Drumul Dunarii (Danube Road Randonneur)
 | |
|
15 August 2026 to 19
August 2026
Distance: 1,303
kilometers
Allotted time: 108
hours 35 minutes
Time taken: 96 hours 49
minutes
Start time: 15 August
2026, 9:00 am
Finish time: 19 August 2026 9:49 am
Altitude Profile:
Drumul Dunarii:
Drumul Dunarii or
Danube Road Randonneur is a 1,300 kilometre cycling event organized in Romania
by the Romania Randonneurs. This is a multi-country route as 1,176 kilometres of the route is in Romania and 174 kilometres in Serbia, with most of the course following the roads along the Romanian
and Serbian banks of the Danube River. It is held every 4 years with the first
edition being held in 2018, the 2026 edition being the 3rd edition of this
ride. The third edition had 47 registrations from 9 countries, with 41 starting the ride.
Why Drumul Dunarii:
- The 4th ride in Europe to complete the Europe Challenge Randonnee
- Experience eastern Europe
- Cost effective as compared to western Europe
- Relatively easier option as compared to the rides in Spain, Germany or Sweden
Equipment and Set Up:
Bike: Trek Emonda ALR 5
Frameset: Aluminium
Group set: Shimano 105
11 speed (50-34 at the front and 11-32 cassette at the rear)
Tires: Continental GP
5000 (the same set which had been used for Paris Brest Paris 2023, 1001 Miglia
Green Reverse 2024 and London Edinburgh London 2025). I was attempting to
complete the Europe Challenge Randonnee on the same set of tires. 4,200
kilometres done on this tire prior to the event.
Lights: Cateye Volt 300
and Cateye AMPP 400 for the front and Niterider Cherrybomb for the rear (in
steady mode, not blinking). Used the Cateye 300 through the ride and the Cateye
AMPP 400 was only back up.
Top Tube Bag: Phone, 2
cateye batteries, 20,000 mah power bank, few candies and chamois cream container
Saddle Bag: Apidura
adventure saddle bag – Tool kit, Lube, Tire levers, puncture kit, DHB Aeron
Winter Jacket, Karrimor full finger gloves, clear lens, pump and 2 spare tubes
*The items which were
kept in the drop bag instead of carrying on the bike were - brake pads, spare tubes, rain
jacket (at the 595 km and 900 km drop bag).
Navigation:
Device: Garmin Edge 520
+
The 1,300-kilometer
route was divided into 5 stages. There were 16 control points including the
start and finish; the organizers had shared the 1,303-kilometer route and also 5
files for the route which had been split into 5 stages.
-
Full route - 1303 kilometre – start to finish
-
Stage 1 – 294 kilometres – till Dabuleni (drop bag 1)
-
Stage 2 – 235 kilometres – till Drobeta (drop bag 2)
-
Stage 3 – 372 kilometres – return to Drobeta (drob bag
3)
-
Stage 4 – 235 kilometres – till Dabuleni (drop bag 4)
-
Stage 5 – 167 kilometres - till Videle
I uploaded the stage
wise route on the Garmin unit so that the file which is loaded is not heavy.
Back-up navigation:
I loaded the full route
on the BikeGpx app on the phone and used the app when there was a mismatch in
the route between the stage wise routes and the full route.
The stage wise route
had been routed through some internal routes while the full route stayed on the
main road. I went into the internal routes on a couple of occasions before
realizing that the full route did not have these detours.
Weather update:
The weather plays a key
role in influencing the difficulty of the route. The distance and elevation are
fixed; however, the weather is not constant and can enhance the difficulty
level of the course. The weather forecast for the ride was tail winds on the
onward route and head winds on the return, temperature during the day about
30-35OC, and the night time temperature in the 12 – 16oC
range. No rain was forecast during the event.
Total Time:
The total time for the
ride was 108 hours 35 minutes.
The start time was 9:00
am 15 August 2026 and I had to complete the ride by 9:35 pm 19 August 2026. It
was a common start for all the riders.
Plan:
The required speed for
this ride was 12kmph, which meant that the required mileage for 24 hours was
288 kilometres. The plan was to stay ahead of the required rate and build a
buffer so as to factor in the head wind on the return. Also, considering that
the preparation was not sufficient for the ride and not arriving early on
Romanian shores I planned to sleep on all nights of the ride and not go with
the “no sleep till 600kms” strategy.
Complete 400 kilometres
in the first 24 hours, followed by 300 kilometres every 24 hours would be a
finish in 96 hours. Was comfortable with this as this would mean sufficient
rest during the ride and also provide enough buffer for contingencies, if any.
Sleep break: I planned
to take my first sleep break at Dabuleni (km 294) and then at Bazias (km 685)
on the onward journey. Expectation was that I would reach the location by 11 pm
and 2am respectively, get a couple of hours of sleep before restarting. On the
return leg, the plan was to sleep for a few hours at Maglavit (not at the
control) and another round of sleep on the road if required.
Drop Bag Locations:
Two drop bag locations
were provided by the organisers which were accessible on the onward and return
route making this 4 drop bag accesses:
1. Dabuleni – km 294 and
km 1,136
2. Drobeta Turnu Severin –
km 529 and km 901
I had kept a 20,000 mah
power bank, 2 spare tubes, a set of brake pads in addition to two sets of fresh
clothes and the rain jacket in the Drobeta drop bag location. At the Dabuleni
drop bag it was the same items, except I did not have the rain jacket and
20,000 mah power bank.
With the restriction on
carrying power banks during air travel, I did not want to risk carrying more
than 2 power banks as I have the spare batteries for the Cat-eye front lights
and also the batteries for the cherry bomb rear lights.
Gratitude:
1. Chandana – thank you
for all the support with training and the emotional support. Although we
couldn’t travel together this time, thank you for being there all the time and
helping me temper the expectation for this ride; for constantly motivating me
through the ride and keeping me calm during and after the ride. Also, thank you for looking up on the options available for Mohan Sir when the visa issue was confirmed
2. Tanushree – my support
system back home; keeping me motivated and emotionally perked up
3. Chaitra – The homemade
ready to eat Pongal and gojju avalakki were delicious and an instant hit with
all of us.
4. Mohan Subramanyam –
guiding and mentoring my cycling journey; being there for the ride and
providing inputs on the visa process and also tips for the ride which always is
an additional meaningful tip for the specific ride. Also, for the coconut
holighe which we had kept in the drop bag at Drobeta Turnu Severin.
5. Rajkumar Khot and
Pritish Abraham – thank you for tracking my progress
6. Rajkumar Khot – thank
you for the cycle bag which made the travel with the cycle convenient and also
made packing the bike an easy task rather than being tedious
7. Sagar Bharadwaj, Dhananajay S and Rajkumar Khot - thank you for joining on the practice rides, the company helped me to come out and ride
8. RR Cycles (Madivala) –
For sourcing parts (handle bar hoods) and getting the cycle ready to work well
during the ride. Credit for the ride goes largely to the bike for holding up
during the ride, cannot express how grateful I am to Rakesh and his staff for
taking care of the bike
9. Garmin – navigation
worked well. This ride is not possible without a navigation device; the unit
worked well during this ride.
10. Mircea Zainea – Thank
you for hosting a dinner before the ride and introducing us to Romanian
cuisine; importantly for providing us information on the ride and preparing us
for what we could expect on the ride. The tip on the dogs was a surprise, at
the same time prepared us for them on the ride.
11. Bangalore Randonneurs - the community has always supported, motivated and been the back bone from which we derive the strenght to attempt and complete these rides
12. Ride Partners:
 |
| Standing L to R: Me, Siddalinga Swamy, ES Reddy, Mohan Sir, Prasad Sadashiva, Dhananajaya S PC: Mohan Sir |
- Siddalinga Swamy/Prasad Sadashiva – It was a pleasure riding the route along with the two of you. It had been a very long time since I had ridden the entirety of the route with the two of you. Small gaps here and there, but for the most part we were together. The ride might not have been as comfortable as it became if you guys were not around to share the load.
- ES Reddy – It was nice to ride together until the 900 km mark. More the merrier, it was a pleasure watching you ride with relative ease. Unfortunate that you had the visa issue at the 900km mark and couldn’t continue riding with us, it would have been good to have the four of us finish together.
- Mohan Sir/Dhananjay Sir - although we didn't ride together, we were constantly keeping a tab on where you guys were on the route
13 .Organiser/Volunteers
Last but not the least, no ride is possible without the organizers and the volunteers. Thanks to the organizing team for putting together this event. Thanks to Iulian for drawing up the route which took us along the Danube River on the Romanian side and also on the Serbian side making this a multi-country ride. Shout-out to Carolin and her team of volunteers for taking such good care of us on the route, they were very hospitable and welcomed us at the controls. The food at the start and finish controls was fantastic, giving us the best of the Romanian cuisine, it felt like a family gathering rather than a randonneuring event.
Challenges at Drumul Dunarii 2026
On paper this ride should be an easy one. 1,300 kilometres with the required mileage per day being 300 kilometres on flat terrain was not going to be a test. A section of 372 kilometres had about 2,000 metres of elevation gain and the remaining 900 kilometres had about 2,500 metres of elevation gain, this was a flat route and fair to say the elevation and distance were not worrying. However, the following factors influenced the ease with which the ride could be done:
1. Nutrition
The sources for nutrition along the route were super markets and restaurants, however, the challenge was that the super markets were not open 24 hours, making the night ride difficult and restaurants were few and far apart on this route. Miss out on one and it would be a long while before we came across another one. Took us 48 hours to get a hang of what works for us in terms of food from the super markets and at the restaurants, the ride was in the tough category till the food part was figured out.
2. Dogs
This was a surprise, one that we had not expected. As cyclists, we have had our run-ins with dogs, whether in India or the pack of dogs in Thailand, however, haven’t had a run-in with a dog in the Western Europe rides. We were surprised when Mircea told us that Romania is a shepherding community and would have dogs and that they are aggressive. We were told to take either a sprint approach, whistle/shout at the dog loudly or slow down and calm the dog, if things take a turn for the worse then get the bike in between the dog and you for safety.
