A fool's reward (Komárom, Hungary)
You would think that I would have learned from my mistakes and taken extra care with following the route signs after that time that happily cruising along a jetty brought me to dead-end and having to retrace for several km's in the pouring rain. But no, yesterday showed me once again that despite all my trips and experience with reading the map, I will still end up in places that were not at all my intended destination.
As I was enjoying Bratislava so much, leaving it took me much longer than expected. Pushing my bike through the old town once again, I just couldn't bring myself to leave quite yet, and although the temperature was already climbing, decided to sit down for a final cup of coffee. The streets were again filled with people, but this time the Bold and the Beautiful had been joined by hordes of cruise tourists, taking a break from floating down the river. Watching them and drinking my coffee, I was extremely happy, and promised myself to come back for a longer visit soon. When I finally tore myself from the street cafe two hours later, the midday sun was beaming mercilessly down on me.
However, as soon as I was out of the city centre (and had figured my way around an unsignposted construction site blocking the bike track), the going got really easy. The paved bike lane was smooth and well marked, the sun was partially covered be lovely cumulus clouds, and the strong wind was fantastic, coming straight from behind me, making the bike fly. Singing to myself, I let the track carry me, not even bothering to turn the page on the map book that describes the route. I mean, what was there to worry about: The Danube was on my left, the track was following it closely, and there were no junctions to consider?
So I sailed along, congratulating myself for my luck, thanking my knees for being so cooperative, as there had been absolutely no pain since I left Vienna. At some point, I passed a minor junction to my left and even looked at the map briefly, but decided it was just a detour, and would rejoin the main route (the one I was on) shortly.
Now, my excuse at this point was that I was at the end of a map page, so could not really see what was ahead. Before leaving Bratislava, I had decided to follow the route on the Slovakian side of the border for today, as it was considerably shorter than the other option, going on the Hungarian side. When a few minutes later I arrived in a village that was NOT on my map, a village with a distinctly Hungarian sounding name, my astonishment turned quickly into laughter. Now, I remembered passing a unremarkable wooden post with the Hungarian colours, having dismissed it in my mind as a sign of being close to the border (what an idiot, why would a border post be anywhere except at the border?).
Now, I detest having to turn back. The previous day, there had been no other choice as the road just ran out, but now, there was nothing that absolutely forced me to do it. True, this was not where I had intended to be, but one could get to my this day's destination on this track too...only it was 30 km longer. Had I started off in the morning, this would have been no issue at all, but now, it was almost 3 in the afternoon and I had another 100 km ahead of me.
The good thing (one of
many) about travelling alone is that at moments like this, there is no one who will blame you. I generally don't mind changing plans, and being prepared to come with a plan B is probably one of my favourite things. So, I decided it was time to change the plan, aim lower and enjoy life a bit more. I cut my intended distance by a modest 50 km, found a nice lunch spot and took a couple of hours nap. In the evening, I rode the remaining 30km to the town of Győr, found a nice campsite run by a cute Hungarian grandpa, and had a nice meal prepared on the gas stove of the campsite.
This morning, I got up really early as the weather forecast promised ridiculously high temperatures, and was back on my bike well before 8. Still, getting to this town was quite an adventure: So far, the route has been either on very smooth tarmac or extremely well kept gravel roads, but now, it was winding on bumpy roads with huge potholes, village back alleys and finally, trickling down to a sandy path with sharp stones sticking out of the dangerously soft, rolling sand that makes the heavily loaded bike skid and wobble. There was even a part where I was on an agricultural service track cutting through fields, almost not in driving condition at all. I did contemplate walking as the risk of a puncture (and the resulting annoyance of having to dismantle all the gear off the bike) was not an attractive possibility.
I did make it through in one piece, and am now where I had planned to be last night. The temperature is close to 30 degrees, and although there are some clouds, they do little to dispel the overhanging blanket of heat. Will take a few hours break, then head (hopefully without any detours) to tonight's destination Esztergom. From there, all that remains is the final 80 or so km's to Budapest.
As I was enjoying Bratislava so much, leaving it took me much longer than expected. Pushing my bike through the old town once again, I just couldn't bring myself to leave quite yet, and although the temperature was already climbing, decided to sit down for a final cup of coffee. The streets were again filled with people, but this time the Bold and the Beautiful had been joined by hordes of cruise tourists, taking a break from floating down the river. Watching them and drinking my coffee, I was extremely happy, and promised myself to come back for a longer visit soon. When I finally tore myself from the street cafe two hours later, the midday sun was beaming mercilessly down on me.
However, as soon as I was out of the city centre (and had figured my way around an unsignposted construction site blocking the bike track), the going got really easy. The paved bike lane was smooth and well marked, the sun was partially covered be lovely cumulus clouds, and the strong wind was fantastic, coming straight from behind me, making the bike fly. Singing to myself, I let the track carry me, not even bothering to turn the page on the map book that describes the route. I mean, what was there to worry about: The Danube was on my left, the track was following it closely, and there were no junctions to consider?
So I sailed along, congratulating myself for my luck, thanking my knees for being so cooperative, as there had been absolutely no pain since I left Vienna. At some point, I passed a minor junction to my left and even looked at the map briefly, but decided it was just a detour, and would rejoin the main route (the one I was on) shortly.
Now, my excuse at this point was that I was at the end of a map page, so could not really see what was ahead. Before leaving Bratislava, I had decided to follow the route on the Slovakian side of the border for today, as it was considerably shorter than the other option, going on the Hungarian side. When a few minutes later I arrived in a village that was NOT on my map, a village with a distinctly Hungarian sounding name, my astonishment turned quickly into laughter. Now, I remembered passing a unremarkable wooden post with the Hungarian colours, having dismissed it in my mind as a sign of being close to the border (what an idiot, why would a border post be anywhere except at the border?).
Now, I detest having to turn back. The previous day, there had been no other choice as the road just ran out, but now, there was nothing that absolutely forced me to do it. True, this was not where I had intended to be, but one could get to my this day's destination on this track too...only it was 30 km longer. Had I started off in the morning, this would have been no issue at all, but now, it was almost 3 in the afternoon and I had another 100 km ahead of me.
The good thing (one of
many) about travelling alone is that at moments like this, there is no one who will blame you. I generally don't mind changing plans, and being prepared to come with a plan B is probably one of my favourite things. So, I decided it was time to change the plan, aim lower and enjoy life a bit more. I cut my intended distance by a modest 50 km, found a nice lunch spot and took a couple of hours nap. In the evening, I rode the remaining 30km to the town of Győr, found a nice campsite run by a cute Hungarian grandpa, and had a nice meal prepared on the gas stove of the campsite.
This morning, I got up really early as the weather forecast promised ridiculously high temperatures, and was back on my bike well before 8. Still, getting to this town was quite an adventure: So far, the route has been either on very smooth tarmac or extremely well kept gravel roads, but now, it was winding on bumpy roads with huge potholes, village back alleys and finally, trickling down to a sandy path with sharp stones sticking out of the dangerously soft, rolling sand that makes the heavily loaded bike skid and wobble. There was even a part where I was on an agricultural service track cutting through fields, almost not in driving condition at all. I did contemplate walking as the risk of a puncture (and the resulting annoyance of having to dismantle all the gear off the bike) was not an attractive possibility.
I did make it through in one piece, and am now where I had planned to be last night. The temperature is close to 30 degrees, and although there are some clouds, they do little to dispel the overhanging blanket of heat. Will take a few hours break, then head (hopefully without any detours) to tonight's destination Esztergom. From there, all that remains is the final 80 or so km's to Budapest.
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