ITINERARY

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This blog describes the bicycle tour that Jos, Joe and I are making from London to Istanbul during the summers of 2009 and 2010.


On Saturday (May 16, 2009) I will get off a plane in London, get on my bicycle and head for Budapest, 2,500 km., 8 countries and 58 days away. In Amsterdam I will meet my good friend Jos Hulshof and together we will complete the first part of a two-summer tour that Joe Lehmann and I will complete next summer.


In general our route goes from London to Dover, across the English Channel, through the low countries to Amsterdam where I will meet Jos, who has arranged for us to tour a little with one of his friends and to visit his family farm. From the Netherlands, we head up the Rhine River valley until we are almost to Switzerland. Near Frieburg, Germany we will cross over the height of land to the source of the Danube River. Except for a diversion to Munich to visit another friend, Gerd Mischler, we will follow the Danube River toward the Black Sea, passing through Vienna before reaching Budapest.


Next year, Joe and I will pick up the route in Budapest and cycle to Belgrade, Serbia and then on to Bucharest, Romania. From there we will leave the Danube River valley and head south to the Black Sea and into Turkey, reaching Istanbul on or around August 20, 2010.


Each of us has his own reasons for taking part in this adventure. Although a test of our endurance, we also hope to go at a pace that will enable us to enjoy the sights, the sounds, the smells and the tastes of the regions we will travel through. We plan to stay in hostels and small local hotels/pensions, and to picnic as much as we can. Wish us luck, I hope we can do it.!


Part I: LONDON TO BUDAPEST (2009)
Start: London, England, May 19, 2009
Finish:Budapest, Hungary, July 12, 2009
Distance: 3,400 kilometres
Cycling days: 45
Rest days: 11
Number of countries: 7
Average distance per cycling day: 75 km

Part II: VIENNA TO ISTANBUL (2010)
Start: Vienna, Hungary, July 19, 2010
Finish: Istanbul, Turkey, August 25, 2010
Distance: 2,500 kilometres
Cycling days: 29
Rest days: 7
Number of countries:  8
Average distance per cycling day: 85 km

I CAN BE CONTACTED AT dr.w.richardson@gmail.com