3. Variation in temperature:
With a month remaining for the event, when I checked the weather forecast, the high was 35oC and the nights were with a low of about 18 oC. Showers were expected in the hills. The weather forecast was not worrying and I did think that the cold weather gear would not be required as the temperature was manageable. However, when we checked the weather forecast after reaching Romania, the forecast had changed to no rains during the event, high of 35oC (feels like 38oC) and the night temperature had dipped to a low of 12oC. The variation of over 20oC would be a challenge and hydrating well would be key on this ride.
Practice Rides
 |
| Anchetty and Basavanabetta |
2026 has been a consistent year as I had been able to average 1,000 kilometres every month (mainly indoor). I had not done any long rides and outdoor rides had been minimal. I had tried to get things going in February and March, however, April and May were almost negligible as far as riding outdoors was concerned. The confidence to do long rides was not at the required levels. I was able to start on practice rides for this event at the end of June.
When time is short and
I have to get some sort of rhythm to ride, the location that I turn
to are the roads around Anchetty and Basavanbetta. Something about roads around
these places which makes the suffering enjoyable. I did about 1,000 kms over the
course of a month and added another ride to Jawadhu hills and got almost 1,500
kms of riding done before the event. Some confidence restored and I was confident
that I could ride the 1,303-kilometer ride at Romania. Foundation had been set
to be able to do a steady ride and not a fast one.
Challenges on Indian and Romanian Shores:
1. Change of phone
Three days before travel, my Samsung phone stopped working, spent a day trying to get this working, however, the phone was working intermittently, I had to get a new one. I was convinced by friends and family that I could get an iPhone and that the transition would be easy from Android to iPhone. I bought an iPhone and regretted this decision over the next 24 hours; the transition was anything but seamless and it was a painful 24 hours that I spent to transfer data and get used to the basic functions of the phone.
2. Challenges with Prepaid sim/Roaming
The sim operators in Romania are Orange and Vodafone. Vodafone is cheaper than Orange, however, their coverage is not as extensive as Orange, so the recommendation was to get an Orange Sim. The airport at Bucharest (Henri Coanda Airport) is a small one; sim cards are available at the Relay stores, they promote Vodafone sims, however if we probe, they do sell the Orange sims also, is what was written on the internet. I had decided to buy an Orange sim, if not available at the airport then I would activate international roaming (IR) for a day and get to Bucharest town and get the Orange Sim was the plan.
Things panned out very differently after landing. The Relay store had only Vodafone sim, I had to activate the Airtel IR, however, I needed to connect to the Internet for this, which was working only till the baggage area, having exited this area I could not activate the IR. I was stuck as I could not book a cab to get to Bucharest. I went back to the Relay store to get the Vodafone sim, they sell the sim, but do not assist in activating it, they did not have the pin to open the Sim tray. I went around asking people if they have a pin to open the Sim tray, finally had to use a stapler pin to open the sim tray, activated the Sim and was able to book a cab and make my way to the Airbnb at Bucharest.
3. Bent rear disc rotor due to bad handling of the bike by the airport staff
Bike assembly is one of the first tasks that I do as soon as I get to the place of stay. However, it was dinner time and I opted to do this after returning from dinner. The set up was easy, pump up the tires, fix the handle bar and the seat post. Rotate the wheel to check if its seated properly. Front wheel rotating and no rub, however, there was a sound in the rear wheel. The disc rotor was rubbing against the brake caliper. Closer inspection to see that the rotor was bent. First step, check for bike shops close by, they would open by 10 am the next day. I had time till the next day to try and fix this; worst case I could take it to a bike shop.
There were a wrench and a screw at the Airbnb, I spent an hour at night and then again, a couple of hours in the early morning hours to try to bend the rotor enough to stop the rubbing. It was frustrating, but managed to stop the rubbing, there was a visible wobble in the rotor, however, it was not rubbing the calipers. The braking was uneven, but manageable to ride.
4. Lax packing
Packing was kept for the last minute and as a result I forgot to pack the buffs in the ride kit. It’s a small piece of apparel, but I missed this a lot as the nights were cold and having to ride without them to cover the face at night was difficult for me, as my cold resistance is very poor.
5. Serbian Dinars
We had to ride 174 kilometres in Serbia. Serbia is not part of Schengen and their currency is the Serbian Dinar. A currency which is not widely available. We had to cross over to Serbia and ride along the Danube River on the Serbian side. This involved a ferry crossing of the Danube River. The ferry had to be paid in Serbian Dinar and also, we required currency for food and refreshments on the Serbian side. Not all exchange shops stocked Serbian Dinar, Swamy found one and exchanged USD for Serbian dinars. As these are border towns, we got to know that they accept Romanian Leu also, only after getting to the ferry and the restaurant.
Registration
 |
| India at Videle |
The registration for the ride was scheduled on the day of the ride. The ride start was scheduled at 9:00 am; we had to report for registration at 6:00 am. We had checked into a hotel close to the start location on the previous night; roughly half a kilometre from the start; we rode with our drop bags to the start.
There was a small queue
for the bike check. Lights checked, reflective vest, brakes checked, helmet
checked, given the go ahead. Waiver form was signed and I was given the rider
pack which had the water bottle, event jersey (pre-ordered), some nutrition
stuff like magnesium and a gel and the rider number. I fixed the rider number
and put the event jersey into the drop bag before handing over the drop bag.
The quality of the drop bags was not up to the mark, ended up tearing mine
while loading the drop bag. Didn’t have another one, so had to make do with the
one which was given.
 |
| Mayor of Videle welcoming us, dance performace by kids, sumptuous breakfast, ride briefing by Iulian and Carolin |
A beautiful breakfast
spread was laid out for us; it was a sumptuous and nutritious spread. It was a
cold morning, the temperature dipping to 14oC, the nervousness
making it feel a lot colder. I looked for areas with sunlight to get warm.
There was a traditional Romanian welcome by the mayor of Videle in which we
were given Bread and salt. A beautiful dance performance by kids prior to the
start.
We were given a ride briefing by Iulian Ene, the ride representative who was also riding and the volunteer team headed by Carolin was going to be on the road. We were told to hydrate well as it was expected to be hot and heat stroke probability is high. The ride briefing was done in Romanian and in English.
 |
| Black and red helmet and crossed arms seems to be a BR trait |
Ride Tracking:
The manual brevet card was given which had to be stamped at the manned controls. In addition, we had to install the BrevetCard app developed by Hungary Randonneurs. The event was registered on the app and it had a description of the event and listed the controls and the distance to the control and also had the photo of the control and the map location of the control.
We had to check in at the controls using the app. At the start point we were told that the check in would happen automatically, we only had to open the app in a 5 km radius of the control. In case we were unable to check in at a control, we could do it manually by using the map link. This required us to keep the data on when checking in so that the app is updated, also the location tracking should not be disabled for the app to work.
Ride Report:
Videle to Dabuleni
Distance: 294 kilometres
Difficulty: *
 |
| Bangalore Randonneurs just before the start |
At 9:00 am the ride was flagged off; we were escorted out of town by a Police car for about 8 kilometres of the route. It was a nice lead out and the pace kicked off as soon as the car pulled away. It was a relatively strong cross wind which was going to change to a head wind in a few kilometres as we would be riding East for the next 50 odd kilometres after taking a turn. Get through to CP1 and then a further 50 kilometres of cross wind and we would be in tail wind territory after we get to CP2.
As soon as the escort car pulled aside, few fast riders disappeared; Swamy and I got into a 15-20 rider group. Riding with the group would help make a quick start and help with creating a buffer. The road surface was not smooth; there were a few potholes to watch out for and road humps. Sitting in the pack, it made it easy to familiarise with the cycling etiquette on Romanian roads. I was getting hit by wasps frequently; enquired with Swamy and he said he was not hit by any. Traffic was minimal, we had our introduction to Romanian dogs, mostly behind the fence, however, one came through the gate and was in front of my wheel, I braked and fortunately the riders behind were able to take evasive action in time. The ride continued at a brisk pace, a section of road was particularly bad here with huge pot holes (around km 50-55), the road improved after this I was told that the pot-holed section was done and the roads were good going ahead.
 |
| Riding in the peloton |
I noticed a wasp sitting on me, fell to the back of the group to swat it away. Swamy was chatting with a Romanian rider and was told that food was available at CP 2. With a minimal break at CP1, we decided that we could ride till CP2 and wait for Prasad while we had food. Swamy fell behind here while trying to eat a banana (the banana’s are difficult to peel on the go and requires the use of both hands), I continued with the group. The control was not far off, decided to continue riding and that I will wait at the control. With just a few kilometres remaining to the control, I felt a sting on my shoulder, which was getting sharper, checked and realized that it was a wasp and it had gotten under the jersey. Unzipped the jersey on the go to let the fellow out and continued the ride.
Reached CP1 – Comana (Vlad the Impaler Statue) at 11:40 am, the group had stopped to check-in, which was to open the Brevet Card app. Mircea was reminding everyone to ensure that they have checked in. Swamy hadn’t reached, clicked a few photos; Mircea was telling riders to stock up on water and anything else required at the Village store which was opposite the CP.
 |
| CP 1 - Comana |
I went in to get water, didn’t pick up any food as we were told food will be available at CP2. Just 50 kilometres to the CP, can manage that with a few candies; fill up water and head out. It was a crowded village store, a long queue for billing. While I stood in the queue, Swamy reached, he bought minimal snacks.
Swamy’s brevet card app was not working, while at the CP, it struck him that it’s possible that it’s not working since he had switched off the ‘location’ on his device. He turned it on and voila, his check-in was done. ES Reddy from Hyrderabad had also reached the CP, he rode ahead while we waited for Prasad. Swamy checked on Prasad, he was a few minutes away. Prasad joined, checked in and we started from CP 1.
Swamy and Prasad were slow to start; having rested a little, I was quicker off the blocks. I joined a group of 3 riders (Romanian and Italian, I guess). It was nice passing through the forest and then onto agricultural fields. Unending sun flower and corn fields. It was windy and I got the first feeler of the head wind when I got stuck in a gust. I made note that this is what it was forecasted to be on the way back.
