So here is the first attempt at making a movie. There is no sound and the picture maybe move too fast but it is just over 16 minutes.
Sunday, August 17, 2008
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Inside Istanbul
Day 51 Istanbul
Boy was it ever great to not have to crawl out of a tent this morning, or not have to pull riding shorts on, or have your bag down at the van by 6:30, or anything else for that matter. This is how conditioned we have been come. Get up, stand in line, pack your bags, ride 100 kms.
So instead I got up and had a nice long hot shower, and a leisurely breakfast in the hotel restaurant beside the pool. The Turkish tour guide had arranged a city bus tour for our group so we jumped on the bus and headed off. There are so many sights to see in Istanbul but we headed right down to the old town to see the most famous. The guide on the bus tour talked continuously about the history of Istanbul. In summary just about every civilization has ruled here, and everyone has left their mark on the city. The first stop was the underground cisterns build in 534 AD by the Romans. Totally amazing! Next stop was the Hagia Sophia built in 537 AD. It has been a mosque and a cathedral and is now a museum. Unfortunately it was closed as it was Monday. However we did get to walk around it. It is truly unbelievable. It is really big. Next stop was the Blue Mosque. It is called the blue mosque because of the blue tile interior. It was built in 1603 by one of the Ottoman sultans. We were allowed in even though we were not Muslims. It is incredibly beautiful inside and big too. Then on to the rug factory tour for tea. I understand that it is mandatory that all Turkish tours must include a tour to the father in-laws’ rug factory. There we were entertained by our hosts for a cup of Turkish tea and shown the many different rug styles and how they are made. Sticker shock is the only words to describe the rugs we were shown. Beautiful but ouch! Finally on to the Grand Bazaar. Here there are over 4000 shops selling everything imaginable. Now you must understand that these shops are small and are not department stores. Each shop is maybe 20 sq feet. A larger shop maybe 100 sq ft. We were told to haggle our hardest and to start at about 50% of the asking price. So I set off looking for the ultimate Turkish souvenir. An Aladdin lamp! There were thousands of them; big, small, brass, plastic, fancy, plain, made in China, you name it they had it. I must have rubbed hundreds and no genie. I was so disappointed I wound up walking out of the Grand Bazaar an hour later without an Aladdin’s lamp. We were told that they had every thing imaginable in the Grand Bazaar. Not to belittle the place as they did have an unbelievable array of goods, however I thought that the selection of NASCAR goods was poor. It was a pretty exciting place and it would be fun to spend more time there. However we had to get back on the bus and my cash had been depleted even though I didn’t get the ultimate souvenir.
Back at the hotel Jim and I spent the afternoon by the pool, reading and relaxing. It was great having a little down time. For supper Jim, Jaco, Jeurg and I went out to a local restaurant where we had a feast for 27.5 lira ($22 cdn)
Thanks for visiting my blog and thanks for your great comments
See you soon
Terry
Boy was it ever great to not have to crawl out of a tent this morning, or not have to pull riding shorts on, or have your bag down at the van by 6:30, or anything else for that matter. This is how conditioned we have been come. Get up, stand in line, pack your bags, ride 100 kms.
So instead I got up and had a nice long hot shower, and a leisurely breakfast in the hotel restaurant beside the pool. The Turkish tour guide had arranged a city bus tour for our group so we jumped on the bus and headed off. There are so many sights to see in Istanbul but we headed right down to the old town to see the most famous. The guide on the bus tour talked continuously about the history of Istanbul. In summary just about every civilization has ruled here, and everyone has left their mark on the city. The first stop was the underground cisterns build in 534 AD by the Romans. Totally amazing! Next stop was the Hagia Sophia built in 537 AD. It has been a mosque and a cathedral and is now a museum. Unfortunately it was closed as it was Monday. However we did get to walk around it. It is truly unbelievable. It is really big. Next stop was the Blue Mosque. It is called the blue mosque because of the blue tile interior. It was built in 1603 by one of the Ottoman sultans. We were allowed in even though we were not Muslims. It is incredibly beautiful inside and big too. Then on to the rug factory tour for tea. I understand that it is mandatory that all Turkish tours must include a tour to the father in-laws’ rug factory. There we were entertained by our hosts for a cup of Turkish tea and shown the many different rug styles and how they are made. Sticker shock is the only words to describe the rugs we were shown. Beautiful but ouch! Finally on to the Grand Bazaar. Here there are over 4000 shops selling everything imaginable. Now you must understand that these shops are small and are not department stores. Each shop is maybe 20 sq feet. A larger shop maybe 100 sq ft. We were told to haggle our hardest and to start at about 50% of the asking price. So I set off looking for the ultimate Turkish souvenir. An Aladdin lamp! There were thousands of them; big, small, brass, plastic, fancy, plain, made in China, you name it they had it. I must have rubbed hundreds and no genie. I was so disappointed I wound up walking out of the Grand Bazaar an hour later without an Aladdin’s lamp. We were told that they had every thing imaginable in the Grand Bazaar. Not to belittle the place as they did have an unbelievable array of goods, however I thought that the selection of NASCAR goods was poor. It was a pretty exciting place and it would be fun to spend more time there. However we had to get back on the bus and my cash had been depleted even though I didn’t get the ultimate souvenir.
