The sweet taste of completion
Day 7 – the last day before my rest day! Finally, I think I needed it. The last three days have been brutal, so this break will be a very welcome change. Plus, I’m reaching my hometown where I’ll be staying, which makes it even sweeter. Being welcomed by a few friends and some food is always nice. This closes out my first week: seven days, 1,400 kilometers, and almost 60 hours of cycling. But this is not the end, after resting on Day 8, I’ll be continuing from my hometown to the south part of Croatia.
Late start, early heat
I started quite late because I had to edit the video for day six, which I fell asleep while editing the night before. So yeah, late start, and it was already extremely warm, around 26 degrees in the morning, which gave me a hint that the rest of the day would be brutal. And it was.
Hell’s kitchen on wheels
Throughout the day, it was high 30s – 35 to 38 degrees, and when standing in the sun, my bike computer would show above 40 degrees! I had to stop few times just to cool down in the shade and visit restaurants for ice cream and cold drinks. Sometimes survival trumps schedule.
Hungary: Room for improvement
Hungary under-delivered on a few different things. The roads were not made for bicycles, they have a lot of things to improve on that front. The drivers were not careful around bicycles. I’d give them three out of ten for their driving skills. I had a few rough patches with the worst roads so far, really patchy and full of holes. The hospitality was also on the lower side, but I guess rural areas are always different than big cities.
Border confusion
I forgot about the time going through the border region, so I passed back and forth between Hungary and Austria few times. I was confused about which country I was actually in! But the confusion got completely clear after I entered Slovenia, though I had a very short stay there before exiting country number six and entering country number seven, Croatia, my home country. For the last stretch of 25 kilometers or so to my hometown.
Technical challenges ahead
Other than that, there’s not much to add. I was planning on keeping notes throughout the day but completely forgot. Most of my footage is going to be bad because there was something on the lens that I didn’t notice, so all the videos are a bit foggy.
The next three days look challenging because of very big elevation differences. I’m not sure I’ll manage to do what I planned, so I might have to change my route, take an extra day, or add a rest day between those final pushes.
Maintenance mode
Good thing is that the rest day has some rain forecast, so I’ll be able to cool down and actually take care of my bicycle. I need to check the chain, which started complaining a little, and I found a cut on my tire that looks suspicious. I might just exchange it for a new one to make sure nothing goes wrong in these final days.
Home. Rest. Repairs. Then the final push to the Adriatic.
Day 7: Complete. Week 1: Conquered.
Every kilometer through the heat, every challenge overcome, every step closer to home brings us nearer to our goal of supporting children through SOS Children’s Villages Croatia. The final stretch awaits! donate.wheres-marin.com
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