Friday and the call to prayer rings out across town, there will be a sermon and all men are meant to attend. There’s also the hustle and bustle of market day in Çeltik (Turkey), farmers bringing produce, other clothes and shoes. You can even find a new vacuum. I push my bike through the stalls and find somewhere to sit. I order a doner from a corner stall and start to write my next blog. Once again I have fallen further behind because I am about to tell the story of my leaving Belgrade for the second time!
I had high hopes of joining the EV6 and meeting lots of cyclists. I knew Garth was ahead of me and I might catch him up after a couple of days. My hopes were soon dashed. Firstly, I had to get out of Belgrade. The Serbians haven’t really thought about cyclists and have created as many opportunities for a clash between us and other road traffic. But the main issue was the bridge across the river to the EV6, this is the only route and it is two lanes with no hard-shoulder or path. Naturally cars try to squeeze pass at every opportunity.
Once on the other side, now with less hair than before, you are on a path running alongside the Danube. It is a rough mud track and I come across a couple cycling the same way. They decided to find a road route past, I continue on. Fed up of cars already. It stays this way for most of the day and I settle for a campsite after a ferry crossing of the river. This campsite was known to cyclists but I was the only one there this time. At least there was a welcome shot of Raki and cheap at only €6 a night!
Repetitve
The journey was reasonably flat following the Danube. The views, whilst nice, were becoming repetitive and I still had over 240km. The heat was bearing down during this whole time and the cycling was becoming difficult. This was adding to my general dissatisfaction of the journey. I am also getting worried about the money. I have always been worried about money; I think it comes from my childhood. We would go from having money to having little, the life of a contractor. This has left me being constantly worried and chasing money even though it always made me unhappy.
This worry still doesn’t stop me from booking into a hostel in the town of Donji Milanovac for the night (only £7.25, at least it is within budget if I cook). However, this turns out to be a bit of a blessing in disguise. I get to meet another cycle tourer on his first journey with two friends. Coco, his nickname, had fallen ill and he stayed whilst his friends continued to Nis, Serbia. Once better he would take a bus and catch them up. They had been travelling from Romania to Greece, finishing in Istanbul.
The next day I would set off towards Negotin, the last town in Serbia before Bulgaria. I am taking a more direct route there; I will miss chunks of the Danube but the campsite there called Basecamp for Adventurers is a known cycle tourer hotspot and I will be able to meet others including Garth. Garth and I decided to ride together, spending a rest day in Vidin, Bulgaria until Landgoed Happy Luck Home campsite, ran by a Dutch couple.
Bulgaria
The sun was shining as we set off. About 3km in I realised I had forgotten my water bottles, which were still in the fridge! Not a great example of my touring ability! The road on the Serbian side was in a state of being upgraded and was peeled back to the compacted mud underneath, but little traffic. The Bulgarian side whilst asphalt had lots of trucks all the way until Vidin. It was a dull ride but having someone to talk to was nice.
We spent a couple of nights in a motel in Vidin and watched a couple of movies. We also looked into all the bike shops looking for inner tubes and bike tyres. They only have Schrader valve inner tubes and that is an issue for me! I will need to wait until a bigger city to get a spare. Fingers crossed. Garth didn’t find a new tyre either.
Later that day I meet Monika, who I found through Instagram. A Lithuanian cycling to Turkey and possibly beyond, maybe Iran. We discuss our plans and realise we are going in a similar direction but on different timelines.
The EuroVelo 6
So far this route has been dull, and we set off again and it was another dull day’s ride due to main roads and trucks. At one point at the top of the hill I pull over at some road works to wait for Garth, this decision saved me from being involved in an accident. One car didn’t see that the car in front had stopped and went into it almost at full speed. This would’ve pushed the car into the back of my bike sending me to the ground or the bonnet.
We make it Landgoed campsite and the owner gave us an option of €25 each for our tents (I thought this was rather expensive for Bulgaria) or €40 for a cabin which sleeps two. We went for the cabin. I cook a simple pasta dish and we watch a movie. I enjoyed this time together but I wouldn’t be able to keep this type of costs up and decided to leave for Plovdiv. This would mean three days of cycling and a horrible climb on one of the World’s most dangerous roads.
Overall I didn’t think the EV6 was a nice route but I had only seen a bit of it, but it follows main roads all the way until the Black sea. I say goodbye to Garth the next day and set off towards Plovdiv. The way out was a mud track and despite it being tough I enjoyed it after the roads of the past few days.
Rain, rain, glorious rain!
Normal service on main roads resumes but only for a short while when I turn off for smaller roads through villages. These were not in a good state but with overcast conditions and flat roads I still make good distance and stop in a village for lunch. The sun makes an appearance in the afternoon and I stop for a coffee in a little village. When going to the toilet I noticed it was a squat toilet. Well I guess I have to start getting use to it!
That evening I had spotted a place for wild camping overlooking a lake. On my way there the heavens opened and I dived into a service station. Unable to use my stove to cook, I resorted to a service station dinner. The rain eventually stopped at 20.00 and I set off for my camp. Beautiful as it was, whilst setting up camp I was attacked mercilessly by the mosquitoes. I resembled a pin cushion by the end and was glad to get into the tent.
The rain comes again and does not stop for the whole of the next day. I pack the tent up in the wet, it is soaked through and I aim to find a hostel/guesthouse in the evening. I don my waterproofs and set off. There is something therapeutic about cycling in the rain fully clothed in waterproofs, the rain lashing down; you can be in your own little element whilst peddling along. Lunch was taken in a service station, the only place with cover and Wi-Fi along my route.
Troyan Pass
I set off dry and well fed on a large breakfast of yogurt, granola and fruit. As I arrive at the bottom of the pass I notice a line of trucks waiting to start the climb and a police officer asks me to pullover. He says the pass is closed; this concerns me because the alternative is two/three days to go round the mountain range. I was meeting a friend in Plovdiv and didn’t have the time. After a little chat the officer mentions it might open up by 11.00 and I persuade him to let me go. I will not get to the top before 11! He lets me through; I don’t think his colleague wanted to though.
The advantage of police blocking the road to traffic, is that I have it all too myself. No other vehicles, just me and the little bits of rain. It was a wonderful ride even though it was a 30km long climb. Four hours later I make the top (1,525m) and realise it is really cold! Because of the low cloud, it is not possible to see the monument which stands at the top! I descend down and start to feel the cold bite. But the sun starts to beat through and the views open up and I pull over to admire them and embrace the heat.
I then had the final decline and a flat road ride into Plovdiv in glorious sunshine. The damage from the landslides was visible on the switch backs on the way down. I guess that is why it is a dangerous road. Arriving into my hostel in Plovdiv tired but happy with the day. The rest of the evening was spent catching up with Graham and meeting other guests.