16 October 2023, Blagoevgrad [BULGARIA]

I don't know why I tortured myself into a less than optimal night's sleep - there really was no need!
Each day we plot our route on Google Maps and get a feel for the terrain so we can prepare ourselves mentally for what lies ahead. Today we faced an elevation gain of 630 metres, less than on other recent ascents, but this time over a shorter and therefore steeper distance.
We had planned just under 40km from Delchevo in North Macedonia to Blagoevgrad in Bulgaria. Google assured us all the climbing would take place over the first 11km to the border.
In 2003, a Canadian company called Tour d'Afrique (TDA) began arranging Cairo to Cape Town cycle races / tours. I have watched them grow into a global force, now guiding long distance tours on every continent. As the tours are supported, participants have the option of hitching a ride in the support vehicle or of trying to achieve (cycle) Every (er) Fabulous Inch (EFI).
Today I achieved EFI when I feared in the night this would be entirely beyond me.
And what a stunning ride it was, initially under a cloudy sky, later blue. Do not be fooled, however, by the sunshine shots - today for the first time winter was in the air…
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See Biking Bulgaria…