to Citadella to enjoy large panoramic views over the city.


The weather changed drastically and it started raining and the temperatures dropped a lot. We had to put on some clothes and then everythin was OK again. We were happy to be here.


Such a lovely view can be seen from here over the metropolis.


Here we find an interesting bench where we rest a bit.


This is one of the best places in Central Europe.


We also meet here a huge statue. We can see lots of tourists from all over the world in this particular place.


Then it's time for us to visit other landmarks of this city. The Royal Palace is absolutely stunning.


When we get close to the biggest cathedral of Budapest it starts raining cats and dogs.


But putting on a long raincoat solves the problem and we carry on sightseeing.


The Parliamentary Palace remains the most fascinating construction in this wonderful capital.


Outstanding statues can be found here, too.


We have four days of incessant rain so we make a very slow progress but when we get to Balaton lake, the sun comes out again. We cycle on the northern part of the lake on a good cycling path.


At Balatonfured we see swans with cubs. They are so cute and we start feeding them with some cakes.


I simply fall in love with the tiny nestlings.


All along this huge lake which is the largest from the Central Europe we find swans and we are quite excited about this.


On the other part of the lake at Szigliget we stopped at a lido and there we decided to separate for I wanted to head for the Alps to climb there as many passes and possible and Andrei wanted to go to Wien.
So after 9 wonderfull days we had to take leave of each other. Before leaving he gave me some money and I promissed him that one day I would return the favour.

Thank you a lot dear Andrei for this wonderful trip!
I'm looking forward to our next adventure on 2 wheels!

Thank you very much to Mircea Florescu, the generous sponsor who gave me the great bike Kona Sutra for this tour!

Michel Sardou - dedicatie speciala distinsei doamne Mihaela Rusu - cu multe multumiri si recunostiinta

Tour of Europe by bike 2011 - Part 12 - The French Alps (SAVOIA)

By turning down the hotel room offer, I have no choice but to keep peddaling through pitch black darkness, on an deserted road, hey... but I have headlights. Passing by some highway, allof a sudden from above, right, I see the shadow of something that looked like imposant peaks,but in fact, after further scrutiny, it turns out they were just huge bolders; so I end up in dream land behind a rock. How wonderful it was. Next morning I realize I slept right next to a "No tresspassing" sign! What a rush!


I have just a short ride along the Arc creek valley, and I enter the wonderful village of St.Jean de Maurienne. Once here, I start exploring around a bit and in a cathedral, I find the tomb of the founder of Savoia: the count of Maurienne, Humbert aux Blanches Mains.


In the same cathedral I discover an interesting bas-relief, depicting scenes from the glorious history of Savoia.


Once inside, I discover the emblem of this legendary state.


While admiring this sanctuary, I hear sublime organ music and I discover the tomb of a bishop or saint of some sort. Again, I fall into a profound spiritual state.


But soon, the moment comes to attack new alpine passes. After a quick snack, I start the ascent towards Col du Mollard. The ride is very picturesques and the traffic is very light. This road leads towards charming resorts.


After a series of spectacular switchbacks, with an average gradient of 9-10%, I enter the alpine village of Albiez le Jeune.


I continue climbing towards Albiez Montrond resort while the view becomes more and more spectacular, slowly filling me with excitement.


The weather is perfect, still, and after a few more Km of climbing, I take my lunch break in a superb alpine meadow.


Not much left on this climb and I arrive at Col du Mollard where I meet a Belgian family having a picnic. We start chatting and the gentleman is snapping my picture for me.


What follows is a few km of descent, through traditional comunities and villages while the view remains as picuresque.


After St. Jean d'Arves I take one more break at a tourist spot, one more dip in some creek, followed by some sun bathing while I ingurgitate some sweets.


A few more Km, and I arrive at the tourist village of St. Sorlin d'Arves. Here I find a very interesting church, which displayed all kind of wires attached to it. While being puzzled by this peculiar display, I snap a picture of some cyclist with a grizzle goatee.


While leaving this village, I tackle a difficult ascent, full of switchbacks. with great enthusiasm, I find out that the La Mauriene area boasts one of the greatest cycling areas in the world: there are 46 routes, totaling a 1,600 Km length and a 43,000 m vertical drop, a real cyclist's paradise!


The weather is perfect for cycling and taking pictures. The luck is on my side again. I meet a lot of cyclists. Whoops, there goes the cyclist with the grizzle goatee again, I pass him, even though I am carrying 20 more Kg. He does not seem to be in the greatest of forms, or maybe I was in the shape of my life. I am in my element and I am on cloud nine!


After I climb a few more Kilometers, I stop and eat a can a tuna, followed by a cake, while admiring the mountains surrounding me. It is so beautiful!


While continuing my peddaling, I have the chance to spot a marmot, whose den was right by the road. I get close to within a few meters and I manage to snap a picture.


As I gain altitude, the view becomes more and more impressive.


As I stomp on the peddals the village of St. Sorlin d'Arves remains behind.


At around 2000m I come across a small glaciar lake.


Soon, I was to arrive at Col de la Croix de Fer (2067 m). Through here, the Tour de France passed not less than 15 times, starting with the year 1947. This pass remains one of the most beautiful in the Alps.


Once again, I meet a lot of cyclists. Once inside the chalet, a lady of Afican origin treats me to a delicious fruit tart and a juice. What follows is more chatting with an older French cyclist, over a glass of wine, while being caressed by the beneficial "rayons du soleil" and surrounded by a magnificient view. After all said and done I snap a pic of the famous "Croix de Fer"


What follows is a dangerous descent, of about 10 Km, into the village of St. Collomban des Villards, where I had the misshap 4 years ago. Philip Deeker, an English amateur cyclist, of many accomplisments, abandoned me because I could not get ready for the 7 AM start after a night spent in the wet tent. Ahh.. resting, eating, drinking some juice, combing through sad old memories...and comes a fellow, a little bit tipsy, poking me with questions. He is a local shepperd,inviting me to sleep at his place, hmmm people here are either very generous or very perverted! I snap another shot of this establishment, for future reference, of this place, a place that motivated me and saddened me, once upon a time...


After a chat and a beer with the shepperd, I continue on, finishing the 12 Km descent back to the Arc creek valley. Here I unpack and strech out my sleeping bag, in a mowed down pasture or field of some sort, close to the village of La Chambre. I had a great rest here, falling asleep under the full moon and gazing at the stars.


--- Copyright 2011 by Claudiu Moga ---
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