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the danube cycleway volume 2: from budapest to the black sea. mike wells. cicerone books paperback 282pp illus. £16.95

the danube cycleway volume 2

many years ago, our local tourist marketing group published an annual visitors' handbook illustrating the many individual aspects of the island that may be of interest to those visiting for a week or so. rather obviously, the eight malt whisky distilleries play a large part in islay's initial attraction, but assuming that wasn't the sole reason for visiting, it seemed pertinent to point out places of interest such as the museum, finlaggan, the rspb reserve etc.

the danube cycleway volume 2

unfortunately, the one thing the marketing group sort of failed to take into consideration was the advertising of this booklet, meaning a number of pepople found it at the end of their trip, reading about places they missed while departing on the ferry.

it would be iniquitous to compare a small island like islay with that of a 1700km plus bike ride from budapest in hungary all the way to where romania borders the black sea. this extensive and picturesque route takes the intrepid cyclist through serbia and croatia, straddling the bulgarian border for almost half of the proscribed distance, ensuring that nobody will return home having missed any important features along the way. mike wells, author of part one of this bicycle ride (from the black forest to budapest) is eminently qualified for having continued into volume two, having walked and cycled extensively throughout most of europe and britain.

the book itself is the archetypal instruction manual, the sort of publication that, were it to arrive along with an item of electrical equipment or do-it-yourself furniture, we'd ignore it completely. the danube cycleway volume 2 however, while it may be seen as a last resort in the latter case, it seems very likely it could be a major timesaver and lifesaver if you happen to be astride a fully-loaded touring bike on your way to the black sea.

wells prepares the traveller impressively for the journey that might be about to be undertaken, including a surprisingly comprehensive history of the region for such a modestly sized publication. in truth, this tends to be a feature of the majority of cicerone publications. and despite this being volume two, the author does not take for granted that every reader will be widely experienced in either the area or that of cycle-touring.

there are short, yet concise sections concerning accommodation, the immediate environment, the danube cycleway, pre-ride the danube cycleway volume 2 preparation, wildlife, food and drink and several other factors that you'd probably never consider until it was too late. the other ideal feature of this and other cicerone guides is their compact size. though it might overstretch a jersey back pocket, it would easily slip into a handlebar bag, making it a simple matter to follow each turn along the way. the note-like riding instructions are remarkable clear...

"Once over river, drop down and turn R back under bridge and follow this road for 3.5km. Just before road turns R under railway bridge, turn L and first R following one way system."

the danube cycleway volume 2

naturally enough there are road maps and street maps of the major conurbations to be met along the way, while wells intersperses the necessarily dry riding instructions with descriptions that might enhance the rider's appreciation of his/her surroundings.

"The park in the centre of Poian Mare (pop. 12,500) is a small pavilion built in 1830 by Prince Milos Obrenovic of Serbia, which hosted a convention (1835) that agreed an economic treaty between Romania and Serbia (at that time semi-autonomous vassal states of Ottoman Turkey)."

as if all the foregoing were insufficient to aid a touring trip through central europe, the entire trip is sectioned into manageable chunks at the back of the book, allowing any prospective trip to be divided according to riding ability and prevailing weather conditions. and should you fancy being a tad more studious in your ministrations, appendix c contains the serbian cyrillic alphabet.

don't leave home without it.

cicerone press

saturday 20 february 2016

twmp ..........................................................................................................................................................................................................