Back at the hotel Jim and I spent the afternoon by the pool, reading and relaxing. It was great having a little down time. For supper Jim, Jaco, Jeurg and I went out to a local restaurant where we had a feast for 27.5 lira ($22 cdn)
Thanks for visiting my blog and thanks for your great comments
See you soon
Terry
Monday, July 21, 2008
Yahoo! We made it!
Day 50 Takayadin to Istanbul
The ride today was only 51 kms from camp. Breakfast wasn’t until 7:00 am however that didn’t stop the early risers from getting up at 4:45 and starting with the zippers and walking around making sure that every one was at least awake. I lay in bed until 6:45 before crawling out. Everyone has squeezed themselves into the too small Orient Express jerseys and walking around as proud as anything. Saying we should have had these 7 weeks ago to have more team days. I agree it would have been great.
We rode about 25 kms south towards Istanbul before turning almost due East and the closer we got to the Bosporus the steeper the hills got. We passed though a couple of small towns and in this one little town made this left turn up this road which was so steep I didn’t think I was going to be able to climb it. However in the very lowest gear I made it up. At the top was a pretty little town square where several riders had stopped for tea.
After a relaxing tea we were on the road again with only 15 kms to go. We rode under a roman aqueduct, down a lane lined with eucalyptus trees, down country lanes, and past several beautiful parks. It was really hard to believe we were at Istanbul one of the world’s largest cities. Then we came out of this forested lane and there was the Bosporus. We were standing on the very edge of Europe. Across the Bosporus was Asia.
We had done it! We had ridden our bicycles across a continent.
Just think about that statement for a second. What an accomplishment to ride one’s bike across an entire continent. There are millions of bicyles in the world. How many get ridden 10 kms? How many 100 kms? How many 1000 kms? My bike has crossed 2 continents! Just 5 more continents to go. Ok! Sorry I got carried away.
So here we are standing on the banks of the Bosporus. It is beautiful! Sunny and warm. We are laughing and congratulating each other. Clapping each other on the back and taking pictures. People must have thought we had gone nuts. Of course we are all dressed alike with the same jersey and black riding shorts.
Our Turkish guide had arranged for a ferry to take us down the Bosporus to our hotel. So we had a quick snack on the pier and set sail. Out came the beers and the celebration was in full swing. What a marvellous way to get to the hotel. No crazy ride through insane traffic in a mad house group convoy. Every one is so happy and we are dancing around taking pictures, and joking. The ferry let us of two blocks from the hotel and we walked up to the hotel.
Bike boxes were here and after check in everyone set to breaking there bike down and stuffing their bike into their box. Later we all took taxis to this fancy restaurant for a celebration which Tour d’Afrique was hosting. It was a great meal which culminated with a slide show, which Theresa one of the tour staff had put together of the photos we had taken. It must have been twenty minutes and had hundreds of photos in it. I knew she was putting a lot of effort into it as every waking moment she was pounding a way at the keyboard organizing photos which the riders were downloading into her computer. Theresa, you are truly amazing. The taxi ride to and from the restaurant rivalled any Disneyland thrill ride. The roads are so twisty and hilly and the taxis race along them at break neck speed.
Well, I could go on and on but it is time to thank you for visiting my blog and for your comments.
Stay tuned for further Istanbul adventures as I am here for a couple of days
Terry
The ride today was only 51 kms from camp. Breakfast wasn’t until 7:00 am however that didn’t stop the early risers from getting up at 4:45 and starting with the zippers and walking around making sure that every one was at least awake. I lay in bed until 6:45 before crawling out. Everyone has squeezed themselves into the too small Orient Express jerseys and walking around as proud as anything. Saying we should have had these 7 weeks ago to have more team days. I agree it would have been great.
We rode about 25 kms south towards Istanbul before turning almost due East and the closer we got to the Bosporus the steeper the hills got. We passed though a couple of small towns and in this one little town made this left turn up this road which was so steep I didn’t think I was going to be able to climb it. However in the very lowest gear I made it up. At the top was a pretty little town square where several riders had stopped for tea.
After a relaxing tea we were on the road again with only 15 kms to go. We rode under a roman aqueduct, down a lane lined with eucalyptus trees, down country lanes, and past several beautiful parks. It was really hard to believe we were at Istanbul one of the world’s largest cities. Then we came out of this forested lane and there was the Bosporus. We were standing on the very edge of Europe. Across the Bosporus was Asia.
