Cycling through the mountains today I suddenly realised – we are cycling across the world. We are on our way across some of the most amazing parts of the planet. Now away from the bustle of Istanbul, we breathed a sigh of relief cycling through little Turkish villages to our very welcoming warm showers host on Lake Iznik.
Small village on the way to Lake Iznik
The mind is willing but the body is weak. Three months of break means those legs are not as strong as they were. We left the main road from Yalova and hit the slopes. Up to 550m, passing some rubbish avalanches
Rubbish avalanche
and through some lovely mountain villages.
Mountain village
Mountain village
A calorific lunch at Lake Iznik before pressing on to Iznik town.
Picnic on Lake Iznik
Our warm shower hosts Soner and Inci are amazing, having cycled all around Europe with their 2 year old boy and written two books. After a delicious meal we pondered our upcoming route to the Black Sea. Our route going forward becomes more hilly. Those legs had better get into shape quickly. The mind wants it that way!
Me and James with Soner and Inci
arctic-cycler.com 
Really interesting for us all to be back with you on travels again. Those small villages have a lot of charm. What’s weather like? You and James both look fairly solidly dressed. Cold?
Yes. It’s pretty cold. While cycling up hills I still wear shorts and short sleeves, but the moment I stop, I throw on lots of extra layers.
Good to see you on the road again. I am re-joining the club of followers now and look forward to your upcoming adventures. Take care,
Frank
Hi Frank. Thanks!! Good to hear from you. My posts will be about once every three days until I have a backlog of a few months..
Greetings from Gerede in Turkey.. š