Time to leave the Black Sea.

The photo above was a group shot as we were getting ready to leave the hotel this morning.  A great bunch of people to ride with.

We were on the road by 8.30am.  We were leaving the Black Sea and wouldn't get to see it every again.  We rolled out of Varna in light traffic and for the next 30kms we gradually climbed and climbed before we got our first downhill.  The landscape today was rolling hills with sun flower plantations on either side of the road.

We started on the expressway for the first 30kms and then turned off for the town of Devnya.  We found a little shop, bought some coffee and just chilled out for 30 minutes.  We had some fruit that we took from the hotel breakfast table.  After all we paid for it.

Back on the A highway instead of the expressway for the next 35kms.  It was a nice road to ride on with little traffic.  We'd stop every now and then for a drink or for photos.  It was a nice leisurely ride.  Our next stop was the town of Stan.  Now this reminded of the film 'Deliverance'.  I'm sure there's been some strange shit going on in this town over the years.

We bought some bread, meat and bananas and made a terrific lunch sitting on the park bench.  One of the local men came over and attempted to talk to us in Bulgarian, and not matter how hard we tried, it wasn't going to work.

Next thing I heard was my bike bell ringing.  This old chap decided to go around the bikes and ring bells.  It was time to get back on the bike and keep pushing to the town of Sumen.  We rolled back onto the expressway and noticed lorry cars overhead.  These cars that looked like something from the snow fields were fill of rock.  They transported the rocks in these cars on overhead cables.  What a unique to transport the rocks from the quarry.

As we pushed on we could see a large storm brewing ahead of us.  We could see lightning in the distance and the tailwind was increasing.  We came to the Sumen sign and turned off the highway.  We were all getting tired after 97kms of hard riding, but before we stopped we still had to climb the 3km hill that led into the city.

We climbed the hill and rolled down into town.  We found the hotel Neon for 40 Lev and immediately set upon throwing our gear all over the place.  A quick shower and we were out for dinner.  The hotel gave us a voucher to use at the Italian restaurant across the road so we decided to check it out.  We all had fantastic dishes, a couple of drinks, throw in the discount voucher and we were down $5 Aussie dollars for dinner.  What a bargain.

We went for a walk of the town after dinner and discussed how we were going to attack tomorrow.  Tomorrow will be longer and hopefully wind assisted. 

This is a photo of the trolley cars carrying rocks to the quarry.

It's now 9pm in Bulgaria and time for the 2 Aussies to go to bed.

Until tomorrow, safe riding.

Weekly video update. From the Red carpet.

Don't forget to turn the sound up. 

Rest Day in Varna.

 Our rest day was anything but a rest day.  First I had to do some printing and sending some papers back home to Australia.  To send 4 sheets of paper by EMS couriers cost $30 Australian dollars for a 3-5 day turn around.  If I went through DHL the price would have been doubled.  Obviously I chose the cheaper of the 2 evils.

Now for the rest of the day.  We walked around the Mall and then took the taxi out to the new Mall of Varna.  It's a nice new complex with all the clothing, watches, electronics stores and eateries.  The surprising thing is the lack of people in the complex. 

We got the taxi back into town and checked out yet another Orthodox Church.  They are impressive with their ceilings, all painted with images of Jesus and the Virgin Mary around the walls. 

 The image depicted in the photo above is common inside and on the exterior walls of the Orthodox Churches.

 Now when you don't feel like walking too far you head to the National Maritime Museum.  They had the usual ships in dilapidated condition, helicopters that have seen better days, anchors, guns and more guns. 

 The motorcycle and old truck were built by the Russians after WWII.  I do like the size of the light behind the motorbike,  That's something I need to light up my back yard in the evenings. 

 Now everyone loves marching girls.  Well, I do.  A marching band came down the mall as we were heading for dinner.  We had to wait for the band to pass, then we headed off for dinner. 

Just another photo of the marching band in Varna.  The dancers looked straight ahead and the music the band was playing was pretty good.  Notice the sword in his hand.

Our rest day is just about over.  Tomorrow we are hoping to reach the town of Shumen about 100kms
away.

Until tomorrow, safe riding.

Obzor to Varna. The largest port on the Black Sea.

