It starts badly…
New border, new country. My entry into Bulgaria was… shattering. Barely 10km done, bam, a pothole. Bulgarian road 1 – rear tire 0. I am on a road in full sun, no trees in sight. I start to disassemble, my hands are all black and I am dripping with sweat. Welcome to Bulgaria! But I have barely started to put on my new inner tube, when a young Bulgarian couple stops. Quickly the man helps me to put the wheel back on, the woman leaves then comes back with 2 bottles of water! This is how to go from “wow it annoys me” to “cycling is great”. I don’t hang around, I want to reach the next town by noon to talk to my family on the phone. I stopped at a cafe in Vidin, on the banks of the Donau that I found again. We chatted for a while, it was already 2:30 p.m. when I get back on the road. Fortunately, I don’t have many kilometers left for today. There aren’t many campsites in this region of Bulgaria, and for my first night in this country I don’t want to bivouac. Especially with what just happened: I leave Vidin on an empty stomach. Although I only have about ten kilometers left, 3 p.m., I prefer to eat something. The surroundings are not glamorous, I find a staircase of a closed shop, in the shade, to eat my pâté (yes, yes, Bejan the day before gave me a box that looks like cat pâté…). I don’t enjoy it, but it will help me to do the last kilometers. A kid, in his twenties, circles around me on his little yellow bike. As I put my things away and get ready to leave, he comes towards me. I offer him my pâté, I don’t want any more. I understand very quickly that this is not what he wants. While looking at me, he puts his hand on his penis, then looks behind him, and says something to me in Bulgarian. I don’t speak the language but I understood very well something like “come on let’s fuck behind”. I try not to show my disgust, I just tell him no, and start to leave. And there, he blocks my way with his mini bike. He doesn’t let me pass, still his hand on his penis. Fortunately, I managed to faint, and pass behind him. I charge while shouting to leave me alone. Phew, with his small wheels he is no match and can’t keep up with me. I almost skid and when I turn around to check that he is no longer there, the fear and the pressure fall away. I burst into tears. I calm down on my own. Cycling has more virtues than I thought. The few remaining kilometers help me to think about something else, especially finding the campsite. It makes me take a 7km detour but at least I will be safe. I’m so sick of men. No, I’m not making any amalgam, what happened this afternoon has nothing to do with Bulgaria, but with men. Because the same thing can happen to me in France. I want to be surrounded by women. Well, tonight’s a failure, I’m only going to meet guys. But nice ones. First a friend of the manager, who welcomes me and shows me the place in very approximate English. And then Henk arrives, a Belgian who has gone around the world with a trike. I spent a wonderful evening with him, we shared our meal accompanied by mosquitoes. Passionate about music and travel, he allows me to forget my day.
I keep going along the Donau
I was hesitating between two routes to reach Turkey: cut through Bulgaria heading South to reach Greece towards Thessaloniki and follow the coast to Turkey, or continue on the Eurovelo 6 along the Danube and take the south along the Black Sea. Henk will follow this second option, so I will do the same (I am easily influenced). And we decided to meet eachother the next evening at another campsite, 70km from this one. Not riding at the same speed, we take separate routes. Unfortunately I will never see him again, he had a mechanical problem with his bike, he had to go back to Vidin. It is not really a campsite that evening, but an English couple who run a bed and breakfast for the 6 months of summer and who, after having so many requests from cyclists, open their garden to wandering souls. Tonight there are no other cyclists, there are very few on this section because many follow the Danube through Romania, it is flatter. On the other hand, there is a motorcyclist, also English. It kills me when he tells me that he has just come from London to here in a week, me who took a month and a half, from Lyon… he is going to Greece in homage to his wife from there, who died a year ago of cancer. A beautiful proof of love.
Through the Bulgarian hills
He leaves early in the morning to avoid the heat – 4am, I am not so early and take off at 7:30am. There is no more camping for the next 300 kilometers. So today, my only goal is to do a hundred kilometers to move forward a little. But Bulgaria is not very flat. It goes up, it goes down, it goes up again, it goes back down again… But in this hilly countryside I can enjoy beautiful views of the Donau, it’s a change. And enjoying a beach by the river to swim and have lunch. There is also no shortage of fountains to fill my water bottle. The kilometers go by, I also find my first figs on the road, enough to give me energy. I try to go to a village on the banks of the Donau to find somewhere to sleep. After asking, a man showed me the end of the village, there is a restaurant facing the Donau. I stop to drink a sprite. The manager is super nice even though he doesn’t speak English. Kindness is international and doesn’t need to have the same language to be understood. With good rock music playing in the background, I decided to stay and eat. I trust him for the meal, it will be a plate of tomato/cucumber/onion salad with a mountain of Bulgarian cheese on top and a plate of chicken and onions marinated in soy – a little salty, luckily he offers me a bottle of water. The sun begins to set, I can go and pitch my tent, trying to find a discreet, flat place sheltered from the wind. I can wash and do my laundry in the Donau, the moment is magical (if you ignore the mosquitoes). I can enjoy the sunset, alone facing the Donau. And once night falls, I rush under the tent. In spite of myself, I think back to this attack, it impacted me more than I would have liked. I reassure myself by telling myself that under the tent, no one knows if I am a man or a woman. I don’t fall asleep so peacefully, but the wind will rock me all night.
