After a rough yesterday I had a good night, so woke early and went for a run. I knew it was a bad idea when the first five minutes were only downward, the return would be tough, and it was.
Our gear has dried overnight on every available warm surface, making our hotel seem more like a Chinese laundry. Not that our dry clothes made much difference, once riding they were soaking wet again within about ten minutes...
The hotel was at the top of the hill so every direction out was down and Bobo took the most difficult route of course, we like him for that. Straight into the mud on a steep downhill run also laced with rocks and gravel. We appreciated the lack of engine braking and the super slippery surfaces. But everyone kept the right way up, even our resident gooney bird.
The next hour or so was blend of up and down tracks, seemingly more of the same as in previous days. But that was not a bad thing as it was always challenging. Bobo races ahead, Chris or me, following, but he often stops for the others to catch up, and asks why everyone is so slow this morning?
Danny and Steve are not on form and so they're riding slower than usual. Danny's in pain from his chest impact two days ago and Steve can't get in the groove. The rain doesn't help and everyone is struggling to see where they're going and/or keeps getting smacked in the face by low hanging wet branches. Riding these trails is challenging in the dry, trickier in the wet and more so when it's sustained rain and muddy. You have to find the easiest line, avoiding rocks, ruts, deep mud and puddles if you can. But with the trees carrying so much water, what was a 2D challenge becomes three dimensional as you have to navigate under the tree branches as well. Chris has an even more difficult task because his GoPro is mounted to the top of his helmet, so he has to tilt his head to the side under some branches.
Riding upwards again and above the tree line on a mix of grass and muddy tracks on meadowland. The ground is sodden and puddles appear from nowhere in the grass often only seen when you're in them or you see a splash from the rider in front. We reach a highpoint and stop to enjoy the views as whisps of dispersing clouds hang in the valleys. Really rather pleasant and the first proper views we've had. Bobo says the views would normally be even more spectacular in good weather - we keep hearing that; the weather has not been kind to us.
I have a silly low speed off while riding on the grass, but no damage to rider or bike. Back down and we go through a couple of puddles that look ordinary but engulf the whole front wheel, splashing muddy water up over the headlight. When the puddle is this deep there's a real risk of digging the front wheel in and being catapulted over the bars, so you keep your weight at the back of the bike to unload the front wheel and let it climb out more easily and applying power to aid that. Momentum as ever is your friend. Following Bobo too closely I got a face full of mud from his spinning back wheel when he applied power in just that way.
Not long after this mudmask, I come off in a deep muddy puddle falling sideways when I lose momentum in the mud and there's no support as I put my foot out and in the process end up butt-first in the muddy water. To make matters worse I fall in again even deeper in the water when trying to remount. And if it could not get worse, Ray captures this so called "double dip" on his GoPro! Ray's not had a mention today, but shortly it will be his turn...
Back in the valley floor, following a river, and Danny has an off in the deep mud, somehow hitting something that throws him off course, which triggers his whisky throttle. The front wheel goes skyward and he goes down, planting his face in the mud. His goggles impact his nose leaving him with a gash, that gets patched with a plaster, and dented confidence.
We get back on track again in a different hollow following a smaller stream that we cross several times splashing through the water each time. Then a BIG water crossing, or it would have been if the river was not running so high, therefore we have to take the narrow bridge option, which is still a challenge.
Moving into the next uphill section Bobo asks if we want to continue as we are, or take the short way to our destination on the road? After some discussion we agree to continue despite the fact that we're all wet and it's going to be another three hours of riding.
So upward we go and it's a challenging muddy (obviously) and rocky climb. I have my third off of the day on a corner taking the inside line while Chris goes outside. Bobo stops near the top, Chris and I with him, then Steve arrives and reports that Ray's chain has snapped.
At first Bobo doesn't react as I expect, until Steve repeats his message. When it sinks in you can see his face drop. We go back to Ray and see his bike on its side. Bobo inspects, but this is not a roadside fix (but strange as I usually carry a spare link on my TET trips nearer home).
Luckily it's all downhill to the road, so Bobo rides Ray's bike freewheeling. I follow him, but as he's focussed on keeping momentum for the few slight uphill sections, he goes like a rocket and I can't keep up. We catch him at the road and he switches to my bike, pushing Ray's bike with his foot while Ray rides it unpowered. We do this for about 15km and Ray says he saw 60km/h on the speedo! Finally we arrive back at the farmhouse, hose down and find places to hang our sopping wet gear. Victor and Bobo arrive with a dryer and Mama Bobo fills her washing machine with offensive clothing.
The Carpathian mountains must contain lots of mica because all our gear is covered in what looks like glitter, making us look like extras from a 1970s disco movie.
We have a late lunch of soup and macaroni cheese and the sun makes an appearance. In fact the afternoon turns out to be delightful and it's a real shame we're not riding! Only 66km today.
Dinner follows all too quickly and we are well stuffed by evening. By now the clothes are mostly dry. But I bet some fecker will have moved my boots from the boot dryer prematurely...
And as I type it has started raining again....
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