4,100km on the clock, Bulgaria done and Europe in my rear view mirror, my longest cycling day yet and some spectacular scenery. This has been a great 5 days in the saddle.
I am now on the fringes of Europe. The European customs and sights to which I had now become so used to were being diluted by the presence of Asia on the horizon. Instead of the creaking grunt of agricultural traffic each morning I am now woken by the call to prayer at 6am wailing from the minarets, sparking a dawn chorus from the dogs. It's a strange feeling to have crossed a continent as for the one part I am out of the safety zone, where I would often cross fellow cyclists on a journey east, but it's also incredibly exciting as the next chapter of my journey will be for the most part alone and through some of the most beautiful and alien landscapes I will ever encounter. Before, this will have filled me full of trepidation but instead I'm eager to experience the new foreign lands. Providing I have the right kit. I am looking forward to a parcel with warm weather gear and a new sleeping bag, like a Red Cross aid parcel, but sent by my parents.
I had a bit of a turning point in my tent just outside of Plovdiv 5 days ago. I realised that to reach India I would have to rely on my inner strength rather than fall back on the safety and security of others. Funnily enough it was my good old survival guide that taught me this. Something I already knew but it was hard to grasp. In many ways I've pulled the safety blanket away but it will be better like this I think. That night I went to bed much more positive and confident I would do it.
The very next day I met 2 French guys in the town who were heading to Istanbul. Ben and Geoffrey (Geo) were very cool and I instantly connected with them. Like me, Ben had left his job working for a large company in Paris and was around the same age. Geo was 22 and very easy going. Both liked to drink beer and smoked incessantly. They embodied the amateur ethic that I instilled within me. We rode together that day along the D100 from Plovdiv to Haskovo. Even though we were now on a smaller road the traffic was even heavier and where as before on the highway I had a hard shoulder for safety, now I shared the gutter with articulated lorries that nearly blew you off your bike. The hills rolled up and down and we reached Haskovo after around 100km. It was harvest time for butternut squash and mounds of these orange orbs lined the streets. I am a huge fan of squashes but they were all suffering from elephantitis and I couldn't find a place to put it on my bike.
Ben, Geoffrey, Christophe, and moi. All cool guys. Note the 3rd from left on a carbon racer...needless to say he was on a different kind of trip and his bike weighed less than my tent.
We continued out towards the border the next day and the road again was up and down but manageable. It was particularly arid and the skyline was hazy in front of us. We passed men on horse drawn carts and a fair few derelict looking former Soviet appartment buildings.
Typically French. Far too cool for me
This guy was keen to send us down a motorway. But he had a sweet ride.
Lada that's seen better days.
Ottoman bridge just before the Turkish border
So we arrived at the border to Turkey with little effort. Immediately through the barriers you could see a mosque on the horizon. I could also see a biblical storm gathering so once I'd paid 40 Turkish lira for my visa (around 16€) we were ready to brace the cold winds and rain. We arrived into the border town of Edirne just before it got dark and checked into a small pansiyon (cheap hotel). We were welcomed with some Cay (Turkish tea) and enjoyed the warmth. The French guys had a mix of technical kit and high street fashion so got pretty wet. That night we ate and drank quite a lot ending up in a bar sat with locals, nobody understanding each other and I'm not sure who was more drunk, them or us. We all danced Turkish style and eventually left wondering what the hell just happened?...
Boo yea! A surprisingly hassle free border affair.
The Lord hath spoken.
The old man in the middle was horizontal on the floor soon after this. One too many rakias.
We stayed in Edirne the next day and visited a hamam, which essentially involved lying in a loin cloth on a hot slab sweating a bit. In fact quite a lot by the end. We all had a bit of a snooze and a snore and chilled outside afterwards swaddled in towels. We visitied some incredible mosques and that night we were invited to dinner with two local English students. They took us to eat the local delicacy, deep fried liver with lots of chilli. I enjoyed it and ate a cart load, but the others didn't, so I ate theirs. Naturally. This is probably why I've only lost a kilo on my trip so far..
Mosque in Edirne.
When in Rome...
This next day we were on the road by 7am and cycled against the biting Siberian wind up and down main roads. My legs were fried and we sheltered in a service station and drank cay. All along the road there were more roads being built or widened. It seems that the government is rapidly expending the road network and I guess it provided many jobs. It allowed us pretty smooth riding if very hilly. As a 3 we would take it in turns at the front in no real order as one of us would speed off with a burst of energy and be overtaken when you start to flag. On the downhills and flats I creamed it like a time-trialist perhaps due to my extra ballast, but on the hills French fancies scuttled up so it was a constant cat and mouse. I plugged into some hard house after lunch and we burned through the cournryside. All along the route there were really toxic smelling chemical plants with slums next door. You had to cover your mouth as it tasted like inhaling paint thinner. There was quite a fair amount of poverty visible and it seemed most earned a "living" from collecting plastic and rubbish. It looked like a tough and dirty life and I didn't feel comfortable photographing it.
Our route was longer and took us south towards Silviri and on to the Mediterranean Sea. I felt exhilarated as I hadn't seen the deep blue since Belgium six weeks ago and it was crazy to think I'd gotten there by bicycle alone. So there it was that we notched up 170km in a single day and our legs burned so we filled up on meat and beer and went to bed in a flea infested hotel. The worst I'd ever stayed in. But I'd have to get used to this I think for the east of Turkey.
Highway to hell
First sight of the Med. She looked beautiful.
Mais non, c'est la bas mon pote!
Our final day before Istanbul was meant to be a stroll into town but I guess entering a city of over 16m people, it was never going to be easy. The roads were carnage and the diesel trucks filled your lungs with noxious fumes. I think my years of riding in London paid off here and I loved nipping in and out, generally causing offence to the other drivers but you need to be bold out here! As the mouth to the Bospherous became visible around the bend of the coast it was massively exciting. All around the sea a huge fleet of tankers were anchored waiting for their turn to enter the port. It looked like the siege of Troy and was pretty impressive. You really got the impression of the scale of the place. So far my experiences of Istanbul is that it teams with people. I can't wait to explore it further...
Shopping bag wind stoppers. A classic invention!
Empty tower blocks on the way into Istanbul.
The scrum begins...
The bridge over the Bospherous. East meets West.
My plan is to spend about a week here until 14th to pick up my Iranian visa then ill be off, solo, to conquer the Asian plains. I'm also going off the social media radar posts may be fleeting. I hope to catch up with you though along the way. All I can say is I feel much safer now with this little bad boy!
Laters
No comments:
Post a Comment