We had done it! We had ridden our bicycles across a continent.
Just think about that statement for a second. What an accomplishment to ride one’s bike across an entire continent. There are millions of bicyles in the world. How many get ridden 10 kms? How many 100 kms? How many 1000 kms? My bike has crossed 2 continents! Just 5 more continents to go. Ok! Sorry I got carried away.
So here we are standing on the banks of the Bosporus. It is beautiful! Sunny and warm. We are laughing and congratulating each other. Clapping each other on the back and taking pictures. People must have thought we had gone nuts. Of course we are all dressed alike with the same jersey and black riding shorts.
Our Turkish guide had arranged for a ferry to take us down the Bosporus to our hotel. So we had a quick snack on the pier and set sail. Out came the beers and the celebration was in full swing. What a marvellous way to get to the hotel. No crazy ride through insane traffic in a mad house group convoy. Every one is so happy and we are dancing around taking pictures, and joking. The ferry let us of two blocks from the hotel and we walked up to the hotel.
Bike boxes were here and after check in everyone set to breaking there bike down and stuffing their bike into their box. Later we all took taxis to this fancy restaurant for a celebration which Tour d’Afrique was hosting. It was a great meal which culminated with a slide show, which Theresa one of the tour staff had put together of the photos we had taken. It must have been twenty minutes and had hundreds of photos in it. I knew she was putting a lot of effort into it as every waking moment she was pounding a way at the keyboard organizing photos which the riders were downloading into her computer. Theresa, you are truly amazing. The taxi ride to and from the restaurant rivalled any Disneyland thrill ride. The roads are so twisty and hilly and the taxis race along them at break neck speed.
Well, I could go on and on but it is time to thank you for visiting my blog and for your comments.
Stay tuned for further Istanbul adventures as I am here for a couple of days
Terry
Hot and Hilly
Day 49 Saray to Takayadin
Today’s ride was really kind of a non event. However that may only be because we are so jaded and are now at the point where unless something is so spectacular we don’t even slow down. I think that most of the group are just grinding it out. Two short rides, so let’s get it over with.
The first 25 kms was quite hilly with several longer hills of greater than a one kms in length. Hills are fine with me because you get the down hill glide, but not here as you can’t trust the road surface and so you have to ride the brakes. The road surface was pretty good with only intermittent rough patches. It was mostly scrub oak along the road sides so there was no scenery. So this was just a grind it out section which I was in hurry to do as it was going to be hot day.
The road got steadily worse, got much hillier and the traffic increased as the day wore on. Lunch was at the 45 km mark so we were there by 10:00 AM. It was in a weed infested turn out beside a radio tower. Of course all the weeds had thorns and or burrs which scratched at your legs. The best part of the ride so far has been that we are seeing signs which give the distance to Istanbul.
After lunch the road surface deteriorated to what I am calling asphalt cobble stones. I am sure you know what I mean. When the road is heaved it brakes into 2 to 6 inch pieces. Generally we only see this condition at the top of a heave or in the bottom of a collapse. When the pieces are missing you have a pot hole. But here the entire road surface is that way and we had 15 kms of it. My arms and back where just throbbing after that stretch, of road. The woods had given way to open country side so there were some nice vistas. The last stretch into camp was much better but there were a number of steep climbs, with some pretty vistas. On the last ridge before we arrived at camp you could see the Black Sea off to the north. I was providing us with a cool breeze which I was grateful for.
Tonight was the camp was in a little park just on the out side of this little town. There were no showers so Randy fixed a place where you could have a bucket wash. There were lots of trees so it was nice and shady. We covered the total 70 kms well before lunch so I had a good afternoon nap. Being the last night to cook John put on a real feast of shish kabobs, potatoes and marinated vegetable salad. After super we were given our Orient Express jerseys, only to fine that the sizing was tiny. Thankfully I had ordered a large and I have lost about 15 pounds so I was able to squeeze into mine.
Well thanks for visiting my blog and thanks for all your great comments
See you soon.
Terry
Today’s ride was really kind of a non event. However that may only be because we are so jaded and are now at the point where unless something is so spectacular we don’t even slow down. I think that most of the group are just grinding it out. Two short rides, so let’s get it over with.
The first 25 kms was quite hilly with several longer hills of greater than a one kms in length. Hills are fine with me because you get the down hill glide, but not here as you can’t trust the road surface and so you have to ride the brakes. The road surface was pretty good with only intermittent rough patches. It was mostly scrub oak along the road sides so there was no scenery. So this was just a grind it out section which I was in hurry to do as it was going to be hot day.
The road got steadily worse, got much hillier and the traffic increased as the day wore on. Lunch was at the 45 km mark so we were there by 10:00 AM. It was in a weed infested turn out beside a radio tower. Of course all the weeds had thorns and or burrs which scratched at your legs. The best part of the ride so far has been that we are seeing signs which give the distance to Istanbul.
