European Turkey

After endless passport checks we crossed the border into Turkey. 2 more days hard cycling and then a week off! Not a bad motivation to keep going! My body was feeling the strain now though and waking up at 6 every morning to cycle all day was difficult. I needed a break. My bike was feeling the strain too. The once perfectly smooth drivetrain was loud, squeeky and needed a clean and chain replacement. The rear wheel also had a buckle from one of the potholes no doubt and needed to be straightened. I thought I could make it to Istanbul before fixing it though.

We crossed the border to a Muslim call to prayer. For some reason I expected European Turkey to be an extension of Eastern Europe with churches rather than mosques but it definately wasn't. We were in a completely different culture and so close to Asia. We managed a few more miles that evening and made it to Erdirne, a lively town with a fantastic byzantine mosque. We met the Erdirne bicycle club who were very interested in our ride. While we talked a young guy brought us tea without us asking saying "welcome to Turkey". The novelty of a heavily laden bike encourages people to approach you and they want to share their culture with you, usually in the form of food or drink!

A guy from the bike club went to fetch his bike and took us to a fantastic campsite where they let us stay for free and brought drinks and water for us. I fell asleep with Turkish singing and drumming by the nearby river in my ears and a smile on my face!
The next morning Joachim, the security guard at the campsite saw us eating yogurt and muesli for breakfast and made a disgusted face. 5 mins later he brought a bowl of bread, cheese, olives, cucumber and tomatoes and cups of coffee. A great start to the day!

Unfortunately the road from Erdirne to Istanbul isn't beautiful. A big dual carriageway but with a generous space on the side of the road so it was safe. The road surface had just been relaid so we made good progress in the morning despite the constant climbs up hills. We went through more towns and got given more tea and were interrogated by various people every time we stopped. Some school girls thought we must be famous so took our photos! By the evening we arrived in Çorlu having battled against a headwind all afternoon. We went to a lorry park to try to camp there. We couldn't but a smiling fat lorry driver with a great mustache brought us yet more tea. Next we tried a BP garage and they let us camp on some grass by the forecourt. Alan Partridge would have loved it!

In the morning we set off for Istanbul, after being bought coffee by one of the pump fillers who had worked all night. We rode along the same dual carriageway all morning and arrived on the outskirts of Istanbul by lunchtime. We had made it to the Mediterranean! 40 km of manic urban sprawl separated us from the Bosphorus and Asia. We entered Istanbul on a terrifying motorway on Easter Sunday. We thought that it might be a bit quieter than usual today but nope! After crossing lanes and negotiating junctions we arrived at a bridge into the main city. We followed the sea round a headland on a bike path and in the distance the towers of the blue mosque appeared. Asia was in sight over the Bosphorus and we were so close. Then psssssh, a nail went through my tyre! I examined back wheel and found 2 broken spokes. So close but I now had to repair a wheel and fix a puncture. It took about an hour but my newly straight wheel was fine and we set of to Sultanahmet, the area around the Blue Mosque. We found a hostel with some space and took it.
I had conquered Europe! Asia is waiting over the Bosphorus and all I have to do now is get some visas. Tonight I have to decide which ones!

Where next?

I now have to make some difficult decisions. How am I going to get through central Asia? The only places I really want to go are Samarqand in Uzbekistan and the Pamir Highway in Tajikistan/Kyrgyzstan. It looks like I won't be able to get an Iranian visa so I have to either take the ferry across the Caspian Sea or fly over. I want to cycle the whole way if possible so a flight is a last resort. Here are my options:

1. Try to get Iran and Turkmenistan visas in Istanbul and cycle through Iran and Turkmenistan to Uzbekistan.
2. Get Turkmenistan visa in Istanbul and get the Caspian Sea ferry to Turkmenbashi. Need about 8 days to cross Turkmenistan from the port. Won't get a visa for more than 5 days so would have to take a train part of the way.

3. Get Kazakhstan visa in Istanbul and take ferry from Baku to Aktau in Kazakhstan. Ferry only once a week and involves crossing the desert around the Aral Sea in the middle of nowhere. Could either cross border and cycle through desert in Uzbekistan, south of the Aral Sea or go to the north and cross into Uzbekistan near Tashkent.