In the morning, I don’t delay. The mosquitoes attack, it’s an invasion, I pack up very quickly. I go to the next village for breakfast near a fountain. This morning it’s a test of Bulgarian jam, with rose. I think they really like to make things with this flower taste. Pretty good. I start early, I also want to move forward although a bit of a difference in altitude is expected today. At least that was my plan. Barely 10km done, and bam, flat rear wheel. The series has begun. Bulgaria road 2 – rear tire 0. This time it’s a thorn. No more spare inner tube, I have to repair it. Phew, there’s a tree to give me shade. And I manage it all alone, my tire is always hard to put back on so I’m rather proud of having put it back on without anyone’s help. Well, I obviously have grease everywhere. But no worries, now I visit the gas stations on my route, there are always toilets. It’s time to pedal with an eye on my back wheel, not very confident in my repair. But yes, it holds. I leave the Donau to go inland. Today is my nephew’s birthday, it’s always a bit hard not to be there for family moments. But to celebrate his 4th birthday from here, I treat myself with an ice cream. It’s also because it’s incredibly hot. Already 80km, I found them very hard but it’s not over. No camping, I have to find a place to pitch the tent. I spotted a passage on Google maps that would allow me to reach Donau. Let’s go, I am going to see. 20km later, I entered this little path. On the map it seemed like a great idea, in fact not at all. After barely 200m, I find myself under a forest, I am literally being devoured by mosquitoes. Impossible to put a foot on the ground, I have to move quickly to escape them. Persevering, I charge but pedaling becomes impossible. Here I am running next to my bike (I can tell you that running with 30kg next to it is not easy). Especially since I am running towards a dead end… it is 6:30 p.m., 100km in my legs, and I have to turn around, as quickly as possible. I am angry with myself, for putting myself in such situations. Too bad to be alone at this moment because I would have liked to laugh about it with someone afterwards! Well now it is not funny, I do not know where to sleep. But I no longer have the strength or the desire to do more kilometers. So I ride a little, find an abandoned tower. The road is very quiet, it will be fine for a short night. My bedroom will be in the back, out of sight, kitchen/living room on the concrete steps, bathroom/toilet somewhere in the bushes. This is how to turn a not very picturesque place into a very comfortable home (in my imagination).
But I slept very well. Since it’s still not ideal, I pack everything up and ride a few kilometers to go to the next town for breakfast. I go to a French café, which doesn’t really have much French about it. I can taste the banista, the Bulgarian burek (I taste them in all countries, I can compare them). Today I have a campsite in sight! After 3 days without showers, a little comfort won’t hurt me. He’s on the road, 80km to go. And in the middle of the climb, at a snail’s pace, a cycle tourist, Jean-Luc, comes to meet me. From his terrible English accent, I understand right away that he’s French. It’s almost noon, we ride together to the next village where we can take a break for lunch on the square, in the shade. We get to know each other around a watermelon that he shares with me. I tell my story, he tells me his. He took the road from France to reach the sea at Constanta in tribute to his wife who died of cancer a year ago, with whom he had already done small sections of the Eurovelo 6 by bike. This trip is therefore not easy for him, especially mentally. Because physically, he is passionate about cycling. So he clocks up the kilometers much faster than me. We finish the 30 km together to the campsite. Great campsite, with a view of a canyon and the small Bulgarian village below. We even meet the person responsible for promoting the “Dunav ultra” application, the cycle path that we follow, along the Donau in Bulgaria to the Black Sea. He also takes care of partnerships like here with this campsite. Super interesting. A very enjoyable shower, a dinner with Jean-Luc and then off to bed.
Take shelter of Jean-Luc
Because it takes energy to try to keep up with Jean-Luc. We decided to ride together to Constanta to support each other. It’s not an easy day for him today, it’s been a year to the day since his wife left. So to try to make this day less painful, well we pedal! I learn to ride in the wheels of his bike. I’m not very comfortable, the fear of touching his wheel and making us fall. But it still helps me gain speed. We stop in Ruse, the 5th largest city in Bulgaria. We don’t take much time to visit this “little Vienna”, known for its neo-baroque architecture. But we still stop at the bike shop (because they’re not common!) to stock up on inner tubes. Leaving this city is not very fun, and about fifty kilometers await us, even less fun. On a rolling national road, I get into Jean-Luc’s wheel to move as fast as possible. And after 80 km, we deserve a little ice cream. But we chose the worst town for an ice cream: Tutrakan. On the banks of the Donau, it is built on a hill. And the village square is… at the top. So the ice cream is perched, we have to go up to get it. And finally the clock is ticking, it is time to find somewhere to sleep. After quickly trying to find a place to camp, Jean-Luc convinces me to share a hotel room. At €30, it comes to €15 each, cheaper than a youth hostel. Although I prefer sleeping in my tent than in a hotel, I accepted. We found one facing the Donau. Perfect for watching the sunset over the river.
… But it ended well !
After a good night, we are ready to swallow the kilometers. Tonight, we will be in Romania! Well, we mustn’t be in a hurry. Because by always trying to avoid this big road, we took the small roads. Small asphalt road, which becomes a small gravel path. Shaken, it will quickly become an ordeal. At the first opportunity we return to the main road, painful too but at least we are moving forward! First useless detour. And barely we get back on the right path, Jean-Luc is flat. Repair stop in the shade in the yard of a truck warehouse. The drivers come to offer us help, but Jean-Luc is doing very well. Already 11am, and here we are again. Only 40 km to go to Silistra, the last city before the Romanian border. 40 endless and really not fun km. Especially since we are feeling hungry. We stop for lunch, still a watermelon, Jean-Luc’s passion. It helps us finish the last few Bulgarian kilometers. Jean-Luc realizes in Silistra that he has just lost his glasses… he will finish the trip in sunglasses, the road will be very dark for him!! An ice cream to cheer us up and here we are, queuing for Romania.
But Bulgaria is not over yet. I will return to it in a few days, after having reached Constanta. This city on the edge of the Black Sea is a destination for many cycle tourists because it is where the Eurovelo 6 ends. The Donau has been an integral part of my days for a month now, so I also got caught up in the game of following it to the end. So, off to the sea.