It was getting hot, there was no shade, a little rolling terrain, the legs were beginning to tire as the food reserves began to dip. We hit the highway as we got close to Giurgiu town. The traffic increased; however the surface was better, it was a quick entry into town. The CP location had been changed the day before the ride; we had been given the information of the new CP which was very close to the previous one. However, on reaching the previous CP’s location, it was not easy finding the new CP’s location. We took some time to figure out the location, finally spotted a few cyclists and headed to the CP.
 |
| CP 2 - Giurgiu |
Volunteers welcomed us to the CP. It was 1:42 pm Checked in on the app and took the brevet card inside to get the seal affixed. The card was sealed and I was given a banana, coca cola and an energy bar. This was the food which was being referred to, while we had pictured something similar to what was given at the start point, not as expansive but fewer items. Reddy was at the control. Swamy and Prasad came a few minutes later. A quick check in and completion of control point formalities and we started from the control.
Mohan Sir and Dhananjay
Sir were riding together and were just over an hour behind us. They were doing
well and were on course to build a sufficient buffer.
Giurgiu is one of two big cities on this route. We had to get lunch here; if we left the city, then food options would be limited. We found a place which serves Shawarma within a kilometre of the control. Reddy and I had the chicken shawarma, while Swamy and Prasad being vegetarians, had to make do with the bread and salad with Mayonnaise for the roll, essentially, the Shawarma roll without meat in it. Add a nice serving of ice cream and we were set to ride to the next control which was over 100 kilometres away.
In a short while I was
riding alone, Swamy and Prasad had fallen behind. Reddy had opted to start a
little late from the lunch place. It was very hot, open roads with no shade was
the norm. I had loaded the stage wise map, which took me into the interior
roads in town. This repeated again when I reached another town, the roads in
town were gravel roads, just as I was getting back onto the main road, saw
another rider riding on the main road. I realised that the full route did not
have these deviations, the full route was loaded on BikeGpx app, going forward
in case of deviations, I would have to check if the full route had these
deviations too.
The road surface had
become very rough. Riding was difficult, progress had slowed, I was close to
Zimnicea town. I received a call from Swamy; he asked if I was stopping for a
hydration break? If I was, then I could buy the water and juice for Prasad and
him. I said I would check at Zimnicea town which was close by. Received another
call in a few minutes, that Reddy had joined them. I passed by Ziminicea town
looking for a place to stop, passed by the first bar which had a nice place to
sit and rode ahead expecting more ahead. However, the town had a deserted look
and a dearth of shops. Hard lesson learnt, the place which I had passed was the
place to stop, found another shop ahead with limited supply.
The shop owner did not
know English; communication was through hand signals and google translate.
Bought water and juice and waited for the trio to arrive. A further break when
they came and replenished their energy reserves. The road was lined with black
plum trees and they were in abundance on the trees. It was very tempting to
try them, however, not wanting to risk any stomach issues, opted to keep the
fruit tasting for the last day of the ride.
 |
| Break time at Zimnicea |
Just over 50 kilometres to the control when we started from Zimnicea. The road surface continued to be rough, Swamy, Prasad and Reddy were behind while I rode ahead. Evening hours had started, the temperature had dipped, giving a respite from the heat. Ride at a fair click and I could reach around 8pm, which would be perfect for a dinner break.
I was tracking the mile
stones which were giving the distance to Turnu Magurele which was the town in
which the next CP was located. Seeing the 10 kilometres to town milestone, was
an energy booster. Kicked on and soon enough I was in the outskirts of the
town. Opened the app to check the location of the CP, I did not want to go
off-route. Being under 5 kilometres to the CP, the Brevet Card app checked me
in to the CP. Followed the red dot on the map and the route on Garmin and
reached the CP at 7:38 pm.
It is a war memorial
which commemorates the victory of the Romanians over the Ottoman empire. I took
the pic at the CP, just as I looked around for a place to eat, Swamy called and
said they are 5 kilometres from the CP and requested that I order dinner for
them.
 |
| CP 3 - Turnu Magurele |
It was a place which serves shawarma, again, and I had a tough time asking for the roll with just vegetables and no meat in it. Reddy reached before Swamy and Prasad. Finally, with a lot of difficulty, the order was placed, two big (mare) rolls with only vegetables (legumes) and two small (mica) chicken (pui) rolls. I was borderline dehydrated; while Swamy and Prasad ate their rolls, I was able to eat only half of the roll, the body was asking for liquids. We got ourselves juice, however, this was a strawberry crush, meaning it was mostly ice and very little fluid. We did not have the time to sit there and sip the juice, neither did it occur that we could have filled the water bottles with it. Sipped as much of the juice as possible and dumped the rest, packed the remaining half of the roll and tucked into the jersey pocket; wore the reflective vest, changed to clear lens on the goggles, lights switched on and started towards Dabuleni which was the first drop bag point, 66 kilometres to go.
Checked on Mohan Sir and Danny Sir’s progress, 2 hours behind us and making steady progress.
The light was fading as
we started from Turnu Magurele, a short section of narrow and pot holed road to
negotiate before we got onto the main road. A beautiful crescent moon was in
the sky. The sun had set and the sky was lit beautifully. We had been riding
adjacent to the river from Giurgiu (km 115), we were now at km 230 but we still
hadn’t got a clear view of the Danube River. We reached a bridge over the river
with a view of the crescent moon; I was excited that it was the first proper
sighting of the Danube River only to be told by Reddy that it is the Olt River.
Spent some time trying to click some pics, then some time trying to capture the
moon while riding, not fruitful, phone packed and it was time to focus and get
to the control and get some sleep.
 |
| Sun set time - enroute Dabuleni |
It got dark soon enough and then came the unpredictability with the dogs. We could not see the dogs in the dark, couple of occasions when they took us by surprise as we spotted them only when they were close to us. Nothing untoward had happened, they were more like preparing us for what was to come ahead. The night sky was star lit; it had been sometime since I had seen such a clear star lit sky. Flat straight roads and a beautiful night sky and temperatures not having dipped too much, it was perfect riding conditions.
Reddy and I had ridden
ahead while Swamy and Prasad were a few minutes behind. I had planned to get a
couple of hours of sleep and change of clothes at Dabuleni. Swamy and Prasad
were planning to continue without stopping. Reddy did suggest that we could
just change clothes and start, I told him that I would sleep and that he should
continue. Reddy spoke about his mountaineering back ground while riding, I did
not realise the distance come down while listening to him. We reached Dabuleni
at 11:50pm and pulled into the control. Carolin was burning the midnight oil
waiting for riders and welcomed us. Dabuleni is known for water melons, the
control point was well stocked with water melon. I parked next to a tree,
against my better judgement; in my rush to get changed and get as much sleep as
possible, I did not pay attention to where I was parking the cycle.
Swamy and Prasad also
reached and said that they would also sleep here for a couple of hours before
resuming. We decided to start at 3:00 am from the Control. A hot shower and a
fresh set of clothes, kept the power bank for charge and then headed to the
sports hall to sleep. Comfortable air beds had been laid out in the hall, I
asked for a wake up at 2:30 am; I must have slept as soon as I hit the air bed
around 12:30 am.
I was woken up at 2:30
am. No grogginess when I woke up, stepped out and first thing to hit me was
that it was cold. Had a couple of watermelon slices and contemplated having a
coca cola before deciding against it. 4 of us assembled and lined up our cycles
for a pic with Eugene who was also starting from the control. Eugene had to
come back to the control as he had a puncture just after leaving the control.
When we lined up, I saw that my rear tire was flat.
I asked all the riders
to go ahead and that I would swap the tube and start. Swamy and Prasad insisted
that they would wait. Reddy also waited while Eugene started as he had
accommodation further up the road.
The good part of the
puncture was that it had happened at the control, I could swap the tube and
also replenish the tube stock from the drop bag. I struggled with unhooking the
tire bead, more to do with the 6 eyes fixed on me and the guilt that the others
are being delayed because of me. I told them again that they should continue
but they insisted on staying. Meanwhile Carolin switched on the light for us to
have better visibility. Once the tube was out, checked where the puncture was
and then inspected the same location on the tire to see a very small stone
which was embedded in a small cut in the tire. The stone dropped out, quickly
took out a tube, installed it and re-seated the tire. While Swamy and Prasad
pumped the tire, I went back to the drop bag to keep the punctured tube and get
a spare one.
The bike was ready and
so were we, it was 3:30am when we started from the control. Lost about 30
minutes due to the puncture.
Dabuleni to Drobeta
Turnu Severin
Distance:
234 kilometres
Cumulative
Distance: 528 kilometres
Difficulty: *
Cold morning hours. I was missing the buff and would have loved to cover my face a bit, however, not having carried it, it was an opportunity to try and face the cold and get used to it. In a short while we came across Eugene who was fixing a flat, he had another one after starting from the control. Swamy enquired and he said he was fine and was almost done with fixing it. We continued the ride, Swamy and Prasad wanted to stop for coffee. The hunt for an open shop started; unfortunately, we did not come across any. 5 minutes passed, became 15, then 30, 45 minutes and still no functional shop spotted. We passed by towns which were still asleep. The coffee look-out soon became look-out for a super market so that we can get something to eat also.
It was 6:30 am when we
saw that a shop in a petrol bunk was open. Reddy and I went in, while Reddy got
coffee, I got chips; called Swamy and got to know that they had found a coffee
vending machine a kilometre behind and were helped by a couple of Romanian
riders with 1 Leu notes to feed the vending machine. The 4 of us re-grouped at
the petrol bunk, we were joined by Eugene. Swamy gave him a tube as he did not
have any spares remaining. We spent a few more minutes at the petrol bunk,
Eugene rode ahead. 350 kilometres done.
While we were at the
petrol bunk, Mohan Sir and Danny Sir had reached the control at Dabuleni. They
still had a buffer and were doing well.
 |
| Early morning hours PC: Prasad Sadashiva |
We passed by a few towns all lined with fruit trees (apples, plums and cherries). The fallen fruits showed that the fruits were in abundance. The sun flower fields continued. The sun flowers were nearing their harvest, it was not the vibrant yellow flowers, more drooping flowers and not very pleasing to the eyes and gave a very dry/withering feel to the place.
