Tuesday July 10, 2007

 

DATE: Tuesday July 10, 2007
ROUTE: Budapest/Godollo to Szolnok
DISTANCE: 76 miles
TIME: 5h 31m
CEG: 981’
WEATHER: rain, drizzle, rain, drizzle, and overcast

We got off to a late, late start. We loaded the bus with our baggage and gear and left Budapest at 8:15am. We arrived back at our previous hotel at about 9:00 to make our lunches, transfer people and luggage to the van, and fetch our bicycles. It was raining. While waiting for the extra bikes to get loaded on top of the van, we found Chinese decorations in the garbage --- left overs for the precious hotel owner. There are those who tried to attach a dragon to my fairing, but they were unsuccessful. The van was bursting at the seams with the sick, injured, and sick-of-riding-in-the-rain group. We finally departed Godollo at 10:30.

I much prefer to get an earlier start but today was supposedly a “Jane-Day” (a metric century, Jane's favorite) so I had little concern about when I would get to the hotel. We were also assured that we really would be riding on the flat Hungarian Plain after the first 6 miles. I figured I'd be in by 3:30pm. We started in rain. Barely 2 miles from the hotel David, Nancy, and I were stopped at our first of four train crossings. This put a large gap between us and the rest of the group. The rain continued steadily for 30 miles. It rained hard enough to wash the arrows from the streets. We had to rely on our map and on the kindness of Hungarian speaking strangers. We didn’t wander far astray, but it took a considerable amount of time to stop, refer to our maps, ask for assistance, and determine our direction. It was also hard to make good time picking your path through pot holes, cracked pavement, and road debris. Michele had to have 6 wheels trued in Budapest due to the terrible condition of some of the roads. And we have yet to ride in Romania and Bulgaria --- reported to have the worst roads in all Eastern Europe!

At 1:40 we stopped at a convenience store and ate our sandwiches. The rain stopped and it looked like it would hold off for the remainder of the day. I was sopping wet and looked forward to getting dry and getting warm. We tried to call Monica to let her know our position but our new Hungarian phone numbers would not work. The next 48 miles were flat, fast, and uneventful. About 20 miles from the hotel we started finding arrows again. The crew had gone out and put new ones on the last part of the route. Just as we entered the city, and just as my energy was flagging, who should appear but an angel in the form of Kathie --- greeting us with a smile and pointing us to the hotel. David, Nancy, and I were given a hearty welcome and a mug of beer.

I ended my day with a very relaxing massage. Now to bed.

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