Day 60

16/10/2011 – Day 60

Giurgiu to Olteniţa – 75km

The wedding party ran until 3am, then all the guests made their way to bed. The hotel has very thin walls and you could hear everything! When we woke up it was already 08:30 but the party guests were still asleep.

Looking out the window the weather was not reassuring; it was already windy and it had rained during the night. We talked about staying another night, but not in this hotel but decided to try and get at least halfway if we could.

The road out of Giurgiu was a dual carriageway with intermittent heavy traffic, fortunately there was a third lane for parking at the side of the road and this acts as a cycle lane as well.

Within seconds of setting off we knew it was going to be bad, the wind was full in the face and gale force. The gusts were strong enough to almost stop you dead in your tracks, most of the time we were in third or fourth gear. It was impossible to get off the small ring at any time during the morning. Second coffee came after just 8km and nearly 40 minutes of cycling.

Turning off the main road was a relief but only just, the wind made the hill climbs even more difficult. As we climbed back on top of the escarpment the wind picked up and made it difficult to stay on the road, it was pushing us to the verge all the time. Even on the down hills if we stopped pedalling the bikes stopped moving. Anywhere else on this trip there would have been plenty of cafés or bars to stop at, but not here in Romania.

As we cycled into the village of Pietrele we spotted a brand new hotel but the gates were chained closed. It had taken us two and a half hours to get here and we were both ready to quit, we found a shop/bar to buy some food and have a coffee and ask for directions to any accommodation in the area. The bad news, the nearest hotels were in Olteniţa.

Setting off again the wind had moved to the north which meant it was no longer full in the face most of the time, but it had taken on a chill that went straight to the bone. Within no time our hands and faces were frozen to the point of being numb. The only option was to push on and try to get to Olteniţa before it got dark.

Stopping again about 90 minutes later we found a dirty bar full of old men drinking, but the heating was on! Although the radiators were barely warm it was an improvement on being outside. A hot coffee was all we had as a beer would probably not be a good idea at this point. The good news was that there was just one stretch of road where the wind would now be in our faces; the bad news was that it was a steep climb!

There were only 17km left to do at this point and at our current average speed it would take us about 90 minutes from here. The last climb came as we left the village and was long and slow, but once at the top we turned the corner and the wind was finally coming from behind. Although it was not fully behind us it was enough to make the difference and we were no longer being pushed all over the road.

From here to Olteniţa we finally managed to get onto the second cog and started to make good time. On the two occasions when the wind was directly behind us we could actually stop pedalling and just coast for a while, which was the first time today.

The town stayed hidden behind trees right up until the last second, as we counted down the marker stones, getting closer and closer there was no sign of any buildings. Only after the 1km stone did the first roof top appear.

Following the guide we found a guest house that was listed only to discover that the address was wrong! But they told us where to find a new guest house that had just opened. Following the directions we found this one and booked in. for the first time since the weather turned cold we had heating, woo hoo!

The menu in the restaurant was just what we expected, they told us what they had and we ate it, nothing new here then. But as we ate and as I write the wind is blowing hard outside and we can hear things flying about. The weather forecast for tomorrow is for even stronger winds and rain, with a temperature of about 4. We will make a decision what to do in the morning.