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Vienna to Bratislava

First day of our bike tour from Vienna to Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia. Slovakia separated from Czech republic in 1993. We cycled through the former "iron curtain" which was controlled by the Soviets in 1989.
Weather was hot and still ,but with good paths we made good time.
Stopped at a lovely castle/ hunting lodge owned by the Habsburgs for coffee.
Once in Bratislava wondered around the town centre before having dinner in a quaint restaurant and then walking up to the castle on the hot balmy night.

Vienna to Bratislava

First day of our bike tour from Vienna to Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia. Slovakia separated from Czech republic in 1993. We cycled through the former "iron curtain" which was controlled by the Soviets in 1989.
Weather was hot and still ,but with good paths we made good time.
Stopped at a lovely castle/ hunting lodge owned by the Habsburgs for coffee.
Once in Bratislava wondered around the town centre before having dinner in a quaint restaurant and then walking up to the castle on the hot balmy night.

Cycle between Bournemouth to Dorchester

Enjoyed the night at the Hotel with a  bigger room with ensuite. Some noise as party goers arrived back at about 4.00am in the morning.

Much nicer ride today, by sticking to roads and avoiding rough tracks. Rode along the beachfront at Bournemouth which was miles long. Was planning to use the ferry across from sandbanks but somehow missed the turning. I decided against turning back so went along the waterfront at Poole.

Got through Wareham and then found the CTC cycle route 2 which was signposted superbly all the way to Dorchester.

When I got to Moreton, texted Sue who said she was going to her sisters farm at Puddletown so I made a detour and met her there. My legs were getting pretty tired so I was relieved to avoid the extra kilometers to Dorchester.

Cycling between Southhampton and Bournemouth 56.5 kms

Hotel last night was very basic with single bed and shared bathroom. It was a pub really with accommodation and slightly noisy til closing time. Tired so slept well.

Today was tough!! Started OK with nice boat ride out of Southampton across to Hyde. There is a little train in Hyde which carries you down the long pier. Could have ridden on bike but hadn't unfolded the Brompton so gave it a go.

Got to the start of the New Forest and then things started to go wrong. First the wind was very strong across the tops and directly head on. Then my gps completely died. Wasn't the battery and I could not restart it. Got lost completely. Ended up going in circles on the forest tracks. luckily a Saturday so lots of trampers to ask. The CTC bike map was inadequate. My phone map was just for roads so no indication of forest tracks. I ended up on very rough bridal tracks so the Brompton wheels got bogged down in the mud.

Lots of New forest ponies around, in fact I had to go through a herd of them as they were hiding under a railway bridge to get out of the sun. 

Reached Brockenhurst and civilization so decided to go via the roads rather than risk going through more forest tracks. Once out of the New Forest things got better although tricky navigation getting into Bournemouth. 

Once I found I could cycle along the beach front made it a lot easier. A rather typical Day at the beach with huge crowds on Bournemouth waterfront.



Deserved a beer and pizza after a nice shower. The hotel is a lot better than last night.
Hope tomorrow, the last day goes better. I can see a new Garmin being needed!

Cycle from Hayling Island to Southhampton 34.6 kms

Origionaly planning to cycle from Hayling Island to Southhampton, but the ferry from Hayling island to Portsmouth has just gone bust. Sue drove me to Gosport on her way to Dorchester so cheated a little.

The ride was great. Lots of coastal views and only short stretches of rough gravel paths. The National Cycle Route 2 was well signposted although I still got lost a few times.
I got to the River Hamble and was slightly concerned that there would not be a ferry. The tide was a long way out so I walked down onto the foreshore and waved my arms.

The pink coloured ferry boat came over for me. I was the only passenger. had a good chat with the retired skipper. We talked about the viability of these ferry crossings particularly after the Hayling island ferry had closed.

The ride into Southampton was reasonable and found the Hotel without much trouble.

   See the stats at  Garmin Connect
about 36 kms only.