On this day 44 years ago, I appeared on this earth. Back then, my loving parents could not have imagined that I would be cycling from Holland to Australia, and would be celebrating this joyous anniversary by eating a birthday cheese with a New Zealander in the mountain village of Iğdir. But, so it has come to be.
My birthday cheese
My mother could have had an inkling that I would have gorged out on numerous cakes and chocolate bars before indulging in the birthday cheese.
Indulgence
The first day of my 45th year was spent eating a birthday breakfast with my Karabük friends, and drinking copious amounts of çay.
Çay
The sun made a brief appearance, and shone on the Unesco Historical Town of Safranbolu.
Safranbolu
Safranbolu
Safranbolu
Then the clouds returned. Mood changes with the weather. Some days you feel on top of the world. Sometimes you just feel like curling up into a warm bed. Following a river up into the mountains, James and I both felt a bit unenthused. It was cloudy, cold, and the wind couldn’t make up its mind if it wanted to help us or hinder us. We pressed on – a birthday cheese helped us on our way. We ended up in a cheap hotel in the small town of Araç. The wood stove in the hotel corridor provided some warmth. The room is basic – there are two beds. My sleeping bag should do the trick in the linen department.
Today I ate birthday cake – one in the morning, and one in the evening. In between birthday cake eating sessions I cycled across a high snowy plain, and then 1000m downhill into the student town of Karabük. And today wasn’t even my birthday.
Snowy plains
The first birthday cake was for a friend in Taiwan, and I ate some cake to celebrate that in the snow.
Kaiwen’s birthday cake
The second birthday cake was in anticipation of my upcoming birthday tomorrow. This was eaten together with our wonderful warm shower hosts Kaan and his friends in Karabük. They not only welcomed James and me into their home and cooked for us, but insisted on celebrating my last evening on the planet aged 43 with a cake. Great people!
My birthday cake
The cycling today was cold and white. My phone thought it far too cold, and went on strike. I had to keep it snug and warm next to my chest to prevent it rebooting. It wanted to be near the birthday-boy to be.
The mountains are white, and it is snowing. Snow angels, snow balls and a thaw-out at an alpine tea house made for an enjoyable if cold and strenuous day over a 1600m alpine pass.
Snow on the way to Gerede
Our plan was to make an early start, steam over the high pass, and make it all the way to our warm shower host in Karabük by evening. With the road long, and the headwind, snow and sludge slowing us down, we found that this was quite unrealistic. It was good, though, to have a change of scenery, and see everything enveloped in white.
Snowy village
James made a nice snow angel. I didn’t dare – it was cold enough already.. 🙂
Snow angel
The high pass between Kızılcahamam and Gerede
We made it to the ski town of Gerede. Tomorrow on through the snow. In a few days it will warm up to 21C. Hard to imagine.. 🙂
I learned the cycling word ‘bumpy’ in Finland. A short climb and then a drop followed by another climb. The road to Kızılcahamam was bumpy, following a gorge up into the mountains. When we arrived, we felt like we had done some exercise. Oh, and I clocked up my fastest speed ever on the bike – 67 km/h.
James before the drop to Güdül
Güdül was at our customary 30km lunch stop.
View from near Güdül
Güdül
Some pandas hanging in the window
Kôfte
Kızılcahamam is a tourist town near Ankara with lots of hamams and hot spring water. Rather than take a hamam, James and I decided to… eat.
Kızılcahamam 30
Road to Kızılcahamam
Ayran fountain
James and me at dinner
Unpacked, we have a mountain of clothes.
Tomorrow will be interesting. It is meant to snow tonight, and we have been advised to take the main road rather than the small road we were planning to take. I guess it might be icy and dangerous. It will be our first snow.
Up over the mountain in the sunny but crisp morning, and a spectacular vista opens out before us, breathtaking in its size and scope. A canyon of epic scale with a lake far, far below. Today was a day of rolling down into the canyon, through cherry blossom fields, and across a white, chalky landscape to the town of Beypazarı.
Drahtesel on the way to Beypazarı
Down through an alpine forest from Mihalıççık to open out on a canyon lake-bed vista that went on forever.
Looking out over the vast panorama
Dropping down to the valley, we passed a village of cherry blossom.
Cherry blossom village
The lunar landscape was bright in the dazzling sun. White and creamy brown cliff faces on the side of the lake, with a layer of green. The road rolled over the undulating landscape, with the blue lake on the left and chalky cliffs of the right.
Feeling down and out? Cold and unmotivated? Try cycling across plains through a panoramic vista landscape, bathed in a soft light. Add to that a gale-force tailwind, and you have all you need to break those cycling blues. And try passing 6000km while having tea in a super friendly village. That will do the trick.
A long straight road
Sitting in cold and grey Eskişehir at 750m, the road into the mountains of over 1600m with a forecast of colder and snow was not appealing. Our headwind into Eskisehir had us expecting the same. Well, the universe gave us a gale tailwind, even though in the beginning it was still cold.
It’s cold
A lunch of soup and pide in Alpu gave us the energy to climb up to Mihalıççık at 1300m.
