The bike (igor) gear and the body
After nearly 2 months on the road the tally of war wounds stands as such:
3 Punctures ( 2 within 1/2 hr of each other)
1 Broken trailer. Kindly welded freee of charge in a tracking yard
The not so unbreakable BOB after been un-broken1 bent rear dropout. Couresty of a rather impatient donkey getting its yoke hooked in my front wheel. Again fixed free of charge
How to fıx a bent rear dropout- with a shifting spanner and a rubber hammer!Vrious gear problems which have been fıxed and unfixed by various people
1 torn tent fly. Oh for the wonders of gaffa tape
1 slightly broken tent pole. ditto
1 case of food poisoning
1 chest infection
A few tight calf muscles.
Not too bad a tally for 3000 or km.
Turkish Hospitality:
As alluded to above i have been incredibly lucky with the help i have been given whilst i have been in Turkey. This extends to numerous free meals and cups of tea. Yesterday i was stopped and given a bag of figs hazlenuts and cheese from an old couple on the side of the road. i have never really sort it but these things have mannaged to brighten a few tough days.
Breaafast on my first morning in Turkey!While the hospitality has been amazing a few things have been a little dıssapointing. The first would have to be rubbish. Even what seems like remote beaches can still be covered in shit. This hasnt always been so and im sure there are plenty of areas in Australia that suffer from a similar carelessness. Some of the roads too ( read the previous entry on wet tar) have been a bit average though this has been the exeception rather than the rule by far. Dogs on the whole have been less of a problem here than earlier in the trip
Camping:
İ have also had some absolute gems of Campsites from beaches to forrests and the odd roadside bivvie. The odd dog and curious local aside i have never had much trouble at all. Hopefully this contiues once i get into Georgia.
Milestones:
A few have come up since the last post. Sunday will be 2 months on the road. Hopefully by then i will be on the road to Tblisi in Geogia. Yesterday i clcocked up 1000km on the Speedo. This is not so much of a milestone as i only managed to get it working after leaving istanbul. Tuesday was also my longest day so far. ( well as far as i can work out). A good solıd run of 150km. İt was nice to have some good running after nearly two weeks of slogging it up and down the mountains.
1000km on the Speedo- only from istanbul though.Companions:
Since leaving istanbul i have had the pleasure of Rob and Bills company. Bill is cycling to india while Rob is going to Japan. Bill left us to head south to Ankara at innobolu while Rob and i cycled together for a few more days. The last 3 days i have been back on my own. After two weeks of having to make joint decsions has this has been a bit of a change. As Rob and i more or less headed in the same direction we will no doubt be passing each other again soon.
Watch dog on a beach campsite at Doganyurt.Where too?
From Trabzon the road heads east towards Rize and then Batumi which is on the Georgian side of the border. From there i will bıd farewell to the back sea my comanion for the last 3 weeks and head over the mountains to Tblisi. i am looking forward to a beer in Georgia. Being Ramadan for most of the time i have been in Turkey has made these things a little hard to procure.
We have enjoyed reading your titbits as you roam through the countryside on that bike. Sounds like you are blessed by hospitable locals. It must certainly add another dimension to your impressions of a country.
ReplyDeleteKeep on pedalling and the folks at Portland Rd, City of Sails will track your progress!!