The Rolling Backview Mirror
We’re on! Me and my beemer, that is...
I left
And now to the
epic.
I left in good spirits and touched by the
presence of a few friends I found standing next to my bike when I came out of
the house, totally unaware that someone would come to see me off. Cheers guys!
After a relaxed 100km from Bucharest to
Pitesti while I first nested my butt in the thicker cushion of a Baeher front saddle lent by a friend who
decided for another after-market model (thanks again Stefan), riding the new
ring section of the highway around Pitesti, the road appeared to me for a brief
moment like a decent place. Needles to say, the
impression didn’t last long. The horrific traffic control, oh no, sorry, the
total absence of any traffic control whatsoever especially in the areas
afflicted by the so called “works”, and the ubiquitous moronic drivers took
care of it.
But, with a few heavy showers on the way that
tested the grip of the “Anakees”, I managed to pass Deva and enter the
magnificent landscape of
After paying way too much for what it was
worth for a night’s sleep in a shabby roadside inn, where the woman in charge
had the annoyed expression like she was doing me a favor by accepting my money,
the next day I left as early as I could for the Hungarian border. Not that I
didn’t long for a good refreshing shower, but the water (warm or cold) was
barely dripping. That’s how things tend to be when accommodation alternatives
are scarce...
After about another hour on a twisty and
picturesque piece of road, penalized only by the poor surface quality on some
bits, I was through customs and into
It was already a hot day and the exercise
of pulling documents out of the “safe” crevasse of the luggage made me even
hotter and sweaty. For the ones that might be tempted to do the same thing
under similar circumstances, here is a strong piece of advice: DON’T VENTILATE
THROUGH YOUR SLEEVES BY NOT CLOSING THE FASTENING THE ZIPPER OR VELCRO BANDS AT
THEIR ENDS. The funnel effect achieved by leaving them open might well be an effective way of cooling down but it can also be a
major risk. I might well have the “good luck” of getting accidents in pairs, as
that time when riding off road with a friend in the mountains I got both tires
flat simultaneously, but what happened this time was a bit more “stingy”. As I left the zippers at the end of my
jacket’s sleeves open to enjoy the breeze that was rushing in, in a matter of
no more than a few minutes of riding I felt a rather sharp sting in my right
forearm and then in a matter of seconds one almost as intense one in the left
one. I kept on riding for another few minutes almost in disbelief. I thought I
might be imagining things or that they might be a new kind of cramp, but when
the burning sensation became obviously suspicious I stopped fearing the worst.
And yes, my fears proved right. By taking my jacket off and turning it’s
sleeves inside out I could see that my “cooling system” had funneled in beside
the air, in both my sleeves, 2 large bees that doing what every one of us in
such a circumstance would have done, stung the shit out of each of my forearms.
I felt sorry for the little critters as they agonizingly crawled out the sweaty
sleeves leaving their needles imbedded in my forearms. After pulling the stingy
little spears out of my skin I instinctively licked the injured spots but then
had also the decency to rub them with an antiseptic wipe. None the less, at the
time I write this, about 36 hours away, the large aching lumps have shrunk
leaving in their place two palm size itchy red blotches. But I don’t complain
because if I would have been allergic to bee stings I could have very well gone
into shock and swollen to death on the side of a Hungarian road. So, a lesson
well learned: when too hot or sweaty, stop, take equipment off, relax, dry and
cool off and then gear up PROPERLY and continue riding.
My first destination in Hungary was Gyomaenröd where I had in plan to visit
a motorcycle museum I have read about on the net. Alas, when I got to the
tourist information office in the above mentioned city, I have been told that
that museum closed about 2 years ago. I could not refrain asking why in such a
long time no one had the common sense to update the internet information (it
was found on an official Hungarian tourist site) as not to let silly buggers
like me come all the way for a thing that is no longer there. Fortunately the
kindness of the lady at the tourist information office and the genuine charm of
the place made up for the loss and I decided to stay for the rest of the day
there for a good relaxing swim in the large outside pool, a walk around the
very peaceful and welcoming surroundings and a few re-hydrating Czech light
beers... Good choice!
Sunday, 18 May 2008