We have been thinking about cycling from Sweden to Thailand for a couple of years now. The decision to go was taken in the late summer of 2012 and since then we have been busy planning everything.

Initially we had four different routes. Two of them were through Russia, one was through Ukraine and over the Caucasian mountain range and into Iran. The last option was through central Europe and then through Turkey and Iran before entering central Asia.

As you understand we have had many discussions over our dinner table regarding which route to choose. We eventually ended up going for the route through Turkey and the reasons for that were:

• start going south instead of east would mean reach spring quicker (we now know going south means going into winter…)
• We felt we wanted to see Turkey and Iran more than Russia. In cycle touring circles those two countries are seen as nice countries to cycle in.

We have now run into a problem that we didn’t forsee. There will be a presidential election in Iran in June which is when we plan to cycle through that country.

A few weeks before we started to cycle I read rumours in various forums that visas won’t be granted for independant travel in Iran during the spring and summer. It was just rumours and we thought we will find out later. Now when it is time to start the visa application procedure we have checked and double checked too and the fact is that visas will not be granted for crossing the land border on your own. Flying in is OK, but cycle across the border will not be allowed.

We are happy we got to know it already now when there is still time to change the plan.

There are two alternative routes to choose between.

A – northern route
The northern route from Bucharest to Ukraine, Crimea and southern Russia and go around the northern end of the Caspian sea

B – southern route
The southern route from Bucharest to Istanbul and then through Turkey, Georgia to Baku in Azerbadjan. From Baku we will take a ferry across the Caspian sea to Aktau in Kazakstan and then go east and join the original route somewhere in Uzbekistan.

Positive

• Northern route  – Will allow a visit to Crimea. Not as hot temperatures as the southern route.
• Southern route – Corresponds to orginal route. Turkish and Georgian food and wines. More mountains!!!

Negative

• Northern route – Hard to get a visa for Russia. Less interesting nature with too much steppe
• Southern route – Long wait for unpredictable ferry crossing

For the time being our discussions is mostly about the southern route. It corresponds most to our planned route but the major drawback apart from missing out on Iran, is the very unpredictable ferry crossing. We can look forward to a lot of bureacrazy and up to two weeks wait until we can board the ferry that has no timetable.

A friend of ours who is a seasoned touring cyclist said ”it’s a no-brainer. Just look at the map and see where the mountains are. The more mountains the more interesting”.

When cycling to work or the grocery store one tends to avoid hills, but when cycling for training or for tourism as we do, mountains are always more interesting even if we get tired of them sometimes. A dead flat area can be really boring to ride on.

We have not made any final decision and we are all ears to listen to our followers opinions, so dear follower – please write a comment about what route we should choose and why… 🙂

We cycled for 10 consecutive days from Pere in Hungary to Bucharest in Romania. Although two of those days were in fact only half days in the saddle, we were very exhausted when we arrived to Bucharest. It was the same feeling as when we arrived in Krakow after 8 days of cycling.

The first rest day after such a long cycling session has to be a real rest day and we spent our first day in Bucharest visiting an old church and walking around in the downtown for an hour before we sat down in a cafe for almost two hours. Then we went home to sleep.

During our second rest day we had re-gained strength and could do a lot more interesting things. P Pat’s driver sent us to the village museum where we spent two hours walking around the premises looking at old farms, churches, windmills and so on that had been brought in from various regions of Romania. It is good museum with signs in English and we recommend anyone to visit it.

The way back from the village museum to downtown is a long walk along a major boulevard and we passed various embassies and the Arc d’ Triumph. When we got to the museum of Natural History we found out that ”the Human Body Exhibition” was on display there. The exhibition has traveled around the world for a number of years now and is rather controversial since it uses real human remains.

I have read about this exhibition before but Wej had not heard about it so we decided to go in. Only after a while did Wej understand that it was actually real human remains that were used and not plastic models. I must admit that the exhibition indeed was fascinating, but did I learn anything about the body that I didn’t already know?  Probably not!

