We were still feeling a bit sore today, so we decided to get a taxi since the train from Sofia to Pirot only runs at night time. None of the taxis wanted to cross the Bulgaria/Serbia border and we understood why. It took over an hour and a half to get through passport control, meanwhile we stood in the sun and enjoyed the fumes of surrounding cars.

Once we made it through to Serbia, the ride was very easy, just a perfectly straight road for us to speed past. Over the past few days I’ve felt like a turtle, slowly hauling myself up hills, but today I felt like a rocket. Arriving in Pirot was even better, the town had so many cyclists, men and women, kids and adults, even some older people too. This time we weren’t the odd ones out!

Shortly after settling in, the hunger started and we asked the hotel owners for a recommendation. Ladna Voda (Serbian for cold water) was built in 1865 and it’s the oldest restaurant in town. The garden was beautiful and the food was generous and delicious, especially that juicy steak. I can understand why the Serbs have a reputation for barbecues and consuming insane amounts of meat.

For the remainder of the evening, we walked into town and we were happy to see so many people out and about. The town is so lively and friendly, a great start to our Serbian leg of the tour. Although we didn’t have any more mountains, the next few rides would be lengthy, so we needed to get some rest.