On the way to the Black Sea

In fact, since the first day when we left MS Vesteralen in Kirkenes four years ago, we have been on the way to the Black Sea. But now it's becoming concrete, we can almost smell it in Edirne. Here we describe the last three stages of our journey.

ICT Cycling Day 22: Edirne - Vaysal 85 km 1300 hm

In the morning, we say goodbye to Edirne, which is connected to Lörrach through a city partnership. At the exit over one of the old bridges, you have a wonderful view of the Selimiye Mosque. We quickly reach the countryside, on the right a stork's nest on the remains of a hospital. Sunflower fields everywhere along the road, with grain and zucchini in between. In Karabulut, we make a memorial stop for the Karabuluts on the Salzert. It's gradually getting hotter, over 30 degrees at noon, the hottest we have had so far. It constantly goes up and down, there are hardly any flat sections. The climbs are particularly tough when the asphalt gives way to sand and gravel. In the afternoon, this proportion increases significantly. We ride very close to the border with Bulgaria and encounter a group of refugees outside a small village, barefoot and without luggage. They are probably looking for a loophole into the EU. Not far away is the highway with the large border station where the trucks are stuck. We ride on the highway and continue our tour through the small Turkish villages along the border: a few farms with agricultural equipment, next to them a few old houses, a community center, a mosque, and usually a café where men wait for the next meal or for evening to come. The evening is getting closer for us too, and we still don't know where we will spend the night. In Vaysal, with 380 inhabitants, there is a new store where the nice owner helps us. Thanks to Google Translate and negotiation skills, Dominique manages to arrange for us to stay in the next room (office) of the mosque. There is also a sink for washing up and a toilet in the mosque area. A special experience! We can supply ourselves with food and even beer in the store. But beer is not allowed in public, only in the shed behind the store. Occasionally, a local joins us and receives his beer through a small window. The day ends in a cozy atmosphere. Soon we crawl into our sleeping bags.

ICT Cycling Day 23: Vaysal - Malko Tarnovo 110 km 2000 hm

It's the penultimate day of cycling and even at home, we were surprised that the heights and climbs towards the Black Sea do not let up. According to komoot, today it will be tough again, around 100 km, including 40 km of gravel and dirt road and 1800 meters of climbing. And as expected, we make serious mistakes today, although we had managed the routes quite confidently so far thanks to navigation and mobile phones. But let's start from the beginning. We spend a pleasant night in the mosque, and after the efforts of the previous day, the night provides nice recovery. In the morning, we have breakfast in the mosque garden and have our tea in the café, which we, just like the overnight stay, are not allowed to pay for. The way to Ahmetler is vividly explained to us, and we start optimistically at the same time as the herd of goats being driven out of the village. 15 km of gravel road awaits us, easily passable and with the familiar climbs. The dogs give us some problems, one of them follows us barking for a kilometer. Fortunately, a shepherd with his flock of sheep and his dogs come towards us, and he takes our pursuer under his care. After 15 km of dirt road, we reach Devletliagac, a small farming village that smells like a stable and looks dirty. At the junction to Malkoclar, there is a tractor blocking the sign, the navigation device has temporarily turned off, and Dominique's phone is not active. After 1 km of steep ascent, we realize the mistake. Research on Google Maps and komoot shows that there is another way, which we believe is asphalted. A fatal mistake. We continue cycling, turning at the road sign to Kocatarla without further control. It goes up and down as usual here (in this case 10%) and just as steep downhill. In Kocatarla, we realize the mistake, we have been cycling south instead of north. We should have noticed that. 😉 So we curse and sweat for 7 km back, already suspecting that today will be very, very difficult. For the first time, I have serious doubts about reaching our destination for the day. We now find the junction to Malkoclar and pedal with demotivation and physical exertion the 8 km uphill. Dominique arrives angrily and cursing and urgently needs a break (we have only covered 23 km of the daily target). According to our guide, there is a shop in Beyci, which is 5 km away and where we can buy water. But the shop in Beyci no longer exists, so we continue uphill to Tatipinar, a place as abandoned as Holloran Springs in North Dakota. We continue, struggling until Topcular, where there is supposed to be a café. This one has been closed for a long time, but at least we can refill our drink bottles at a farmer's place. According to some villagers, there is a shop in Ahmetler. However, Ahmetler is still 7.5 km of dirt road and 6 km of asphalt away, not to mention the climbs. On the long ascent to Ahmetler, we are close to giving up if that were possible. There is a lot to discuss, such as overload, the question of meaning, or who does what to whom. It is only about finding a way to continue somehow. Finally, we reach Ahmetler, there is a café with ice-cold water, a vegetable seller has just parked his truck in front, and we can buy fruits and vegetables. We get some toast, and as I had long expected, as a non-meat eater, I happily accept the sausage. Studying the map and komoot, we decide to try to reach the destination for the day, even though it is still 48 km away and probably with many climbs. But there is probably no accommodation along the way. It is 4:30 pm when we continue. The 8 km to Karaabalar look promising as it is mostly downhill. But then it gets tough again - the 10 km to Caglayik are gravel road with steep climbs and difficult descents. When Dominique rides ahead, it works quite well, but as soon as I am a little ahead, she gets off her bike and loses many meters - extreme bike psychology.

It is now just after 6 pm and there are still about 30 km to Malko Tarnovo. According to our guide, it remains hilly, but komoot's elevation profile shows steep climbs. Komoot is more than right, in addition to several tough, short climbs, we also encounter three long 10% climbs. We reach the main road that leads to the border, and of course, it goes uphill. In Turkey, it felt like every meter was uphill. At the border, there is a long line of waiting cars that we pass by. There is a whole busload waiting for passport control, so we have to wait a long time until it's our turn. Then we quickly get on our bikes so that we are ahead of the bus on the Bulgarian side. That works, and as darkness falls, we descend the 8 km to Malko Tarnovo. It is already night when we arrive, which makes the search for accommodation difficult. The friendly hostess is waiting for us and explains everything. Restaurants and supermarkets have already closed. We review the day while having tea and our leftovers. It was a true ICT experience with the decisive factors that accompanied us on this tour and made it so difficult: weather (today it was hot, hardly any shade), supply planning (no store for 55 km, not enough water), stages (long distance due to lack of accommodations, dirt and rough gravel roads, steep climbs with luggage), high demands on physical fitness, and enormous willpower (we want to do this). Tonight, for the first time, there is no beer...which is not so bad. After a shower, we sink into bed.

ICT Cycling Day 24: Malko Tarnovo - Tsarevo 60 km 700 hm

Today we reach the Black Sea! The hardships of yesterday are (almost) forgotten in the face of this view in the morning. We take it easy and start cycling at 10:30 am. We ride through deciduous forests, with ups and downs again today. We have to pedal hard until the very end. Dominique is in top form and climbs the hills quickly. In the mountains, which are lonely here due to the proximity to the border, very few cars drive, and the road condition is much better than predicted. Although we are still at an altitude of over 150 meters shortly before Tsarevo, we cannot see the Black Sea yet. We have to go to the peaceful harbor, where the fishing boats bob up and down. An indescribable feeling overwhelms us, and we embrace each other in tears. What began four years ago after disembarking from the ship in the Barents Sea has now been accomplished after three sections and 9100 km on the Iron Curtain Trail and 1000 km of cycling to and from the start. We have arrived! An unbelievable and hardly graspable feeling!