Euro End to End: 15 Aug 2008

Thursday 14 August 2008

Despite our schedule being based on 50 mile days, we are once again going to 'break the bank' and try and reach Sofija, Bulgaria today. This is primarily due to us wanting to be certain of accommodation availability and to avoid getting stuck in the boonies with nowhere to rest our weary heads...

The downside is, it's going to be a 'bit of a day' as we're expecting to have to put in a near century to reach sanctuary (ahh, how poetic....).

The day started early for us and we were ready to go just after 08:00. Unfortunately, this was before the restaurant opened so we set off running on empty.

In addition, Disharmony II wasn't playing nicely as she'd acquired a slow puncture overnight. A quick bit of pumping by Miles and we were on our way.

Firstly we had to make good yesterday's slight detour and this had us cycling 10 miles on reasonable 'B' road to rejoin our route of yesterday.

There followed another ~20 miles of leg mangling riding along route 15 and the combination of no food, lots of recent mileage and the vicious ups and downs had us calling for mercy.

Shortly before Vraca, Bulgaria we came across a roadside hovel and gorged ourselves on sugary pop. No solids as our Cyrillic (and stomachs) still aren't up to the challenge...

Shortly afterwards, on the outskirts of Vraca, we stumbled across a preferred supplier (service station) where we had a mega choccy and pop rest.

Fully fuelled, though still with wobbly legs, we made short work of the Vraca by-pass and soon found ourselves entering the enchanting Niskar gorge via Route 16.

This gorge would (eventually) lead to the outskirts of Sofija though nearly 50 miles later.

The ride through the gorge was both fantastic and painful. The scenery spectacular, traffic almost non existent and road surface mostly good.

However, as we progressed, the hills, heat and mounting mileage took their toll and we started to question our ability to reach Sofija.

We also had a couple of mechanicals to deal with and these delayed us even more. The slow puncture developed into one that needed fixing by the roadside and we managed to bounce our timing chain off a couple of times on bumpy terrain.

Disharmony II needed a bit of TLC and was overdue her rest day as well.

Refuelling stops were coming thick and fast to deal with both the heat and fatigue and we eventually reached the Sofija ring road at around 18:30. Knackered.

After a last pop and ice cream stop we summoned the courage to do battle into the centre of Sofija.

We followed our noses and soon bemoaned our lack of Cyrillic skills and the Bulgarian's inability to signpost their city centres.

After a couple of false starts and harassing both locals and the Police, we found ourselves stood outside the 5* Sheraton Hotel in the town centre.

We must have been a pretty picture whilst checking in having been on the road for 12 hours in stifling heat and knocking off more than 100 miles.

To the receptionists credit, she didn't miss a beat and we were soon ga ga in our room. After a quick shower and change, we were out foraging for calories as we needed to put some back.

This was a fantastic days cycling though very tough and we were very glad to see the end of it.

Rest day tomorrow, a little overdue and we're ready for it.

Today a mammoth 103 miles and a gargantuan total of 1245m of ascent. Total trip 3116 miles.

More Southerly ramblings to follow.

Back soon. Miles & Tracey.