Belgium to Romania in two weeks! Can it be done?!

alexfg123

Hi everyone, this is my first post to the forum.

I wanted to get everyone’s advice on a very spontaneous trip that I am thinking of doing on my own.

I am thinking of cycling from Bruges in Belgium to Cluj in Transylvania, Romania to surprise a few friends out there who will be arriving 11th-14th May window for a fun weekend.

The time frame I am thinking of doing this journey would be from Thursday 27th April, with a hope of arriving on Thursday 11th May when my friends arrive, or Friday 12th, absolute latest midday Saturday 13th May depending on how I get on!

It is roughly 1100 miles, which works out at around 80 miles a day cycling and about 6 hours a day in the saddle if I’m going at 13mph (being conservative with estimates).

A little background about myself to set the scene;

I am physically fit (running London marathon next weekend and hoping to run sub 3.30 (ran 3.34 last year). However I have had zero touring/long distance cycling experience and have done none of it as cross training for my marathon prep etc. The most I have cycled a day was in my previous job commute, around 15 miles there and back!

I have had very little experience on exhibitions/orienteering myself on trips. I was going to try and rely on google maps/a cycling route app (does that exist?!) to navigate myself across these countries. Is that very naive and should I get a proper map and plan my route in more detail?

I am hoping to spend around £1000 on kit to get a good road bike, bags, water holders, cycling shorts etc. Are there any essentials anyone would recommend like nutrition or post cycle stretch exercises etc?

Is this a completely unrealistic/stupid thing to do on my own?

The route would take me through Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, Czech republic, Slovakia, Austria, Hungary and lastly Romania. Has anyone had any previous experience cycling through these countries and are there any obvious red flags to point out/be wary of/safety issues?

Any help and candid advice greatly appreciated!

ugo.santalucia

Perfectly doable... 80 miles a day is not much, even loaded you are looking at 7 hours a day on the bike, less if you travel light. If you travel light, you can probably up your mileage to 100 a day, even more if it's flat.

Invest in quality shorts and make sure your saddle is suitable for the job... smear plenty of chamois creme.

Plan your route carefully, you want to avoid high passes, which might be closed or might be treacherous in bad weather... but looking at you planned route, it should be fine...

Nice adventure, enjoy!!

kingstongraham

I'd think very carefully about it - I don't think the timing works. London Marathon is on 23rd April. I did the Paris marathon on Sunday just gone, and for me, today would be the equivalent of your starting day. You must know what your legs are going to feel like for the days following the marathon if you are planning on going for a pb. And not just your legs - I am generally tired and wouldn't fancy jumping straight into that with no training and only 3 days rest.

cougie

It can be done - but you need to prepare for it properly.

You need to make sure you are happy with the bike. You haven't the time - you haven't even a bike yet.
Saddle, bars, panniers, tyres - you need to be happy with.
You need to know what you're taking and if you can cope with it - again you've not done this.

Routing is key - there will be some roads you don't want to be on.

If you'd planned it all out then yeah - I'd go for it.

Now you've no time left and you need to get through the marathon first.

It's doable - but it could be a world of pain if you find out on day one that the saddle doesn't suit you or your panniers have too much crap in them.

Ideally you'd have had the bike for a while and ridden with all of your kit to work out any irritating bugs.

alexfg123

Thank-you for all your replies. I really appreciate it.

Never heard of Chamois Creme but do you just apply that to your Glutes/Quads Etc before the start of every ride?

In terms of saddle testing, I am planning on buying the bike next Tuesday, as I won't really be running much next week I thought i'd be a good chance to ride in the day and see if I enjoy the bike and saddle/comfort side of things.

I don't know if I can share a google map route I have highlighted through stars so any of you could see it, or maybe I could PM you a screen shot of it? Do cyclists rate google maps for cycle paths/roads and routes etc? Given the little time I have i was going to just use the app.

Kingston Graham, that is a very valid point and I remember losing my stiffness about 4-5 days post marathon last year. So the 3 rest days is probably not enough. I am planning on doing a lot of recovery work straight after the race however and in the days leading up to it. I may trial the bike the week before without buying it, then get all the gear the week i'd leave depending on how I feel/rate myself and body. How did you get on in Paris?

Cougie, re routing how do you best plan your trips/tours? Would be great to have a better idea.

I'll mull it over! Cheers