After researching it and contacting stantours, a travel agency, I decided on option 3. I probably won't get an Iran visa with my British passport without having to jump through a million hoops and spend a lot of money. The Turkmenistan visa takes 10 to 14 days and it's not guaranteed. So option 3 was left. I plan to cross the border at Beyneu and cycle Karalkalpakstan in North East Uzbekistan.

It's gonna be a seriously remote crossing on a dirt track but people have cycled it and its definately doable. I'll give it a go and if anything goes wrong there is a train I can take across the desert.

So gotta get visas for Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Krygyzstan in Istanbul. Wish me luck!!

Bulgarıa

Wow! Bulgaria ıs defınately the most beautıful country so far. We cycled out of Shivstov on a back road through some hills near the Danube. At the top of one of them the road moved away from the rıver from the last tıme and I said goodbye to the river I'd followed through most of Europe. It's been a fantastic guide making navigation easy and making the roads almost flat (wıth a few exceptıons!!). The Danube has taken me through 7 countries and I've been through capital cities, small villages, incredible scenery, met amazing people and enjoyed some great cycling. Strangely when cycling next to the river I was always in a better mood than away from it. When our route took us away from the river for an afternoon or a whole day I always wanted to be back at the river. My one regret was that my pitiful attempt at fishing didn't bring the huge grilled salmon that İ'd imagined. Someone told me sweetcorn is good bait and also that sprayıng the bait wıth WD40 is good because ıts made from fısh oil. Whether I'm bad at fıshıng or I need dıfferent bait I don't know but I'll try again when I leave Istanbul!

We left the Danube and went through more hills down to a very busy road, which took us to the old capital of Bulgarıa, Veliko Tarnovo. It's an amazing place sat on a river gorge. We found our way through complicated motorway junctions then headed for the Balkan mountains. A long clımb up to a 700m pass gave us a superb descent to a plain ın the middle of the mountains wıth a huge lake. It felt so remote and the landscape was endless. I was very tempted to stop early and put up my tent but it was only midday and had to get to Istanbul so we pushed on. Another pass took us out of the mountains onto another less beautıful plain where we found a campsite by a lake. We asked a guy called Pedro (I think) ıf we could camp by his caravan where he lived with 3 dogs. He seemed surprised we asked and shrugged to say of course you can! He came over wıth coffee as we put up the tents followed by home made grape liquor which wasn't partıcularly nıce but dıd the job! I got my hıpflask out and shared some Talisker Scotch Whisky that I'd brought from England. He loved ıt! He told us that the town we'd cycled through earlier was where Dimitar Berbatov was born and he got married 3km down the road from his caravan. Turns out that neither of these thıngs are true, Berbatov ısn't married. I think hıs gırlfriend may come from that town but that's not quite as excıtıng!

The followıng day we cycled across the plain and up some more mountains before descendıng to the Turkısh border. We spent our last Bulgarian money then crossed into Turkey. Had to show my passport 6 tımes for some reason and spend 15 euros on a Turkish Visa. This wasn't necessary for Nınoz whose Swiss passport ıs much better to travel on than mine. My Iranıan vısa stıll hasn't come through and I've nearly given up on that route now. I thınk I'll be taking the Caspian Sea ferry to Turkmenistan or Kazakhstan. Wıll update soon.

Turkey next and only 240 km of rıdıng before I conquer my fırst contınent!!

Romania

I was a bit surprised when entering Romania. I was expecting it to be poorer than Serbia but the roads were better and there was a lot less rubbish around. The dogs were also less vicious! The first day we just cycled through a city and got some Romanian money before finding a place to camp. We stayed on an 'official' campsite but it didnt really have anywhere to put tents. We put them up next to a closed swimming pool and outside bar and told the lady we couldn't afford any more than 3 euros each. That was fine by her!
We got going the next day and I was absolutely loving Romania. The people here were so friendly and there was never a dull moment! Whether it was being chased by a dog, kids wanting high fives, old ladies huddling together unashamedly staring, adults smiling and waving, shouts of 'hola', 'what's your name', 'salut' and loads of other things!

