Monday July 16, 2007

 

DATE: Monday July 16, 2007
ROUTE: Radimna Village, Romania to Portile de Fier. Romania
DISTANCE: 83 miles
TIME: 6h 55m
CEG: 2193’
WEATHER: HOT! Low 100s

This is day I’d been anticipating since I signed up for the tour 6 months ago. I was not disappointed. We spent almost the entire day on the beautiful Danube River. The gorge is very much like the Columbia River Gorge separating Oregon and Washington. The steeper more dramatic side is in Serbia (former Yugoslavia) so I was very happy to stay at the water’s edge in Romania rather than climbing the bluffs we could see just across the river. The Danube flows through the gorge formed by the west end of the Transylvanian Alps and the smaller mountain range that connects with the Balkan Mountains to the south. This formation is known as the “Iron Gates” of the Danube..

We only climbed out of the gorge two times. Both ascents were in the afternoon during the high heat of the day. None of us has acclimated to this sudden change in temperature and I, for one, suffered. But it’s good to know that the sun block I have been slathering on religiously finally has some work to do.

As far as road conditions go, today we had everything. Good road, bad road, really bad road, good gravel, bad gravel and really bad gravel.. We’re all improving with our bicycle handling skills. Almost every bridge was under construction due to the devastating floods of the last two years. The traffic was light until the final 9 miles where we had to eke out our space amongst trucks, busses, and cars.

Our hotel is very comfortable with air conditioning and a view of the river. I only wish there were more than one computer for all the guests --- no wi-fi or ethernet for the 4 bloggers.

Thanks to Nancy for sharing her pictures.

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