Day 1,423

The perfect day

After a day off sheltering from the rain we returned to the open road. The first few miles from the town of Shumen were on the main road, but fortunately it was Sunday and presumably this was the reason we saw little traffic. It was easy riding, not much to see as we left the old abandoned Soviet buildings behind. 

Komoot had been awkward about our route planning. We wanted to take a quieter road, the number 7, but Komoot had a section marked as closed. We headed off anyway. About every mile along the road we passed ‘road closed’ signs and even Tom started to be less optimistic. If we really couldn't get through we'd have a problem as our road was the one and only way through this area. We carried on, enjoying one of the major benefits of a closed road, virtually no traffic. 

As we started to climb we passed a very inviting bar-cum-restaurant. I longed to stop but it was way too early for us. The staff watched us pass and gave us a friendly wave, did I imagine the concerned looks?  

We had now left all villages behind, it was just us, alone in the forest climbing on a deteriorating road, uphill. It was bliss. No cars, just us, the birds and insects sounds, so many wild flowers lining the verges and dense forest either side of us. Tom just loves his trees and he was fascinated by it all. 

Just occasionally we would see a car, people were clearly foraging for something, wearing long heavy duty aprons and carrying long sticks. We assume to knock something from the branches but at this time of year we weren't sure what. They gave us cheerful waves which reassured us the road would continue. 

A road in the perfect state of abandonment

Eventually after 3 hours of uphill riding we reached the top, this was where the road really deteriorated and we carefully made our way down, past the potholes and broken up surface. We rode through a forest made up entirely of oak trees, so rare, with of course more wild flowers.  

At the bottom we reached a tiny village and we had a choice, continue on the closed road, or take the other road that led to the main highway. The state of the 7 from the village wasn't inspiring but we decided to risk it. We were ready to stop and thought in the worst case we could camp up then backtrack in the morning if needed. 

We filled up with water and headed up into the hills. The road here was narrow but clearly still in use to access the farms. This was good, it was rideable but bad as the fields either side of the road were all lined with electric cord to keep the cattle in. Blast. Fortunately after a short while we came across an open area. Tom went up the bank to check it out and came back beaming, this was just perfect. As soon as I pushed my bike up I realised why. The ground was covered in wildflowers and even better, thyme. Every footstep released waves of its heavenly scent. Then we had the view, opposite were hills as far as we could see, with the setting sun highlighting it all. Yep this was a strong contender for a top ten spot. 

The perfect end to a perfect day

We decided to vote on it in the morning. The night was quiet, after the birds and insects settled down there were no dogs or roosters to keep us awake. In the morning though we woke to a thick mist, would this prevent it making the top 10? 

Fortunately this route was much shorter, so we had time to linger, over two cups of coffee each, a rare treat. We sat and watched the mist rise and the sun started to warm us and dry out the tent. It was clear, the bed of Thyme wild camp in Spain was out and this would be replacing it.

Just the small matter of ten miles of closed road to ride first! We needn't have worried, it was bliss, a gradual climb, a wee bit technical but that only added to the enjoyment. Then all too soon it was over. We rejoined the main highway and relaxed as we speeded downhill. There wasn't much to entertain us on our way to Yambol, our next stop so Tom could edit two films, Serbia and Romania, but we did spot a particularly impressive statue of a shepherd. Tom said it was to honour the traditional hardworking shepherds that have made their living around here. Me? I just knew that the guy who made it was a fan of Dr Zhivago, it was the spitting image of Omar Sharif. We continued on to Yambol, with me humming Lara’s Theme and Tom having no idea what I was on about!

The Zimnitsa shepherd