We cycled out of a town and the road turned into track. We were in the middle of a wood on a dirt track in Romania. I'd come here all the way from England! It was sinking in how far I'd come already and how far I had to go - the adventure had definately started!

At the next town we went to buy some bread at the bakers and the guy who ran the shop spoke Italian. Nino does too so we were able to talk to him. Turned out he had worked in Italy and judging by his Mercedes, made quite a lot of money there. He took us back to his restaurant for a 'real Italian coffee!'. It was delicious, and so was the house wine he gave us (it was 11 o clock in the morning!). His name was Stefan and he looked like a vampire! Absolutely lovely guy. He must have told someone to prepare some food for us because 2 plates came out of nowhere with fish and spicy rice. Apparently it was a traditional meal eaten the weekend before Easter. Everyone was partying that day for a festival so Stefan opened the whisky. We refused because we still had around 50 miles to cycle but he had some and topped up our glasses with wine. We left him back at the bakers with a cake thrusted on us and cycled through village after village. We found a beautiful camping spot with a lovely sunset. We made a fire and at dusk some shepherds brought their animals to drink at a stream. They waved to gesture we were welcome and let us get on with cooking.

The next day was more of the same. Villages and countryside. We finished in a farm and at about 6 the farmer saw us putting up our tents. He came over and, using a book with pictures called "Point It" (Thanks Laura!) we managed to communicate with him. He told us he had to go home then was coming back with wine. An hour later he returned with a bottle of wine grown on the farm and some pork fat sprinkled with chilly powder. It was delicious and I wasnt hungry at all the next day! The farmer's name was Petre and he earns 2500 euros a year and is an electrician. He told us that the government takes half his money as tax. He also recently crashed his car when drunk, which seemed to be a common problem in Romania! He pointed out all the animals on the farm and warned us that there were snakes, tics, and we think he said jackels about!He was another great person and an example of Romanian hospitality.

Only one bad thing happened in Romania! Today we bought some food from a supermarket and Nino left his chocolate milkshake on the side while packing food into his panniers. A gypsy child came up and stole it and ran off with it. I went and retrieved it but he'd opened it and started drinking it! I couldnt believe he'd done it with both of us watching and his parents there too. They didnt seem to mind in the slightest. Having heard Romanians talking about gypsies here, I think they can be a problem for Romania.

We left Romania this afternoon on a ferry accross the Danube and are now in a cheap hotel in Bulgaria. Another new country I know almost nothing about!
Photos will be uploaded soon

Serbia

Crossing the border into Serbia felt more serious than the other border crossings. The guards looked at us suspiciously and checked our passports meticulously. As soon as we crossed the border it was clear that Serbia was a lot poorer than Croatia. The roads were in terrible condition and a lot of the buildings were ruined. It looked like people were living in the ground floor of 2 storey houses and leaving the upper floor to fall into disrepair, with boarded up windows and missing roof tiles. Another shock was the dogs who were ferocious. They chased us, barked and growled. To begin with we recalled away feom then as fast as we could then we found that stopping was better and they usually left is alone. I tried out my dog dazer, which scares them off by releasing an ultrasonic noise. It worked brilliantly (thanks very much to Dazer for the sponsorship).

All in all the entrance into Serbia was a bit intimidating but very quickly I began to love it. The people here were fantastic. They were so welcoming, every time we stopped people approached us. The best time was when we sheltered under a garage forecourt and the guys who worked there invited us in for a coffee. It was very sweet but a welcome break from the rain!

We cycled past Novi Sad and on to Belgrade. Both cities are pretty ugly to be honest but Belgrade was great. Loads of floating bars and clubs on the Danube and lots of character. Concrete tower blocks from Soviet times dominated the skyline but the city centre was pretty. We stopped to ask a guy for directions and he couldn't have been more helpful. His name was Dragan and he showed us a cheap place to eat that evening. He said if we waited a couple of hours we could stay at his house, he was busy until then. We wanted to accept but we were too tired and the lure of a showed in a cheap hostel was too much. Also we had heard that they can fine you 100 euros when exiting the country unless you have a card proving you have stayed in some accommodation there (we needed it on the way out). Anyway - we arranged to meet Dragan at the restaurant. He told us the traditional Serbian dishes. I had meat rolled in cabbage, which was delicious.
The next morning, we met Dragan again and he showed us around the new orthodox temple in Belgrade. I say new, it's actually been under construction since 1914 I think he said. Lack of money and changing politics have stalled its construction but they've recently finished the outside. The inside will take another 10-15 years because the aren't many people who can paint the frescos on the walls in the traditional way.
It turned out Dragan was a bike fanatic and he owns 6 bikes. He showed us his Hercules, which is 60 years old and still going strong! It was fantastic. We cycled out of Belgrade with Dragan who left us near the edge and pointed the way out.