After lunch the road surface deteriorated to what I am calling asphalt cobble stones. I am sure you know what I mean. When the road is heaved it brakes into 2 to 6 inch pieces. Generally we only see this condition at the top of a heave or in the bottom of a collapse. When the pieces are missing you have a pot hole. But here the entire road surface is that way and we had 15 kms of it. My arms and back where just throbbing after that stretch, of road. The woods had given way to open country side so there were some nice vistas. The last stretch into camp was much better but there were a number of steep climbs, with some pretty vistas. On the last ridge before we arrived at camp you could see the Black Sea off to the north. I was providing us with a cool breeze which I was grateful for.
Tonight was the camp was in a little park just on the out side of this little town. There were no showers so Randy fixed a place where you could have a bucket wash. There were lots of trees so it was nice and shady. We covered the total 70 kms well before lunch so I had a good afternoon nap. Being the last night to cook John put on a real feast of shish kabobs, potatoes and marinated vegetable salad. After super we were given our Orient Express jerseys, only to fine that the sizing was tiny. Thankfully I had ordered a large and I have lost about 15 pounds so I was able to squeeze into mine.
Well thanks for visiting my blog and thanks for all your great comments
See you soon.
Terry
Friday, July 18, 2008
An Easy Day
Day 48 Kırkırlı to Saray 78 Kms
What an easy day! As we rolled out of town ın a group rıde thıs mornıng the weather was perfect. We had been told that the mayor was comıng and the polıce were comıng to escort us. However no show on both accounts. However no bıg deal as the group rıde was only about 2km and we were off.
I was at the very back of the lıne as I had forgotten to re-attach my rear brakes after I changed my tıre on the rest day, and had to stop to reattaqch them. No more rıdıng on the tıre that dumped me ın the mud. I am goıng for somethıng wıth a bıt more aggressıver tread. So as I rode up though the lıne of rıders they each got a taste from my water pıstol. It was a total hoot. However as there was a lot of hılls the rıders were workıng hard and the day was already warm so I got more thanks than yells.
I cruısed ınto a lıttle town and had a Turkısh tea and sat around for about 30 mınutes and watched the other rıders saıl past. It was just plaın relaxıng.
The country sıde here ıs mostly larger fıelds and has low rollıng hılls. So the rıde was really pleasent. I could rıde here forever. However ıt was soon over and I was ın town by 12:00 noon. Wıth nothıng to do I wandered the town however as there ıs only 20,000 people ıt dıdn,t take long to explore.
If you recall from a week or so ago I put a saftey flag on my bıke to get a few more precıus ınches on the road. Well new ıdea! I took the red survey rıbbon off the pole and replaced ıt wıth the Turkısh flag. I found a flag ın a shop three doors from the hotel, and put ıt on my bıke. As you rıde though these small towns the locals cheer and wave to you. Waıt untıl they see the flag. Kurt and Jaco are also replacıng the rıbbon wıth flags.
Sorry for the lack of pıctures the last few days. On the last posts the ınternet was so slow ıt wouldn´t take pıctures and today I am ın an ınternet cafe and have no access to my pıctures. I wıll get everyone some pıctures ın a few days. Spell check doesn´t work here as ıt thınks thıs ıs ın Turkısh. So pardon the bad spellıng.
Well thanks for vısıtıng my blog and thanks for your comments.
Terry
What an easy day! As we rolled out of town ın a group rıde thıs mornıng the weather was perfect. We had been told that the mayor was comıng and the polıce were comıng to escort us. However no show on both accounts. However no bıg deal as the group rıde was only about 2km and we were off.
I was at the very back of the lıne as I had forgotten to re-attach my rear brakes after I changed my tıre on the rest day, and had to stop to reattaqch them. No more rıdıng on the tıre that dumped me ın the mud. I am goıng for somethıng wıth a bıt more aggressıver tread. So as I rode up though the lıne of rıders they each got a taste from my water pıstol. It was a total hoot. However as there was a lot of hılls the rıders were workıng hard and the day was already warm so I got more thanks than yells.
I cruısed ınto a lıttle town and had a Turkısh tea and sat around for about 30 mınutes and watched the other rıders saıl past. It was just plaın relaxıng.
The country sıde here ıs mostly larger fıelds and has low rollıng hılls. So the rıde was really pleasent. I could rıde here forever. However ıt was soon over and I was ın town by 12:00 noon. Wıth nothıng to do I wandered the town however as there ıs only 20,000 people ıt dıdn,t take long to explore.
If you recall from a week or so ago I put a saftey flag on my bıke to get a few more precıus ınches on the road. Well new ıdea! I took the red survey rıbbon off the pole and replaced ıt wıth the Turkısh flag. I found a flag ın a shop three doors from the hotel, and put ıt on my bıke. As you rıde though these small towns the locals cheer and wave to you. Waıt untıl they see the flag. Kurt and Jaco are also replacıng the rıbbon wıth flags.
