With parcours 4 successfully passed, the finish was calling. Two more days were keeping me from the blue shores of Burgas. I was already dreaming of the rest that I would enjoy there. No more hurry, a fresh breeze to cool down. It can’t be that far now – can it?
We pass the ‘aquaduct’ shortcut together with Juris. After this last obstacle starts a race to catch the last ferry, 200km away, at 19h30. A surrealistic scene sees Juris and me buy cookies and drinks in a corner shop, with euros and no common language to explain what we want. A gipsy woman offers to trade our euros for romanian money at a rate we did not verify. But we get the food we hoped for, and the seller is fed up of our endless complications.
Juris then takes some advance as I charge my power banks at a gas station. I also take a nap, until I remember that 4 hours is not too much for 109km. I will need to hurry. A perfectly timed ride allows me to catch up with the last rider crossing today. I never had so much FOMO and was already afraid to spend one more night on the wrong bank of the Danube.
Relieved to have crossed the huge stream, I let my legs float with the water. This movement feels like a 5* massage and I think I stayed like that for 30 minutes. This is what it must feel like to arrive in Burgas. Come on, it’s not far now. The first kilometres in Bulgaria can be summarised as: wildlife, poor and no smiles. I cross an awful lot of wild animals – even have a collision with a badger, who runs straight into my rear wheel. The spokes must have hurt him! I get stung by my second wasp (stuck in my jersey) and see white owls fly above my head. Dogs are more rare this time.
On arrival in my hotel in Svishtov, the owner and his employee laugh at me in my face. I’ve just cycled 290km and would like my keys. But they laugh and ask money first. Ok, money you can have. The room is old, not well equipped and the electric system is really complicated. But I need to sleep. Get it on!
The next morning I need to plan tightly to arrive in a good position. I wake up at 5am and start riding after visiting the bakery. I pile up the kilometres well until my first flat, then my second. They have different causes: a thistle first, then some kind of friction in the tube. Let’s stay focused: there are 3-4 competitors right before me, I can catch them. But after 200km the wind is turning. I feel less energy in my legs and Burgas becomes a far away dream. « Come on, Bulgaria! Let me go to the party! » I scream. The last day was not supposed to be like this! Heat, head winds, flats, bad roads, road works… »
And now my 3rd and 4th puncture. I’m desperate now. Despite the punctures, I manage to catch Flavien Scordel (cap 116) who is having a breakdown the last 2 days. But the last surprise of the day: my power bank, which I loaded yesterday, has not stored any electricity! I have one charge of my GPS (usually reaches 200km) and the battery of my iPhone to finish the final parcour without missing. This will be really tight!
At the start of the final parcour I turn to iPhone routing. The app guides me through the start of the parcour but uses far too much battery life. I deactivate any functions I don’t need. Go, my little phone. Lead me to Burgas! Luckily the route is pretty simple, and the device does not need energy when there are no turns. I manage to reach the shore of the Black Sea and take a picture. Then it’s about finding the place where the party is at, because it has already started and I’m missing out!
The phone battery dies as I’m entering Sarafovo town. It must be somewhere here, but nobody knows where the Burgas Beach Resort is. I stop at a restaurant, one creek away from the Finish line. Can I charge my phone here? Yes. My pre-finisher beer helps me be patient while the phone reboots.
After 15 minutes, I’m finally able to find the exact location of the finish line. It’s 800m away! I reach the Burgas Beach Resort at 20h28. Nobody was expecting me, as it seems my tracker was blocked 50km away. No applause, no finisher photo, but I made it to the party!!
#tcrno8 #tcrno8cap54 #transcontinental #race #ultracycling #cycling#cyclinglife #cyclingshots #roadcycling #roadslikethese #fromwhereiride
Sebi Cicleta 