Lunch
Tea
The climb was nothing, being blown uphill, and my, the scenery was stunning. I thought, at last these views are like I have seen on world cyclist blogs. Long roads disappearing towards the distant mountains, puffy white clouds breaking up the clear blue sky. This was an amazing ride. James and I are really happy to be alive!
Vista
Vista
White vista
James approaching the summit
The sun getting low
I passed 5999km from Eindhoven in the village of Kayi. There was an appealing tea shop calling out to us, so I cycled back and forth in the village – much to the amusement of the locals – until I hit 6000km, and then took a selfie with everyone watching.
6000km
We were invited to tea by a lovely man who had lived in Germany for 5 years and spoke good German. He told us of a shorter, new, downhill road to our next destination – Beypazarı and he arranged for a place for us to stay in Mihalıççık. I like him! Go to the town hall and ask. We did, and ended up in a hidden hotel with a lovely big electric bar heater. That hit the spot!
Our 300km detour to Eskişehir was to have the spokes on our new wheels readjusted. That took all of 30 seconds. The mood fluctuated today as we considered the snow-filled and -10C options of getting to the Black Sea, and why we are doing this.
Sepa, James and me
We were woken up today by a cat that jumped up from the balcony, latched onto the door handle, and opened the door.
The clever cat
We then fell asleep again, adjusting to the rhythm of the student house of Sefa – our cool, laid-back warm showers host. Breakfast was at 13.30, and our 30 second spoke examination at 15.00.
Eskişehir – at an altitude of 750m – is cold. Our planned route to the Black Sea climbs to 1600m, and the weather forecast there is for -10C and snow. Plagued with fluctuating blood sugar levels and low motivation, we considered our options over a salad or two (each). We will continue and reassess – cycling to Ankara if it gets too cold where Sefa has offered to help us find a place to stay. Thanks Sefa, for everything!
There are the side roads that are steep, strenuous and peaceful. And there are the main freeway-like roads that are less steep with many lanes and lots of trucks. Today we chose the second option and slowly climbed to Eskeşehir, accompanied part of the way by our Bilecik friends. Oh. And my first flat tyre of the trip.
Cycling to Eskesehir
The fluorescent troop made it down the freeway-like road.
On the road to Eskesehir
And then my first flat tyre on my Koga bike – over 15000km, and nearly 6000km since I left Eindhoven on my world trip. I successfully changed the tyre. Yay!
My first flat tyre of the trip
We are staying with Sefa in Eskişehir – a student at the university, and in a place with lots of cool students popping in and out. Thanks Sefa for the great hospitality!
Balloon carrying clowns, camping out at the ‘carpet area’, professional photo opportunities, being fed to explosion, and a night out at the theatre watching 100 years since the Çanakkale victory. A fantastic roller coaster ride of Turkish hospitality. Love it!
With one of our hosts Emir in Bilecik
It was one of those nights. Lying on our mats in the hall at the local football field (‘carpet area’), James and I looked at each other, our mouths open. We didn’t know where it was all going. We knew it would be good, being led by our amazing hosts in the town of Bilecik.
The carpet area bedroom
Zooming down from our first ascent to 600m into the town of Yenisehir, we were greeted by a clown, on the side of the dusty road plied by cement trucks, holding a bunch of colourful balloons.
‘Dur! Dur!’ (Stop! Stop!)
I stopped, and the clown took a selfie with both of us.
Then I did too.
Why was he there, I hear you ask..
I don’t know.
Welcoming clown in Yenisehir
Zooming down from our second ascent, this time from 700m into the town of Bilecik, we were greeted by 2 young men in fluorescent yellow safety vests next to bikes, the Turkish flag fluttering above the bikes in the breeze.
Me and our hosts Emir and Hakan
‘Hello friends. I am Hakan, and this is Emir. Welcome to Bilecik. First we eat, then we show you the town, and then we go to the carpet area.’
We had been in touch with Hakan through warm showers.
The food was delicious and copious – perfect for hungry cyclists.
Dinner in Bilecik
We were shown the gardens of the town hall where we were photographed by a photographer – for the local newspaper perhaps? The Bilecik Facebook page? No idea..
At the town hall in Bilecik
After setting up camp at the carpet area, our other Warm Showers contact Fikret, asked if we want to go to the theatre that night. Why not? Off we went, wearing our best evening wear. We were introduced to everyone at the theatre. ‘Welcome to Bilecik, my friend!’
Theatre in Bilecik
Tonight was a performance on 100 years of Çanakkale – a terrible battle at Gallipoli – equally horrific for our Turkish hosts and the ANZACS as we were called (Australian and New Zealand Army Corps – which James and I were representing). Here 250,000 Turks, Australians, New Zealanders, French and British died in a blood bath for access to the thin straights of water connecting the Mediterranean to the Black Sea. I saw the battle fields first had last year by bike.
Çanakkale theatre production
Perched at the back of the theatre looking down, we saw the play – video combination of fighting at Çanakkale. At the break James was thrust a phone into his hand. It was a journalist.
‘What do you think about the Çanakkale victory?’
A lot of young people were killed in a horrible war. Here is the newspaper article.
What a day – and night. Not speaking Turkish, one can only go with the flow, knowing that whatever happens, with our lovely hosts, it will all be good.
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!
arctic-cycler.com 