Sorry for the lack of pıctures the last few days. On the last posts the ınternet was so slow ıt wouldn´t take pıctures and today I am ın an ınternet cafe and have no access to my pıctures. I wıll get everyone some pıctures ın a few days. Spell check doesn´t work here as ıt thınks thıs ıs ın Turkısh. So pardon the bad spellıng.
Well thanks for vısıtıng my blog and thanks for your comments.
Terry
Thursday, July 17, 2008
First Run in a while
Day 47 Kirklareli Rest Day
We are just 200 kms out of Istanbul. Three short ride days. This has been an unbelievable journey for me and I still cannot really get my head around all the different things that I have seen over the last 7 weeks.
But that isn’t what you want to hear. You want to know what is going on. Ok this morning I got up and went for a run. I hadn’t run since my crash a few weeks ago so this was kind of a test. It worked out ok and although I felt stiff it was good to get out and do it. When I put my water bottle belt of it confirmed that I have lost a fair amount of weight on this trip as I had to take it in about 1.5 inches.
The town is very different from Bulgaria where it is much more open. No liquor in the sidewalk cafes. Women are very conservatively dressed. Buildings look much poorer. The vehicles on the road are much older and much poorer condition. There is a much bigger police and military presence. The military base which is along side of the main pedestrian mall has lots of signs saying no photographs. There are guards with machine guns in front of the police station and military buildings. Beer and wine is much more expensive and on par with Canadian prices.
However the Baklava is very inexpensive and is just dripping with honey. Speaking of which I think I better go get some more.
See you all soon
Thanks for visiting my blog and thanks for your comments.
Terry
We are just 200 kms out of Istanbul. Three short ride days. This has been an unbelievable journey for me and I still cannot really get my head around all the different things that I have seen over the last 7 weeks.
But that isn’t what you want to hear. You want to know what is going on. Ok this morning I got up and went for a run. I hadn’t run since my crash a few weeks ago so this was kind of a test. It worked out ok and although I felt stiff it was good to get out and do it. When I put my water bottle belt of it confirmed that I have lost a fair amount of weight on this trip as I had to take it in about 1.5 inches.
The town is very different from Bulgaria where it is much more open. No liquor in the sidewalk cafes. Women are very conservatively dressed. Buildings look much poorer. The vehicles on the road are much older and much poorer condition. There is a much bigger police and military presence. The military base which is along side of the main pedestrian mall has lots of signs saying no photographs. There are guards with machine guns in front of the police station and military buildings. Beer and wine is much more expensive and on par with Canadian prices.
However the Baklava is very inexpensive and is just dripping with honey. Speaking of which I think I better go get some more.
See you all soon
Thanks for visiting my blog and thanks for your comments.
Terry
Hello Turkey
Day 46 Malko Turnovo to Kirkareli Turkey
After a night of listening to barking dogs, a 3:00 Am thunder storm, and the worlds hardest beds, we crawled out of our soviet era apartment slum to have breakfast under a cold cloudly sky. The riders were stamping their feet to keep warm and there was a mist in the air. I was wishing that I had put my arm and leg warmers on.
Soon we were off towards the boarder of Turkey. It was an 11 km climb up a very steep back road which lead to the Turkish boarder which was right at the summit. Although I had been cold I was soon sweating. When we reached the boarder there turned out to quite a few vehicles including a couple of tour buses. At the boarder into Turkey you have to go inside to purchase a visa. For Canadians it was $60.00 USD. Finally after a interminably long time processing people in front of me, it is my turn where my passport is stamped in less than 20 seconds and I am on my way.
From the boarder it is down hill through 6 kms of construction. The construction equipment has spread mud and oil on the road and it is extremely slippery. Well before you know it I am laying on my back in the mud. My rear wheel just spun out and my bike came out from under me laying me down into the mud. I jumped up right away but too late I am covered in mud. I walked my bike for about 200 feet though the worst of it and then got on and rode down the hill to lunch where I took plenty of teasing.
It was threatening rain again so Jim and I didn’t hang around lunch we were only a few kilometres out of town and we didn’t want to get wet. The highway turned into this brand new freeway with 12 foot shoulders and lots of really steep hills. I hit my record speed, for this trip, of 58 kms/hr on one of the down hills.
As we approached town we were greeted by the police who directed us to our hotel. I had seen the police and the military along the road but hadn’t thought anything of it. When we got to the hotel we learned that our Turkish guide had arranged for the police and the military to watch over us during our stay in Turkey.
Later the guide took us on a walking tour of the town’s historic district and then out to a supper which was hosted in a very fancy restaurant by the town’s mayor. It was a wonderful five course meal. There was a live band which was playing traditional Gypsy music. Well let’s just say that it wasn’t AC/DC.
