Monthly Archives: January 2007


Oh yeah, gimme some of that. Gale force winds continue today. My little walk along the shores of the Black Sea this morning was a tough one. At times difficult to maintain balance, I decided that if it’s this tough just walking, that cycling would be impossible (at 2pm, the […]

Day 192 – Storms on the Black Sea


Yesterday’s weather forecast was a day late, it seems. The predicted snow, rain and wind came in force today, soaking me through on the 11km ride from my campspot to Inebolu. As I sit here in the internet cafe, it is still snowing the same slushy, haily gunk that the […]

Day 191 – A cold wet dash to Inebolu


The weather forecast for today was rain, snow, and wind. I saw none of it, and had a great day of riding. Snow and ice still remained after yesterday’s full day of cold rain and following snow during the night. It was at times hard going up the very steep […]

Day 190 – Ayancik to 10km from Inebolu



Rain, wind and snow. I spent the day in an internet cafe. Brrr. Dinner was Lahmacun once again. But this time it was Kurdish Lahmacun. You would think that all Lahmacun is equal. However, Kurdish Lahmacun is all good. Herby, spicy paste is served along with the salad. The best […]

Day 189 – Sheltering in Ayancik


It was windy during the night. I recalled seeing on the internet that the weather forecast for today was for snow. I have to get off this mountain. I got up before day break, and battled with the cooker in the wind to boil some rice for breakfast. I checked […]

Day 188 – TURKEY: A lake named Akgol (Part 2)


Turkey has among the steepest roads that I have encountered on this journey. This morning I cycled one of them. Had I not already cycled almost 7,000km, I would have been pushing.The pass was called Sakiz Pass, and it joins a small town (don’t remember the name) and Ayancik on […]

Day 187 – TURKEY: A lake called Akgol (Part 1)



Today’s distance / 今日の走行距離: 76.12km Average speed / 平均速度: 11.4km/h Time on bike / 走行時間: 6h 10m Total distance to date / 今日までの積算距離: 2661.5km (plus 4200km) Ascent / 上り: +760m Descent / 下り: -430m I was camped just outside of Duragan, so I cycled back into town or breakfast. On […]

Day 186 – From Duragan to half way up Sakiz ...



Today’s distance / 今日の走行距離: 106.03km Average speed / 平均速度: 13.5km/h Time on bike / 走行時間: 7h 49m Total distance to date / 今日までの積算距離: 2527.8km (plus 4200km) Ascent / 上り: +1015m Descent / 下り: -965m Ahhhhh. A strong tail wind once again. This is the kind of cycle touring I like. […]

Day 184 – From 10km from Amasya to a graveyard ...



Today’s distance / 今日の走行距離: 150.05km Average speed / 平均速度: 17.3km/h Time on bike / 走行時間: 8h 39m Total distance to date / 今日までの積算距離: 2423.2km (plus 4200km) Ascent / 上り: +1095m Descent / 下り: -1180m Today was officially the longest day (both time and distance wise) of the journey so far. […]

Day 183 – The longest day (Rushadiye to 10km from ...


Today’s distance / 今日の走行距離: 89.2km Average speed / 平均速度: 13.9km/h Time on bike / 走行時間: 6h 25m Total distance to date / 今日までの積算距離: 2273.7km (plus 4200km) Ascent / 上り: +715m Descent / 下り: -1335m The day began with a fruitless adventure, trying to cycle along a half finished empty canal. […]

Day 182 – From Susehri to just past Rushadiye


Today’s distance / 今日の走行距離: 77.94km Average speed / 平均速度: 17.1km/h Time on bike / 走行時間: 4h 33m Total distance to date / 今日までの積算距離: 2184.1km (plus 4200km) Ascent / 上り: +610m Descent / 下り: -1130m There’s nothing quite like a 40km downhill to get the spirits up. I had already loaded […]

Day 181 – Refahiye to Susehri



I have had inklings for a while that there were cheaper rooms (less than NZ$10) at most of the hotels that I have stayed at so far in Turkey, so last night I inquired if there was anything cheaper. I was shown a 5 bed dorm room, which is perfectly […]

Day 180 – In Refahiye


Today’s distance / 今日の走行距離: 46.79km Average speed / 平均速度: 11.9km/h Time on bike / 走行時間: 3h 55m Total distance to date / 今日までの積算距離: 2106.8km (plus 4200km) Ascent / 上り: +775m Descent / 下り: -760m English Summay: At last, the head wind stopped. It left a beautiful day in its wake, […]

Day 179 – From halfway up Sakaitutan Pass (2400m) to ...


