Turkey

If you read the last Turkish post you will be aware of my dilema. Well I decided to get the bus back to where my bike became pretty much un-rideable. It may seem silly, but I was happy with the decision, bar the first day back. The trip to Istanbul went OK. An overnight bus dropped me of in the pouring rain at 6am in the morning at a layby of a very busy motorway. I made my way across town to the bike shop which didn't open until 11 am, so I had a few very much needed coffees in a nearby cafe. 

As it turned out it was my shifter which was broke on my bike, so I got that changed as well as new chain, tires and cables throughout. The bike was as good as new. I also managed to pick up some size 13 mtb shoes as it was far from sandal weather. I had one night in Istanbul whilst I waited for my bike and then got the overnight bus back. As it was the shifter I couldn't have got the bike repaired anywhere else as it is a specialist part from a German manufacturer which the shop is a dealer for. The staff were all friendly and I enjoyed my time there. Thanks guys!

I got off the bus back in mid-Turkey at 9am in the morning and had breakfast (soup - which is what they have in Turkey for breakfast ?!?!) in the same service station cafe where I sat and wrote the 'Turkish Dilemma' blog post. I then got on my way, and after a night in the hostel sandwiched by 2 nights on the bus, a raging headwind, hills, rain and cold I did question my sanity. However a cheap hotel and a straight 11 hour sleep that night reset everything - I felt as good as my bike did! So it wasn't long before I was back in Istanbul, where I happened to bump into the bike shop owners out for dinner where I joined them for a big feed and a good evening. I took a spontaneous rest day as I hadn't had one for a while then took the ferry into Europe the next day. All documented in the video as usual ...

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The ride out of Istanbul was interesting. Very scenic, for a dual carriageway, but it seemed to go on for ever. It took me 50k before it thinned out. I'm now right on the border of political Europe and will cross into Bulgaria tomorrow. My route is pretty much Bulgaria, Serbia, Hungary, Austria, Germany, Belgium and then France. Roughly 2600 km ... won't take too long, well unless I decide to extend :-)