A very short, but muddy day of only 50kms.
Well thanks for visiting my blog and thanks for your great comments
Terry
After a night of listening to barking dogs, a 3:00 Am thunder storm, and the worlds hardest beds, we crawled out of our soviet era apartment slum to have breakfast under a cold cloudly sky. The riders were stamping their feet to keep warm and there was a mist in the air. I was wishing that I had put my arm and leg warmers on.
Soon we were off towards the boarder of Turkey. It was an 11 km climb up a very steep back road which lead to the Turkish boarder which was right at the summit. Although I had been cold I was soon sweating. When we reached the boarder there turned out to quite a few vehicles including a couple of tour buses. At the boarder into Turkey you have to go inside to purchase a visa. For Canadians it was $60.00 USD. Finally after a interminably long time processing people in front of me, it is my turn where my passport is stamped in less than 20 seconds and I am on my way.
From the boarder it is down hill through 6 kms of construction. The construction equipment has spread mud and oil on the road and it is extremely slippery. Well before you know it I am laying on my back in the mud. My rear wheel just spun out and my bike came out from under me laying me down into the mud. I jumped up right away but too late I am covered in mud. I walked my bike for about 200 feet though the worst of it and then got on and rode down the hill to lunch where I took plenty of teasing.
It was threatening rain again so Jim and I didn’t hang around lunch we were only a few kilometres out of town and we didn’t want to get wet. The highway turned into this brand new freeway with 12 foot shoulders and lots of really steep hills. I hit my record speed, for this trip, of 58 kms/hr on one of the down hills.
As we approached town we were greeted by the police who directed us to our hotel. I had seen the police and the military along the road but hadn’t thought anything of it. When we got to the hotel we learned that our Turkish guide had arranged for the police and the military to watch over us during our stay in Turkey.
Later the guide took us on a walking tour of the town’s historic district and then out to a supper which was hosted in a very fancy restaurant by the town’s mayor. It was a wonderful five course meal. There was a live band which was playing traditional Gypsy music. Well let’s just say that it wasn’t AC/DC.
A very short, but muddy day of only 50kms.
Well thanks for visiting my blog and thanks for your great comments
Terry
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Shaken down by the Boarder police
Day 45 Aheloy to Malko Turnovo
I was sorry to leave our wonderful little hotel with the great food and people this morning, but headed off for what was promised to be a hot hill day.
The first 40 kms took us down the coast and though the busy harbour city of Burgas. Even though it was early traffic was nerve wracking. Always having big heavy trucks passing you less than a few feet away just makes it scary. At last we turned off on to a secondary road and although the surface wasn’t as good there was very little traffic.
Lunch was a total none event beside a microwave tower in a burned out field of weeds full of spines. By time I got to the 75 km I hadn’t taken one picture, and didn’t have one story to tell you. Then I spotted an old truck which didn’t have wheels but had treads instead. So I took its’ picture. At least I would have something.
At the 90 km mark was a little town with a store and a number of riders had pulled in for refreshments. So I rode on in as well. While we were sitting at a table in front of the store a local came out and played his accordion. He thought we were French so he played the French national anthem. We emptied all our coins on to the table for him. He made out great that day as every group of riders stopped and he came out and played for them.
Then about 5 km out of town I get pulled over by the Bulgarian boarder police. They want to see my passport. Thankfully I have it with me. A lot of the riders don't carry thier passport. This is apparently highly unusual. Randy one of the tour leaders says he had never heard of such a thing.
Tonight’s hotel is an old soviet apartment building which is no a dormitory. There is no place to stay in the town so we are staying here. It is a total dump. To think I rode 106 kms in hot sun to get here!
Tomorrow Turkey!
Well thanks for visiting my blog and thanks for your comments
Terry
I was sorry to leave our wonderful little hotel with the great food and people this morning, but headed off for what was promised to be a hot hill day.
The first 40 kms took us down the coast and though the busy harbour city of Burgas. Even though it was early traffic was nerve wracking. Always having big heavy trucks passing you less than a few feet away just makes it scary. At last we turned off on to a secondary road and although the surface wasn’t as good there was very little traffic.
Lunch was a total none event beside a microwave tower in a burned out field of weeds full of spines. By time I got to the 75 km I hadn’t taken one picture, and didn’t have one story to tell you. Then I spotted an old truck which didn’t have wheels but had treads instead. So I took its’ picture. At least I would have something.
At the 90 km mark was a little town with a store and a number of riders had pulled in for refreshments. So I rode on in as well. While we were sitting at a table in front of the store a local came out and played his accordion. He thought we were French so he played the French national anthem. We emptied all our coins on to the table for him. He made out great that day as every group of riders stopped and he came out and played for them.
Then about 5 km out of town I get pulled over by the Bulgarian boarder police. They want to see my passport. Thankfully I have it with me. A lot of the riders don't carry thier passport. This is apparently highly unusual. Randy one of the tour leaders says he had never heard of such a thing.
