Day -2 - This first image represents everything I love about being out there. It’s untamed and rugged, yet also delicate, sensible. Just being in tune with the elements for a moment, pushing your limits. Experiencing the thrill of hearing nighttime animals passing by the camp and the joy of that first warm ray of sunshine in the morning. It’s all so simple, so real, so genuine. There’s nothing artificial or fleeting about it. This image embodies my deep passion for exploring off the beaten path. And then there are the unexpected moments, like meeting Musa and his spouse who run Musa’s Village Bar in Ortsevo. I was in need of food and water, and he offered that along with a warm welcome, hot tea, and plenty of local tales. I made my way back up the mountain feeling richer and more fulfilled, with many questions about my life still waiting to be answered.
Day -1 Today is a good day! First off, Gion just called to say he arrived in Belgrade, Serbia, which is only 500 km away from Sofia, where I'm headed. We're thinking about meeting up there tomorrow, Sunday. On top of that, I woke up without being stomped on by wild boars, which is a win in my book. Then the morning sun was shining on the distant mountains while I packed up, and all of this put a smile on my face (ses picture). Half an hour later, I was ready to roll. Time to head back to civilisation. The crowing event today was a hot shower at my 17 euros a night youth hostel in Sofia. This is not exactly a luxury trip but really, after three days in the wild, any hot shower feels incredible regardless of the star rating of the establishment. After a quick Bulgarian haircut (error on my side, It looks like a cut from the Peaky Blinders…), I'm now relaxing in one of Sofia's restaurants with a well-deserved glass of red wine.
TET Bulgaria Sections 2, 3 and 5 - All of these sections of TET Bulgaria were wonderful to ride, very diverse and visually as well as technically always interesting. Section 2, which goes from Sofia to the Domas Reservoir, was mostly fire trails and muddy paths in the hills. I managed to navigate them pretty well, though I did get lost a couple of times in the woods and had to backtrack. Sections 3 and 5 down south near the Greek border and up in the Rhodope mountains were a bit too challenging for me. I'm not a pro rider, and my DR is pretty loaded and tall. There were some steep, rocky trails where I lost grip and took a fall. I wasn't hurt, but the gear shift lever got bent (just like it always does on the DR650). I had to take it off and straighten it out using some big rocks as a makeshift hammer. Just getting the bike back up by myself after a drop takes me at least 30 minutes considering taking off all my riding gear to prepare myself for the heavy lift and removing all luggage off the bike prior to be able to lift it. A pita quite simply put. Everything turned out fine, but it definitely reminded me of my limits and how quickly things can go sideways when you're riding solo. The photos show where I went down in section 3 and a typical sandy trail from section 2.
Day 0 - Gion rolled in from Belgrade this afternoon, having already clocked 2000 km on his ride from Zurich to Sofia. The Mudmud Moto team is complete. After a quick check to see who had the better bike (you know, a guys thing), we figured we were both equally well prepared with our Suzuki DRs for whatever the journey might throw at us. After checking in at Key Hostel Serdika, storing the motorbikes in the parking under the local church (a heavenly and safe place for our bike for sure), we found ourselves at Cosmo for a taste of Bulgarian fusion and called it a day.