The temperature began
to increase with the Sun now out and a clear sky. We had a mild tail wind,
however, a turn from Poiana Mare changed this again to a cross wind and then a
steady unending 1% gradient climb. This was only about 3 kilometres in length,
however, given the flat terrain that we had had, this 3-kilometre stretch
seemed to take forever. It had a bumpy surface to make things just a tad
irritating.
We reached Maglavit and
stopped at a super market (Profi) to get water, juice and a little bit to eat. A little
walking around and we were out with banana, chips, ice cream, juice. In a short
while the five Filipino riders came by and then the Bulgarian rider and stopped for refreshments.
It was getting very hot;
I took off the base layer and leg warmers. A lot of sunscreen was applied and
it was time to start the ride. It was 10:00 am when we started, 400 kilometres
done and 25 hours had lapsed.
The road which passes
through Maglavit is a highway. We got our first feeler of the trucks which ply
on these highways. They are huge and usually a convoy of 3-4 trucks pass at a
time. We had to be careful as there was barely any shoulder, with most of the
shoulder being occupied by rubble and rough surfaces, we were being passed
close by the trucks when there was oncoming traffic. We had to ride about 10
kilometres on this stretch before we turned onto quieter roads. Swamy and I
tried to ride in formation on this stretch and make short work of the stretch.
When we got off the highway we tried to cajole Prasad into riding in formation,
so that we could work with each other and bring the distance down quickly. Reddy
fell behind a little here while the three of us were working on the Indian
train. The fun lasted about 10 kms by which time we were done with riding in
formation and fell back to riding steadily.
 |
| Horse drawn carts were a common sighting on the route |
Prasad, said that my rear tire seemed to be sitting low. I dismissed it as I had loaded the saddle bag with the cold weather jacket, base layer and leg warmers, so probably more weight at the rear making it sit low. In a few more kilometres, the tire was not rolling as well as it was, there was a little drag, I stopped to check and confirmed that I had lost air. It was a slow puncture. I was little anxious at this point as it was the rear tire again.
It was in a town, so
went under a fruit tree for shade and started the tube replacement process
again. On getting the tube out, I saw that I had used a repaired tube and the
puncture patch that I had used had not sealed the puncture well. Reddy was very
sleepy and said that he would ride ahead to the control which was about 15
kilometres ahead, said that he would wait for us there. Replaced with a new
tube this time, pinched the tire all around to seat the tube, Prasad and Swamy
again pumped the tire while I packed the punctured tube. Tire was pumped we
were ready to roll.
20 metres in; the bike
was wobbly. Stopped and checked; the tire was not seated properly. Found
another tree and released the air and repeated the process of pinching the tire
to seat the tube and pumped air again. The tire was pumped slowly this time
with a couple of checks to see that it was seated properly. We were ready to
get going again.
It was close to lunch
time; the control was 15 kilometres away. We came across a super market about 6
kilometres before the control. We stopped to complete toilet duties expecting
the control to be packed as about 15 riders passed us while we were fixing the
puncture. We should have had food here; however, we opted to go to the control
expecting food to be available at the control.
 |
| Church just before the control at Izvoarele |
15 minutes later we were at the control. It was 1:16 pm, perfect time for lunch. Stefan came out and welcomed us and told us to carry the bikes inside as there are thorny seeds on the ground. There were biscuits, coca cola, watermelon and banana at the control. We got the brevet card signed, check into the app and started quickly from the control so that we could get food on the road.
We started from the
control and were wondering how far we would have to ride before we could get
something to eat. A Romanian rider was ahead, I rode up to him and enquired if
there were any restaurants ahead, he said our best option would be a village store/super
market at the next town, restaurant was available only at the city where the
next CP is located which was 70 kilometres ahead. Fortunately, the next town
was not too far off and I stopped at the store and waited for Swamy, Prasad and
Reddy to come, which was in the next minute. We discussed and decided that we
can’t risk riding further without eating, headed in to the store and did the
usual juice, chips and ice cream routine. In addition, I suggested that we
should get a loaf of bread, a mayonnaise bottle and make a sandwich and eat.
Swamy agreed and picked up a bottle of Harissa sauce also for some spice content. We
requested the store manager if we could eat inside the store as it was very hot
outside, she replied that we could go to the park opposite the store as there
was shade there. We took our bikes and parked in the park and sat down on the
grass to eat. Swamy prepared the sandwiches and passed it around to us. Our
energy stores replenished it was time to start. About 60 kilometres to the
control, we expected to reach around 5:30 pm.
Mild rolling terrain,
the Danube River next to us with a nice view of the river. I guess it was one
of the few times when I was riding at the back of the group. Prasad had just
gone ahead when I had told him that it’s a rough surface. Just as Prasad went
past the curve, I saw that the front tire was sitting low. Stopped and
confirmed that it was a flat again. I did not call out, Swamy and Prasad were
planning to sleep at the control, I did not want to eat into their sleep time,
I would catch up at the drop bag control.
I looked around, no
shade, this was going to have to be done in the heat. Truth be told, I had a
sinking feeling at this point, another puncture, I was having a flash back to
the Twin Hills ride in December 2017 when I had 6 punctures on the same ride.
Got about doing this as quickly and carefully as possible as there was a lot of
dry grass and thorny seeds around. The puncture was a result of one these seeds
either at the Control or at the park when we parked for lunch. It was a
relatively quick tube swap; I was out of tubes and had to make it to the next
control which was a drop bag control to get the two tubes which I had kept in
the drop bag.
I restarted; the slight
drowsiness which was there just before the puncture had disappeared. I had a
target to chase in front of me, it was a relatively quicker ride than what I
had been doing before the lunch stop. In a short while I got a call from Swamy
enquiring about my whereabouts and if I had stopped. I updated about the
puncture and told him not to wait. He said if they stop for a hydration break then
he would intimate me.
I passed by Crivina and
was back on the highway. The trucks were back, close passes by the trucks, it
was intimidating and then I saw two riders exiting from the petrol bunk. I
could see that it was Prasad and Swamy exiting from a quick water fill stop. I
caught up with them just as we entered Drobeta Turnu Severin. Reddy had ridden
ahead.
Drobeta Turnu Severin is a
big city and has wide roads and a cycle lane. We had to made frequent stops at
traffic signals which were just 100-200 metres apart. I was tired and hungry, a
little drowsy. Swamy and Prasad were going to get changed and sleep for about
an hour at the control. Although I did not initially plan to sleep here, I
opted to get some sleep here before resuming.
We reached the control
at 5:52 pm. It was very hot and we did not fancy parking our cycles in the sun.
We were allowed to take the cycles inside the sports hall. My priority here was
to get the new tubes from the drop bag, a round of chamois cream application
and some sleep. I guess it was 6:30 pm when I told the volunteer that I needed
a wake up at 6:50 pm. 20 minutes passed in a jiffy; hardly felt like any sleep.
I limbered up and saw
that Prasad and Swamy were getting ready. We packed the bags, got ready to
start from the control. Swamy and Prasad wanted to lube their chains, they told
me to start, find a restaurant inside the city and to order food for them so that
we can save some time.
I started from the
control in search of a restaurant at 7:26 pm.
Drobeta Turnu Severin
to Drobeta Turnu Severin
Distance:
373 kilometres
Cumulative
Distance: 901 kilometres
Difficulty: **
This next segment of
373 kilometres is the difficult and beautiful section of this ride; this
segment has the maximum climbing on this route and also includes two border
crossings, one when we exit Romania and enter Serbia and another where we exit
Serbia and enter Romania. In addition, it has a ferry crossing, a time zone
change and also a change in currency. Some unique challenges would be faced in this
segment making this a section of the route that I looked forward to riding with
some excitement.
A nice cycle lane to
exit the control and a peaceful exit from the city. I came across a couple of
restaurants; however, it was still 7:30 pm, it was a tad early for dinner. If
we had dinner now, then we would need another stop late in the night to get
through the night ride. Orsova was 25 kilometres ahead, would take just over an
hour to reach and the timing for dinner would be ideal to get through the
night.
Why did we have to ride
through the night?
At km 738 we had a
ferry crossing which is in Serbia. The ferry timing was at 7:30 am, 10:30am,
1:30 pm, 4:30 pm and 7:30 pm. The time gap between 2 ferries was 3 hours and
the risk of missing the last ferry of the day was that we would have to wait 12
hours for the next ferry and in turn risk being late at the controls. We
weren’t in any danger of missing the last ferry, however we wanted to make the
10:30 am ferry. We had to ride 200 kilometres to get to the Ferry, roughly 12
-14 hours as we would stop to sleep for an hour or two at night.
Serbian time is one
hour behind Romanian time, which meant we had an additional hour to make the
ferry. However, we might need this in case the border crossing into Serbia took
some time.
Having decided to ride
to Orsova for dinner. I exited the city of Drobeta. The next 20 kilometres has
to be the riskiest road that I have ridden on till date. It was a highway; the
trucks were back, in addition there was
a steady stream of cars also plying on the road. The vehicles were driving at
very high speeds. The road has a shoulder which would disappear on every bridge
and tunnel. There were plenty of bridges in this section.
 |
| Risky road - no shoulder on the bridge and in the tunnels with extremely high speed traffic |
It was mostly downhill gradient, the bike rolls quickly, on the first couple of bridges I swung into the road when the shoulder ended, the speeding trucks had to brake and when I did get off the bridge, there would be a convoy of vehicles which would zip past. It was sunset time, the sun was sinking behind the mountains, it was a gorgeous view, however, I could barely appreciate the view and was worried about making it past this section safely. After a couple of tries, with the vehicles passing very close, I decided to wait for a clear section of road before entering the bridge or tunnel. Once on the bridge or tunnel, I could only hope that another convoy of vehicles would not come by when I was on the bridge or in the tunnel. I felt the decision to not have dinner at Drobeta was vindicated as I was able to do this risky section in day light.
