136km (2,292 vertical)
Today was the longest day with the tour, and the most vertical meters of climbing as well. Nice scenery though and quiet backroads, so I found it quite pleasant.
Randy, the tour leader, scouted the route last night, so it was a bit of a work in progress. As he walked us through the white board this morning it looked pretty complicated. However, Randy did give us the distance to each turn and put up bright flagging tape to mark all the turns, which made navigation very easy.
The first 60km to lunch were uneventful. Rolling hills with lots of sunflowers again, mixed in with wheat. Good road surface, so we cruised along briskly.
Lunch was halfway down a sharp descent, and I was going 60km/h when I saw the truck and had to slam on the brakes to make the turn onto the grass.
After lunch was a long climb that a lot of people found pretty exhausting. I didn't think it was too bad. The sun was pretty hot though. The entire day was hilly, which combined with the distance and heat made it a tough ride.
The last 20km or so was one long climb. I rode with Nicole, who was struggling a bit so we took it pretty slow. Its wasn't that steep, but it did seem to go on and on. There were even a couple of short, steep downhill sections, that made you think you were done with the climb.
Staying in a hotel tonight, which is nice after last nights very basic camping. No hot water when we got here, but I was happy with a cool shower after a long, hot ride. Yesterday's China visa update was rescheduled for today because Randy was out scouting today's route. I'd really like some good news on that front.
Photos from today:
Complicated direction given to us via morning whiteboard briefing.
The donkey looked as hot as I felt.
Crops in rows.
Part way up the final climb.
The woods at the top of the climb, just before the downhill into Sumen.
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