Cernovado – Tulcea

My stage hadn’t started yet but the tire is flat. Very strange. A flat tire in the hotel? When I dipped the tube into the water, I was able to locate the cause at the valve.
 I am sure that it wasn’t an act of sabotage.

After a day in Bucharest, I took a taxi to Cernavoda.
 Almost a year ago I was on the opposite bank of the Danube and had to break off the tour due to an accident. I hope there are no dogs on this side. But of course, that is utopia. This area is teeming with free-roaming street dogs.
 Nevertheless, I don’t want to drive through the exact same spot again.
 I’ve been thinking for a long time about how best to proceed when the time comes again and dogs approach me in a threatening manner. But tonight, I feel rather queasy and suffer a bit from cynophobia. On the way there in the taxi, I have already seen several street dogs. And when I talk to people in the area, they all warn me about dogs. My taxi driver DAN said the dogs are hungry and I should stop and give them a piece of salami. I realise with horror that I still don’t have a recipe on how exactly to behave towards attacking street dogs and that makes me a bit nervous. After a rather bad night, electronic mail reaches me in the morning. From my saviour in need. I asked Bernhard, who completed the Danube Route last year, for advice on how he made it through the pack of dogs.

His recommendation seems plausible and feasible to me.
 From this I have now come up with the following plan:

If it becomes very precarious and the situation requires it, then the following applies:

1. stop and get off the bike.
2. stay calm and push the bike forward.
3. if possible, move the bike very slowly between the dog and me. The dogs will bark and come within a metre of me. Most of the time, however, they don’t come any closer and the gap between them and the dog widens again and I can continue riding.
4. if the dog attacks, hold an object out to it if possible.
5. in an absolute emergency, use dog repellent spray.

Bernhard never had to use his spray. 
The plan with points 1 to 4 has already been tried and tested and is promising.

OK, of course, everything depends on the situation.
 Nevertheless, driving away and looking behind is probably not wise at all. This irritates the dogs and the chase begins, which was my undoing a year ago.

For point 4, I have now prepared a branch and am carrying a bit more luggage. 
But I don’t have any spray yet. I have to get one right away. Unfortunately, in Constanta, 75 km away. DAN the taxi manager chauffeurs me again. At 1 pm I can finally get on my gravel bike and start stage 5. 
For the first time, my TEDDY accompanies me, keeping a lookout in the front line!
 50 km later I arrive safely in Harsova. The next day to Greci is also quiet and leads through the territory of the Roma and Sinti peoples. The people are very open and wave at me from their horse-drawn carts. The dogs must have all taken a siesta and let me drive. Arriving at the hotel, it was once again difficult to get the bike into the room. But after long, tough negotiations, they finally accommodated my request.
 The route from Greci to the Danube Delta leads through hilly terrain. In addition, there is much more traffic than expected and suddenly I realise that certain car drivers are probably the potentially greater danger than certain street dogs… The entire Danube Delta is considered a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. The Danube flows into the Black Sea at Sulina. The so-called KM 0 can only be reached by boat from Tulcea. To say goodbye to the queen of rivers, I exchanged the bicycle saddle for a boat seat for one day. First we went to KM zero, then the boat continued for some more miles until the Danube finally flows into the Black Sea. 
I really enjoyed the moment and let it sink in.