We left Aheloy at 7.15am and headed along the Highway 9 towards Burgas. It was cool at the beginning, but soon started to warm up. The highway was busy, but it was a good road. There was not much to see along the way, although we were near the coast, and the air was very dirty. There are so many developments underway, must be a lot of money being invested in tourism in Bulgaria. It was a flat ride for the first 30 ks.
Burgas was a busy city, with very little to recomend it. It was dusty, noisy and the air was very dirty. We rode straight through the city. We turned off to Highway 98 and at 50ks met the lunch truck. This part of the journey was undulating, through grasslands with not much to see but grassland, and a nice view back to the city. Then we hit the real hills! The road was through forested area, with some long climbs, and the temperature reaching 38 degrees with little wind. We certainly drank a lot of water, (John finished off over six bottles) which by this time was getting warm. We only found one place to buy more water, a tiny little petrol station shop which didn't sell much at all.
During the day we saw some road kill - a number of snakes and a hedgehog, as well as live critters - including a small black turtle and locusts. We do not see or hear many birds in the forest areas.
We rode with Manon, Graeme, Alan, Garis and Nicole. Graeme was not feeling very well so we were happy to go slowly and wait for him to catch us up.
We were very pleased to reach our destination at 1.30pm, staying in a dormitory block, which would have been worn-out when it was built in the 1950s! We have a toilet with leaking cistern which is up high so it drips over the seat, the toilet is so close to the wall you have to sit sideways on it, a shower without rose head so you get a 20mm flow of not quite freezing cold water.... The beds are clean, fortunately. However 200 metres up the road is a pool and bar complex at which we sat for a few hours in the afternoon. John also had a snooze for an hour. Dinner was chicken, potato salad and cabbage, then back to the bar for a coffee and iceceeam.
A long day in the hot sun. We started at sea level, and did 900 metres of vertical climbing. We finished at 300 metres above sea level, and there were only three steep descents during the day, so most of the day was spent on long, gradual climbs.
Travelled 103km in 5 hours 28 mins. Average at lunchtime was 20.5, but average for the whole day was 18.6.
Burgas was a busy city, with very little to recomend it. It was dusty, noisy and the air was very dirty. We rode straight through the city. We turned off to Highway 98 and at 50ks met the lunch truck. This part of the journey was undulating, through grasslands with not much to see but grassland, and a nice view back to the city. Then we hit the real hills! The road was through forested area, with some long climbs, and the temperature reaching 38 degrees with little wind. We certainly drank a lot of water, (John finished off over six bottles) which by this time was getting warm. We only found one place to buy more water, a tiny little petrol station shop which didn't sell much at all.
During the day we saw some road kill - a number of snakes and a hedgehog, as well as live critters - including a small black turtle and locusts. We do not see or hear many birds in the forest areas.
We rode with Manon, Graeme, Alan, Garis and Nicole. Graeme was not feeling very well so we were happy to go slowly and wait for him to catch us up.
We were very pleased to reach our destination at 1.30pm, staying in a dormitory block, which would have been worn-out when it was built in the 1950s! We have a toilet with leaking cistern which is up high so it drips over the seat, the toilet is so close to the wall you have to sit sideways on it, a shower without rose head so you get a 20mm flow of not quite freezing cold water.... The beds are clean, fortunately. However 200 metres up the road is a pool and bar complex at which we sat for a few hours in the afternoon. John also had a snooze for an hour. Dinner was chicken, potato salad and cabbage, then back to the bar for a coffee and iceceeam.
A long day in the hot sun. We started at sea level, and did 900 metres of vertical climbing. We finished at 300 metres above sea level, and there were only three steep descents during the day, so most of the day was spent on long, gradual climbs.
Travelled 103km in 5 hours 28 mins. Average at lunchtime was 20.5, but average for the whole day was 18.6.
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