 Today we left Obzor on the Black Sea and headed out of town and straight into a lengthy climb.  The photo above was taken shortly after commencing the climb.  We didn't care about the mountains today as tomorrow will be our first rest day of the tour in Varna, Bulgaria.

We left at 7.30am with hopes of reaching Varna shortly after midday.  With rolling hills and some fantastic high speed descents we were flying.  At one stage I hit over 70kph.  This is pretty fast when you have 4 pannier bags strapped to your bike.  As long as you don't hit a big bump in the road, you'll be right. 

At stages the road was single lane and this is always a concern for me.  Close shaves is something I don't like when riding.  We stopped a couple of times up each climb to regroup and take another drink.  We had our morning tea stop in a little village with coffee and a roll.  We were in no hurry today and it showed.  Any time we got to take a break, take a photo, buy some fruit, we'd take it.

As we rode through one village we saw this chap selling rock melon from a stand.  We pulled over bought 2 rock melon, pulled out the tarp and we all sat down for a splurge.  The weather was beautiful, the wind was calm and we were all in good spirits after a hard 7 days of riding.

 I took the above photo of a plantation of sunflowers.  The fields are littered with sunflowers as far as the eyes can see. 

 Of course, that's me in the sunflower patch.

We rolled into Varna after hitting my top speed for the tour at 76kph down the mountain that leads you straight into the centre of town at 1.30pm.  We pulled over out the front of the Assumption Cathedral.  The biggest Orthodox Church in Varna.  the imposing Cathedral of the Assumption of the Virgin was built in 1886.  It contains finely carved iconostasis and a bishop's throne. 

Now for the accommodation.  Maurice had a name of a hotel called the Cherno more.  We made our way to the hotel which had red carpet out the front, enormous building, a casino, roof top terrace and the list goes on.  I thought this would be expensive and not in our price range.  Peter and Maurice went inside and came out with big grins on their faces.  Peter had negotiated a price for 70 Lev a double.  That's about 25 dollars per head with breakfast.  Now this has to be the best place in town and right in the centre of the Mall area.  We can walk out the doors of the hotel and be right amongst it.  Not a bad place to enjoy our rest day.

After settling in and cleaning the clothes I went for a walk of the town.  Walked down to the Black Sea and put the feet in the water.  I'll take some photo's of the amazing set up they have down on the beach tomorrow.

Tomorrow will be sightseeing, cleaning the bike and resting.  No exercise.

Until tomorrow, safe riding.

Summer on the Black Sea.

 Last night we went down town for dinner at one of the many restaurants on the shores of the Black Sea.  The photo is of Peter enjoying what most Australians love doing, drinking beer.  He certainly doesn't look like this after a 10km climb.  Oh well, you have to enjoy these luxuries when you get the chance. 

It was an early night last night as we wanted to get on the road by 8.30am. 

We left the town of Sarafovo, just outside Burgas for the ride north.  We rolled along at a good speed for about 30kms and then the fun began. Firstly we had to contend with single lane roads and being passed by trucks, buses, trackers, horse drawn carts and cars all morning.  Some were idiots and came pretty close, others were very reasonable.  Then we hit the climb for the day.  It was 10kms straight up.  

My bike has developed a clicking noise which is driving me nuts, so the impending rest day in  Varna in 2 days will sort the problem out.  So up we went, higher and higher.  As we rounded one corner, another rise appeared before us.  We took stops every 2kms of climbing for a drink and for us to regroup.  It was much safer to ride together instead of being spread out all over the mountain.

At one stage I pulled over to check on the noise coming from the bike.  I saw this young girl standing on this small by pass road, wiggling his ass to attract customers.  Honestly, she looked no older than 16.  She asked Peter and I if we wanted a service, but instead I asked her is she could hold my bike upright whilst I put some oil on the cranks.  I was hoping the oil might decrease the noise.  No good, didn't work.

By the time Maurice and Mary pulled up we decided to take a longer stop and eat something.  We had some leftover pizza from last night so we devoured a couple of pieces and I gave the young girl (prostitute) the remaining pieces.  She ate that pizza like she hadn't had a good feed in ages.  I did feel sorry for the young girl trying to earn a dollar like this.  She was a real target for the sicko in the out of the way area.  That's life.