Instead it left me with lots of questions like, why not do this exhibtion with plastic models instead? Would millions of people visitit the exhibition if plastic models were used instead? Were do the bodies come from and were the donors fully aware of how their bodies were going to be used once donated????

Apart from visiting museums, we also strolled around the snowy town and once again ended up in a cafe. In the evening P’Pat prepared some Thai food that we had together with grilled porkleg and sauerkraut. Truly crossover cuisine and very tasty. Thanks a lot P’Pat.

It took us 30 cycling days to reach Bucharest, but only one day to fly home. We left P’Pat around 11 and departed from the airport at 13.10. The flight went to Munich where we had to wait for some 5 hours before flying the last one and a half hour to Göteborg.

In Bucharest airport there was a free wifi and so it was in Munich airport too. When we arrived to Göteborg airport we had to wait for 35 minutes for the airport bus. There was a free wifi at the airport but it was so complicated to register and log in so we couldn’t use it.

Free wifi at airports, gas stations and cafes everywhere in central Europe and a long procedure to register to use the free wifi at a Swedish airport. Sweden definately has something to learn from Poland and Romania when it comes to providing visitors with access to the IT-world…. 🙂

Part 2 of section 1 completed – mostly wearing snow goggles

For a Swede it is normal to travel south to meet the spring and for us our plan was to meet the spring somewhere south of the Tatra mountains in Poland. Instead of spring we got a major blizzard and the further south we have travelled the worse the weather has got and maybe there will be igloos along the streets of Bangkok when we arrive.
I have used my snow goggles much more often than I wanted to and my hope was to not need to use them on the ride in to Bucharest, but once again the surroundings were all white when we glanced out from the window in our motel room. It didn’t look like a snow goggle-free day….

The strong wind from yesterday evening had ceased a bit but not completely and it had started to snow heavily instead. To say that we were happy for the cycling conditions would be an exaggeration, but nevertheless there were one major advantage that we immediately noticed. There was hardly any traffic on the road.

It was 102 km to the address where P’Pat (diplomat at the Thai Embassy) lives and if it hadn’t been for the weather conditions it would have been a normal distance to ride. Now it looked like we would have trouble to reach the capital within one day.

We set off at 8.20 without having decided any goal for the day. Our aim was just to get a lot closer to Bucharest so that we could reach it tomorrow if we can’t do it today.

At first the cycling went without problems. We were almost alone on the road, the wind was in our sides and the snow that fell was dry so we never got wet. The road had been cleared of snow and salt sprayed so there was only a string of slushy brown melting snow in the middle of it. Everytime a car overtook us we got a spray straight into our sides and we soon had to put on our rain pants to not get completely wet from those showers.

Our routine is that one rides at the back act as a rearguard shouting to the one in front whenever cars or trucks approach from behind. Being the rear guard during the early hours of this ride was easy because there was hardly any traffic to warn about.

After some 20 km we came to a little gas station that didn’t belong to any of the big chains. There was no little nice cafe with wifi that we had got used to. This small gas station looked like the gas stations of the old days where you could get your car repaired and on the shelves there were all sorts of spare parts for a car, but nothing for a bicycle.

We were invited in to this little station and there was a small group of people gathered there for their daily gossiping. We were placed on chairs in front of a heater and although we couldn’t understand each other’s language at all, we used sign language. Wej was once again asked if she is Japanese. One of the guys seemed to be a real joker and pointed to his belly and said he was working hard to be a sumo wrestler. We then invited him to ride with us and he then struck his forehead with his hand and exclaimed something that we understood as ”crazy”.

The wind got stronger and the snow turned into rain and we stopped at every gas station we passed to get warm. Our daily budget for coffee has probably to be revised after this trip.

