July 31st
120km (1,549 vertical)
Last night, I walked up the hill and into the small town of Ilgaz. The view at dusk was fantastic. The town is surrounded by mountains, with other little towns placed on anything that looks almost flat...the same way we'd set up out tents.
No mistaking it today, these were mountains...not mere hills. Thankfully, the D100 took us around all the peaks. This gave us all of the scenery for only a modest amount of climbing – cycling between postcard views.
Since Istanbul, we've ridden for 6 straight days (and 670km) without a rest. Nicole commented that her saddle had spent far too much intimate time with her butt in the last week. I agree. After the luxury of 3 day rides across Europe, a 7 day stretch is a bit of a shock. The distances have been longer and the terrain much more challenging since Istanbul. All of this was expected. Paris to Istanbul really was just training. And, thankfully, the scenery so far has been well worth the extra effort. It is much more extreme and impressive than anything we saw in Europe. Turkey has been a fantastic place to cycle...but I am still looking forward to a rest day after tomorrow's ride.
I am going to pass on the Lame Duck tonight to Knut. He cycles with a full pannier of stuff (more luggage than most) but had no spare tube when he had a flat tire today. What is he carrying in there? (Runner up prize will go to Trine, who managed to lock herself in the hotel this morning...and lock the rest of the riders and the hotel manager out.)
Curvy road shining in the morning sunshine:
Me at the top of a climb:
The D100 (that we are on) as it snakes through the mountains:
Nicole and Mike stop for a photo at the top of a hill:
A mosque in a small mountain town:
Small sheds in the fields between mountains:
No comments:
Post a Comment