Back on the bike to compete the climb.  After 2 hours of climbing we reached the summit.  We rounded the top and there before us was a little coke stop and restaurant.  It was time for a drink and some food.  Where ever you eat in Bulgaria it costs peanuts.  Everything is so cheap.

The ride from the summit down to the Black Sea was fast and furious.  We rolled into the town of Obzor which is right on the shores of the Black Sea.  We found a nice play to stay for about 10 dollars each.  It's not worth putting up the tent when you get a really nice room with views of the Sea from you very own balcony.

I went for a walk after a nice shower to do the mandatory stuff, put my feet in the Black Sea.  I've done the Nile, Red Sea, Adriatic Sea and the mighty Pacific Ocean which was born from the shores of Wollongong.  The water was nice and cool and the scenery wasn't bad at all.

Tomorrow we have about 60kms to reach Varna our first rest day on tour.  I have some business to attend to and fix the bike.  Do some shopping, eating, swimming and maybe some sleeping.

 The photo is of one of our many stops whilst climbing the 8% gradient outside of Sarafovo.

 Summer on the shores of the Black Sea, Obzor.

 Another shot of the same beach.  The beach was absolutely crowded at 5pm in the afternoon.  I suppose there no real rush to get home considering the sun doesn't set till about 9.15pm.

 Now this photo is of the Palace we're staying at.  You might be able to see the washed riding gear hanging over the balcony.  I hate washing clothes, it's not my job.

If you're an English person like myself, I find it very difficult to choose what I would like for dinner from the board outside the restaurant.  With no photos on the menu makes it very hard to make a choice. 

So it's time to eat, and an early night.

Until tomorrow, safe riding.

Malko Tarnovo to Burgas. All down hill.

 Today we left our renovated hospital in Malko Tarnovo and headed north to the town of Burgas which is situated on the Black Sea.  After doing some routing on the computer it showed the terrain was up and down to the 30km mark and then all downhill to Burgas.

The first town we stopped at for a coffee and biscuits was Zvezdets.  We had climbed a couple of mountains this morning but hopefully they are all now behind us.  Our ride was surrounded by pine forests as far as the eyes could see.  Beautiful green scenery, the birds were singing, and you know how the rest goes.  We kept rolling along until our lunch stop at the town of 'not really sure'.

Lunch was a Bulgarian chicken rissole and kebab with salad and potato. And I washed it down with water.  Great meal at a bargain price.  Usually we get a huge plate of food with a drink for about 4-5 Aussie dollars each.

That's Peter and I wearing the famous eXsight Tandem Team jerseys.  These were designed by Shock Sports.com Rember to check out their website or contact me for their details. 

This photo was taken just before our morning tea stop.  Aussie's demand morning tea wherever they go on the planet.

Lunch with our buddies.

We were getting close to Burgas and the traffic was increasing.  The driver's don't appear to be as friendly as those in Turkey.  They seem to come very close at times.  Also they seldom wave as we ride along.  Very cold and hard faces on the people as we ride through their part of the world.

As I had predicted yesterday the majority of today's ride was downhill.  We had long fast descents where I reached top speed of 70kph.  Beautiful smooth roads all the way into town.  We were looking for the town of Pomorie where we were told we could camp.  It was madness as we rode through town, and very dangerous.  We had to be on our guard not to get cut off at each intersections or roundabouts.

We rode through the centre of Burgas and headed out to the airport.  We thought it would be best to get to the northern side of town which would make our departure tomorrow morning a lot less hectic.  By 4.30pm we had had enough.  We turned off the main highway and rode into the town of Sarafoso.  We found the Matev Guesthouse, Bracigovo No.23, and for 45 Lev it was a bargain. 

After dragging our bags up 2 flights of stairs, I was stuffed.  We rode 85kms and it was tough.  Long climbs, increasing traffic and the heat was starting to affect us.  After a nice shower and shave it was time to walk down to the beach to check out the Black Sea.  I'll get the chance to have a swim in 2 days when we get to Varna.

We met this young French guy who was riding in the opposite direction to us.  He's final destination is Istanbul, 300kms away.  We've now clocked up about 350kms this tour in 5 days.

Now it's time to turn the computer off and go to sleep.

Until tomorrow, safe riding.

Turkey to Bulgaria. What an amazing day of kindness and mountains.