Everytime we came to a village or a gas station we looked at our map and GPS as well as asked the locals about where the next motel would be. Sometimes the weather got a little bit better and then I felt that we should go as long as possible but when passing long straight sections over open fields, then I just wanted to get to the next motel. The headwind was fierce and we couldn’t communicate properly without shouting.

The longer we got, the more the thought of maybe reaching Bucharest got on to our minds.

Normally we have a plan for the day and in the afternoon we discuss where to stay for the night, but if anyone of us feels week it is that person who has to decide to stop earlier. I have made such a decisions a couple of times when I have been completely worn out. During this ride it was Wej who felt weak while I could have gone on.

As the day went by we just kept going and going and aimed at a motel some 20-25 km outside Bucharest. When we got there around 5 PM it looked nice and I looked forward to the nice shower, but I had hardly put my feet on the ground when Wej said:

– Let’s go for Bucharest.

She is really tough and I hesitated a bit, but she was stubborn and just apparently she didn’t want to bike the following day so off we went. The road had made some turns and we now had tailwind and could ride at hight speed. We passed the ring road that encircles the city and just kept going following the GPS.

When looking at the map of Bucharest it resembles a cycle wheel with the ring road as the rim and the big avenues leading into the city as the spokes. We rode in to the city along one of those ”spoke-avenues” and soon we were outside P’Pats house.

Before lifting the bikes up to her apartment, they needed to be cleant before. Wej fetched bucket after bucket with warm water and we rinsed everything form panniers to the bikes itself.

In the evening we had some very welcome change to the Romanian cuisine. P’Pat served home made spring rolls and a Thai omelette. Things couldn’t be better and once sitting down in her apartment, we really appreciated that we had put in the extra effort to reach Bucharest in one day.

To conclude today’s cycling I can just say that I arrived Bucharest using my snow goggles. They have been used in Sweden, Poland, Slovakia, Hungary and southern Romania. This was not planned, but now we are finally here…. 🙂 🙂 🙂 I really hope I won’t need them all the way to Bangkok.

The river that we cycled along yesterday runs through the city of Ramnicu Valcea and there is a bridge in the city centre. When we got there work was going on and the bridge was blocked by large trucks and excavators. Signs showed the re-routed way to Bucharest and we followed them until they simply disappeared. We ended up in a residential area and an older gentleman approached us to offer some help. He spoke none of the languages we know, and we spoke none of the ones he eventually knows. He pointed towards the re-route north of the city and walked away. Then he got second thoughts and came back and made signs of us lifting the bikes. We understood this as it would be possible to pass the construction site. We went there and found a path that we cold take that led us past the area where work was going on and we could go over the bridge as planned. Going on the re-route would have been caused us ot cycle 7-8 km extra and that was someting we were not interested in.

The morning was cold, it was only -1 degree, but it felt a lot colder. We had to ride 10 km on flat ground until the hilly section started and we just wanted to get there as soon as possible so that we would get warm again. Climbing is hard work and it is strange, but when it is freezing cold we often want a hill so that we can get warm again.

These hills were rather long. Both were a bit more than 200 vertical meters and between the first and the second one there was a long downhill section that took us back to the level we started at 🙁 Going down those downhils were terribly cold and we had to stop on the top of each pass to put on extra layers of clothing to not get deep frozen during the descent.

We took many long breaks today to get warm and to find motivation. We have supported the gas stations along today’s route with a lot of money by buying their coffee.

In one of the switchbacks close to the top of the second hill there were a resting place with lots of restaurants that sells grilled food. It looked just like on a mountain road somewhere in northern Thailand. Car drivers had stopped to eat, truckers had their lunch, dogs ran around everywhere and all people looked at the crazy foreigners passing by on bicycles towards the top of the mountain.

Once down from the moutain it was still some 15-20 km to go to the town of Pitesti and there was only one road and all trucks in the southeastern part of Europe seem to pass there. One of us had to cycle mostly looking back and shouting to the other one when trucks approached so that we could go to the side and let them pass. The trucks came in large groups, often 5-8 of them together followed by a long tail of ordinary cars. It was good to stand beside the road when all those vehicles passed and between those groups we had the roads to ourselves.

