RidewithGPS's Route Planner played a practical joke on me today. It claimed the route from Lüleburgaz to Edirne was 99% paved, 1% unpaved. In fact, the first 56 km were nearly the opposite. The way was about 90% unpaved; dirt roads, farm tracks and barely passable farm paths. Through more gently rolling open farmland - wall-to-wall large fields of young crops or plough, no hedges, few trees, no wasteland, few farmsteads, very few people, but quite a few dogs. Early on in the ride, I was coming gingerly down a farm track, past some tumble-down farm buildings and a field of sheep, when a pack of big Kangal shepherd dogs bounded towards me barking & snarling. There must have been about a dozen of them, the leader an enormous beast with a metal collar of two inch spikes. I picked up stones and made as if to throw them (which usually scares farm dogs), but they took no notice, milling about a couple of feet away from me, growling and barking. The leader kept lunging towards me, stopping about a foot short. I stood still, trying to keep my bike between me and most of the pack while facing the leader. An impasse developed - they had me circled. I couldn't move - but they didn't seem to be closing in. A sound from the farmstead about two hundred yards away (could it be the farmer, I prayed) had them run off towards the farmstead. I jumped on my bike and set off, whereupon -seeing me flee - they turned round and resumed the chase. I had got about 50 yards down the path when they had me encircled again - barking, snapping, snarling and lunging, biting my panniers. Now I had something of a verge to my left, so I put my bike to my right and inched forward, always looking at the leader eye to eye. And so it went on, for about half an hour. Me inching along, them following aggressively but never quite making contact with me. I edged along, foot by careful foot, and maybe after about 20 minutes, one by one the dogs began to lose interest and return home. After the last had sloped off - I walked slowly for several minutes before climbing onto my bike and riding on. Wheeeew. After that, the mongrels that would habitually chase me whenever I passed through a village seemed like mere childsplay. The fun of cycling off-road along bumpy, pot-holed, fissured tracks wears thin after about 20km. You go everso slowly to avoid pitfalls, creeping up hills (the wheels often slipping on stones and gravel) and almost as slowly downhill so as not to lose control, you have to keep your head down watching the track so can`t enjoy the countryside, your hands feel bruised, your butt too . . . . When after 56km, I came across the Istanbul to Edirne D100 highway near Havsa, I abondoned the RidewithGPS route and turned onto it, happily riding along the solid wide hard shoulder for the 30km or so to Edirne. Edirne - the capital of the Ottoman Empire from 1363 to 1453. It is packed with mosques (Wikipedia counts 157!), several from the 15th Century - and many built in the centuries since. Wealthy from trade, being a religious centre, weaving and handicrafts - Edirne also boasts several churches and synagogues - plus many fine mansions and wooden-clad houses of bygone wealthy citizens, many now dilapidated. The town centre is packed seemingly mostly with good-natured sight-seeers (today is the Eid holiday) with throngs queing to get into restaurants in the old part of town. I visit the 15thC Burmali Mosque (with its wonderful swirling-like-a-stick-of-rock minaret) and several other venerable ancient mosques (inside - children running around & playing noisily & happily whilst adults gaze around and a few prostrate themselves in prayer), the Bulgarian Church of St George (with its fine golden-tiled tower roof but a rather muted interior) and the Great Synagogue (grand-looking but closed) - and feel I`ve done enough for today.