Turkey 🇹🇷 /  Bulgaria 🇧🇬 (Days 62 – 68)

Sunday (5/15). What a wonderful way to wake up…with the sound of the sea gently lapping on the shore just feet from our door. Thanks again Cuneyt.

This may surprise you, but having too many options is a problem. We booked our return flight home from Prague, so we have a goal. But how to get there? “Ay, there’s the rub.” Everyone who has cycled the Balkan peninsula has shared hidden gems we have to see! But every “yes” to one direction means saying “no” to countless others. What might we miss? Robert Frost said about paths not taken, “Oh, I kept the first for another day! Yet knowing how way leads on to way, I doubted if I should ever come back.” With all that in mind, we chose Bulgaria as our next destination. In part because we know absolutely nothing about it, in part because we like getting off the heavily beaten tourist path, and in part because what we’ve seen on the internet looks amazing. That decision led us to north to Kesan for the night. 

Monday (5/16). We set an ambitious goal for the day. Kesan to Edirne…65 miles. We started early to beat the heat and give ourselves time. Good idea! At one stop a stranger gifted us a candy bar. At another, a young man who had spent a year in Montana asked if there was anything we needed, then bought us two bottles of commonly used freshening spray. We were invited for tea by a woman who offered help with directions. We had a long, rambling Google translate chat with Birol at another. We traveled out of our way to take a scenic back route, only to be turned back by a closed bridge. A scenic road we’d hoped to ride along the border with Greece turned out to be OFF LIMITS to cyclists. Oh! That’s what the angry, shouting soldiers with guns are trying to say. Oopsies! A quick Forrest Gump wave (we are not smart cyclists!) and we were on our way…a different way… again! Twelve sweaty hours after we left, we arrived, more than ready to be done. We are looking forward to exploring this historic city… tomorrow! After a shower and good night’s sleep.

Tuesday (5/17). As usual, the term “rest day” is a bit misleading. We still logged ten miles biking around Edirne. Unfortunately the famous Selimye mosque is mostly closed for renovations. The portion we did see was impressive…especially for a 500 year old edifice. The old part of town was nice, but not enough to stay out in the heat.

Wednesday (5/18). Today was meant to be a true rest day while waiting for severe weather to pass. I did take the opportunity to give the bikes some love and was very disappointed to find some cracks developing on Sharon’s rear rim. They are not as severe as they were on mine, but the cracks are still a concern, and very frustrating. All the cyclists we’ve met have been out far longer with what appears to be much heavier loads – and no one has had these problems. Perhaps Kona chose a rim not suitable for the demands of world touring in order to reach some price point. Perhaps the spokes we’re not properly torqued in the factory. Whatever, I am not pleased with Kona bikes or WTB rims right now.  (Update...WTB has offered to replace the rim. Not sure of the logistics of getting a rim shipped and a bike shop to build a wheel in this part of e world – but good on you WTB).

Thursday (5/19). Fifteen miles up the road, one of the busiest border crossings in Europe has people sometimes sitting in queue for 10-12 hours to enter Bulgaria. Or…we could enter Greece for 20 miles, and then cross into Bulgaria. No brainer right? The portion of Greece we visited looked eerily similar to Southern Wisconsin. We had to keep reminding ourselves we were  far away from the Dairyland. An added bonus was good flat roads, light traffic, and a wind assist. Every day should be like this. And then – we were in Bulgaria. New stamps in the passport. New language (just when I was getting the hang of Turkish). New currency. Unreadable alphabet. And best of all…37,000 vertical feet of ups and downs to cross the country. Let’s do it!

Friday (5/20). Four miles in our lowest gear to start the day, followed shortly by twenty more. Welcome to Bulgaria! Surprisingly, the hills (mountains) were not the most striking feature here. It’s been said native peoples in Alaska have dozens of words for snow. It would not surprise me if folks in Bulgaria have dozens of words for ‘green’. To quote singer Natalie Merchant, “Emerald green like none I have seen apart from dreams…” Lush fields and forests in all shades of green lined the road, with an unreal blue sky for a back drop. Add to that good roads with almost no traffic…well played Bulgaria – well played!

So, the scenery is nice, what about the people? Half the village of Planinets turned out to help us buy snacks from the mobile market. That help included offers of food and coffee. In Kumovgrad, Emre got us set up with a local sim card. Then, as a fellow cyclist, he spent time offering suggestions for various local landmarks to visit. Esre stopped to chat and shared a bit of her life in Bulgaria. Although young, she loves to travel and was intrigued by our trip.

I know! I keep going on about all the nice people we meet. Here’s the thing – we are far from home, family, friends and the familiar. Just a smile or friendly wave is welcome. When folks stop to chat, offer help, show kindness in some fashion…these are special gifts! I feel compelled to acknowledge them.

Saturday (5/21). Bulgaria is becoming a bit repetitive.

If we continued west on Eurovelo #13, it was going to be “Groundhog Day” with the mountains all the way to the border. The mountains are beautiful,, but twenty mile long climbs are tough – even with a big downhill reward. Over pizza and beer in Momchilgrad near the end of the day, we decided instead to head north to Plovdiv. That will still mean another day of climbing, but then we will descend to a broad valley between two mountain ranges. Seems prudent not to flog ourselves any  more than necessary.

It has been quite a week. From a beach hut in Turkey, a quick visit to Greece, and now to the mountains and villages of Bulgaria. Remarkable. Until next week, take care and STC!