When we arrived in Pitesti we were extremely cold. We wanted to go at least 10-20 km further to have Bucharest within reach tomorrow. I have a thermometer in my cycle computer and during the last our of cycling I could see the temperature falling from -2 to -4.5. The wind caught up and it started to snow.

It is now ”only” 102 km to Bucharest on a small road that is mainly downhill. Weather forecast looks bad with colder temperatures tomorrow, headwind and snow. We called our friend at the Thai Embassy in Bucharest and she said that schools would be closed tomorrow because of the weather conditions.

As mentioned in a post a couple of days ago we have now had winter in Sweden, in Hungary and in Romania. The problem with the weather in Romania is that it changes form day to day. Nice spring one day, snow storm the other and then next day again it is once again spring. We are sick of this kind of weather….

We want spring N O W…. !!!

If yesterday’s cycling was charachterized as a ride through dull landscapes, then today’s ride was the complete opposite. Minus and plus evens out and now we are even…. 🙂

Before leaving the city of Sibiu we cycled around and checked out the old town. This city too seems to be a very charming city just like Medias was yesterday. I really recommend visiting these towns if you want to go for a long weekend and see nice old cities. It is just as interesting as going to France or Italy but the prices for food and accomodation is a lot lower than in those countries.

When we left the old town we soon came to the commercial centers where all the big international stores are. We saw some Swedish brands like H&M and some more there.

As soon as we came outside the city center we saw the really tall and snow covered mountains south of the city. They really looked majestic and to us they seemed like a giant wall. We knew there was a little hole in that wall though but we couldn’t see it until we got closer.

After some 15 km we came to a big roundabout where some major roads in southern Romania link to each other. We had a cup of coffee and a sandwich there and then went on to the smaller road that lead to the ”hole” in the giant wall.

At the start of the road there was a sign that we have seen before that we interpret as cycling, walking and horse carriages are forbidden. We have never cared about it, the police have never said anything when they have seen us and we have met plenty of horse carriages on roads with these signs. Anytime we ride on such a road and notice horse dung on it, then we understand that the ban on that sign is not enforced.

The cycling through the valley was a stunning ride along a river that had cut through the mountain range. Someplaces the road was straight and elsewhere it meandered just like the river it follows. The mountains were never far away and there were sections where the valley was so narrow that the road was actually built on a bridge in the river.

Today’s ride was also mainly downhill and besides that we had tailwind.

The marvelous scenery, downhill ride, tailwind and sunshine made our day. The only drawback was that since this road is the only way to cross the mountain range the traffic is rather intense. Many trucks passed us and as long as the shoulder of the road was wide it was not a problem. Where the shoulder was narrow we usually stopped to let them pass.

I can imagine that a ride along this road in summer must be even more fantastic.

When we stopped outside a small village to take some photos we heard music from the village. Although not yet in Balkan proper, the music was absolutely characteristic for that area. We cycled closer to take some more photos and listen a little more to the music. It was like the stereotype becoming became real. I like that kind of music and even more so when it is played on a lousy radio in the backyard of a house in a small village in southern Romania.

I think I have mentioned before that dogs roam around freely in the Romanian countryside. Today we have been chased by dogs for real the first time. They haven’t been angry though, but with a bunch of dogs running and barking loudly on your inside and cars passing on your outside can be a bit frustrating. But we can just as well get used to it because we will be chased regularly by dogs from now on until we arrive in Bangkok.

At one occasion two dogs came running towards us from the opposite side of the road but then we were saved by two trucks coming towards us and separated us from the dogs. Trucks can be good too…. 🙂

In cycle touring circles the topic of how to deal with chasing dogs are often discussed and there are a number of techniques to be used. We’d better start to find out which method that suits us best. My guess is that there will be a lot of dog chasing stories later on in this blog.