Posts Tagged ‘Cycling’


Cycle 10km like the wind. Reboot a server using the iPhone. Cycle 10km like the wind. Write a new website script and deploy. Making a buck on the road James Lambie style.

Black Sea road

Black Sea road

The road was flat, the sun was shining, and James Lambie was earning his living with his home office job. We had some kilometres to cover today, and our strategy was to divide it into 10km speed chunks. James is faster than me, so, he would power away into the distance, to be seen again at the next 10km stop.

I arrive bedraggled, having slogged through the sizable headwind.
‘Sugar level OK,’ (James is a diabetic), ‘Client website deployed.’ (James is a software engineer working from home office.) ‘Ice-cream eaten.’ (We usually stopped at service stations.)

Black Sea coast road

Black Sea coast road

I actually arrived before James at one 10km stop. I left before him.
‘There was a major emergency. The client’s server was down. I had to write a new script to process the online form, write some new tests, and deploy. I hope you haven’t been waiting long.’
I had been waiting for 2 minutes.

The last 20km into Samsun was turbo-powered. The wind died down, and we scooted along the main, flat, straight road into the 600,000 strong metropolis.

The Turkish cycling community is amazing, and so welcoming. We hadn’t planned anywhere to stay in Samsun, and our warm showers host from Iznik, Soner, wrote.
‘Where are you now? I have a friend in Samsun that would love to host you.’
We were honoured to meet some more amazing people. The president of the Samsun cycling organization – Yacin and his wife. They got married on a bicycle – it looked like an awesome wedding ceremony. His landlord and friend is an Australian Turk who lives in both Australia and Turkey. They all welcomed us with open arms. It was great to meet them!

Our lovely hosts in Samsun

Our lovely hosts in Samsun

Day 90. 0km. Gerze

Posted: April 24, 2015 in Cycling, Turkey
Tags: , ,

Make hay while the sun shines. Correction, rest day while the sun shines. Watching the waves lap on the shore on the Black Sea, unfortunate haircut in Sinop, and nice drink with a warm shower friend.

Resting on the Black Sea

Resting on the Black Sea

James was writing cute Chinese characters in the sun on our day off – part of a lovely birthday surprise tomorrow. 🙂

Chinese

Chinese

The highlight of the day was walking down the main street of Sinop with hair like this. I kept on reminding myself that I don’t know anyone here (except for James, and he won’t tell anyone).

Tomorrow back on the bike again – hopefully to Samsun.


Sitting in front of the class aided by the English teacher, James and I talked to the kids of the Boyabat school – and then had lots of selfies taken. A monster climb over the pass into the fog and snow before descending to the – BLACK SEA. Yay! No more mountains for a while! ☺

Selfie

Selfie

‘What do you need to get into University in Australia or New Zealand?’
‘What is the best way to learn English?’
James and I answered the teachers’ questions in front of the students before the big rush to take selfies and like James on Instagram (I should set up an Instagram account, I think..) ☺
On a more serious note, the teacher said the students have little chance to hear and speak to English native speakers. I hope our visit motivated them to explore the world out there, and to learn the language I am lucky enough to have as my mother tongue.

In front of the class

In front of the class

Then the monster climb from 300m to 1300m and over the other side to the Black Sea. The big headwind made it a slow affair. We stopped every 3km to eat, and had a lovely Çanakkale tea stop (Wow! An Australian and a New Zealanders – ANZAC – Çanakkale – very good – like – I have an ANZAC jumper) at the top of the pass.

Anzac jumper

Anzac jumper

They were lovely people working for the road network just before the new tunnel at the top of the pass. We were given copious quantities of tea and Turkish delight.

We popped out of the tunnel on the Black Sea side of the mountain and into dense fog, which remained with us almost until we hit the Black Sea many kilometres below.

Tunnel exit

Tunnel exit

Black Sea

Black Sea


This valley in Turkey is famous for turkey and garlic. After an interview with the local rag, we may become famous as the ANZACs in this valley 100 years after the Çanakkale victory. After meeting the local English teacher, James may become famous as the New Zealander of Boyabat.

Selling garlic

Selling garlic

Sitting in front of a small shop in Hanōnü, we were being asked the usual questions – where are you from? Where are you going? What is you name? The answers were being written down, and it soon became apparent that this was for a newspaper. From Australia and New Zealand? Great!! That’s the story – 100 years since the Çanakkale victory, two ANZACs (Australian and New Zealand Army Corps) return on bike. Then the camera was whipped out, and before we knew it, we were posing with the bikes in front of the local iconic buildings.

Me getting interviewed

Me getting interviewed

Our lovely warm showers host Yalçin – a philosophy teacher at the school – invited the school’s English teacher over for tea. The excitement mounted when we heard that they were studying New Zealand in the English class, and they invited James to talk to the students at the school.

Thank you, Yalçin for your great hospitality and for an enjoyable evening of food, photos, tea and stories!

Yalçin - our host

Yalçin – our host


A kerfuffle at 3am as a strange man stumbled around the hotel corridor in Araç. He was shooed away by the man responsible for the corridor wood stove. Other than that the usual – climbing over a pass and down the other side – this time to Kastamonu. A shave at the local barber, a talk with some couch surfing students, and a nice warm comfortable hotel. 🙂

An oily snow field

An oily snow field

The day was cloudy and cold – especially at over 1000m. James and I both agree we have had enough of mountains for the time being, and are looking forward to reaching the flat Black Sea coast.

The pass before Kastamonu

The pass before Kastamonu

One has to look one’s best at the beach, so, time for a shave.

A shave in Kastamonu

A shave in Kastamonu

I think there was some language barrier confusion with our Couch Surfing host, and James and I are now staying in a nice hotel in Kastamonu. The weather forecast is for much warmer weather, and we are looking forward to the next chapter in the trip. Swimming, camping on the beach, cruising along the coastal road. But tomorrow Boyabat and then one last pass to the coast.


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 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

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

Çay

The sun made a brief appearance, and shone on the Unesco Historical Town of Safranbolu.

Safranbolu

Safranbolu

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.

Wooden stove

Wooden stove

Hotel room

Hotel room


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

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

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

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.

Snowy freeway

Snowy freeway


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

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

Snowy village

James made a nice snow angel. I didn’t dare – it was cold enough already.. 🙂

Snow angel

Snow angel

The high pass between Kızılcahamam and Gerede

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

James before the drop to Güdül

Güdül was at our customary 30km lunch stop.

View from near Güdül

View from near Güdül

Güdül

Güdül

Some pandas hanging in the window

Some pandas hanging in the window

Kôfte

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

Kızılcahamam 30

Road to Kızılcahamam

Road to Kızılcahamam

Ayran fountain

Ayran fountain

James and me at dinner

James and me at dinner

Unpacked, we have a mountain of clothes.

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

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

Looking out over the vast panorama

Dropping down to the valley, we passed a village of cherry blossom.

Cherry blossom village

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.

Chalky landscape

Chalky landscape

James cycling through the chalky landscape

James cycling through the chalky landscape

Beypazarı

Beypazarı

Famous Beypazarı 80 layer baklava

Famous Beypazarı 80 layer baklava