Tonight’s hotel is an old soviet apartment building which is no a dormitory. There is no place to stay in the town so we are staying here. It is a total dump. To think I rode 106 kms in hot sun to get here!
Tomorrow Turkey!
Well thanks for visiting my blog and thanks for your comments
Terry
A busy busy day
Day 44 Varna to Aheloy
Just like the old saying it never rains but it pours. Today was one of those types of days. So, this is going to be a long story and I just hope that you have the patient to get though it all. If you don’t, well that’s ok I understand.
With that disclaimer out of the way we started out of Varna with a group ride cross the big bridge which connects one side of the harbour with the other. These group rides are sure great for ensuring that everyone gets out of or into the city ok. After we reached the out skirts of Varna we were cut loose and started the big climb out of the harbour area to the surrounding highlands. It was about 12 kms to the top of the hill and I had drunk one of my bottles of water by time I reached the main highway south. After turning south the main highway was good but no shoulders and with a huge amount of traffic. Jim is about 200 m in front of me and Jaco is about 100 m behind me. Then this old Dacia (Romanian version of Renault 12) which is travelling in our direction decided to do a u-turn in the middle of the road and was nailed by an on coming Jetta. The Dacia’s rear end is totally collapsed and it is punched across the road and into this deep ditch. The Jetta winds up in the opposite ditch with it’s nose punched in. There are two loose propane bottles in the Dacia one of which is on the road blowing propane up the other is under the Dacia in the ditch blowing propane. Jim never hears any of this and rides on. I hear the wreck and turn around and Jaco jams on his brakes to avoid the flying wreckage. Juerg rides up and he and I try to get the driver of the Dacia out but the door is jammed and he isn’t moving. The propane is so thick you can’t breathe in the hole the Dacia is in, so we bail out. About 20 minutes later the driver of the Dacia comes around and releases the door lock and Glen climbs down and helps the driver out. Five seconds earlier and I would have been in the wreck, five seconds later and Jaco would have been in the wreck. Clearly the Gods were smiling on Jaco and I.
After lunch we started the big climb of the day which took us across this big head land. The climb is suppose to be 12 kms long but I thought that it was more like 17 because there were two good climbs before we got to the main assent. At any rate I am not quite half way up when I spot this family of wild pigs eating figs. The figs have fallen from the wild fig tree trees which line the highway. Bulgarian wild pigs are extremely rare and are never seen, as they are very reclusive. However there they are two adults and two infants. They are so intent on eating the figs I was able to get right up and get some pictures. I was the only rider to see the pigs. What a great treat.
At the half way point is a tiny town which had a store which sold ice cold water. I purchase a huge bottle drank half and poured half over myself as it was 35+ C and the sun was beating down. After I reached the summit and began the ride down the view of the next set of harbours and the ancient city of Nesebar were unbelievable. I stopped at this view point were there were some German kids on holidays and we talked and took pictures was really fun. The Black Sea was so pretty and the development along the sea stretched for miles. They are developing the coast as fast as they can and there are hundreds of billboards (in English) advertizing ocean side condos from 350 euros/sq meter (something less than $50/sqft)
Nesebar was constructed on this little isthmus by the Greeks/Phoencians a couple of thousand years ago and just about everyone else since then. It is 3 kms off the highway so I elected to ride out to see the ruins. The 3 kms out is nothing but vendors selling stuff to the tourists and the city itself has some ruins and a museum which I didn’t go into as there was no place to lock my bike, and thousands of vendors selling everything under the sun. Very touristy and fun.
By time I get back to the highway the afternoon traffic is over the top and totally nerve wracking. Thankfully I have only 5 kms to go. I was glad to get to the hotel which is brand new. I don’t think any one had ever slept in the room. The remote for the TV and air conditioner were still in plastic. It was a glorious place. Fred and I sat on the patio and ordered hot appetizers off the menu. We had beef tongue, chicken hearts, plate of olives, humus, mushrooms and bead all for less than 14.00 lev ($11.00) total. Besides being dirt cheap it was really excellent.
Later at supper Olivia is dishing up supper to the riders. He puts one slice of sausage and a bunch of sauce on my pasta. So, I said can I have some more, so he puts one cube of chicken which is about 1” square and more sauce on my plate. I said come on how about a decent serving. John says its’ ok there is lots. Olivia puts one mushroom slice on my plate and more sauce. In disgust I dumped my plate into the pot and headed for the restaurant. Six others followed my lead.
The patio restaurant was filling with locals and while we were eating, a guy with a keyboard and a lady sing showed up and started to play. We get up and start to dance, well now the party is on. We are ordering beers and food and the whole place is just jumping. The band didn’t speak a word of English but were doing all these American rock songs. The hotel owner is out dancing with us and telling everyone welcome our Canadian visitors. The party goes until 11:00 when the restaurant closes. It was a total blast.
