Tuesday 1 May 2012

1 May Stage 19 Budapest - Kiskunfelegyhaza

Dep. 915      Arr 600      Dist 115.6 km       Total  2097.8 km

So what a game of football that was! Tremendous quality, great entertainment, noisy crowd from start to finish. City much better on the night but there will be a few more twists and turns yet. Heard that before? I watched it with a load of ex-pats in the Caledonian Pub. Ray had to reserve seats and later on I could see why. It was like being there at the game. I had to bob my head round some local Hungarian lads who were Man U fans with all the regalia and what a noise they made? I learnt a few Hungarian swearwords as well. I thought it a great shame that these lads don't support their own teams but that's the way Hungarian football has gone. The old codgers there, ie everyone who was British, reminisced about Ferncvaros, Honved, Ujpest Dosza and other legendary teams from the past. I managed to only have one pint and kept watering it down with fizzy water. What a hero? We wandered back through the busy city streets in the warm evening with a cool breeze and I got to bed near midnight.

I didn't sleep too well - not enough alcohol maybe - but got organised and was on the road quite handy. A massive thanks to Ray and Orsolya for organising digs for me and the boys. It was truly above and beyond what was expected of them and I hope I got that across as we said our final farewells. They were off to Edinburgh in the afternoon, with a select band of Budapest residents, to celebrate the 50th birthday of the Caledonian's owner, Patrick who is an ex-pat and still is. (work that one out)

As usual, escaping from the city caused me a few small problems but I eventually got into the country onto the A5 which would carry me nearly all the way to Rumania over the next two days. It was a flat, straight road with flat countryside as far as they eye could see both sides. It was 30 degrees C at 10.00am as I left the city and must have got warmer as I bowled along. The wind was quite light but was definitely against and slowed me down a bit. I stopped for a sandwich and sat under a tree in the shade. I was invaded by about 100 different types of beetle, fly, spider etc in seconds flat so didn't hang around. What were they doing before I got there? I soon found a bus stop and completed my "lunch". I reached my target for the day, Kecskemet, at about 4.30 and wasn't feeling too bad so decided to push on, mainly to make the next day easier, or even to gain a day by making the next day longer. I was flagging, though, about 20km later when I got to the little town named above and there was some sort of festival on. There were lots of people around in the centre and, more crucially for me, all the bars and restaurants, cafes etc, were packed. I thought I might feel a bit silly if I joined the throng so pushed on with a night's wild camping in prospect. As I rode out of the town I saw a small, pretty hotel, named the Oazis. I thought it would probably be beyond my budget but enquired of the very nice and helpful young lady about the cost and found it was very reasonable, so went for it. I've just watched Jedward on Hungarian TV - jealous anyone? - had a shower and a massive meal and am updating the blog using the hotel's wireless connection on Daniel's notepad which he has lent to me for the duration of the ride. Cheers pal. Hopefully, this will make it easier to keep the blog updated. I may be able to add some photos to the older posts as well but that is a bit advanced for me so don't hold your breath.

Because of this ridiculously hot weather I've got to get started earlier and take a break in the middle of the day. I actually drank 5 litres of water today. I've taken a chance by booking breakfast for 7.00 so should be on this flat, boring straight road in the cooler weather, all being well. A good day will see me in Rumania tomorrow evening.

Today's Route

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