Thursday 
7.8.2025 
0.68km Total: 40.83km 
This must be an insight into what it's like being in prison.
The whole day is structured around when the next meal is served, and in between there is an absolute orgy of boredom.
I thought I was a bit special for finding this shortcut, but apart from the people from Värmland already mentioned, I have also spoken to a German couple who are tourists as well, and during meals I share a table with three Brits who are driving a minibus to Tbilisi because one of them is getting married and moving there.
They had left London at about the same time I left Sweden and had apparently travelled through mostly terrible weather, so it seems I've been a bit lucky on that account.
It turns out that I wasn't even that unique with my bike, as there are six other bikers on board.
Bartosz, a Pole with some kind of Suzuki sports tourer (I don't know anything about Suzuki models), and a group of Italians who were testing two brand new BMW 1300GSAs on behalf of Roadbook Magazine, with the ultimate goal of getting as high up Mount Ararat as physically possible.
They both had their wives with them on separate bikes.
Last but not least, there was a Frenchman on some kind of Honda enduro bike that I didn't know what it was born as, but possibly a really old beat up XR with a safari tank.
His luggage consisted of a cabin bag and a tennis racket (questionable) strapped to the passenger seat with straps and a rucksack on his stomach, as he couldn't carry it on his back due to his somewhat unorthodox luggage.
With typical French arrogance, his riding gear consisted of a pair of torn jeans, a T-shirt, loafers and a helmet with a cracked visor that looked like he had fished it out of a rubbish bin.
Even from the easternmost part of France, it is still a journey of over 2,000 kilometres he's undertaken just to get to Varna.
To be honest, I don't know whether to be duly impressed or absolutely horrified.