So ended a long hot day of 114 kms.
Thanks for sticking with me, thanks for visiting, and thanks for your comments.
Terry
Just like the old saying it never rains but it pours. Today was one of those types of days. So, this is going to be a long story and I just hope that you have the patient to get though it all. If you don’t, well that’s ok I understand.
With that disclaimer out of the way we started out of Varna with a group ride cross the big bridge which connects one side of the harbour with the other. These group rides are sure great for ensuring that everyone gets out of or into the city ok. After we reached the out skirts of Varna we were cut loose and started the big climb out of the harbour area to the surrounding highlands. It was about 12 kms to the top of the hill and I had drunk one of my bottles of water by time I reached the main highway south. After turning south the main highway was good but no shoulders and with a huge amount of traffic. Jim is about 200 m in front of me and Jaco is about 100 m behind me. Then this old Dacia (Romanian version of Renault 12) which is travelling in our direction decided to do a u-turn in the middle of the road and was nailed by an on coming Jetta. The Dacia’s rear end is totally collapsed and it is punched across the road and into this deep ditch. The Jetta winds up in the opposite ditch with it’s nose punched in. There are two loose propane bottles in the Dacia one of which is on the road blowing propane up the other is under the Dacia in the ditch blowing propane. Jim never hears any of this and rides on. I hear the wreck and turn around and Jaco jams on his brakes to avoid the flying wreckage. Juerg rides up and he and I try to get the driver of the Dacia out but the door is jammed and he isn’t moving. The propane is so thick you can’t breathe in the hole the Dacia is in, so we bail out. About 20 minutes later the driver of the Dacia comes around and releases the door lock and Glen climbs down and helps the driver out. Five seconds earlier and I would have been in the wreck, five seconds later and Jaco would have been in the wreck. Clearly the Gods were smiling on Jaco and I.
After lunch we started the big climb of the day which took us across this big head land. The climb is suppose to be 12 kms long but I thought that it was more like 17 because there were two good climbs before we got to the main assent. At any rate I am not quite half way up when I spot this family of wild pigs eating figs. The figs have fallen from the wild fig tree trees which line the highway. Bulgarian wild pigs are extremely rare and are never seen, as they are very reclusive. However there they are two adults and two infants. They are so intent on eating the figs I was able to get right up and get some pictures. I was the only rider to see the pigs. What a great treat.
At the half way point is a tiny town which had a store which sold ice cold water. I purchase a huge bottle drank half and poured half over myself as it was 35+ C and the sun was beating down. After I reached the summit and began the ride down the view of the next set of harbours and the ancient city of Nesebar were unbelievable. I stopped at this view point were there were some German kids on holidays and we talked and took pictures was really fun. The Black Sea was so pretty and the development along the sea stretched for miles. They are developing the coast as fast as they can and there are hundreds of billboards (in English) advertizing ocean side condos from 350 euros/sq meter (something less than $50/sqft)
Nesebar was constructed on this little isthmus by the Greeks/Phoencians a couple of thousand years ago and just about everyone else since then. It is 3 kms off the highway so I elected to ride out to see the ruins. The 3 kms out is nothing but vendors selling stuff to the tourists and the city itself has some ruins and a museum which I didn’t go into as there was no place to lock my bike, and thousands of vendors selling everything under the sun. Very touristy and fun.
By time I get back to the highway the afternoon traffic is over the top and totally nerve wracking. Thankfully I have only 5 kms to go. I was glad to get to the hotel which is brand new. I don’t think any one had ever slept in the room. The remote for the TV and air conditioner were still in plastic. It was a glorious place. Fred and I sat on the patio and ordered hot appetizers off the menu. We had beef tongue, chicken hearts, plate of olives, humus, mushrooms and bead all for less than 14.00 lev ($11.00) total. Besides being dirt cheap it was really excellent.
Later at supper Olivia is dishing up supper to the riders. He puts one slice of sausage and a bunch of sauce on my pasta. So, I said can I have some more, so he puts one cube of chicken which is about 1” square and more sauce on my plate. I said come on how about a decent serving. John says its’ ok there is lots. Olivia puts one mushroom slice on my plate and more sauce. In disgust I dumped my plate into the pot and headed for the restaurant. Six others followed my lead.
The patio restaurant was filling with locals and while we were eating, a guy with a keyboard and a lady sing showed up and started to play. We get up and start to dance, well now the party is on. We are ordering beers and food and the whole place is just jumping. The band didn’t speak a word of English but were doing all these American rock songs. The hotel owner is out dancing with us and telling everyone welcome our Canadian visitors. The party goes until 11:00 when the restaurant closes. It was a total blast.
So ended a long hot day of 114 kms.
Thanks for sticking with me, thanks for visiting, and thanks for your comments.
Terry
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