The first photo was taken at a restaurant in the town of Derokoy about 10kms from the Bulgarian border.  These 2 ladies looked after the starving cyclists with bread, salad, beans, rice and yep, washed down with coke.   Now back to the story for today.

Our day started off nice and early leaving hotel onder at 8.15am.  Peter was feeling better, but how good would be determined when he hit the mountains once we leave Kirklareli.  We rolled out of town into yet another day of intense headwind.  We made good time to our morning tea stop over rolling hills, passing small villages, barking dogs, military barracks and sheep.

We're now in the area where sun flowers are grown in the millions.  It's interesting to see how the yellow part of the plant faces east in the morning and will face west in the afternoon.  Why, because it follows the sun's rays.

The next big town for the day was Kirklareli.  This is at the 30km mark and we intended to stop for bite at this town but I took the group on a by pass road which by passed everything.  That wasn't a clever thing to do.  We rolled over a couple of more hills and came to a small shop.  The owner invited us in and boiled the billy for us. He also had all the sweets we love, Turkish delight, a sweet he calls Viagra and chocolate biscuits.  This man was incredible.  He sat down with us, never charged us for our tea, although we did buy some basics from him.  We all had our photo taken inside and outside the shop and he waved us on our way.  Now where on earth are you going to get that type of treatment from a shop owner?  Unless you're in Turkey.

This photo was taken inside Suleiman's shop outside of Kirklareli.

And that's a photo of Suleiman outside the shop with Maurice.

We still had 40kms to reach the Bulgarian border and it was now around 1pm.  I thought at the pace we were making we could get there by 6pm.  The time wasn't a problem it's whether everyone had the energy to get over the impending mountain ranges before dark.

From the moment we left Suleiman the road went up and up.  We climbed for over 30 minutes, would then drop down into the valley and climb even  higher.  We climbed and climbed all afternoon.  The reward was the beautiful scenery behind us.  With the green fields and rolling hills in the distance, one does get a feeling of satisfaction on doing it on bike and not in a car.

By 3pm we were getting hungry.  All this climbing was burning up all our energy and we still had 20kms to go.  We turned off the highway and rode down a bumpy back road to the town of Derokoy.  This is the place were we had the beans and rice meal.  It was so nice.  I took some more photos of the ladies and they are below on this update.

With time against us we pushed on out of town and rejoined the E85 highway to the Bulgarian border.  Now we had 10kms to go and we were told it was all up hill.  Now we had some serious climbing ahead of us.  We had a dual highway with no traffic to ride on to the border.  Some of the mountain range was at 10% and it went for kilometres.  We would come around one bend and it would climb again and up higher.  We were so glad to see the border crossing.  We arrived at 6pm on the dot.  The border crossing was a non event, just a stamp and you went through. 

This photo was taken after we left Turkey and we just about to enter Bulgaria.  The next 10kms into Bulgaria was a complete contrast to Turkish roads.  The roads we were now riding on were absolute rubbish.  Potholes, and more potholes as we roared down the mountain range and into the town of Malko Tarnovo.

After asking a couple of locals where the hotel was, we found our way to the old hospital which had been converted into a hotel.  The rooms are nice and clean, it has WiFi, but no breakfast.  There was no way we were going to sleep in our tents after that enormous day of riding.  We climbed over 1600metres in about 40kms.  That gives you an idea of the mountains we climbed at the end of the day.  I do have to say the Peter went really well, considering how ill he was feeling yesterday.

After a quick shower we headed off to a little restaurant down the road.  It was nice to sit and chat about our great day the people we met along the way.  There was one thing I should have mentioned earlier.  As we were climbing one of the mountains outside of Kirklareli, Suleiman came out to greet us in his car.  He was there cheering us and waving to us as we climbed one of many mountains in the afternoon. 

That's Maurice on a long climb towards the border. 

That's Peter coming up the same climb.

This is the mother and daughter who own the shop we had afternoon dinner at in Derokoy. 

And of course, they insisted that I take another photo inside their shop at Derokoy.

That's Mary climbing one of the mountains today.

And finally, that's momma outside the shop in Derokoy.  They waved us on our journey.  Yet another special encounter on the road to Eastern Europe.

Now it's getting late, everyone is in bed and I need my sleep. Tomorrow we try and reach the Black Sea.

Until tomorrow, safe riding.