A little apprehension before this stage which was supposed to be a little long : there are three ribs and it will be hot....
I start on Bulgarian time (1 hour gap with France) and I decide to leave as soon as possible. Breakfast is at 7:30 am, time to prepare myself I leave at 8:15 am (7:15 am French time)
A first stop by a café that has a nice view of the Danube where I drink a coffee and my first half litre of orange juice !
In fact everything is going quite well : I have another coffee in Lom, just before the first climb. In an air-conditioned pastry shop. There are people at a big table a gentleman calls me "where are you from" and we exchange a few words.

The first slope is a little indigestible at first not so much because of its slope (6%) but because almost all along it are cobblestones.

When we get to the top, it gets better. Except for some portions where the holes left by winter have not yet been filled.... I’m quite a horn honker, but these are people who want to greet me or encourage me !
I eat at the top of the second rib. Then I’ll drink my second half-litre of orange juice in Kozloduyn with ice cream for dessert !
The third climb is easy to swallow, no pictures are allowed : we walk along the nuclear power plant !
I meet a Frenchman "where are you from" ?. Oh well we speak French then ^^^
We exchange some information but not too much because mosquitoes attack quickly when we don’t move.

Arrival a little later at the hotel. A very cool room ! More effort tonight I’m going to eat at the hotel restaurant :)