Cycling to Gdog’s – Europe Completed
The first stage has taken me into (including England god damn it!) 13 countries at a total distance of 3700km, and after going to the F1 in Hungary, buying some Oakley’s (to replace my lost glasses) and blowing £180 in a strip joint in Romania… a slightly depleted budget. Having said that, the F1 was an amazing experience, my new Oakley sunglasses led me to buy two more pairs and get them free, and the strip joint will be a memory I won’t be forgetting.
Cycling to Gdog’s – Turkey
Given my change of route by going further east, rather than south-east, and due to time constraints from buying a super-cheap flight to Tokyo, I took a bus from Constanta to Istanbul (costing me €22 and taking around 12 hours). Sadly this meant that my only stop in Turkey was Istanbul, but on the positive side it meant I didn’t have to deal with the chaotic roads into Istanbul. The bus I took was awkwardly timed, leaving Constanta at 1500, but arriving 12 hours later in Istanbul at 0300. I wasn’t able to sleep on it much so by the time I reached Istanbul I was feeling quite shattered and left to wander around in the dark.
Cycling to Gdog’s – Romania (Part 2)
Having left Romania for Bulgaria, we spent a rest day in Ruse. The contrast between the Romanian town, Guirgui, and Bulgarian town, Ruse, is huge despite them being a bridge apart. Ruse had a beautiful town centre filled with water fountains, a town hall, opera, and plenty of cafe’s and bars to sit outside in the evening. The first part of our rest day was spent lying in bed. Once up we found Planet Food, a coffee shop near the centre and bought the equivalent of two meals per person (it got a look of shock from the waitress).
Cycling to Gdog’s – Romania (Part 1)
Having met Ed and Mark in Serbia and cycled with them for nearly a week, I decided to change my plans. The original plan, I would cross into Bulgaria at Ruse, cycle one day to Varna, a second down the Bulgarian coast, and a third day cycling to Kirklareli in Turkey where I would take a bus into Istanbul (the roads are awful going into the city, so best to avoid them). Instead I decided to cycle an extra day to Constanta and from there either take a bus direct to Istanbul, or stop off along the Bulgarian coast for some more cycling (probably the former!). It meant doing around 150km less but I didn’t mind.
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