A day and a half of riding along the river brought us into the beautiful national park on the border with Romania. The river flows through a narrow gorge with cliffs and wooded valleys. We explored a massive castle built by the Hungarian when Hungary stretched this far. A huge face of the last king of Romania was carved into the rock face. A park warden joined us while we had our lunch and proudly foos us about his job and showed us his motorbike which was ancient. We camped in a closed campsite with stunning views of the river. They had left the toilets open and the water and electricity on so we enjoyed a night of luxury!
The next day we cycled out of the national park to the iron gate, a large hydroelectric power plant which has a road over to Romania on it. We said a fond farewell to Serbia and crossed into Romania, skipping past the que of cars at customs!

Romania next, I wonder what it has in store...

Budupest to Belgrade

We crossed the border into Hungary and were greeted by the largest Cathedral in the country sitting on a hill above 'the Danube Bend'. Esztergom used to be the capital city before Budapest and the cathedral was really impressive. There were lots of other nice towns on the way to Budapest and the ride in was great, away from the traffic and in the sun. The bike path sometimes deteriorated to the point it was almost unrideable, but it was entertaining!

Budapest itself was a great city. We got there mid afternoon so had enough time to look around and go to a restaurant to sample some traditional Hungarian food - Butternut squash and beef stew. The buildings in Budapest were amazing - saw the castle, parliament and basilica.

The rest of Hungary was pretty non eventful but pleasant. Highlights were camping on an island in the Danube infested with wild boar (there was a bridge to it) and meeting Andreas and Johanna, a lovely German couple who were planning to cycle around the world for three years. They planned to cycle to Australia but were in no rush and we left them eating their lunch and reading a German newspaper they'd picked up somewhere. At the Croatian border, we spoke to the guard, who couldn't believe what we were doing but flamboyantly gave us a stamp in our passports and we were in Croatia.

We spent the first night in Croatia in a park next to a football pitch and fell asleep with the sounds of a ball being kicked around. It was the first time I'd ever camped in a public place and it was fine - we'd asked permission from a couple of people first. Throughout Croatia were signs in fields - a red triangle with a skull inside. Turns out they are landmine warnings and there a lot of them on the Hungarian-Croatian border. Croatia was more expensive than Hungary, more like Austria than Slovakia. It only took one day to cycle through the country and we camped near the border with Serbia. Was an amazing campsite, on a beach outside a hotel on the Danube. The staff were really nice there and let us use the toilet for a wash. Had a drink at the bar and watched the football - 2-1 to Untied, semi final, unlucky Chelsea, Torres is looking like 50 million at the moment!

Croatia and Hungary were both nice to ride through, some really pretty parts but also some poorer parts, with derelict buildings and rubbish everywhere. From now on I expect it to become poorer and poorer, but the people in these countries all seem to be really friendly, very interested in what we're doing and happy to help. All the villages and towns we're cycling through seem to have a great community spirit about them and I can't wait for Serbia, Romania and Bulgaria!

I'm currently in Belgrade, which has been great, very different again but I'll write about Serbia next time I'm online

Vienna to Budapest: 3 capitals in 3 days

Woke up at decent time in Vienna to get food and had a huge breakfast before leaving the  youth hostel. Went to a bike shop to get my cranks tightened up because I noticed someplay in them - needs a special tool. Bit of a mission to leave Vienna because the Danube is divided into about 10 channels and you have to cross them all. some of the channels are populated by delightful nude bathers with skin far too big for them.

