Breakfast in Slovakia, Morning Tea in Austria, Dinner in Hungary

Nini eyes off Katherine's Apfel Strudel

And so it went on the day we left Bratislava for our six day cycling tour of Slovakia, Austria, Hungary and Slovenia. Of course the best was Austria - half a kilo of apple strudel served with vanilla custard in the company of at least fifteen other riders. Oh how those plates were licked. Hungary was a bit of a let down except for being reunited with the man on the 100 HUF note, of course. It is hard to believe that by the act of crossing an imaginary line - a border - life can be be experienced in a  wholly different way.

The Europeans really know how to turn on a storm as several nights in a row we have been buffeted and blown, thundered on and lit up by garish flashes chasing across the sky night after night. Waking sodden and grisly ready for another one of TDA's breakfasts of mixed cereal, dry bread and fruit has not quite hit the spot. Unfortunately I will not be able to participate in further camping as I binned my tent last night in favour of a mattress in the loft as the much mended front pole finally gave up the ghost. I was able to distribute all my high quality tent pegs though, which pleased me enormously.

A highlight was riding with Michael and Brian on the wet day when we ascended to Jerusalem, arriving in camp at 11am after a thrillingly fast ride. Kendy, Katherine and I were able to hold the pace having been fortified by an aromatherapy mud pack applied immediately prior to the storm that left our tents swimming in a sudden lake. We figured that beauty always beats speed...the little girl who witnessed our preparations is doubtless scarred for life as she reported to her mummy that there were ghosts in the bathroom.

Slovenia is chocolate box perfect - mountain peaks, meadows mowed to Wimbledon standards, quintessentially cute villages dotted on hillsides and a plethora of colour and window box treatments. It seems by far the most prosperous country we have visited, with the exception of Austria of course. Although in the villages there are still the old and infirm present, patiently raking hay and tending to chooks, and a lot of men sitting in bars drinking beer and smoking cigarettes as we ride by at 7am. Obviously the tobacco companies are still doing good business in this part of the world, as are the hops producers as we have ridden past acres and acres of hops climbing to the sky.

I am not sure where my head was yesterday as I pulled into camp and stood in awe of the ring of mountains circling us. A sensible person may have worked out that climbing would be required to get out - not me - so this morning's 23km climb came as somewhat of a surprise. The gradient proved largely benevolent so a warm beignet straight from wherever they come from enjoyed at the top with a magnificent view over the peaks and valleys, made it all better instantly.

I have already mosied around Ljubljana, having arrived at 10am and not able to access our rooms until 2pm. It seems like a very pretty city with lots of action. The castle imposes on the skyline and affords a generous view of the 250,000 inhabitants, their buildings, river and roads.

Another set of hill-filled metrics if you are still tuned in.

Thursday 12 August to Balf Sopron: 96km, 18.2 average, TITS 5hrs 16mins

Friday 13 August to Szombothely: 77km, 17.8 average, TITS 4hrs 21mins - hills of course as the max I attained was 56.4kmh!

Saturday 14 August to Moravce Toplice: 95km, 19.6 average, TITS 4hrs 48mins

Sunday 15 August to Ptuj:  73kms, 21.2 average, TITS 3hrs 25mins - rained but we rode with the fast Aussies and got there almost before we left.

Monday 16 August to Prebold: 94km, 18.7 average, TITS 5hrs.

Tuesday 17 August to Lublijana: 66km, 20.2 average, 3hrs 15mins

News flash! Just to hand...

Hot competition

Australia won bronze in the Hand Stand in Small Slovenian Pool Competition, narrowly pipped at the post by the USA - gold - and  Canada - silver. The Australian team was a little disabled on account of Don and myself who floated to the surface like so much flotsam (we're the ones to the left of the picture), although Brian's Campanolga-branded legs stood proudly to attention and were awarded the best vertical legs of any individual competitor.