Wednesday 5th November 2014 - Up, breakfast, round the corner to cash machine, pay (£24 for dinner b&b), pack bike and go.
Had looked at map and there only seemed to be a main road out of town the way I was going. Unsure of how main it would be and whether bicycles were allowed.
Big wide road out of town, no markings, debris, dust and and old tyre lying in middle of road.
Up round a flyover and thought it'd be onto a motorway, but saw horse poo on the road and a herd of goats eating the bushes beside a bus stop, so reckoned I'd be okay!
Road 1 out of Vidin. Bit of a climb. Trucks flying past. Riding the white line, or pulling off into the hedge when I hear them coming.
Same usual story of the past few days. They really don't slow down at all. If there is traffic coming the opposite way, they'll blast the horn for me to get out of the way, as they aren't gonna use their brakes.
It's a slow, draining progress.
Concentrate on the road so I don't go into a pot hole or off the cracked tarmac edge. Listen for what's coming behind me. Watch for bends. Pedal fast round the right hand bends, as if a lorry comes round one behind me I'm squished. Watch the traffic coming toward me as they'll overtake right in my path too. Also if I hear something come from behind me and see traffic coming toward me, its time to jump in the hedge. Its also time to jump in the hedge if there are two or three lorries coming up behind me. Don't have time to see any scenery!
It's also misty again, been like this for past couple of weeks now, bar a day or two, it makes everything dull and grey. I'm sure the views are amazing in the sunshine though.
It's also cold. Think I'll have to put leggings on tomorrow.
Stop after going through a village of old rundown brick and wood houses. A petrol station on the hill. Watch the trucks fly by. See two horses and carts going my way, quickly get back on bike to tail them.
Catch them up, but pass them as its a downhill part. Surprised they haven't been milled by the lorries.
Left turn toward Lom, there's a Eurovelo sign saying 22km to Lom. Hoping it's not a dirt path.
Road is ok, bit rough to start, then smooth. But the trucks are clearly following me. It's a long cold testing cycle.
Stop after a while and roll into a field for a break, eat the only food I've left (croissant and a snickers bar). Look at the Danube in the misty distance. It's actually really quiet and peaceful between the thundering passing trucks.
Realise I'm not going to make it to Montana today before dark and this is not a road to cycle in the dark either.
Next town Lom, I'll stay there I decide.
Coming into town, more shack houses, think it's not going to have a hotel, like all the rest of the town villages I've gone through today. My map has no information on it other than roads, even then it doesn't even have half the roads on it either.
Anyway, continue on. Right turn into pedestrian centre. Grim. Town.
Crumbling buildings, grey, just a sad place. Ask man and woman where the hotel is and they point back then right.
Cycle about the back streets, urgh grim grim grim.
Back to the main road I was on. See two touring cyclists coming the other way into town. They stop, I cross the road and we have a chat. They're going the way I came and started in Estonia.
It's now I realise I've been running an hour behind again. So it's actually 4.30pm and my watch says 3.30pm. Confusion. I must've crossed a time zone somewhere, must google it!!
Anyway, I ask a taxi driver for hotel. Again with the straight and right directions. So ride around a bit and eventually find it tucked down a side street beside river. It is seedy and rundown. Woman is fierce too.
Take the room with a bath. A BATH!!!!! Same price as last nights hotel. Different end of scale. I'm paying for the bath though as I'm frozen. Can't feel feet this evening again!
No food, not going out into grim-town looking for any. So have a hot bath and eat my only food - a packet of strawberry polo mints.
Think tomorrow has got to be an early start if I'm to get anywhere soon.
Must change watch!
Soooo very hungry.....dreaming of fish suppers, Chinese takeaways, pizza....
Day 68 - 05.11.14
Vidin to Lom, Bulgaria
3h 05min cycling
59.7km
1663 calories
470 metres asc
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