Still cycling with Nino, we left Vienna with the wind behind us and half rode, half were blown to Bratislava, which we had a few hours to explore. It was a fantastic contrast to the spotlessly clean German and Austrian cities and felt much more real. The people approached us to ask what we were doing and were amazingley friendly.We had a beer on the main square and looked around the old cobbled streets. Lovely! Camped in some woods on the outskirts.

The next day was good. An even stronger wind was behind us and  we made 90 miles by 6 o clock. Great to explore the small Slovakian towns and  to look at the new foods (and eat the cakes!) in the small villiage shops. The roads were noticeably worse and the Danube (now the donaj) bike track almost non existant. We met a German lady, around 70-80, who was riding a bike with far more gear than me almost as quickly. She was clearly fit and was telling us stories of places she's been. She must have been cycling for years!

We camped in a wood near the Hungarian border and I had a swim in the river (bloody cold!). A car pulled up at around 9 o clock and 2 people got out. We were paranoid they had seen us come into the wood earlier and wanted to rob us. Theydidn't see us however and they drove off. I reckon the were illegally collecting firewood.

Today we rode over the border to Budapest, but more about that when I leave Hungary. Croatia's up next in 2 days.

Well done United for beating Fulham- sorry Phil and Mike

Austria Stats

Average Speed: 12.8 mph
Max Speed: 31 mph
Distance: 272 miles
Climb: 3,283 feet
Longest day: 86.7 miles
Number of days: 3
Average day: 80 miles

Germany (and half a day in Switzerland) stats

Average Speed: 10.9 mph
Max Speed: 34.8 mph
Distance: 478.96 miles
Climb: 13,176 feet
Highest point: 3,525 feet
Longest day: 105.7 miles
Number of days: 5.5
Average day: 87.1 miles

France stats

Average speed: 10.9 mph
Distance: 498 miles
Highest point: 1555 ft
Max speed: 35.9 mph
Number of days: 6.5
Average day: 76.6 miles
Longest day: 95.7

Austria

I'm now in Vienna! Had a lovely ride in this morning and have been sorting my stuff out all afternoon. Washed everything and checked over the bike. Staying in a hostel tonight with a guy I met cycling yesterday called Nino. I met a German guy called Julius 2 days ago and wild camped with him for the last two nights. It's been great to have some company and i think I will cycle with Nino to Istanbul.

Austria has been great although it's rained a lot! I've cycled much quicker with other people to push me on and we've been riding in formation Tour de France style. It makes a massive difference to cycle in someone's slipstream.

Should be in Bratslava tomorrow. I'm on schedule so far and really enjoying it. I'm really looking forward to Eastern Europe.

Germany

Hello!

I'm now in Austria, so here's what happened in the rest of Germany:

I've been cycling along the 'Donau Radweg' (the Danube Cyclepath) for the last few days. I left Ulm and have passed through the cities of Ingolstadt, Regensburg and Passau as well as lots of small towns and villiages. The German towns are gorgeous, really well looked after, lovely buildings and restaurants. The Germans obviously love their cycling too and at the weekend, the Radweg was completely packed with cyclists.  A lot of them on tours. Also saw a few Cloisters, with amaying churches and other buildings but more importantly their own beer that they brew themselves. The beers are absolutely delicious!

I've cycled with a few different people since Ulm. First a guy called Christian who cycles 6,000 km a year and grew up in East Germany after the war. Was realy interesting speaking to him about how different it was for him then. I cycled with him for an afternoon andleft him at Donauwörth, where he had to turn roud. The next day I met a guy called Micheal, who has cycled in 35 countries and has been to a lot of the places I am going to. He gave me some good advice and bought me a drink! Today I met a couple who are on their way to Tibet on their bikes to cycle the Friendship Highway to Nepal - amazing. I've cycled this afternoon with a guy called Julius on his way to Istanbul so may end up with him for a few days.

Germany was a really great country to ride through. I got a mixture of the people and beautiful scenery as well as some good food and great weather, except for one day where I got soaked. In austria now and the first day has been beautidul but it's absolutely tipped it down. I'm in Linz at the moment and I reckon I'll be in Vienna the day after tomorrow (in time for Man U - Chelsea champions league).

I'll upload some more Stats when I work them out, should have internet again in a couple of days.

Thats all for now