You know I’ve always been a dreamer, spend my life running round

I put the Danube on my right side and headed south. The weather was good but these days it was changing quickly, so I could not be sure what to expect later in the day. After just a few kilometers I found signs marking the Donau bike trail and a well paved path and settled into riding along on the path without having to think too much about where I was going. The land here is completely flat and the day was quiet. I saw few cars and no other cyclists for hours. Late in the afternoon I took a break at one of the information signs along the trail and a couple of cyclists from Munich on their way to Serbia stopped for a talk.  This far down the trail it is rare to encounter other long-distance cyclists and it felt good to know I was not alone on the trail. We talked and then rode together for a little while but they were quite a bit faster than I was and were soon way ahead. Rather than just ride on they circled back and said their greetings and adieu before powering ahead.

The sky was closing in and although it was early and I had not many kilometers I had to start looking for a protected place in which to place my tent. I had not slept in it since the night in the sunflowers and I felt that it was time to tent again - otherwise I might start to become soft. 

By the time I reached Solt, a town of 8’000 persons near the Danube, the sky was black and I needed to find some cover while I considered my options. As I entered the town a young woman and young child on a bike entered the bike path just next to me. I asked about the town center and she responded in English. Thinking that this was a good opportunity to gather some town information without having to use sign language I asked her about a place to put my tent. She responded again in English and it was not hard to notice that her English level was high. It turns out she had recently returned from living 6 years in London. We rode into the center together and met up with one of her friends. They had a quick talk among them and then made a phone call and it was decided that I could stay in a small house in the vineyard owned by the friend’s father-in-law. 

They went to get their car and I followed on my bike. The rain was coming down and by the time we arrived to the house, which was situated out of town among a collection of vineyards and wine cellars, I was soaked. The small house backed up right to a small vineyard and was quite charming, was dry and I was very happy to have it. Annamaria and Hugi handed me the keys and said that we would talk later about meeting up to do something. It was only about 6pm but after the celebration of the prior night and the morning’s continuation, I was wrecked and spent the evening lying around and making notes, but nothing special.

Next morning I re-packed the bike for dry weather and rode about 150 meters before the rain came down hard and I escaped under the awning of the party terrace of another vineyard to re-pack the bike for wet weather, wrapping everything that did not have a rain cover in plastic, and then rode into the town to find a café. The café served great coffee and I stayed there for hours working with the wifi and checking weather reports. The rain was pissing down and showing no sign of improving. 

Late morning Annamaria turned up with Zoe, her 3 year old daughter and we had some drinks and talked. She had lived 6 years in London and returned to Solt 2 years prior and was having a hard time re-adjusting. That is indeed a big change. We stayed in the bar talking and the friend from the night before, Hugi, turned up as well. They were both curious about someone who would ride so far on a bicycle and we had a nice talk. Two Austrian cyclists turned up soaking wet. They had been on the road when the rain hit and this was their first chance to stop and find shelter. They ended up staying about 3 hours in the bar waiting for the rain to stop and left when it let up a little, but it was still raining when they left and their ride could not have been pleasant.

Annamaria and Hugi suggested I stay another night and assured me it was no problem. Considering the weather conditions I was happy for the offer. We had dinner that night at Annamaria’s house – Hungarian style pasta, which was delicious – drank local wine and had some great conversation. Her husband Balazs had lived 7 years in London and also spoke English perfectly. It was a great time and we will surely stay in contact in the future.