Over 100 cyclists and support teams from Bulgaria and Romania have gathered in Vidin in anticipation of the start signal of the longest tourist cycling route in Bulgaria. The start of their journey on the 732-kilometer route of the Danube Ultra will be given on September 1.

Cyclists will pass more than 100 towns and villages in Bulgaria as the tour is expected to be exciting for both participants and locals. Among the special places that cyclists will visit are many cultural and historical landmarks such as the Baba Vida Fortress, Diko Iliev square in the town of Oryahovo, the ancient town of Ulpia Escus in the village of Gigen, the fountain "Elia" in Nikopol, the Dimum fortress in Belene, the Roman legionary camp Nove in Svishtov, the fountain "The Boy with the Hydra" in Ruse, the architectural reserve Fishermen’s Quarter in Tutrakan, the archeological complex "Durostorum-Druastar" in Silistra.

The final destination of the tour is the village of Durankulak in Shabla, on the Black Sea coast.

Each participant chooses the category in which to register: individually, or in a team of 2 or 4 cyclists. The regulations provide for the movement on the route to be done according to an individual plan and for a freely chosen period of time - up to 48 hours, up to 3 days, up to 5 days, up to 7 days and more than 7 days. The 72-year-old veteran Petar Dimitrov from Varna, for example, will travel over 100 kilometers every day to fit into the 7-day schedule.

This is the seventh edition of the Danube Ultra: Follow the River cycling tour. An accompanying event is the presentation of a new tourist edition "Map-guide Danube Ultra 2020". The printed book is inspired by the work of the researcher of Danubean Bulgaria, Felix Kanitz. The Guide contains useful tourist information about the region along the Danube through the Dobrudja area to the Black Sea, and interesting graphics refer to the activities of the Austro-Hungarian scholar Kanitz in Bulgaria in the 19^thcentury.

The ambition of the team behind the organization of the cycling tour is to make Danube Ultra the most popular tourist cycling route in the Balkans within 3 years.

Photos: dunavultra.com