I was relieved when I
got off this road; I entered Orsova and saw the restaurant which another rider
had posted on the group and had recommended the soup. I had not yet tasted the
famous Romanian soups and was keen on trying it. First task after starting from
the control, which was to get to a restaurant was done. Next was the difficult
part, check if there are any vegetarian options at the restaurant for Swamy and
Prasad. They had a vegetarian pizza and nothing else. I informed Swamy and told
him that a pizza is available. They were about 10 minutes behind; I sent the
location and waited for them.
 |
| Dinner at Orsova PC: Prasad Sadashiva |
Swamy’s first reaction on reaching was that it will take very long at this restaurant and that we should go ahead; he was concerned about making the ferry, I did feel that some additional time spent here was worth it as it would be our first meal at a restaurant since the start. We had eaten at super markets and fast-food joints; this would be our opportunity to get a good meal. Swamy ordered the vegetarian pizza for Prasad and him, Reddy had the chicken soup and I had the pork soup. Reddy and I shared a plate of chicken fry also. A few juices were also gulped in. Swamy and Prasad ordered a Burger with no meat as a take away. The soup was delicious and it was filling. The vegetarian pizza took a long time to come. Some time was lost in waiting; however, it was a good meal. Our tummies were taken care of; it was time to get started. Cold weather gear was worn; the base layer, leg warmers and the cold weather jacket was on.
Orsova town was very
vibrant even at night. Restaurants lined the Danube banks; there was a town
festival in progress and the locals were heading to celebrate. We exited town which was not an easy exit, a short and steep climb lay ahead of us. We did
the climb at our respective pace and regrouped at the top. The cold weather
jacket made me feel very stuffy on the climb and it was not needed, however, I
was apprehensive about the cold on the descents and continued to wear it. Rolling
terrain followed and then another lesser gradient climb. We were now in the
mountains and going from one to another, however, it was dark and we couldn’t
experience the beauty of the landscape other than the lights which lit the
banks of the Danube.
 |
| Sculpture of Decebalus |
Prior to the ride, the location that I had marked as a must see was the rock cut sculpture of Decebalus. The punctures had cost me the opportunity of seeing this in day light. We reached this location at around 11:00 pm. It was lit, so we did get to see the sculpture, however, the aura of the sculpture was not the same under lights.
110 kms
remaining to the control and a further 45 kms to the ferry from the control; it
was just past 11:00pm, I was getting drowsy, it was rolling terrain with
intermittent climbs. The climbs were easy gradient, no steep climbs. Another
star lit sky, Swamy did show the stars and said that the section with a lot of
stars and a light haze all around was the Milky Way. Fascinating that we could
see it with the naked eye.
Swamy and Prasad fell
behind a bit over the course of the next hour. Reddy and I took the opportunity
to take a break and get a cat nap in. 5 minutes later the duo had reached and
we said that we would look for a place to sleep at the next town. Downhill
gradient, did not take long to get to the outskirts of the next town, however,
the route did not go through town, it was a bypass and the only place that was
available was a bus stop. The bus stop had space for 2 people, Swamy and Prasad
decided to sleep on the ground. In hind sight, sleeping on the ground was
probably better than on the narrow bus stop bench. I woke up in an hour as as the body had
started to ache on the narrow bench and resumed the
ride.
Having stopped the body
had cooled, it felt colder than it was. It was flat and winding terrain, no
immediate warm up of the body. Probably, pushing harder here might have got us
to the 7:30 am ferry, however, as the target was 10:30 am, the riding was
steady with not much emphasis on speed. We got through a further 50 kilomteres
of riding, I was drowsy again, I said that I would like to sleep, Swamy said
that they would eat the burger which they had packed. We saw a super market
which was closed and stopped outside, I hit the floor and tried to sleep, Reddy
found a bench, meanwhile Swamy and Prasad unpacked their burgers. Turns out,
the restaurant had packed meat burgers, Prasad didn’t eat, he fed a nearby dog,
Swamy got rid of the meat and ate the burger. I got a short and good sleep here
as I did not realise any of the food drama; I was woken up by Swamy when they
were ready to start, I was not done with sleep, I asked them to ride ahead and
that I would catch up. Reddy also opted to stay back. However, I was not able
to sleep after they started, spent 5 minutes trying to sleep, however, after no
sleep, I woke Reddy and said that we should start.
We caught up with Swamy
and Prasad, and went ahead a little and stopped again. This time to switch the
batteries of Reddy’s lights. Back on the bike and we sped ahead. It was getting
close to day break, we couldn’t see the lights of Swamy and Prasad, we stopped
at town to wait for them. The stop turned to a quick power nap, however, when
we woke, Swamy and Prasad had not yet arrived, we figured that they had stopped
to sleep again. The day had broken; we decided to ride to a shop and get
something to eat/drink. Few kilometres ahead, there was a petrol bunk with a super
market. Reddy got coffee and I got chips. Swamy and Prasad came by shortly,
they had stopped for a sleep break, they told us to go ahead and get to the
ferry as it looked like we were cutting it close.
 |
| Enroute Bazias |
We still had to get to the next control and it was sun rise time as well. We passed by a gorgeous section of road beside the Danube River, a few photo opportunities slowing us down. By the time we got back on the bike, Swamy and Prasad sped past us. They reached the control ahead of us. It was 7:38 am. 685 kilometres done in under 47 hours.
Adrian and Laura
welcomed us at the control. Adrian assured that we had sufficient time and that
we would make the 10:30 am ferry, only 45 kilometres to the ferry. They said
there was food available as well, pork for the non-vegetarians and music to the
ears of Swamy and Prasad, vegetarian food was also available. They added their
ready to eats to the food at the control; it was a good breakfast for them. We
took our time here, did not hurry out of the control as we had planned. The
time difference of 1 hour was working in our favour; we had an additional hour
as we were going to Serbia which is in a different time zone. The road
condition coming into the control was good, mentally we expected the same ahead
and riding the 45 kilometres would be easy.
When we started form
the control it was 8:16 am. Our first target was to get to the border control
which was 30 kilometres away. The surprise was that the road condition was
rough, the initial kilometers were slow and bumpy. When the road improved, I
rode ahead. The road had changed to narrow, rolling terrain. It was a different
landscape as it was hilly and the sunflower fields were missing.
 |
| Different landscape after the CP at Bazias |
In a short while we exited the narrow roads and made it to the main road. Another short ride and we could see the border control. I checked in to the brevet card app and headed to the border control. The clock was already reset to Serbian time.
As we had picked up sim
cards in Romania, the data would work only in Romania. We would be in data
silence until we exited Serbia which meant the next 174 kilometres was going to
be done with no data and reliance on the Garmin route. Staying in a group had
reduced the load mentally.
Swamy and Prasad
reached in a few minutes. I got my passport ready; while Reddy’s exit was being
processed, we still had 25 kilometres remaining to get to the Ferry and it was
9:05 am, we were cutting it close with the ferry timing. Reddy was done and he
sat down just outside the gate, mine was done next, fingerprints and photo
taken and cleared to exit Romania. While this was being done, I did not realise
that it was the Romanian border check post and thought that I had been granted
entry to Serbia.
I told Reddy that we had to get going as we had to get to the Ferry, we still had 25 kilometres to ride. I started and realised that I was riding on a road which was enclosed by two high walls and barbed wire on top of the wall. It dawned on me that I had only exited Romania and not yet entered Serbia. The Serbian gate was about a kilometre from the Romanian gate. I got there; the officer was not in his seat. A few anxious seconds spent looking around as I was the only one at the gate. The officer came, took my passport, a few questions about why I’m entering Serbia, what is my occupation, then sealed the passport and opened the gate. Reddy was next, then Prasad and Swamy.
I did not wait, I rode ahead so that I
could buy the ferry tickets, in case the others would be able to reach a few
minutes after 10:30am, a way of getting their tickets and booking their slots
on the ferry. A half a kilometre climb from the gate was followed by 3-4
kilometres of straight fast descent. The descent assured me that I would make
it in time for the ferry. The road was lined with fruit fields, apples and
black plums. I reached Bela Crkva, the town is known for its lakes. There were
lakes on either side of the road, unfortunately I couldn’t stop here for a
photo op.
 |
| Welcome to Serbia |
It had become very hot and windy by 10:00 am Serbian time. I followed the map and reached the end of the route; there was no Ferry ticket office. Enquired with the nearby restaurant staff and they said that I had to go back 250 metres and take a left turn, I followed and made the turn, just as Reddy reached the turn, rode to the Ferry start point. There were other riders here, that was confirmation that we were at the right location. I asked for the ticket office, was told that we would have to buy the ticket on the ferry.
10:05 am when I reached
the Ferry point. Swamy and Prasad came by in 5 minutes. Sufficient time in
hand, however, it was very hot and getting hotter. The ferry arrived, it was
already loaded with vehicles from the other side, the de-boarding and boarding
process took almost half an hour. We were on board, paid the Serbian Dinar which
we had carried. It was RSD 750 per person with cycle, a total of RSD 3,000 for
the 4 of us. They did accept Romanian currency also; we could have paid in
RON’s here, however, having been able to get Serbian Dinar’s, the currency
exchange rate did not have to be worried about here.
 |
| On board the Ferry |
There was a
congregation of Romanian, Italian, Bulgarian, Filipino and Indian riders on the
ferry. The plan was to enjoy the ferry ride, take in the views of the Danube
from the ferry, however, it was so hot I was looking for shade so that I don’t
tire out getting cooked in the Sun. It was very hot, I didn’t remove the base
layer and the leg warmer, which I was using as a protection from the sun. The
ferry crossing was short, under 15 minutes, the de-boarding was also quick.
The restaurant at the
banks was not open as yet. It was an odd time, about an hour before the
restaurants would be ready to serve food. The name of the location where we
de-boarded was the Fortress, the next control where we had to check-in was the
Fortress. We did not have data; however, we opened the app so that the check-in
time would get registered, upload would happen when we got access to data. The
check-in was not happening. A steep climb from the banks, we stopped again
thinking probably the check-in might happen on high ground. Reddy was on
international roaming, he shared the hotspot and we connected through his
phone, still the same, not getting checked-in. I saw that the distance to the
control point on the app was 35 kilometres away. That’s when I realised that
the control is ahead and the name of the control is the same the Fortress. The
check-in till now had been done, and as we were connected to data, the check-in
was updated as well.
