BULGARIANSNACKS | Thursday, January 28, 2021

10:28 AM

#BULGARIANSNACKS: I know zilch about #Bulgaria, the closest I ever came was when @vtwingrin and I biked through #Europe in 2016 just after the referendum on our apology/MotoGP tour, and took the opposite direction to the rain every chance we could. Early on, we kept passing Bulgarian trailers and trucks that carried or towed British cars, around 15-20 years old, and occasionally another British car being driven behind. Curious. Our route diverted us well away from the main drag, and it wasn’t until a big storm on the horizon persuaded us to blast from #Trieste in #Italy (lovely, you must go, take my car) to #Romania in search of the greatest road in the world. We caught up with one of these Bulgarian trucks at a #Slovenian fuel stop, and asked them about their cars. It takes three days to get to the UK, they guy said, and I buy three cars and take them back to Bulgaria, where they will fetch good money. That was it? Three days to drive to the UK, buy some cars, and drive three days back? Yes. Well, fair play to these guys, it is true that used British cars are way cheaper than used cars in Europe, with much lower mileage, probably because right-hand-drive cars have limited utility outside of the island, but still, that’s a heck of a trek. I can imagine that parting out the cars would be well worth it, but the guy’s junior who was driving a 2002 Merc that looked knackered seemed to be enjoying his ride. That business will have ground to a standstill a few weeks ago, like so many others, so we’ll probably have a pile-up of old crappy cars soon. All of that to say that I have some Bulgarian snacks in my possession, the sort of typical ultra-processed stuff that I love to try the moment I reach a new country. I doubt these snacks go back further than 1989, but I hope that a whole generation grew up with them. Obviously nothing can compete with the riches of English Confectionary, for where else could have inspired Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, but its influence is everywhere… #snacks #motorbikes