5 May 2019, SOTA on bikes - Holm, YO/EC-516

Essential Summit info

Target summit: 2 pointer YO/EC-516 "Holm" - https://www.sota.org.uk/Summit/YO/EC-516
Our Route: Our track has a different start/end than the one linked below because the trail simply wasn't there anymore.
GPS Track: http://www.wandermap.net/en/route/3591686-tudora-dealul-holm-yoec-516/
(download the track by clicking on "Export GPS data").
GSM coverage: So and so on top, variable overall.
Summit conditions: Forested. Steep but short slopes near the summit.
Picked up ticks: 1

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Activity report

Tudora is one of the largest broadleaved forests in the Suceava area. The forest actually shares most of its area between Botosani and Iasi counties, with only a tiny fraction in Suceava. There are some good gravel roads crossing the forest, but the secondary trails can be tricky to navigate on two or four wheels. The mud is of the slippery-sticky type.

We've started biking on a trail that soon disappeared into the bushes. In the first kilometer we had to stop several times to clean the mud off the wheels - they simply wouldn't spin anymore. An hour later, when we finally escaped the slow progress through mud, a flat tire struck. Two very sharp thorns produced two small punctures in Andrei's front wheel. The tube was replaced and we carried on, alternating riding and pushing until we got to a grassy plateau which we visited about 4 years earlier on our motorbikes. From there we followed the dirt roads until we reached the lip of the forest on the other side of the clearing. There the road vanished altogether and we stumbled about through the forest, crossed a ravine and then we spotted something that almost looked like a highway. Indeed, there was a gravel road in perfect shape that just started from the middle of a thick forest. We made good progress, most of the remaining ride to the summit being on well maintained gravel roads. Before activating, though, we were chased by some bees. Luckily we escaped their wrath and reached the steep slopes of Holm (which is just a hill, really) unscathed. Andrei went ahead and I stayed behind and chased him from below. I also tried my best to camouflage the bikes so we wouldn't have to carry them up. The slope was too steep for push-bike and we didn't know any alternate routes. After a while I joined Andrei on top and made contacts with our dedicated chasers from the local group who probably had to wait for us quite a while as we started the activation with a two hour delay. I managed one QSO in 7 MHz, then went back to the bikes, slipping on the mud and getting poked in the eye by a tree branch - no serious injury, but I felt some intense temporary pain. We returned on a different road and encountered even worse muddy conditions due to logging and previous rains. After some more cleaning, pushing and sliding, we found ourselves once again on the grassy plateau. From there it was all downhill to the car. The temperature was cool, a bit windy and overcast, perfect for biking in the woods. No rain. A great day in a great area. The ride: 40 kilometers and about 900 meters ascent.

Big thanks to our chasers: YO8AZQ, YO8SST, YO8SFF, YO8TLC, YO8TLD, YO8SDE, YO8SJD.

Later edit: Andrei discovered a tick on his right leg, above the knee. Removed it without problems.