Dave and his Bike

Days 31, 32 & 33.

Day 31

Today was a day I had been nervous about for a while. Mainly because I started the day at 200m above sea level, and now I am at 1240m. It was therefore going to be the most climbing so far, with the addition of my panniers which I didn’t have in the Alps.

The usual few kilometres of dual carriageway out of town, with a momentary pause a few hundred metres from the hotel for a pastry based breakfast (which I put in my handlebar bag for later) and a coffee at a petrol station, passed quickly. I turned onto the minor road and headed to the hills. It was still chilly – around 10°C – so long sleeves and gloves were the order of the day.

After an hour and a half I stumbled across a picnic area at the side of the road, so stopped for my breakfast, and to admire the scenery.

On the quiet roads it was great. A steady but gentle incline up the steeply sided valley, which became almost a gorge in places. Good road surface, no traffic, inquisitive but friendly dogs.

Regular stops for a few more bites of breakfast (there’s no way I could eat a whole slice of that in one go!) and a drink was lovely to be able to do, and one way of regulating my pace. A bag of crisps and a bottle of Pepsi (yeah, I know) from a roadside stall, and a break for a satsuma (at last), and the kilometres kept adding up. As did the altitude.

I basically climbed all day, with the odd frustrating drop of 100m or so. I’m not a natural climber, but today I really enjoyed it. That’s not to say it didn’t hurt, and I’m not knackered, because it did and I am.

Once out of the initial valley, the scenery opened up, with mountains ahead to my left in the distance. A sign of things to come this afternoon.

After a bit more rise and fall, the final climb started. I was fully expecting it, as I knew I had less than 20km to go, but still had over 800m to climb. It wasn’t too bad actually. Obviously the bits of 8 & 9% after a six hour ride weren’t the easiest, or my favourite part, but they soon passed, and my knee seemed to have survived. The temperature was slightly awkward, as it was 20° in the sunshine, and about 12° in the shade. I had shed my sleeves and gloves long ago, so the shady bits were a bit chilly. At almost bang on 100km I reached the (very) cheap hotel I had booked, overlooking the lake. It’s another one where I think I am the only guest. The surprised staff (singular) assured me that the restaurant is open until 2100hrs. I hope so. There’s not much else here, and I’ve eaten all of my Jaffa cakes.

The restaurant was indeed open. Chicken, salad and bread. It was very nice actually.

Mileage so far: 2233km

Day 32.

Woke early – about 0545hrs – and couldn’t get back to sleep. Packed and ready before breakfast at 0800, which again was good – as close to a ‘full English’ as I’ve had in ages.

It was chilly when I set off – about 7°C, as I was at a bit of altitude, so I wrapped up well. As predicted there were a couple of hundred metres of climbing (up to 1380m) around the lake which looked beautiful in the sunshine.

I shed a layer after the first 15km, and then the road dropped for about the same distance to the border. I hadn’t passed a single shop, and therefore had no opportunity to stock up with food or spend my remaining dinar, so I’m left with the equivalent of about £8.50. Not much in real terms, but a days worth of food here.

Despite the scaremongering I had read on the (unreliable) internet about delays, miserable border guards and bribes, both sides of the border were great. There were no queues, and interested questions from the border staff about where I’ve been, where I’m going etc. All good humoured. Nice experience.

From the border to the next town, Tran, was 18km. Mostly downhill and therefore quite quick. I found a cash machine with a café next door. Ideal. The coffee cost the equivalent of 43p. Bargain. In addition to a slightly later start than I would have liked, I changed time zones (now GMT +2). So my predicted finish was looking like 1730 or later.

In the next town, Breznik, I bought some lunch. I know it’s not experiencing new and local traditional food, but a smoked ham, cheese and mayonnaise sandwich was bloody lovely!

That left me with around 50km to go, with a few smallish climbs (100m or so – back up to 900m) in between. And a couple of dogs. At the risk of sounding boring, I think I’ve jinxed myself again. Either that or the Bulgarian dogs have been reading my blog. The silent / covert approach caught me off guard. To be fair, two of them just wanted to run along with me. I’m not sure about the third – I didn’t hang around to find out. I’ll try to stop banging on about dogs.

I was quite surprised by the lack of traffic on both sides of the border. I was expecting much more as there aren’t many crossings between the two countries. Not complaining – my gain! Once I hit the main road about 10km outside Sofia however, that changed. In joining it at what seemed like rush hour I think I won again, as it was so slow moving there was little threat. Then my luck got even better.

I headed towards the hotel I had earmarked on the far side of the city, but the nearer I got the more undesirable the area became. It was quite depressing, and I just didn’t fancy staying there for two nights. So I turned back in towards the centre. Once there, or thereabouts, I pulled onto the footpath and started a Google search for a hotel. A minute later a voice said (in perfect English) ‘ Do you need help with anything?’

The short version of events ended up with Ivan and Irina offering me an apartment they have for their children when in town. How lucky am I. Sometimes things happen which restore your faith in human kindness. This was one of them.

Having washed and shaved, I went to the Italian restaurant recommended by my hosts, had a lasagne and shared a beer with them. Excellent company and very informative about Bulgaria, its history and politics. Lovely evening. I also met the cat.

Mileage so far: 2360km.

Day 33.

Day off in Sofia.

I woke early – unfamiliar surroundings I think. Met Ivan and Irina for a coffee and then went for some breakfast on my way in to the city. It’s not far, about a 10 minute walk to the cathedral of St. Alexander Nevsky. Beautiful golden domes, brilliant in the sunlight.

Having sat in the sun for a while, I then meandered past the government buildings and into the heart of the city. It’s a very beautiful place, with many grand and historic buildings, parks, a second cathedral (St. Nedelya) and National Theatre. I stopped for another coffee and rang Jane briefly.

After getting a much needed haircut, I had a sandwich in the park by the National Palace of Culture, then walked back to the apartment via the university. A great way to spend a few hours.

It was only after I had taken the photo of the view from the apartment that I realised it’s the French Embassy, where my friend Karl used to work!

Route planning, a bit of washing and a snooze followed. Once fully awake again, I had a walk around the local area looking for a restaurant with a local menu. I bumped into Ivan and Irina by coincidence, and went back to the restaurant that they had just left. Moussaka, chocolate soufflé and a beer. Excellent. Much more conversation about Bulgaria, the roads, routes and weather forecast, then back for family catch-ups and an early night in preparation for tomorrow.

Brilliant day. Sofia is absolutely beautiful and well worth the visit.