4 hungry and dehydrated
guys continued the ride in search of food. It was windy and hot, as we made
slow progress, a Serbian rider (not part of the Drumul Dunarii ride) came along
and patted on the back and a thumbs up sign with a glowing smile egging us to
ride. He overtook us and stopped ahead to take a pic with us. We introduced
ourselves and the route that we were riding, he was happy to see cyclists and
told us that there is a town ahead and told us to stop there for a drink.
 |
| Danube river - view from Serbia |
Just a couple of kilometres ahead there was a store with a host of refrigerators lined up with various juices. The Filipino and Australian riders were there too. The Serbian gentleman insisted on getting us water and paid for it. We bought chips and juice and headed out. Nice shade under a tree and we settled down to have a rest and drink. The Serbian gentleman bid us goodbye.
While we drank juice,
Reddy caught up on a little sleep. It was an odd time, around 11:00 am Serbian
Time, it was 12:00 pm Romanian time, close to lunch time, we weren’t sure of
the food scene ahead, thought it would be better to have some food here, so
resorted to the bread, cheese and mayonnaise snack here. Reddy wasn’t keen on
eating bread mayonnaise sandwich and wanted to have a proper meal at the
restaurant.
We started from the
super market; we were riding adjacent to the Danube River. Many people were out
by the lake on the other side of the river enjoying water activities. It was beautiful;
however, it was super-hot by now. Another conflict between the full route and
the stage route, we followed Reddy who had the full route. Flat roads, heat are
a killer combination to induce sleep. I was very sleepy; dozing on the wheel.
We stopped to take a sleep break, a 20-minute sleep break. When I woke up,
there was no grogginess or drowsiness, we restarted.
In a short while we passed by a town with restaurants, the Filipino riders had stopped here, I looked back at Swamy and checked if we should stop for lunch, he said we should ride to the control. The Fortress which was the control was visible across the river. It looked like a tourist attraction, as such I expected that there would be eateries close to it.
 |
| CP 10 - Fortress, Golubac PC: ES Reddy |
We rode on a cycle track and soon reached Golubac city. It had a beach vibes, with people sun bathing by the river bank. There were eateries, I rode past them as the target was to get to the control. The Fortress looked like it was within the city limits. In a couple of kilometres I saw the board which indicated that we had exited the city. This set the alarm bells off; I had doubts if we would get any food ahead. Continued to ride and reached the Fortress and checked in to the app. Worryingly, there were no eateries here. Swamy and Prasad reached in a while, Reddy and I were done with our photo op, we checked and Swamy and Prasad said that we should ride on and we might get something to eat enroute.
From here, the search for an eatery began. With every passing kilometre it became clear that we had to accept that we wouldn’t get anything soon and we would be riding for a further couple of hours at least. On the positive side, we were riding beside the mountain, this gave us respite from the wrath of the Sun. My Garmin charge had dropped to under 20%; I was unable to charge it due to the heat. The respite from the heat brought down the temp of the device and I could charge it in time before it drained out.
 |
| beautiful roads and tunnels in Serbia |
The road surface was very good; the gradient was flat to a slight downhill. There was traffic, some of it would pass close by, in general, if there was no oncoming traffic, they wouldn’t pass close to us and leave sufficient gap. Reddy and I had ridden ahead, we saw a couple of Romanian riders stopped at a house, they beckoned to us, Reddy and I went there and were told that we could fill up our water bottles here. Swamy and Prasad missed this stop as it was a few metres off the route. While Reddy wanted to rest, I filled up the water bottle and continued the ride. In a few kilometres, Swamy and Prasad were sitting by the road side, energy levels were down; I gave them water which they readily gulped down; Reddy came in a couple of minutes and we restarted the ride. However, I was now left with only half a bottle of water and did not know when I would be able to re-fill the water stock.
 |
| dehydrated and exhausted |
The view was gorgeous, the Danube River beside us, we were at an elevation, there were numerous tunnels in this section; boards showing the count of the tunnel and the distance of each tunnel were put up before entering the tunnel. The tunnels were not lit, the first few were not very long, ride a little and the light from the exit was sufficient to light up the tunnel, however, a couple of longer ones, I was caught out without switching on the light. The tunnels were not lit, a stop mid-tunnel to switch on the rear lights. The length of the tunnel made this feel more like a cave rather than a tunnel. Being a two-lane road, I could only hope to enter and exit a tunnel without any traffic coming up from behind me. There were about 20 tunnels on the Serbian side.
 |
| Church tower at Donji Milanovac |
Hunger pangs were biting; a short and relatively steep climb (about 3 kilometres) came up. It felt like 8%-10%, however the device showed 6% on most occasions. The climb was followed by a relatively long descent. A town was visible in the distance, Reddy said that we would get food at the town, I was not sure if the town was on the Serbian side of the river. A few more kilometres to confirm that it was indeed on the Serbian side. What a relief, Reddy and I reached town and stopped at a restaurant. I checked on the menu, there was vegetarian food available, Pizza again, called Swamy and informed that we had stopped at a restaurant. Swamy and Prasad came by in 10 minutes. It was a long food break; a lot of limonada’s (lemonade) were gulped down, I had veal soup (the soup the previous night at Orsova and this one at Donji Milanovac were excellent). Later shared a chicken dish with Reddy.
 |
| Gorgeous sunset |
It was sunset time when we started from the restaurant. Reflective vest was worn, and it was go time. It was a beautiful sunset, the sky was beautifully lit; I made a couple of stops to click pics, then rode on while enjoying the view. Passed a few tunnels and the count of the tunnel remaining was now under 5, the border was getting closer, there was a 4 kilometre climb yet to come. I passed by a beautiful gorge; it was the last bit of day light that I had before the night sky went dark. When I reached the climb, a beautiful orange moon in the sky, and the lights of a town in the mountain, intermittently broken by the darkness of a tunnel and then on exit there was the Sculpture of Decebalus being lit in lights of different hues. I didn’t expect to see the rock sculpture on the return route; it was a pleasant surprise. The climb was relatively easy, just enjoyed the views of the Orsova valley, the hotels lit with glittering lights, then the view of the Romanian side of the road. A long descent followed the climb. I had caught up with the Filipino rider group, their bright lights lit up the descent for me. They zipped past after the descent.
 |
| Moonlight vs man-made light, Sculpture of Decebalus on the return |
The Iron dome (border control road) was visible from a distance. The bridge which was lit was a sight. Under 5 kilometres to the Border control, mentally, it was time to prepare for the road from the Romanian control to the control at Drobeta, the highway which would have a lot of traffic with minimal shoulder space. I kept looking across the river and trying to gauge the traffic. Reddy caught up with me; we reached the border control together.
 |
| The Iron Dome - bridge across the Danube which links Romania and Serbia |
The Filipino riders were already at the Serbian Border Control, about 5-6 cars were behind them. I stopped behind the cars, while Reddy rode ahead and joined the Filipino riders. It was 10:56 pm when I reached the Serbian border control; about 10 minutes of waiting and the Serbian exit was done. Passport stamped and it was good bye Serbia, which had given beautiful views of the lakes and the Danube River.
I had to ride about a
kilometer on the bridge with walls and barbed wire fencing. A long line of
trucks waited for their clearance, cars and cycles were in a different lane, so
I could ride ahead. I reached and saw that Reddy was getting his Romanian entry
processed and the Filipino riders were behind him.
It was 11:10 pm when I
reached the Romanian border control. Reddy was on a single-entry Schengen visa.
He gave his finger prints and photo taken and was cleared to enter. That was
quick I thought, then the first Filipino rider followed. A little delay, then
the Border Control officer came out asking “who is the other Indian guy?”. The
Filipino riders pointed in my direction. She came and showed Reddy’s passport
copy and enquired if he was part of the same team, I replied in the affirmative
at which point I was told that I had to call him and tell him to come back to
the Border Control immediately. She went back and started processing the
Filipino riders’ entries and would come out every 2 minutes and tell me to call
Reddy back. I tried calling, being at the Romanian border control, the Romanian
Sim was working, I had data and called Reddy multiple times on Whatsapp; Reddy
didn’t answer. I tried the regular call, however, being on a Romanian sim and
Reddy being on International Roaming, the call didn’t go through. I dropped a
message assuming that Reddy didn’t hear the ring on the busy highway and would
probably check his messages when he reached the control.
The Filipino riders’
processing took a while, some delays in the photo as the Filipino rider was
wearing a head band and the system was unable to process the photo. When my
turn came up, the superior officer was there, she enquired about the ride and
where we are staying. I used the hard copy of the cue sheet and showed the
location where we are staying for the night. I enquired as to what the issue
was so that I could sensitise Reddy about the gravity of the situation if he
called back or when I meet him, at which point they said it was a photo and
fingerprint mismatch. While the enquiry was being done, Swamy and Prasad
reached the Border Control and behind them were the Romanian riders’ group with
Iulian Ene also part of it. The authorities discussed with them on the
whereabouts of Reddy. My entry to Romania was processed (being on
a multiple entry visa) and I was cleared to go ahead. I waited for Swamy and
Prasad to complete their formalities and then got onto the highway.
Fortunately for us, the
traffic density was not high. We were able to make it safely to Drobeta,
minimal close passes by vehicles; I was worried about this section of the road,
making it to the control was a relief. It was 12:21 am when we reached the
control. First order of business was to get the brevet card stamped. Next was
to check on Reddy, by then the Filipino’s had already done the same. Reddy was
in the shower. The Romanian group came by and Mircea informed us that Reddy doesn’t
have to go to the border control; the police would come to the control to get
him. Just as he said it, the cop car pulled into the sports hall.
Reddy was asked by the
cops to accompany them with his documents. He went with the cops; at this point
we knew that Mohan Sir being on a single-entry visa would also have an issue
with his entry and would not be allowed to come back into Romania. However, we
did expect the Reddy situation to get resolved within a couple of hours. We
decided to sleep and take a call on this when we woke up. We didn’t inform
Mohan Sir about the situation as yet, as we thought that there would be no
cause for panic if the situation resolved by the time we woke up.
