This time I’m serious. I am leaving Thessaloniki tomorrow. The last few days have been a time of reflecting and pondering for me, forming and scheming some schemes of what lies ahead. Not only roads, but also possibilities and potential for the remainder of my journey to England. For the […]
Across the Eurasian Continent by Bicycle
Sorry to keep things hanging for a few days… So in the end I didn’t end up having to sleep out on a cold, wet park bench. Once again things worked out better than I could have imagined. Ailsa, a friend from motherland England, emailed me a while back to […]
Days 220 to 223 – Thessaloniki still
Before you do anything else, visit this blog: The World According to Malcolm Too bad there are no roads where Malcolm has been for the last 7 weeks. I would go there. Actually, just as well there are no roads. If there were, it wouldn’t be such a spectacular place. […]
Day 219 – GREECE: Thessaloniki
Today’s distance / 今日の走行距離: 114.35km Average speed / 平均速度: 16.6km/h Time on bike / 走行時間: 6h 52m Total distance to date / 今日までの積算距離: 165.80km (plus 8400km) Ascent / 上り: +540m Descent / 下り: -530m In Komotini I became a member of The Web, an internet and gaming place with stores […]
Day 218 – GREECE: From 51km from Eleftheroupoli to Thessaloniki
Today’s distance / 今日の走行距離: 51.38km Average speed / 平均速度: 15.3km/h Time on bike / 走行時間: 3h 21m Total distance to date / 今日までの積算距離: 51.38km (plus 8400km) Ascent / 上り: +610m Descent / 下り: -730m This morning I had some more speedometer issues, ending up with me having to reset the […]
Day 217 – GREECE: Eleftheroupoli to 51km from there
Today’s distance / 今日の走行距離: 125.86km Average speed / 平均速度: 16.8km/h Time on bike / 走行時間: 7h 27m Total distance to date / 今日までの積算距離: 4157.2km (plus 4200km) Ascent / 上り: +995m Descent / 下り: -780m It was a cold start this morning. My thermometer registered 0 degrees celcius, and a frigid […]
Day 216 – GREECE: Port Lagos to Eleftheroupoli via Abdera
Today’s distance / 今日の走行距離: 37.79km Average speed / 平均速度: 16.2km/h Time on bike / 走行時間: 2h 19m Total distance to date / 今日までの積算距離: 4029.9km (plus 4200km) Ascent / 上り: +40m Descent / 下り: -85m Ah, so this is what is meant my flat riding! I feel as though I have […]
Day 215 – GREECE: From Komotini to Port Lagos
I lost my pen a while back, so all I have to remind me of the last few days is photographic evidence. So let’s begin. Ah yes. The first day out of Istanbul was cold, wet, and generally ugh-ish. The tailwind was the only saving grace, and I managed to […]
Days 210 to 215 – TURKEY: From Turkey into Greece
The 14degrees team is a new team. It is an ultra-light, ultra slick team. It has gone through some fairly major reforms over the past few days, along with a decent dose of sightseeing.I have replaced the cables and cable housings on the bike, cleaned the chain, and the big […]
Days 205 to 209 – TURKEY: Istanbul
Well, I’m 3 months late, but I have made it to Istanbul. The original plan was to meet my Japanese host parents here on the 14th of November last year. Ahem.The last push to Kavak town, where I caught a ferry to central Istanbul, was some of the better cycling […]
Day 204 – TURKEY: Sahilkoy to Istanbul
Today’s distance / 今日の走行距離: 64.37km Average speed / 平均速度: 10.6km/h Time on bike / 走行時間: 6h 00m Total distance to date / 今日までの積算距離: 3487.7km (plus 4200km) Ascent / 上り: +1220m Descent / 下り: -1195m Last night at the internet cafe I found some detailed maps of the area between Agva […]
Day 203 – From Agva to Sahilkoy
Today’s distance / 今日の走行距離: 79.67km Average speed / 平均速度: 11.8km/h Time on bike / 走行時間: 6h 43m Total distance to date / 今日までの積算距離: 3424.0km (plus 4200km) Ascent / 上り: +1140m Descent / 下り: -1130m Plenty of climbing, but overall a perfectly pleasant day of riding. I was feeling rereshed from […]
Day 202 – Chamkonak to Agva
I set no alarm today. Sleeeeeeeep… Woke up at 7:30am anyway, just coz I am in that zone. Wandered down to the mosque to fill up on drinking water. They have a spring at the mosque in Chamkonak. The sun was rising over the water. Magic. The sun was rising […]
Day 201 – Chamkonak
Today’s distance / 今日の走行距離: 46.17km Average speed / 平均速度: 11.9km/h Time on bike / 走行時間: 3h 51mm Total distance to date / 今日までの積算距離: 3344.8km (plus 4200km) Ascent / 上り: +575m Descent / 下り: -550m I am under the weather. I have the usual. Nasal headache and sore throat. Great roads […]
Day 200 – Guntur Holiday Village to a spot of ...
Today’s distance / 今日の走行距離: 93.27km Average speed / 平均速度: 13.6km/h Time on bike / 走行時間: 6h 49m Total distance to date / 今日までの積算距離: 3298.0km (plus 4200km) Ascent / 上り: +680m Descent / 下り: -675m Ugh. Sore throat this morning. Someone is dragging barbed wire down my throaaaaaat… Generally feeling under […]
Day 199 – Alapli to Guntur Holiday Village
Today’s distance / 今日の走行距離: 86.36km Average speed / 平均速度: 11.8km/h Time on bike / 走行時間: 7h 16m Total distance to date / 今日までの積算距離: 3204.6km (plus 4200km) Ascent / 上り: +1160m Descent / 下り: -1380m I played with the ‘ferocious’ guard dog for 30 minutes before heading off. It was a […]
Day 198 – From Karaman to Alapli
Today’s distance / 今日の走行距離: 92.82km Average speed / 平均速度: 12.8km/h Time on bike / 走行時間: 7h 13m Total distance to date / 今日までの積算距離: 3119.0km (plus 4200km) Ascent / 上り: +780m Descent / 下り: -670m A generally overall blase day, really. Some cool ancient Roman rock carvings in the side of […]
Day 197 – From Amasra to Karaman
My bike safely stored inside my tent which sat on the marina all day, I wandered aimlessly the streets of Amasra. First stop was the local Museum. What a treasure trove. I shuffled around in a daze, trying to take in the reality that the things I was looking at […]
Day 196 – Chilling in Amasra
Today’s distance / 今日の走行距離: 44.88km Average speed / 平均速度: 10.2km/h Time on bike / 走行時間: 4h 23m Total distance to date / 今日までの積算距離: 3025.3km (plus 4200km) Ascent / 上り: +1620m Descent / 下り: -1575m Inhumane, I tell you, inhumane! The Black Sea coast of Turkey has the most unrelentingly steep […]
Day 195 – Kapisuyu I to Amasra
Ascent: +1600 Descent: – 1600 Rain rain go away, come again no other day… After a very wet dash to Inebolu Town a few days ago, Jean, a visitor to the 14degrees website, suggested that I duct tape over the zips on my jacket to stop water from getting in […]
Day 194 – Kerempe Point to Kapisuyu I
Ascent: +1270m Descent: -1270m The weather forecast for today promised a one day break in the tough weather that has been lashing the middle section of the Black Sea coast of Turkey for the last few days. The forecast made good on its promises, and I managed to cycle about […]
Day 193 – From Inebolu to near Kerempe Point
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 […]