Into the Rila Mountains

Cycling in a big city is never fun and we had to cross pretty much all of Sofia from Northwest to South which is 15km. At around 7am, the roads were still empty, so it wasn't too bad and we only had to struggle with the stop-and-go at traffic lights.
Once out of the city, we stopped for breakfast and then climbed on a smaller road up towards the mountains. We passed really nice houses with an amazing view of the city. Unfortunately, most of those mansions blocked our view over the city 😕
The smaller road was quiet busy as many people seem to use it for weekend drives. Herbert made friends with one of them who kept a distance of way less than a metre between his Mercedes S Class AMG and our bikes. When Herbert showed him the finger, the bolded gym guy of 2 meters with lots of tattoos pulled over, got out of his car and wanted to fight. Herbert just went on pedalling trying to signal him at the same time to keep a greater distance next time. Looking at Herbert's signs, the guy's face turned from angry to confused and he let off. And when he overtook again, he kept at least a meter of distance 😉
The rest of the ride to Sapareva Banya was uneventful. The town is a bit touristy because of its mineral spas and a Geysir. But there's a fountain built around it, so it's not particularly interesting.
Luckily, our campground has some roofs and indoor spaces as there were a couple thunderstorms in the afternoon. More lined up as well, so the night probably won't be quiet.Read more