Welcome in Turkey!
distance: 97.22km
duration: 9h 39min
There's a range of mountains at the border between Bulgaria and Turkey, a 80km climb and a full day of hard cycling, starting right after Burgas. I was counting the hours till sunset throughout the day and pressured myself to climb fast enough, but when i finally finished the border control(Incl. getting a visa) and entered Turkey it was dark.
The turkish part of the road was perfect, but it also gave me a hard time finding water and a place to pitch my tent. After 12km i was fed up of going up and down the hilly road in the dark and cold night and went to the first village, Derekoy, to ask for water.
I was told to sit down, drink a cay and wait a few minutes. A woman brought a tablet full of homemade food and after i had finished i got invited to sleep in the villages mayors office - turkish hospitality in the very first village after the border - a superb start in a new country i'd say :-)
Border 6/9(BG-TR) cleared! 3-lane-perfect-tarmac-speed-downhill - back in the 21st century. 41.932, 27.366
Bulgaria shows its bright side on the last kilometers to the turkish border - sunshine and delicious chicken-noodle-soup. 42.274, 27.486