The big quarter century! I woke up at 4am to the sounds of thunder and heavy rain and went on the balcony to fetch our drenched laundry. Leo woke up too, wished me happy birthday and played the "Lisa it's your birthday" tune from The Simpsons, while we wrung out our wet clothes in the … Continue reading EU Day 39-40: 25th Birthday, Riding Blagoevgrad (BUL) to Sofia (BUL) and Rest
Bulgaria
EU Day 38: Riding Lake Berovo (MKD) to Blagoevgrad (BUL)
We hoped today's ride would be easy, but we braced ourselves for the worst, since we had to cross the ridge between Macedonia and Bulgaria. It was a cool morning and we eased into the ride nice and early. We had lunch at the midpoint in Delchevo, but it was a dud restaurant which took … Continue reading EU Day 38: Riding Lake Berovo (MKD) to Blagoevgrad (BUL)
EU Day 32: Riding Dospat (BUL) to Gotse Delchev (BUL)
This was the easiest ride yet, it was a day of solid downhill action. So that explains why this is such a short post. After yesterday's less successful ride, my stomach was still feeling unpleasant, but it was okay because gravity did all the work for us. The mountains were very pretty and we had … Continue reading EU Day 32: Riding Dospat (BUL) to Gotse Delchev (BUL)
EU Day 31: Riding Smolyan (BUL) to Dospat (BUL)
I was hoping to feel refreshed after our rest day in Smolyan and tackle one last day of climbing. Unfortunately today was painful, starting off with some intense stomach cramps, but I was determined to ride regardless. The first 10km were fine, I just winced and grit my teeth when my stomach started turning. It … Continue reading EU Day 31: Riding Smolyan (BUL) to Dospat (BUL)
EU Day 30: Smolyan, rest day
I woke up this morning with extremely sore abs, it hurt to sit up in bed, so I rolled over and ate the left over chocolate on the bedside table. Leo heard the wrapper crackle, pointed at me and said "chocolate fiend" then went back to sleep. Breakfast was essentially the same, although the waitress … Continue reading EU Day 30: Smolyan, rest day
EU Day 29: Riding Kirkovo (BUL) to Smolyan (BUL)
This was the last ride for stage 4, before our rest day in Smolyan, a town near the Rhodope Mountains. We were amped up and ready rumble, each with our own snacks, frozen water bottles and two designated stop points along the way. Zlatograd was a very pretty town, with plenty of locals out and … Continue reading EU Day 29: Riding Kirkovo (BUL) to Smolyan (BUL)
EU Day 28: Riding Krumovgrad (BUL) to Kirkovo (BUL)
After an excellent night of rest, we were prepared for today's ride, which was half the distance as yesterday's ride. We had some omelettes for breakfast and briefly investigated town before we headed off. It seemed odd that parts of the town were really nice but parts of it were abandoned or really run down. … Continue reading EU Day 28: Riding Krumovgrad (BUL) to Kirkovo (BUL)
EU Day 27: Riding Edirne (TUR) to Krumovgrad (BUL)
Today's ride had some interesting phases, at the start the heat scorched us as we cycled through sunflower fields. But it didn't matter because we were enjoying the slower country pace. At the 44km mark it was lunch time and we were feeling quite content that we were almost half way there and doing relatively … Continue reading EU Day 27: Riding Edirne (TUR) to Krumovgrad (BUL)