Today’s distance / 今日の走行距離: 55.58km Average speed / 平均速度: 10.2km/h Time on bike / 走行時間: 5h 25m Total distance to date / 今日までの積算距離: 2060.4km (plus 4200km) Ascent / 上り: +590m Descent / 下り: -175m Woke up feeling great. No head wind, it was relatively warm (only -5 degrees). Today is […]

Day 178 – From Erzincan to half way up Sakaitutan ...



Today’s distance / 今日の走行距離: 82.77km Average speed / 平均速度: 13.3km/h Time on bike / 走行時間: 6h 13m Total distance to date / 今日までの積算距離: 2004.8km (plus 4200km) Ascent / 上り: +210m Descent / 下り: -460m English Summary: Frustrating icy headwind today blowing up the narrow valley I was travelling along. Plus […]

Day 177 – Tercan to 20km from Erzincan (English Summary)


Today’s distance: 113.03km Average speed: 15.1km/h Time pedalling: 6h 47m Ascent: 790m Descent: 1230m Distance to Date: 1922.0km (plus 4200km on old speedo) I only took one photo today. And that’s it. I think I may be getting some hints. I have crossed this pipeline so many times in the […]

Day 176 – From Erzurum to Tercan


My Mum asked recently what the food is like in Turkey. Here I would like to introduce one of my favourites so far. This is Lahmajun. Beef mince on a very thin crunchy base. You squeeze some lemon juice onto the top, chuck some salad on, roll it up, and […]

Day 175 – Turkish food is awesome



Takin’ it real easy today. Went for a walk in the morning to find an ATM, and found this. It is the Cifte Minareli Medrese (Double Minaret). It’s the main sight in Erzurum, what a sight it is. When I was there, there was not another soul there. Old and […]

Day 174 – Erzurum


I have done something to my knee. I hope it doesn’t last too long. I can’t put any power into my right knee otherwise it hurts like jolly billio’s. I do have a knee support thingee deep within my panniers somewhere so I hope that helps. I think the cause […]

Day 173 – Tortum to Erzurum


English Summary: Big big day of climbing today. 1,470m of vertical ascent, only to descend 1,100m at the end of the day in about 30mins to Tortum. Friendly dog with serious collar. All in all just a really feel good day despite the hard climbing. 今日は今まで一番きつかった1日でした。1日(7時間)で合計で1、470mを上り、それでも80km近く走行ができました。やった~! オルツ町をでて、すぐに気温が氷点下15土に下がりました。時間が立っても、1日の最高気温はわずか氷点下7度でした。 10km走っていない内に、犬がやってきました。またか~と思いながら、いつも武器に使っているアルミのパイプをだして、攻撃を待ちました。しかし今回は違う。何と犬は静かに僕のそばを走っています。やさしいな、こいつ。 ちょっとリスクはありましたが、犬を呼んで、触ってみました。本当に人馴れで、何もしませんでした。そして首輪を見てください。このような首輪はよくみます。飼い犬が野良犬に首にかまれないようにつけてあります。 標 […]

Day 172 – TURKEY: Oltu to Tortum (English Summary)



For those of you who have been following this blog since the beginning (thank you so much for your patience as I trundle along!), you may recall the madness that ensued while I was cycling through Kyrgyzstan. Or should that be, pushing… I have updated those fateful Kyrgyzstan posts with […]

Some updated updates


Mmmmmm. Downhill riding. I can’t remember the last time I did 70km before lunch. I dropped from an altitude of 2,200m to 1,000m, and then only had a 250m climb back up to 1,250m (with a few ups and downs in between of course). It was cold again as I […]

Day 171 – Gole to Oltu


I didn’t sleep very well last night for some reason. My heart rate was higher than normal… Remembering my friend Joe’s words about an increased heart rate, I decided to take today off, and head out into the cold again tomorrow. This cold climate is only supposed to last another […]

Day 170 – Gole



It’s all rather cold in this part of the world. So I leave Ardahan at 10am, and as soon as I am on the road, my thermometer drops sharply to -10 degrees Celcius (14 degrees Fahrenheit). It stayed at this temperature for most of the climb up to the top […]

Day 169 – TURKEY: Erm….


English Summary: Dog attacks continued today on the outskirts of Ardahan where I am staying the night tonight. Bought a brush today to brush off any snow that gets on my boots. The snow melts, the water wets my boots, my boots freeze overnight, and I come close to getting […]

Day 168 – Ardahan (English Summary)


Today’s distance / 今日の距離: 56.78km Riding time / 時間: 4h 22m Average speed / 平均速度: 12.9km/h Total distance to date / 今日までの積算距離: 1546.9.0km (plus 4200km) English Summary: Freaking dogs! I have not encountered such ferocious dogs anywhere that compare with the ones here in Turkey. They are massive, they sometimes […]

Day 167 – From Ilgadargi Pass to 11km from Ardahan ...