Donauradweg: Viziru - Danube Delta
Viziru - Brăila - Tulcea - Danube Delta
I got an early start today, heading towards Brăila, where I took a ferry across to the right bank of the Danube. The landscape on this side was a beautiful mix of marshland and rolling hills, perfect for cycling. The roads were great, and I could often use the momentum from downhill stretches to glide effortlessly. While doing a routine check on my bike, I noticed that, for the second time on this trip, the screw securing the rear brake had worked itself loose and was on the verge of falling off. After tightening it and giving the bike a quick oiling, I had another mechanical issue when the front derailleur cable snapped, forcing me to replace it.
Later in the day, a thunderstorm that had formed over Ukraine passed ahead of me. Thankfully, I only caught a few drops, but it must have rained hard as the roads were left wet and partly flooded with mud. At one point, while descending through the muddy patches, my narrow front tire (25mm) lost grip, and I had to rely on balance to avoid a fall. By evening, I camped once again near the road, pushing myself to cover as much distance as possible so I could reach Constanța, my final destination, the next day.
Donauradweg: Zimnicea - Ciocănești
Zimnicea - Giurgiu - Comana Nature Park - Ciocănești
Today, I was happy to discover that supermarkets in Romania are open on Sundays. This morning, I had to get creative with breakfast by using sparkling water in my cereal since I had run out of milk. Needless to say, I quickly realized that still water would have been a much better choice!
The road to Giurgiu was relatively quiet, with light traffic for most of the time. After that, the road briefly turned into a two-lane highway until the turn-off towards Bucharest. Every 50km I took a break in order to stay in rhythm and not have to stop too often. While shopping, I always topped up my 6l water supplies. In the Natural Park of Comana the butterflies, which are very numerous along the Danube, were very trusting. By the evening, unlike the past few days, I had to put up my tarp again when a thunderstorm rolled in.
Passo San Jorio
Langer aber gut zu fahrender Anstieg zum Passo San Jorio (Teer, Schotter).
Danach wird der Trail schmaler und bietet entlang dem Grenzgebiet von Schweiz und Italien schöne Aussichten in die umgebende Landschaft.
Everest Basecamp Trek (EBC): Gorak Shep - Dingboche
The trek from Gorak Shep back to Dingboche was a welcome descent after our challenging days at high altitude.