Took a shower, change
of clothes and got a sleep of 2 hours here. We woke up at 3:30 am; checked if
Reddy was back, he wasn’t. This is when we knew the situation would take time
to resolve. We apprised Dhananjay Sir about the situation and told that they
should continue riding towards the border and we would update them about
Reddy’s situation when we get any information. We tried to contact Reddy,
however, there was no response from his end. Trying to call him was futile, as
we were on Romanian sim’s.
Drobeta Turnu Severin
to Dabuleni
Distance:
234 kilometres
Cumulative
Distance: 1,136 kilometres
Difficulty: *
The three of us were
ready and started from the control at 4:35 am. It wasn’t day break as yet; we
started from the control with an uneasy feeling with worries about Reddy and
also about the uncertainty with Mohan Sir’s position. They were about 70 kms
from the border, roughly 4 hours from reaching the border.
We had to get past the
highway, another traffic section, about 6-8 kilometres before we turn to
quieter roads. Mohan Sir, had been told about the situation by Dhananjay Sir.
We exchanged a call to tell him about what had happened; he wanted to know what
options he had; we asked them to continue riding for the time being. Dhananjay
Sir was confident that having a US visa, they could use that to get clearance
to enter Romania.
I informed Chandana
about what had happened, she did the research on the options available which
allowed us to continue riding. We were off the highway, it was day break, it
was a relief to get off the highway, a beautiful sun rise for the day seemed to
lift the mood a bit. I was chatting with Swamy with Prasad a little behind, I
saw a couple of dogs barking at us. As we got closer, I decided to sprint, one
dog came chasing then changed his attention to Swamy, I backed off and relaxed
thinking that the dog was heading towards Swamy, however, the dog again changed
its direction and darted towards me. I was late to react, still tried to start
sprinting and outsprint it, I was shouting loudly at the dog, which I’m sure
gave a sense of panic since it was one of the closest that a dog has got while
chasing during my rides. For a split second there was a sense that the dog
would get the better of me. Fortunately, the dog gave me just enough time to
get up to speed, I managed to get away, meanwhile Swamy and Prasad took the
calm approach of slowing down and getting past the dogs. Fair to say I took the
brunt of the dog’s aggression. The chase got me warmed up and the cold morning
was not cold anymore.
It was rolling terrain,
passed by the location where I had fixed my last puncture. I was glad that I
hadn’t had anymore punctures after that.
 |
| CP12 - Crivina |
The control point was the town entrance board; we stopped and checked into the brevet card app. It was an opportunity to check back with Chandana; she chided me for not checking on this earlier and how I had missed out on this. The outlook was bleak; there was no way that Mohan Sir could continue the ride. He would not be allowed to enter into Romania, he could go to the Indian embassy in Belgrade and apply for a temporary visa to travel to Romania, however, the timeline to get this visa was not defined. His ride was effectively over at this point. It was at this point that we understood that it would not be easy for Reddy as well, he had already crossed into the country, however, realised that his entry to Romania was as good as an illegal entry and he was being held for this. We hoped for the best for Reddy and Mohan Sir, however, prepared for the worst.
We made a little
progress before getting on another call with Mohan Sir and Dhananjay Sir.
Dhananjay Sir being on International Roaming was able to call Reddy and speak
to him; Reddy informed that he was ok, was at an office near the control with
the Police and that paperwork was being done to process his entry to Romania.
We were relieved that he was ok, however, I did inform that Mohan Sir should
head to Belgrade and not risk trying to enter Romania since it would reflect as
an illegal entry to Romania and that he shouldn’t risk that considering his
future travels. However, given that paperwork was being done to allow Reddy into
the country, the others thought that it was possible that the same could be
done for Mohan Sir. I did point out that the situation was different, Reddy was
already in the country, while Mohan Sir was yet to cross. The consensus was
that we should wait for Reddy’s situation to resolve; as it was still evolving,
the decision was that they should continue riding towards the border.
We reached the super
market at Balta Verde where we had got ourselves bread and mayonnaise and made
it our lunch. This time it was breakfast here. The same approach, bread,
mayonnaise and tomato ketchup and juice and chips, groundnuts also. This was
breakfast. Same routine, went to the park opposite, sat on the bench this time
and had breakfast. Swamy again prepared the sandwich which he handed over,
chips, juice, all being eaten together. When we started from here it was 9:30am.
While we resumed the
ride, Chandana called, she suggested that since Dhananjay Sir was with Mohan
Sir, we could tell Mohan Sir not to cross the Serbian border and Dhananjay Sir
exit and inform the Romanian border security about the situation and check if
they would allow Mohan Sir to enter. Only if they confirmed that Mohan Sir
would be allowed to cross then Mohan Sir should exit Serbia. The same was
informed to Mohan Sir and Dhananjay Sir, they said that they would do the same.
By this time news had trickled in that Reddy was going to be released, which
gave us hope that probably Mohan Sir would get through.
The morning was getting hot and windy, the positive was that it was tail wind. A strong tail wind which was getting stronger by the hour. We received a call from Dhananjay Sir that he had exited Serbia and was at the Romanian border control and he had informed the Border Security about Mohan Sir and it looked like Mohan Sir could be allowed into Romania. Reddy was out and we received a message that he would be restarting the ride. Positive news, we were in a better space mentally, the tail wind was getting stronger, the tide seemed to be changing in our favour.
At the next rolling
terrain section, I went ahead, while Swamy and Prasad fell behind a bit. There
were rough and bumpy sections of road, some sections which I had remembered as
probably being uneasy on the return were chalked off. Joined the highway which
gets us to Maglavit, the last section of highway where we would have to worry
about traffic. The wind was extremely strong and was pushing the bike, in some
sections it was a cross wind which was pushing the bike off the road, needed to
stay focused. When I got onto the highway, it was a tail wind, however, with
the trucks passing in a convoy, the wind was being broken and creating
different wind speeds and sucking me towards the vehicles. Another section
where I was hoping that nothing untoward would occur.
I received a call from
Dhananjay Sir and he informed that Mohan Sir wouldn’t be allowed to cross into
Romania. When Reddy’s case was sighted, they informed that he was already in
the country, but Mohan Sir hadn’t entered as yet and wouldn’t be allowed to
enter as well. Meanwhile, Mohan Sir had already exited Serbia and was at the
Romanian border control as he had been informed that things look positive and
he would be allowed to enter. This was another uneasy situation, how can he go
back to Serbia now, would he get stuck in between. However, Dhananjay Sir,
informed that he could go back to Serbia, he would have to go to Belgrade and
fly out to India from there. Dhananjay Sir would continue riding; however, he
would be late to Drobeta and would not get access to the drop bag.
It was very
disappointing that Mohan Sir had to discontinue. The ride was under control and
he was on course to complete, having to stop due to a situation outside your
control was very hard.
 |
| CP 13 Maglavit |
Swamy and Prasad had gone ahead while I spoke to Dhananjay Sir on the phone. I caught up with them at the control at Maglavit, which was the Peter Lupu statue. Disappointed with Mohan Sir’s situation, however, happy we had made it past the highway (almost, just half a kilometre more of it). We went to the Super market (Profi) and got ourselves yoghurt, juice, banana and chips. I went in and got a burger and fries also, as this super market had it, Swamy and Prasad caught up on sleep while I ate the burger and fries. It became a multi-national lunch as the Australian riders and the Danish rider were here too.
It was 2:00 pm when we
started from here. The flat terrain and heat were getting to me. The pace was
very slow; I was dozing on the bike. A few saves just in time to stay on the
bike. At this point Swamy said that I should stop and take a sleep break. I
told him that I didn’t need a sleep break, we needed to increase the pace. He
told me to ride ahead and that we would meet at the control; I upped the pace
and in a short while was riding alone. I was able to use speed to wake up from
my slumber.
 |
| Sugarcane and corn fields |
Having moved away from the Danube River, it was sugar cane and corn fields. The grass tilting in the direction in which I was going was a good sight. This is the only ride that I’ve done with a tail wind on the onward and return journey. I did momentarily turn around and try to ride against the wind just to understand the kind of wind I was riding in. It was very difficult to ride, the speed dropped to under 15 kmph, it was a very strong wind, I was glad that I did not have to ride against the wind. Quickly turned around and rode towards Dabuleni.
With about 30
kilometres remaining to the control, I was beginning to hallucinate. I needed
to take a break; stopped at a Super Market (Profi). Having identified that this
Super Market sells chicken burger with fries, it was the preferred stop. Got
myself juice and a burger and sat down to eat. It was still very hot. I called
Swamy and enquired where they were and informed that I had stopped for
refreshments. However, he said that they were about 20 minutes behind. I wanted
to get a sleep break in, I said that I would ride ahead and get to the control
and sleep there, I wouldn’t wait at the Super Market.
Under 30 kilometres to get to the control. I fought off the drowsiness and managed to keep the hallucination under control. I entered Dabuleni town, it was 5:45 pm, with the planned stop at Dabuleni, we would start around dinner time, with no dinner at the control, I stopped at a Profi Super Market and got myself a parcel. 2 chicken burgers (1 before we start from the control and 1 more for a mid-night snack to get through the night), I bought a packet of grapes also, as I wanted to have something sweet.
I reached the control
at Dabuleni at 7:04pm. The volunteers welcomed me to the control. I was careful
about where I parked the cycle, not on any grass, roots, etc, a nice concerete
surface and leaning against the railings. I didn’t want another puncture
surprise when I woke up. I wanted to get everything ready to leave, so after
getting the brevet card sealed and the check-in to the brevet card app was
done, I went about changing the map on the garmin, filling up the water
bottles. I guess the volunteers thought I was leaving from the control and helped
to hasten things up. However, when everything was ready, I told them that I
wanted to sleep. I was shown the hall, which was empty, can take any bed that
you want was what I was told.
As it was still hot,
the sleeping area was a little stuffy. However, being borderline hallucinating,
I had to get some sleep in. I planned to wake up around 8:30 pm, however, did
not keep an alarm.
I woke up by 8:15 pm, earlier
than I planned. Swamy was asleep, Prasad was getting ready. I got ready, ate
the chicken burger, grapes, water melon and coca cola. Dinner was done,
meanwhile Swamy and Prasad were ready too. I asked them to go ahead and get
dinner from the Super Market and I would join them there.
