30.05.24

After our romantic stay in Apartment Vivaldi, it was time to put our weary legs onto pedals once more.

A quick leg check revealed that both of our quads were sitting at a 5/10 at best.

On a normal day, this might have taken hold of our headspace, but we were looking forward to what lay ahead of us.

This was the first time we would get to see some properly hilly landscapes. After weeks of very flat farmland, the Balkan Mountains were a sight for sore eyes.

Riding seemed much less arduous as we gawked at steep valley cliff sides and deep green trees that carpeted our surroundings.

There were a few short tunnels that gave a taste of things to come in more mountainous countries, but for now we were happy to see the sights, one of which being a dinky little monastery.

Another helping of Burek in Bela Palanka washed down with a customary Fanta saw us on our way to Pirot, our destination for the day.

I suspect we may have had a slight tailwind, or maybe just no wind, as we cycled the 75km in a record time of 3hrs 30mins.

We were welcomed into Pirot by the lovely warm yellow and blue glow of a Lidl. It’s very odd, when you miss home, to realise how comforting walking into a familiar supermarket can be.

Oh no, I’ve been absorbed into the consumer culture marketing machine.

Equally welcoming was our Booking.com host accompanied by Buddy, her friendly doggy assistant that gladly licked the sweat from our legs.

We had beers under a pear tree as the sunset turned into a thunderstorm and headed to bed.

31.05.24

The next day promised less beautiful landscapes but a new country in Bulgaria.

What seemed like a fairly innocuous 90km day turned out to be a pretty grim ride. I think I’ve learned that, no matter how easy, spending 5+ hours in the saddle always ends up being tough.

My legs were feeling weak from the outset and just making it to the Bulgarian border 30kms away was a struggle.

It called for a Super Sized Snickers (a Snickers with three bars in it) to aid with rejuvenation.

The crossing was smooth and interestingly more Turkish-themed roadside shops had begun popping up as we went. It must be because Turkish truckers come through on the way to European destinations.

That, and our first road sign for Istanbul, hinted that the end of Europe was nigh (barring another 570km on the road).

We had no idea if cycling would be more or less welcome in Bulgaria than Serbia. The first 50km in the country suggested it would be similar.

We started off on the hard shoulder of a motorway, then moved to a terrible cobbled road for a few hours then another very busy road into Sofia itself.

Along the way we dodged a horse, construction vehicles and a van dropping planks of wood all over the road.

I also win the award for closest pass of a vehicle so far. A flatbed truck was mere inches away from my pannier bags on the way into town.

On the whole though, the Bulgarian drivers have been ok so far. We’ll reserve judgement for now.

To end an already challenging day, our Warmshowers host was located on the opposite side of Sofia. Another 15km later, including a hill thrown in because we deserve pain, we made it.

Chocolate milk and Pringles restored our spirits, coupled with the prospect of a few days rest.

Free accommodation is great, but it’s even better when the host is just a proper nice person. Stefan was exactly that as he put us up in his spare room, sleeping alongside his pet budgies.

As with most of the cities we stop in, we plan a lot but often feel too tired to do much. So we did the usual; mooched around some sights, got some food and relaxed.

Stefan also leant us a basketball which we gladly used to lazily shoot some hoops. We both miss playing quite a lot and are looking forward to forming a team back in London (Pete and Ieuan, you better get balling).

And now we’re gearing up for our final capital to capital ride in Europe. Istanbul (and a visit from the Welsh Chet Holmgren) awaits down the road.

But first it’s back to the best terrain a tired man’s legs could ask for; Eastern European farmland.

Enjoy it while it lasts.