We rode 59 miles today. It was pretty flat and truth be told, a little downhill. Winds were variable and as a result, we averaged over 14 mph. Not bad on a loaded bike. The temperatures started a little cold and remained overcast throughout the day. The roads were pretty good, although we ran into some traffic as we entered Bulgaria's second largest city of Plovdiv.
We were out on the plains today. We went through a lot of small towns. What was striking was the variation in the towns. We woke up in a small resort town featuring mineral water springs, which I enjoyed very much at our small hotel pools the night before. It was very nice. Some of the other towns were quite different. The cafe's (featuring either coffee or beer) had a lot of men, often old (meaning our age) sitting around at all hours. In the poorer towns, only the main road was paved. The homes and yards are neat, but often very old and drab gray concrete.
This is an illustration of where we are today. Hard to believe that we have traveled all the way from the coast of France to Bulgaria. We are getting close to Istanbul.
One of the poorer town
Rob captured this picture of some local art along a canal
Rowing venue as we entered the city of Plovdiv (in the background)
Our plan in Plovdiv is to take a day off. It is Bulgaria's second city. It is known for tourism and a lot of historical sites, including Roman and Medieval Bulgarian. We will go on a city tour and a tour outside the town to a fortress and monastery. It will be the first time in a car in 7 weeks.
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