Dabuleni to Videle
Distance:
167 kilometres
Cumulative
Distance: 1,303 kilometres
Difficulty: *
170 kilometres to the
finish. Over 24 hours of time remaining. We were comfortably placed on the time
front. The remaining distance was broken into two parts, 60 kilometres to the
next control and then 110 kilometres to the finish. We could have rested the
night here and started in the morning, however, I did not fancy riding in the
mid-day heat.
I was feeling very
fresh after the sleep break. It was flat terrain and the night was dark. I rode
ahead of Swamy and Prasad, lest I ride at a slower clip and get sleepy again.
It was not very cold; the reflective vest was sufficient along with the base
layer and leg warmers. The road was good, with the distant lights from the next
town as the marker, I pushed on towards the next control.
This was an easy
section; the distance was easy to count down to. Lights got closer and entered
the town of Corabia and then set my sights upon the next set of lights when I
exited town. The road surface was very smooth. When I got close to Turnu
Mugurele, I continued on straight as the road surface was very good, also,
there was a no-entry board on the road going straight. Got the off-route alert
and turned back, a little bit of pot-holed road followed and then I was at
Turnu Magurele.
 |
| CP 15 - Turnu Magurele PC: Nona |
I reached the Independence monument, the church at the circle was beautifully lit, a quick pic and then to the independence monument. I met Nona, she is Keith’s (Filipino rider) sister. She was waiting for the Filipino riders to arrive. She enquired if I had seen them, I hadn’t, she was tracking them and said they would reach in a few minutes. She helped with clicking the photo at the monument.
The Filipino riders
came by in a few minutes; they said that they had passed Swamy and Prasad on
the road and they would take over 30 minutes to reach. They enquired if I had
food and said they were heading to a hotel to rest for the night.
I sat down on the park
bench beside the monument and ate the chicken burger which I had packed and
waited for Swamy and Prasad to reach. They reached 40 minutes after I had
reached and ate their packed dinner. A chatty dinner with a discussion on how
we should travel back to Bucharest after we complete the ride.
We started from Turnu
Magurele at 1:40 am. A super market was open just as we were exiting town, we
stopped to fill up on water. Supplies taken care of, it was going to be a
comfortable night ride.
This section of the
route was new, as in, was not a repeat of the onward route. Would have been
good to have daylight to take in the views. It felt like we were on an elevated
plain, felt like we were riding next to a lake, however, on shining the lights,
we were riding next to fields. A little bit of a climb started, a straight
climb, just as I got to the top, Prasad was whistling and signaling to stop. I
saw lights ahead, it was a petrol bunk, rode till the bunk and stopped. Swamy
and Prasad came by and said that we should take a sleep break.
We parked the cycles
and realised that the petrol bunk was open, Prasad enquired if we could lie
down in the portico, the gentleman said we could sleep there. We decided on a 30-minute
sleep, I guess.
It was windy and the
cold wind cooled the body and soon I was struggling with the cold. I tried to
sleep but couldn’t. I took out the cold weather jacket and covered my torso,
didn’t help, then I wore the jacket, still getting colder. In the struggle to
get warm, 30 minutes had passed, Prasad was up and came to wake us up, however,
Swamy wanted to extend the break. Prasad enquired if we could sleep indoors,
the gentleman did not agree and said that we should stay outside.
Back on the floor, the
wind was making it difficult, my feet were cold. I took out the emergency
blanket from the saddle bag tried to wrap myself with it. However, the length
was not sufficient and some part of the body was exposed. Further, with it being
windy, it kept blowing up the blanket. This made it a noisy affair, it was not
helping with the sleep, further it was not allowing Swamy and Prasad to sleep
as well. When Prasad woke us up again, Swamy asked to extend again. We lay
down, and in 10 minutes, my body was beginning to ache from the cold, I woke up
Swamy and said that we had to get going.
We limbered up, Prasad
saw that there was a coffee machine inside the building. Swamy and Prasad drank
coffee, I sat on a chair, it was warm inside, I got the chance to take a nap on
the chair. Got about 10 minutes by which time Swamy and Prasad were done with
their coffee and were waiting for me to wake up.
We started from the
petrol bunk at 5:10 am; about 80 kilometres to the finish. The first few
kilometres were spent getting warm. I did tell Swamy that I was going to do a
few sprints to warm myself up. I sprinted and backed off when I saw that the
front light had to be replaced as the battery was low. Meanwhile Swamy and
Prasad, both sprinted ahead and went at a fast clip. I caught up with them when
they also backed off and waited for me.
It was day break and
with it came a dog chase. I needed this, I sprinted and the dog gave chase for
a long time. However, the sprint and the dog getting close had heated up the
body.
 |
| Plums and cherries |
Swamy gave an apple to munch on. It was like a starter. We were passing by villages and farm houses; the road was lined with plum and cherry trees. With under 40 kilometres to the finish, we could take the chance to taste the fruits. We stopped for plum and then there was cherry tasting. We found the red cherry to be sweet while the yellow cherry was tangy.
A little bit of rolling
was followed by flat roads with Sun flower and corn fields on either side of
the road. A little bit of photo op’s and then back on the saddle. We had taken
a little too long with the breaks, it was breakfast time and when we saw a
Super Market, we opted to stop and eat so that we didn’t have to push on empty stomachs
to the finish. Yoghurt, chips and ice cream for breakfast.
 |
| When we forget that we are in Europe - we ride on the left |
About 30 kilometres to the finish. It was a relaxed ride to the finish, found that the finish terrain was similar to the LEL 2022 finish, passing through villages with rolling terrain. Getting closer to Videle the road widened and the surface also was smoother.
We reached Videle and
rode towards the finish which was not the same as the start point. It was a
farm about a kilometre from the start point. The brevet card app was checked
into; the finish time was recorded. The ride was completed in 96 hours 49
minutes.
Finish Line
Arrangements
 |
| all smiles at the finish |
We received a warm
welcome from Carolin and her team of volunteers. The finish line formalities
were completed, brevet card stamped, a certificate with our time handed over. A
lot of photos clicked along with congratulation from a few other riders who were
at the finish.
We were then invited to
have a sumptuous freshly cooked breakfast. It was Sarmale (cabbage roll with
pork filling); Gogosi (two varieties – one plain to be had with cherry jam, and
another one was sugar coated) and salad. The vegetarians had a vegetarian
Sarmale. It was fantastic arrangements to start the ride with Romanian food and
to end the ride with Romanian food. The food was cooked at the location by the
volunteers making this extra special. Hay stacks were set-up for us to sit down
with small tables set up to keep the cutlery. A traditional cherry liquor was
served, I did not have this, don’t know if Swamy and Prasad enjoyed it.
We collected our drop
bags, bid our good byes to Carolin, Laura and their team. We rode to the train
station with back packs to catch the 12:40 pm train from Videle to Bucharest.
 |
| heading back to Bucharest PC: Prasad Sadashiva |
The Numbers:
1. Control to control data:
2. Daily Mileage
3. Food Story:
In India, we are used to rides where we stop at restaurants to get our food intake. The rides in Europe are different as we are largely dependent on the controls for the food intake. This ride was different in that we had to visit super markets for the majority of the food intake. It took a while to get used to this routine; also, with the chicken burger and fries being available at the Profi Super Market, this became my preferred stop. The chicken burger was a pocket sized one and was good to get through 50-60 kilometres at a time.
The ride was largely
done on super market food, we made 11 stops at super markets/petrol bunks
during the course of this ride, this averages to a stop every 120 kilometres at
a Super market.
Summary
The ride was tough for
the first 48 hours as we were trying to sort out the nutrition as to what works
for us and what doesn’t. This was followed by 24 hours during which the heat
peaked, a very different landscape to what we had ridden in the first 48 hours,
then the disappointment with the visa issues of the team mates. After, getting
through these, the fourth 24 hour was when it became an easy ride, the heat and
the food didn’t matter, it was about enjoying the ride.
We were very fortunate
to have got tail wind on the onward and return journey, giving us the
opportunity to take a lot of off saddle time. The break times on this ride were
very long, however, given that we could make up time when we were on the
saddle, we never got into the red as far as time was concerned.
The weather was hot
during the day and cold during the early morning hours. What I felt was unique
about the heat was that it was peaking between 6:00 pm to 7:00 pm, a time when
I would generally expect the heat to drop, here it seemed to extend. The heat
in Serbia felt at least a couple of degrees more than the heat in Romania, not
sure if riding near the river influenced this.
The road surface was
very good in Serbia as compared to Romania. However, we rode only 174
kilometres in Serbia as against 1,126 kilometres in Romania, not the ideal amount
of riding in Serbia to have an opinion on the roads in Serbia.
Only 41 riders started
the event, however, we kept meeting and sighting riders along the route; it
didn’t feel like an event with only 41 riders. A multi-cultural event, riders
from across the world, all united by the route, making this a beautiful
experience.
Sunflower fields, corn
fields, roads lined with plum, cherry and apple trees, rural Romania, flat
terrain, calm Danube River, beautiful views of the Danube, the Decebalus
sculpture and the highlight of this experience being the hospitality of the
volunteers on this ride.
Conclusion:
The 3rd edition of the Drumul
Dunarii is completed. The ride started with a pre-event dinner hosted by Mircea
(Romania Randonneur) and completed at the finish line with Romanian food cooked
by the volunteers. Given that the ride started and ended with food, choosing to
describe the ride like a three-course meal:
Starter - flat
terrain and introducing us to the Romanian country side
Main course – Drobeta to Drobeta, the section with beautiful views of the Danube, two border crossings, currency change, time zone change and a little climbing was like a main-course packed with a lot of flavour
Dessert – flat terrain
back to Videle where we savoured the fruits from the trees lining the route and
the crazy tail wind
Congratulations to all the riders who finished and hard luck to the ones who couldn’t make it. We could have had a 100% finish rate from India if not for the visa issue for Mohan Sir, a reminder that logistics plays a very important role and it’s not only about being ready to ride.
Comments
Post a Comment