Bucharest to Campina.

 It was time to get back on the bikes after having 2 rest days in the capital of Bucharest.  Overall it was a great break in a very historical city.  Besides the communism of the past and the socialist party that now rule the country, there is obvious signs that this place is doing real well for itself.  Plenty of shops selling all the goods from the west, but unfortunately at their prices.  There's plenty of attractions to see in the city and you'll need at least 3 days to see everything. 

We left the Hotel Tulip at 8am this morning for the mad ride through the city to head north. The 4 of us stayed close together all the way to the city limits as this is the safest way to ride.  The cars and buses were very courteous and never gave us any grief.  Maurice was our leader during the morning ride and he does a good job in negotiating his way through the mayhem of morning traffic in a capital city. 

As we rode through town we came across what I call, the Arc De Triomphe, just like in Paris. We stopped to take the mandatory tourist photo and we were on our way again.  The above photo is of the Arch.
Just a brief bit of history about this monument. Initially built of wood in 1922 to honor the bravery of Romanian soldiers who fought in World War I, Bucharest's very own Arc de Triomphe was finished in Deva granite in 1936. Designed by the architect, Petre Antonescu, the Arc stands 85 feet high. An interior staircase allows visitors to climb to the top for a panoramic view of the city. The sculptures decorating the structure were created by leading Romanian artists, including Ion Jalea, Constantin Medrea and Constantin Baraschi.  Now back to the riding.

The road had a good shoulder all the way, and we were setting a good pace nice and early into the ride.  It was getting pretty hot today, but we were fortunate the road was flat with no headwind to concern us.  At one of our many stops we found this interesting 'THING' on the side of the road.  The photo below is ME, standing infront of that 'THING'. 

 

With excellent roads accompanying us on our ride, we reached the town of Ploesti for lunch at 12.30pm.  I think this is the first time we've had lunch at the time I eat back home.  We went to a large shopping centre called 'Carefour' which is just like Woolies.  Purchased a couple of rolls and some water, and soon I felt great.  The stomach had stopped rumbling, the headwind was getting stronger, and I was ready for the final push into Campina, our stop for the day.

Prior to reaching Campina we crossed the 45 north parallel.  The photo below is all that marks this significant landmark on the earth.The 45th parallel north is a circle of latitude that is 45 degrees north of the Earth's equatorial plane. It crosses Europe, Asia, the Pacific Ocean, North America, and the Atlantic Ocean. The 45th parallel north is often called the halfway point between the Equator and the North Pole, but the true halfway point is actually 16.2 kilometres (10.1 mi) north of the 45th parallel because the Earth is oblate, that is, it bulges at the equator and is flattened at the poles.At this latitude the sun is visible for 15 hours, 37 minutes during the summer solstice and 8 hours, 46 minutes during the winter solstice

Another object we saw in the fields were oil drilling machines.  I know they are oil related because of the smell.  Don't know much more about it than that.

Whilst riding today we came across many small roadside stands selling, oranges, bananas, plums, peaches and water melons.  The photo below shows the size of the melons for sale.  Each one costs 1 Lev which equates to 33 Aussie cents.  Now that's a bargain which requires no further bargaining.

Later in the day our speed dropped due to the headwind and perhaps a bit of fatigue.  It was still good riding and the 4 of us worked hard to get to the finish line all together.  We rolled into Campina around 3.30pm and got a room at the Hotel Muntenia.  The room is perfect and it has all the mod cons we need for a night.  We walked into town with Maurice and Mary for some dinner at this Greek cafe.  The food was delicious and at an exceptional price.  It was time to head back to the hotel, do some updating of the blog and get some sleep.  Tomorrow we take on some serious mountains before we reach the town of Bran.  It's a famous place you know.

The above photo was taken in the food market in the town of Campina.  The food is so cheap in this town.  Just the way I like everything, cheap.

By the time we put our bikes inside the hotel and locked them up for the evening we had ridden 97kms.  A great day on the road.  I'm not too sure what to expect tomorrow, but we've been told it very steep roads all the way. 

Until tomorrow, safe riding.